User Reviews (20)

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  • I only recently caught up with Prey which starred the excellent John Simm. It was a three part series which was a whodunnit drama with a twist. As he is charged with the murder of his wife and child Farrow, who is a detective himself, manages to escape and then goes to investigate the case whilst being on the run from the police at the same time.

    The mystery was quite clever because it seemed like it was really complicated but in the end turned out to be really simple. The twist of being on the run at the same time was great and there was some really clever scenes where Farrow escaped in some excellent ways. It had fantastic characterisation and although John Simm is excellent in every role he plays I really thought this was one of the best.

    A great drama and it is nice to see ITV being able to now compete with the BBC with high-quality dramas.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    This three part ITV drama opens with a police can crashing and in the aftermath Marcus Farrow, one of the prisoners, escapes. We then flash back to before the events and learn that Farrow is a police officer who is investigating a body found on the moors… the body of somebody who was meant to have left the country many years before. It isn't long before he is being warned off the case and then he returns home to find his wife bleeding to death. He is arrested but protests his innocence. We then get to the point where the story started; he is on the run with his erstwhile colleagues looking for him. Outsider DI Susan Reinhardt leads the inquiry and she is initially fairly sure of Farrow's guilt but his behaviour suggests that he is carrying out his own investigation rather than trying to flee as one would expect a guilty man to do. Farrow does still have a couple of friends on the force that he trusts… and it is these people who pose the greatest danger to him!

    ITV have made quite a few solid crime dramas recently and this series is among the better ones. John Simm puts in a fine performance as Farrow and Rosie Cavaliero is equally good as Reinhardt. The rest of the cast are pretty good too; especially Struan Rodger who plays elderly villain Topher Lomax… who is threatening even though he is in a wheelchair and needs an oxygen cylinder. The story is gripping from start to finish and it wasn't until the final scene that we learn whether Farrow would be cleared or not. The tone is pretty dark for the most part as it constantly looks as though Farrow will be caught or those that he trusts are precisely the people he should be wary of. Overall this series is well worth watching if you enjoy crime dramas.
  • paul2001sw-18 June 2014
    Nick Murphy's drama 'Prey' is a fast-moving, gritty crime drama, with a typically strong performance from John Simm in the lead role. Although the plot is complex, the audience isn't really encouraged to waste too much time on it: the twists and turns are mainly Maguffins, serving mainly to justify the next explosive chase. If aspects of the series (lone hero set up for a crime he didn't commit) are generic, Simm keeps it real, and with just three episodes, it doesn't outstay its welcome. It's not quite up to the level of 'Prime Suspect', but it's nice to see ITV still keeping their hand in with authentic-feeling police procedurals.
  • /refers to Season 1/

    I like British crime series - they are less "explosive" than those coming from the US, and do usually include some witty twists or turns, plus the use of distinct character actors not selected upon "cute" looks. Prey includes all above as well, but the story is not too plausible, and references to the motives were revealed too soon (I would have preferred to have longer doubts whether DC Farrow was guilty or not, and in what), and the very ending could have included some upside-down solution...

    Nevertheless, the events are catchy to follow, and John Simm as DC Marcus Farrow and Rosie Cavaliero as DS Susan Reinhart, first of all, give splendid performances. "Only" 7 points from me, since I regard e.g. Line of Duty, Luther meatier and more seamless.
  • Both series were excellent tho, of course, for me the draw was John Simm.

    In series 1 a police officer must clear his name in the murder of his wife and son. Betrayed on all sides, he never knows who to trust.

    Series 2 follows a prison guard who is forced to assist a prisoner escape to free his kidnapped pregnant daughter.

    Both men are relentless in seeking justice and in protecting the ones they love.

    The entire cast is brilliant. Well worth watching!
  • Warning: Spoilers
    ***SPOILERS AHEAD***

    Oh dear, BasicLogic, you do seem to have misunderstood a lot. I just saw this tonight and it seemed pretty straightforward.

    I agree the inexperienced acting SIO, Reinhardt, was too quick to condemn Farrow - and she later acknowledged this herself - but otherwise most of your "plot holes" are nothing of the sort.

    When Farrow identified the body found in a shallow grave on the moor he discovered that the victim's name had come up in an old enquiry, so he retrieved the relevant floppy disks from archived records to look through. He had been invited to spend the evening at his ex- wife's house (which he had once shared with her) to spend time with his children and whilst there he got his old desktop PC with a floppy disk drive down from the loft to go through the disks. Lomax's name came up on the disks. He then had an argument with his ex-wife over her dating, punched the wall and left the house in a rage, leaving the disks behind him. He returned to the house to retrieve the disks later. Given the circumstances, he would hardly have called ahead as she would have told him to stay away. After receiving no response to his knock he let himself in with his key to find his ex-wife dying.

    There was no plan to kill Farrow's family. Dale Lomax broke in only to retrieve the floppy disks. The child, Max's, death was an accident - he fell down the stairs when he ran from the intruder. Abi saw his body and Dale and began screaming and Dale's attack on her was an unplanned response. As to where Finn was - that I can't remember. Possibly on the top bunk with headphones on. Everyone thought Farrow had killed Abi, and Finn had heard them arguing and seen Farrow lose his temper earlier in the day so it's unsurprising that he too thought his father may be responsible.

    The floppy disks contained details of corrupt dealings between Farrow's partner/friend, Devlin, boss, McKenzie, Lomax and the dead man.

    Devlin, the friend/partner, wasn't Abi's new boyfriend, but had had a fling with her years previously. Farrow didn't go to Devlin's house: he went to Topher Lomax's to try to track down the floppy disks. (When he and Devlin questioned Lomax, whose name cropped up in the old casefile, Topher threatened his family so was an obvious first suspect in Farrow's investigation.) Devlin then turned up there too. Not sure why he didn't realise the front door had been forced - maybe he just assumed it was always left unlocked.

    Sadly, it does seem that at least one viewer was indeed a moron. That'd be you, dude. For Pete's sake don't try watching anything with a complex plot, mate.
  • As interesting, compelling, and flawed as the three-part miniseries of Season 1 was, I am surprised that not one of the reviewers noted and called out the debt owed to both the US television series and the US movie, The Fugitive. If you've watched (or are watching) Season 1, think about it and you will know what I mean. If you've not yet watched and plan to, think about what I've said as you watch it.
  • The themes of both seasons are very similar, give yourself a break between watching them. The acting is excellent and does make up for some contrived plotting.
  • Very similar to the Harrison Ford offering, but, at least there is a motive for our protagonist-cop to resort to violence. (Harrison had no clear motive to have brutally murdered HIS wife, although the 'she was more rich' is proposed.) One of the lessons a skilled detective SHOULD know is: don't tamper with the crime scene since that may link you to the homicide via forensics. However, in neither film does that slip-up create any irresolvable issues.

    We know John Simm (a Martin Freeman DR WATSON doppelgänger) from LIFE ON MARS & GRACE. For this role, there's a lot of faces to put on, but, above all, is he shrewd enough to stay on the loose & put the pieces together as to who framed him? I am only in Episode 2, so, no spoilers here. The character actor Craig Parkinson can be be counted on to be slippery (he played the 'crooked cop' in LINE OF DUTY). And is there a Brit cop show without P. Glenister? Action-packed so far, with twists & turns. 8/10 (bit of language).
  • Lejink27 June 2016
    A taut and exciting mini-series, the better for being condensed to just three as opposed to the more usual six, eight or ten episodes with Manchester-based detective John Simm out to prove his innocence after his wife and child are murdered at their home. Behind it all is a nefarious insider plot framing him for the deed, involving his so-called best friend (played by Craig "Dot Cotton" Parkinson) and a trusted senior colleague but after a spectacularly staged escape from a police van, Simm goes on the run to uncover the truth and clear his name.

    There was little that was original in the plotting, but with sharp, pacy direction and good acting throughout, while it may not have outdone say, "Line of Duty" or "Happy Valley", this was a superior TV thriller. As usual I found some of the background characterisations, particularly that of chasing cop Rosie Cavallero to be superfluous and surplus to requirements, but when it concentrated on Simm's character's relentless chase for the truth, it was very good indeed.

    Naturally he gets to run about a lot just one step ahead of the pursuing police pack, meaning hand-camera location shots a-plenty and the body-count grows wherever he goes but allowing the usual dramatic licence for coincidence, few actors can do haunted and hunted better than Simm or devious and deceptive like Parkinson. Some of the supporting cast I was less convinced by (especially a miscast Adrian Edmundson as a senior officer) but between these two, plus Cavallero and Anastasia Hille as his trusted former boss, this made for good viewing all round.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    While watching series 1, the word McGuffin kept creeping into my mind...

    McGuffin def.: an object or device in a movie or a book that serves merely as a trigger for the plot.

    At first I wanted more details of what was driving the action, who was behind it, what was on the damn disks! But it turns out that the disks, and the mystery criminal behind it all -- whatever "all" was -- was a McGuffin the best sense of the word. Whatever was on the disks-- we never find out and don't care a fig about finally. It is a character-driven show with action, suspense, surprises-- what more do you need from a 3-episode series that keeps you glued to your seat?
  • Warning: Spoilers
    Stupid screenplay with lot of unforgiven holes big enough to drive through a semi container truck! very highly unlikely scenarios and plots with illogical twists, so conveniently arranged for the development of the storyline. stupid female detective captain, stupid police organization, so easily to condemn a brother detective of their own. guy went to his ex-wife's home at night without calling first was against normal behavior any normal divorced husband would do, albeit a police detective. survived kid so readily to believe his father killed his mother, and his kid brother was killed in the same house while he was just spared? so where he hid himself in the small house? if the killer already targeted the ex-wife's family, he should have known there were 3 persons in the house, would he just killed two and left? the reason to kill this stupid cop's family was even shady without any explanation. did this guy hold some important, critical, dangerous information that might endanger the crime boss? if so, what was it? if the kids and other people in this stupid series already used iPhones, how could it possible that their desktops were still equipped with the obsolete floppy disk device and even the police still using the floppy disks? and if those disks held the important and deadly evidence and secret that would convict the accused, how could he brought them to his ex-wife's home. where was this stupid detective's actually lived? did he had his own living quarter? when he was transported to the prison, the other criminal just attacked him so easily with a ball pen with free hands without cuffs? after he ran away from the accident scene, he went to his ex-wife's new boy friend who's also a colleague and partner, he kicked open the front door, it should have seriously damaged the door and the door frame, so why his partner didn't find out there might be an intruder in his home and he was a detective! he won't detect his front door was heavily damaged? and still could use his key to open the damaged front door? on and on, this stupid mini-series played on and treated the viewers like morons. that' absolutely unacceptable, dude.
  • I enjoyed this series, or is it a mini-series?

    It's an interesting story. I won't give it away.

    The production is very well executed. Good use of available light and normal locations. The acting is very good. Everyone really seems to be living their roles convincingly.

    There are a few places I thought the plot kind of faltered.

    It should have been either more believable or generated more intrigue. But instead it did neither, opting for a more emotional outcome. Or at the very least kept our protagonist in play.

    For example, I would really have enjoyed a bit more detective work and shaking down the bad guys. Finding out more tantalizing clues that lead to more revelations. I enjoy watching crime dramas and cop shows for that aspect. Like the Mike Chiklis show The Shield.

    This series has some of that rotten cop aspect but they don't explore it very much. I also wish that they had explored a bit more of the female co-star's life while all this is going on. She is actually the protagonist. And Simm's character would be better described as the anti-hero. Overall pretty good, darn site better than most American TV these days which is all about explosions and cliff hangers.
  • Not giving it away but first series was intriguing. The 2nd Season's script is so horrible, it's a waste of one's time. The plot was poorly written with no twist just bunch of straight forward pursuits that wasn't interesting. What a waste of time. But if you have spare time, the 1st Season is worth it if you like "Vera" series.
  • I really enjoyed this series but wondered about this part of the script in series 2. Laughed rather too long. Not sure if it was meant to be funny. There are some negative comments on here but I really found it entertaining.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    The first series has to do with a copper who is framed up and ends up the mains suspect of a nasty murder case. He has to fly away, to run, to flee, to escape by becoming completely invisible in the days of CCTV and all other artificial intelligence surveillance means that are on the verge of some kind of totalitarian Gestapo. No surprise: he will solve the case and of course, the main boss of this case is no one but... I won't tell, no comment, I want a phone call and a lawyer.

    Interesting about the bleakness of Manchester, Yorkshire, institutionalized crime and company, Limited, the police forces and other security bodies, and the squalid society in which maybe ten percent of all its population survive, homeless, or squatting, no work excerpt some small jobs, most of them at least half illegal, not counting the lumpenproletariat of this Brexit society, the European immigrants who are only one rung higher than the third-world illegal immigrants.

    Some will tell you it is the end of capitalism, of all western imperialists, of imperialism as a whole. But there is no alternative. So, we can move into the second season and this time it is prison wardens who are involved in a strange kidnapping case for just half a dozen thousand pounds hidden somewhere in a safe that needs two keys to open. Just as bleak, just as sad, just as terminal as a case of cancer for this society that can only dream of Brexit when a social time-bomb is under pressure and ready to be ignited by who knows who and who cares who is going to ignite this social bomb, since anyway we all know it is not a question of whether or not, but a simple question of when, and we know it is soon.

    We are probably getting closer to this terminating end, though we don't know the color of it because it is going to be one more color revolution, although this time it will be a color apocalypse: choose the color you prefer among the four colors of the four horses of the Apocalypse. My elder brother in his wheelchair and with his post-CVA impotence is probably ruminating about the Apocalypse of his patron Saint, John.

    You add the deep Manchester Yorkshire accent onto that and into that, and you have a real decent though frightening descent into a foreign language speaking hell. I am telling you. If English is the language of God, the Yorkshire dialect is the language of Satan, Lucifer, and Belzebuth, the three of them for the price of one, and Mephistopheles on top of them all.

    Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU

    VERSION FRANÇAISE

    La première série concerne un flic qui est victime d'un coup monté et se retrouve le principal suspect d'une sale affaire de meurtre. Il doit s'envoler, courir, fuir, s'échapper en devenant complètement invisible à l'époque de la vidéosurveillance et de tous les autres moyens de surveillance par intelligence artificielle qui sont à la limite d'une sorte de gestapo totalitaire. Pas de surprise : il va résoudre l'affaire et bien sûr le grand patron de cette affaire n'est rien que... mais je ne dirai rien, pas de commentaire, je veux mon coup de fil, et un avocat.

    Intéressant sur la sorditude, comme dirait Royal, de « Manchester, Yorkshire, crime institutionnalisé et Compagnie, SARL », les forces de police et autres organes de sécurité, et la société de turpitude comme dirait Royal dans laquelle survivent peut-être dix pour cent de toute sa population, sans abri, ou squattant, sans travail sauf quelques petits boulots, la plupart au moins à moitié illégaux, sans compter le lumpenprolétariat de cette société du Brexit, et tous les immigrés européens qui ne sont qu'un échelon au-dessus des immigrés illégaux du tiers monde.

    Certains vous diront que c'est la fin du capitalisme, de tous les impérialistes occidentaux, de l'impérialisme dans son ensemble. Mais il n'y a pas d'alternative. Nous pouvons donc passer à la deuxième saison et cette fois, ce sont des gardiens de prison qui sont impliqués dans une étrange affaire d'enlèvement pour seulement une demi-douzaine de milliers de livres cachées quelque part dans un coffre-fort qui nécessite deux clés pour être ouvert. Tout aussi sombre, tout aussi triste, tout aussi terminal comme un cas de cancer pour cette société qui ne peut que rêver du Brexit quand une bombe sociale à retardement est sous pression et prête à être mise à feu par qui sait qui et qui se soucie de qui va mettre à feu cette bombe sociale, puisque de toute façon nous savons tous que ce n'est pas une question de savoir si oui ou non, mais une simple question de quand, et nous savons que c'est bientôt.

    Nous nous rapprochons probablement de cette fin terminale, une terminalitude comme dirait Royal, bien que nous n'en connaissions pas la couleur, car il s'agira encore d'une révolution de couleur, bien que cette fois ce sera une apocalypse de couleur : choisissez la couleur que vous préférez parmi les quatre couleurs des quatre chevaux de l'Apocalypse. Mon frère aîné, dans son fauteuil roulant et avec son impuissance post-AVC, est probablement en train de ruminer l'Apocalypse de son Saint Patron, Jean.

    Ajoutez à cela le profond accent du Yorkshire de Manchester, et vous obtenez une descente dans l'enfer qui parle des langues étrangères, une décente descente absolument effrayante. Je vous le dis. Si l'anglais est la langue de Dieu, le dialecte du Yorkshire est la langue de Satan, Lucifer et Belzebuth, les trois pour le prix d'un, et Méphistophélès par-dessus le marché en prime, comme chez Amazon.

    Dr Jacques COULARDEAU.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    It started out with a good plot line and a couple of twists but it went downhill fast.

    Marcus Farrow was supposed to be a decent police officer, smart and savvy.

    Then this smart officer went bumbling around Manchester leaving clues everywhere and more importantly leaving his finger prints at crime scenes?

    It was crazy that he grabbed the knife embedded in his wife's stomach then he left his prints at Tofer Lomax's house.

    It all became very sloppy overall and then in a 2 minute climax it ended.

    Very disappointing when it could have been so much better
  • wxmanj9 April 2021
    This is one weak British crime drama. Falsely accused fugitive...got. Implausible at best and not remotely entertaining. Not a lot of coppering going on but plenty of running back and forth. Acting...not much to work with give the story and available dialogue.
  • The story May be good but very difficult to watch since the cameraman does not stabilize the shots. It actually makes you dizzy!
  • mgulev4 January 2019
    Apparently this series has been condensed into a movie. So this is a review of the movie version. It starts off well, but gets worse towards the middle and the ending is just boring and predictable. There are really no redeeming qualities to make up for the so-so acting, boring plot or lackluster action sequences. Maybe it works better as a seies, but I´m not going to risk it.