A new cop show set in Edinburgh? Count me in. Grizzled veteran with psychological issues and general disdain for humanity? So far so generic.
Dept Q plays out over nine episodes, which in my opinion is one more than necessary for the tale told. The story plays with flashbacks which are intercut in a way which, initially, are not clearly defined. This makes for a disjointed viewing experience. The main action takes place in the present and has Carl Morck (Matthew Goode) installed as the head of a new cold case unit, the Department Q of the title.
His appointment to lead the department comes as he returns to work after being wounded in an incident shown at the start of the first episode. He and his partner, James Hardy, are nearby when a murder is called in and they go to the scene. A young constable is guarding the premise entrance and they go inside where there is a man in his lounge chair, with a knife through his head. While the detectives look at the victim the constable is told to check if any windows show signs of being forced. As he does, a masked man appears from a side room, shoots the constable dead, and fires at the detectives. His shot goes through Morck's neck and into his partners. While both are injured, James has the more severe injuries as the bullet hits his spine.
While being the head of a department may sound grand this is a place where the irascible Morck, an Englishman with a high base level of misanthropy, and Dr Samuel Johnson levels of disdain for Scotland, is put to keep him away from the many people he has angered, annoyed, and irked, while letting him return to work and complete the psychological assessments required for a return to full duties.
The office space provided is a basement level which was once a shower and toilet area and is currently used to store defunct equipment.
Initially he has no team but over the course of a couple of episodes is assigned Akram Salim, a Syrian refugee who works as police liaison, and DC Rose Dickson who is recovering from a breakdown following a fatal road traffic collision. As the show proceeds both Morck and Rose talk with the bed bound and gradually recovering James, making him a de facto member of the team.
The case they investigate is the one which plays out as jump scenes which, initially, we do not know begin four years in the past. A Crown Prosecutor, Merritt Lingard, disappeared from a ferry, leaving her mentally disabled brother confused and requiring assistance. As the show moves forward we discover she isn't dead.
The investigation into who may have wanted her to disappear focuses on the last case she worked, that of a man suspected of murdering his wife - and of being a general gangster and criminal operative. But, even as this line of enquiry is pursued, things from Merritt's past continue to push their way to the front and require attention.
To say more about the plot and the outcome would be to give unnecessary spoilers and, while I'm not adverse to doing so, feel that here it's not needed.
The acting in this is wonderful and the screenplay excellent. There is a gradual reveal of characters and their internal worlds, there are external conflicts used to echo and amplify internal conflicts the main characters are dealing with. The glimpses we are given of Akram's past are dark, but done in a grimly amusing manner. Morck's relationship with his flatmate and divorced wife's teenage son will resonate with anyone who has experience of dealing with either, and his interactions with therapist Dr Rachel Irving (Kelly MacDonald) play into the best tropes of the genre without feeling clumsy.
This is tonally a dark show - Scandi-Noir in Scotland - and there is graphic and uncomfortable violence in places. But it also has humor, wit and a sense of (found) family and camraderie which softens the grimness.
The series is adapted from books by Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen and there are already Danish film adaptions of several of them, with more under production. I haven't read the books - well, their translations - so I'm unable to say whether the very Iain Banks feel to the story comes from Jussi, or from the screen writing and script development of Scott Frank and Chandni Lakhani. Either way it is wonderfully written.
I hope Netflix take the option of giving us more Dept Q, instead of choosing to waste the excellent work done with this first series. If they do proceed the only thing I'd ask for is more Edinburgh. Auld Reekie is a bit part player in this season, and could be exploited a little more.
text by stuartcturnbull, picture from Netflix Media Center