Ripper Street is not as gritty, not as brash, and not as fucking brilliant at swearing as Deadwood. Moreover, the show isn't a classically downtrodden critical darling. But, so what? Ripper Street isn't in the top echelon of TV, but it's got good writing and good acting and it's entertaining. You should try it out.
Like Deadwood, Ripper Street is a show about a dark time and place in history where chaos was being tamed into order. It has whorehouses and violent murders. The main character, Detective Reid, is on the outs with his wife after the recent death of their child. Sound familiar? It's got a modern feel, even through historical dialogue and a set that shows the dirt and dust of lower class Whitechapel. Though this takes place almost at the same time as Deadwood is supposed to it's not as anarchistic and crude as the American silver rush, but we're dealing with the British, they're generally a bit more refined.
Unlike Deadwood, Ripper Street is largely a procedural with a few background arcs that focus on learning about individual characters... and there's some Jack dude people seem to mention a lot. Deadwood was never a procedural. An individual episode of Deadwood makes no sense whatsoever on its own, it was complex, fascinating, and had lofty ambition, but the TV landscape would be pretty boring if every drama was serialized and aimed for grandeur. Sometimes it's good enough to be a high quality mystery week to week with a decent dose of character depth. Not as good as HBO, but better than CBS.
The show gets it's name from Jack the Ripper, but it really takes place after the Ripper murders in what is a very grim looking Whitechapel. Times are changing, the Tube is only just being built, London is becoming more and more international and industrial. The media is a force to be reckoned with, as are the criminals who thrive in the fast growing city. This show makes good use of this era of a huge change, both as a background and juxtaposed against the lives of the characters who are struggling to maintain morality in their neighborhood and in their own lives.
The perspective of Ripper Street mainly comes from three law men, with various and different degrees of upstandingness. The cast is superb. There's Jerome Flynn (Game of Thrones) as the muscle, Adam Rothenberg as the smart, lovable criminal and surgeon (think Malcolm Reynolds or Han Solo), and the brains of the operation played by Matthew Macfadyen (M1-5/Spooks, Death at a Funeral, Frost/Nixon). Charlene McKenna who plays the somewhat dim but constantly ambitious Rose has a talent for stealing scenes, which is impressive given the caliber of those whom with she's acting. MyAnna Buring, who plays the owner of an upscale Brothel is underused in Season 1, but she gets more to work with in Season 2. Then there are guest spots from great British actors, such as Joe Gilgun (This is England, Misfits) and Iain Glen (Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey, MI-5), speckled throughout the show.
Ripper Street has two seasons with eight episodes each. It was canceled by BBC in late 2013 only to be revived three months later thanks to Amazon and a streaming deal which gives Amazon exclusive rights to stream the first two seasons and the right to air season three a month or so before the show airs on BBC. A fact which might have interesting implications for the landscape of television and shows with low ratings but dedicated fanbases. I, for one, am happy to have this scrappy period drama back on the air for at least one more season so that it can solve some more East London crimes.
Like Deadwood, Ripper Street is a show about a dark time and place in history where chaos was being tamed into order. It has whorehouses and violent murders. The main character, Detective Reid, is on the outs with his wife after the recent death of their child. Sound familiar? It's got a modern feel, even through historical dialogue and a set that shows the dirt and dust of lower class Whitechapel. Though this takes place almost at the same time as Deadwood is supposed to it's not as anarchistic and crude as the American silver rush, but we're dealing with the British, they're generally a bit more refined.
Unlike Deadwood, Ripper Street is largely a procedural with a few background arcs that focus on learning about individual characters... and there's some Jack dude people seem to mention a lot. Deadwood was never a procedural. An individual episode of Deadwood makes no sense whatsoever on its own, it was complex, fascinating, and had lofty ambition, but the TV landscape would be pretty boring if every drama was serialized and aimed for grandeur. Sometimes it's good enough to be a high quality mystery week to week with a decent dose of character depth. Not as good as HBO, but better than CBS.
The show gets it's name from Jack the Ripper, but it really takes place after the Ripper murders in what is a very grim looking Whitechapel. Times are changing, the Tube is only just being built, London is becoming more and more international and industrial. The media is a force to be reckoned with, as are the criminals who thrive in the fast growing city. This show makes good use of this era of a huge change, both as a background and juxtaposed against the lives of the characters who are struggling to maintain morality in their neighborhood and in their own lives.
The perspective of Ripper Street mainly comes from three law men, with various and different degrees of upstandingness. The cast is superb. There's Jerome Flynn (Game of Thrones) as the muscle, Adam Rothenberg as the smart, lovable criminal and surgeon (think Malcolm Reynolds or Han Solo), and the brains of the operation played by Matthew Macfadyen (M1-5/Spooks, Death at a Funeral, Frost/Nixon). Charlene McKenna who plays the somewhat dim but constantly ambitious Rose has a talent for stealing scenes, which is impressive given the caliber of those whom with she's acting. MyAnna Buring, who plays the owner of an upscale Brothel is underused in Season 1, but she gets more to work with in Season 2. Then there are guest spots from great British actors, such as Joe Gilgun (This is England, Misfits) and Iain Glen (Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey, MI-5), speckled throughout the show.
Ripper Street has two seasons with eight episodes each. It was canceled by BBC in late 2013 only to be revived three months later thanks to Amazon and a streaming deal which gives Amazon exclusive rights to stream the first two seasons and the right to air season three a month or so before the show airs on BBC. A fact which might have interesting implications for the landscape of television and shows with low ratings but dedicated fanbases. I, for one, am happy to have this scrappy period drama back on the air for at least one more season so that it can solve some more East London crimes.
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