OK so this is it, at least hopefully some more folks in the UK had the chance to watch IL 5 / 1 tonight. I do hope that it will be on quite soon in other countries as well. As we all have noticed there’s been a lot of delays, strange premieres surrounding this season’s start – including the usual absence of any serious form of PR from the BBC for this season so far. Ah and let’s not forget ‘em British cross-grained critics, I have missed them actually. Good to know that there are certain constants in life one can rely on. OK enough of that now, back to the basics and the fun of it all.

What I can say about this episode is that I liked the freshness about it. The return of Helen is a happy sight to see. The third Helen has the good luck to have a more gentle side to show in the news scripts - a very smooth entrée and hopefully a more relaxed and happy love-life for Lynley this time around. She reminds me of the first Helen we saw years ago – I like her style.

Of course Lynley’s life is a mess at the moment, but as we will get to see, things start to get sorted out and he finally seems to notice where his own powers end. More than ever, Lynley has to rely on other people. Well actually not strangers but the ones he feels quite attached to – maybe that’s even worse for him than the other way around. This is one of the things he hates the most: He has his dear problems with letting things just happen – he always did. And he likes to think that he’s invulnerable – bad luck no-one is. I am temped to say that Lynley finally loses his halo. Time to realize that he actually can’t be the master of his fate all on his own – surprisingly enough he seems to swallow this “jagged little pill” without getting hick-ups. And because he does, he succeeds in winning Helen and his job back. Let’s wait and see how long this episode of enlightenment will last.

Havers on the other hand has been pushed around a bit and finally finds a new DI with whom she basically is able to get along with (now that’s something for her, right). She isn’t unhappy but she seems to miss Lynley a great deal. He tries to go through what she has to say in her hearing in his case and what not to say and she refuses. Havers insists to “tell the truth”. Something Lynley isn’t too comfortable with to say the least. In the end he will have to trust her completely. Havers is more relaxes and self-assured, kitten there’s no reason not to be – way to go!!!

One of the aspects I always found to be quite interesting was the psychological background for the leading roles. And guess what: Lynley is on the couch this time…nope for real! Lynley’s character faults are being displayed without really tearing off his last retreat. He was always very much in control, especially when it came to the women in his life. Here he finds himself exposed to their kindness and understanding. He’s done certain things very wrong and he comes to realize it. Now this all sounds quite serious, which as I might not haven't mentioned isn’t the case at all. All is in a very twinkle-toed and fun to watch.

Naturally there are a lot of long-time running gags involved like Helen’s inability to cook, Lynley obsession with his Bristol, Havers’ relentless need for independence, Lafferty’s poetic citations when he examines his corpses – all routines we love. These elements go through the whole length of this episode, always leaving a light tone and a “welcome back feeling” for the fans of IL. I’m not too sure that the rest of the audience will actually comprehend all the allusions that are being present in every scene. But for the rest of us it’s pure fun. To put it in a nutshell, this starter episode was a sort best-of-all-ideas-we-have-ever-developed- who-cares-about-the-murder-case.

Not to mention the hairdos - how could I forget – but that’s something com-ple-tell-ly different.

Cheers!

webmistress

Post edited by: webmistress, at: 2006/07/20 22:31