Time capsule of crime

The cast of Prime Suspect 1973.

By Tania Phillips

Prime Suspect 1973
Friday, 21 July, 8.30pm

Set in 1970s London, when police women were little more than glorified secretaries and tea-makers, a teen-aged girl is found murdered on a rough estate.
Young probationary officer WPC Jane Tennison (Stefanie Martini) is on the edge of this case looking in at the chauvinistic world of the police.
This is no Helen Mirren’s formidable DCI Tennison who was the central character of the Prime Suspects, this is a young woman trying to find her own way – still living at home with her parents who don’t approve of her chosen vocations.
They wish she was more like her younger sister Pam, who is about to be married – and question her for coming home late and being on the pill.
With jangly music from the ’70s and a grey backdrop this is not as tense as the original Prime Suspect – based on the Tennison prequel books by Lynda La Plante.
Jane’s dedicated, instinctive approach is evident from the start as she is thrown into the brutal murder inquiry, witnessing first-hand the devastating effects of violent crime, as well as experiencing tragic ramifications herself.
Immersed in the music, fashion and politics that defined a generation this follows Jane Tennison as she establishes herself in a man’s world, revealing the complexities of her ambition and personal life that shaped one of television’s most iconic female characters.
Even now she may look like a pretty young thing but she survives her first post-mortem without throwing up and she asks questions, endless questions keen to advance and to progress in her career.
Prime Suspect 1973 unfolds slowly with lots of characters in play, whose roles aren’t clear in the early stages of this episode.
This is not Prime Suspect as we know it, but an interesting look into policing in the ’70s from a female point of view.
– Tania Phillips