MYSTERY!: PRIME SUSPECT 3: EPISODE 1 (TV)
Summary
The first of two programs on this tape. One in this mystery anthology series. Host Diana Rigg introduces part one of this four-part program, set in contemporary London, in which recently transferred Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison -- now on the Soho vice squad -- investigates a teenager's murder and discovers a sinister link to the police. In part one, Tennison attends the book reading of Jake Hunter, a former lover and author of a work about serial killers, trying to figure out if they have a future together. Meanwhile, an unidentified body is found in the burned-out flat of cabaret singer Vernon/Vera Reynolds. The next day, Tennison begins her new job on vice, immediately being given the priority of "Operation Contract" -- a clean up of teen prostitutes known as "rent boys" -- in the area. She meets her no-nonsense bosses Commander Chiswick and Chief Superintendent Halliday. She's also put off by the tardiness of one of her team members, Inspector Larry Hall. Tennison then learns about the problem with the rent boys and why the department seems so interested in them. She soon clashes with her old nemesis, Sergeant Bill Otley, who reveals to her the name of the unidentified body -- fifteen-year-old Colin "Connie" Jenkins. Tennison also learns that there may be a leak in the force, as Hall says that the rent boys always seem to be off the street when the vice squad does its sweeps. Otley visits the center for local homeless children where he speaks with the man in charge, Edward Parker Jones, about Jenkins's time there. Meanwhile, Tennison gets an opinion from Hunter -- before he departs for his book tour -- on whether Jenkins may have been murdered before being burned in the fire. At a police retirement party, the prominent Judge Syers discusses Jenkins's death with a clearly uncomfortable Reynolds. Later, Otley brings a homeless youth, Martin Fletcher, into the station for an interview. Fletcher reveals that a known "heavy," James Jackson, may have been involved with Jenkins and some other young boys. Tennison visits the burned-out flat where it has become official that the fire was arson. Also, though Jenkins was part of Operation Contract, Chiswick and Halliday do not wish Tennison to investigate his murder, feeling that it is not a part of vice squad detail. Tennison brings in Reynolds for questioning, learning that Reynolds had lied in the past and actually did know Jenkins. Afterward, Tennison speaks with the bruised Fletcher about his life on the streets. Then, a frustrated Tennison speaks with an aloof Jackson, trying to determine if he is a suspect in Jenkins's murder. She also wonders why he beat up Fletcher and picks up boys at the train station. Later, Tennison is told by Halliday that the case may be transferred out of vice, and her suspicions against her own department are exacerbated. She then overhears Halliday talking quietly on the phone, stating that "she knows nothing." Tennison is forced to take on more assistance for the case, including the suspiciously inquisitive Detective Inspector Brian Dalton. Listening to the ambulance call on tape, Tennison realizes that the call was made before the fire and that the caller's voice sounds familiar. She also learns that Otley had once brought Jenkins to the station in the past, and demands to know why he never told her.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS
- DATE: April 28, 1994 Thursday 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:57:13
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:77358
- GENRE: Drama, mystery/suspense
- SUBJECT HEADING: She Made It Collection (Lynda La Plante); LGBT Collection
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1980-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Rebecca Eaton … Executive Producer
- Sally Head … Executive Producer
- Paul Marcus … Producer
- La Plante, Lynda … Associate Producer, Writer
- David Drury … Director
- Stephen Warbeck … Music by
- Diana Rigg … Host
- Helen Mirren … Cast, Jane Tennison
- Robin Polley … Cast, Club MC
- Peter Capaldi … Cast, Vera Reynolds
- David Thewlis … Cast, James Jackson
- Danny Dyer … Cast, Martin Fletcher
- Greg Saunders … Cast, Connie
- Tom Bell … Cast, Bill Otley
- Richard Rees … Cast, Mike Chow
- Colin Meredith … Cast, Stretcher Bearer
- Michael J. Shannon … Cast, Jake Hunter
- John Middleton … Cast, Fire Team Officer 1
- Peter Rylands … Cast, Fire Team Officer 2
- Pearce Quigley … Cast, Red
- Mark Strong … Cast, Larry Hall
- Terrence Hardiman … Cast, Chiswick
- Struan Rodger … Cast, Halliday
- Karen Tomlin … Cast, Norma Hastings
- Liza Sadovy … Cast, Kathy Bibby
- Ciaran Hinds … Cast, Edward Parker Jones
- Terence Harvey … Cast, John Kennington
- John Benfield … Cast, Tom Kernan
- Stafford Gordon … Cast, Trayner
- Stephen Boxer … Cast, Thorndike
- Lewis Jones … Cast, Syers
- Paul Burgess … Cast, Cabaret Artiste
- Gilbert Wynne … Cast, Frampton
- Adrian Schiller … Cast, Gold
- Alyson Spiro … Cast, Margaret Speel
- Andrew Woodall … Cast, Brian Dalton
- John Axon … Cast, Jackson's Lawyer