Thank you for asking .... I have thought about this after having had a chance to view the series in its entiretly for the first time on Netflix.
PS 1 or 6 ... PS 6 was, in my opinion, brilliant and probably the best of all, allowing Jane to triumph in a way that actually, for me, was the climax of the series. The moment that woman from Scotland Yard or British intelligence or wherever it was opened the door to Jane, who said, "Oh, hello," then breezed past her to arrest the loathesome, charming "devil" over the objections of the government as embodied by that woman who, Jane was shortly to discover, probably was blind to the killer's true personality because he had bedded her, too ... that was such a victorious drawing up of threads of all sorts, her lifelong fight against not just chauvinism but bureaucracy, her ability to get to the heart of the matter no matter what others hoped was the truth, her sacrifice of relationship after relationship for her career ... it all made such sense to me, and from my point of view, the only thing I like in a police drama is when it makes sense. But I also will always have a special place in my heart for PS 1, because it made complete sense, too, and here was the original smiling, charming devil. To see Jane hide from the authorities so she could complete her investigation as she knew only she could do correctly, I think that's when we all fell in love with the woman who to me was never coarse, or never should have been, but was always a lady, just a very demanding one. I loved Tom Bell in this episode, too, and John Benfield whenever he appeared. I will always be grateful to Lynda LaPlante for her brilliant, realistic writing and her vision to create the character.
PS 2 ... again, the villain was hideous, the crime more so. But Jane tenaciously ferreted out the truth.
PS 3 ... I didn't like the victim here, but this was when I first fell in love with the inimitable Ciaran HInds; gosh, he was beautiful at that age. And here is when David Thewlis's performance established him as an incomparable character actor. The fact that Jane felt she had got her man, but was unable to make anything stick, makes for me Law & Order the real heir apparent to Prime Suspect (although it had already started). The good guys didn't always win in either show. I don't really see the connection with The Closer other than the main character's rank; but there was a U.S. series that started and promptly failed shortly after Prime Suspect came out. I'm not sure if it was the first few episode of Homicide: Life on the Streets, or something else. I remember a beautiful blonde female detective, or, that is, sergeant or something higher. at the center of everything, and some of that self-conscious hand-held camera work that became popular after that; I think that series was among the pioneers in that technique. Does anyone have a sense of which series I'm talking about and know the name of it?
PS 4 ... I felt these episodes devolved into a little bit of the types of crimes solved by the character who may have been Tennison's namesake, Jane Marple. The Lost Child seemed an obvious commentary on the U.S.'s notorious Susan Smith case. Inner Circles was, as someone here said, pretty predictable, although I never quite traced how the money scheme worked and where it was wrong; and, as others here have said, the new George Marlowe and his mother were not adequate replacements for the original. Nor could I really fathom the milketoste guard having such a curiosity for killing; and, if indeed, he did have an interest so deep that it would compel him to try killing, I doubt he would have sickened of it and backed off, as he did in the episode.
PS 5 ... ordinarily, I would have put this episode after 1 and 6 because it was so fascinating for most of the way. As someone else here said, The Street was one of the most memorable villains ever on film and brilliantly portrayed. However, the denouement just deflated the whole thing for me. How Jane's superior could have felt this villain to be clever based on the horrible GBH ... I looked it up, and that stands for Grievous Bodily Harm in British police parlance ... he had pulled when he put someone's hands in the deep fryer is beyond me. Yes, that might have been clever, in its way, but would you trust someone like that to pass you information to keep the streets clean, pun perhaps intended in the script? I would have felt I was dealing with a psychopath, which, indeed, the guy was to a great degree. Jane's having to lie and say she had made things up in the interview room ... maybe that happens in real police work, but it sort of turned my stomach, and think it would have turned hers, too. It is quite understandable how the top brass could have sailed away from any blame clean as babes; it probably happens all the time. But this particular top brass gave the order to have his informant killed. Maybe that happens all the time, too.
PS 7 ... just not worthy of the Prime Suspect name, in my view, and not because it was so different score- and pace-wise. I have to say it: I did not find Penny winsome at all. I have gone into detail about what I found suspect, lol, about this episode under the thread of how we might have done the episode differently. Gosh, if that question was asked ... and it was another very good question, I think ... then maybe there are reasons to have reservations about it. However, it was probably a valiant attempt to tie up all the threads in the series, answer a lot of questions and show where Jane ultimately ended up. So, in all, a good effort all around and, if not venerable, at least memorable.
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