Blythe Duff and Alex Norton in Taggart (1983)

Blythe Duff

Alex Norton

John Michie

Stuart Hepburn

When an anonymous victim is shot dead in a local park the only clue on him as to his identity is a library card for a city college. This in turn leads to a half-way house for recently released criminals, some of whom are known to ...

Ian Madden

Halfway House

Going backwards

The Burke-period of &apos;Taggart&apos; started off somewhat shaky, with the sense that the show had run out of ideas and and tiredness had kicked in. &quot;Blood Money&quot; though was a marked improvement though still not perfect and that applied too with the next two episodes, &quot;Bad Blood&quot; being for me the best episode since &quot;Death Trap&quot;. So there was the hope that this would continue the step in the right direction that was starting to show.

Unfortunately, to me &quot;Halfway House&quot; was a step backwards and did make me feel sad that the show generally at this point just didn&apos;t feel the same, not even close to the high standard of the Taggart-period episodes and the first half of the Jardine period. While the team continued to gel better and had more spark and Burke has grown on me a large part of me was expecting much more from the case, which let things down significantly.

Will start with the good things. &apos;Taggart&apos; is a gritty kind of show, and often fairly grisly, and that is reflected in the photography, which is moody but never drab-looking. The Glasgow location is like its own character, have always found that non-human and non-animal characters, so scenery and houses and such, treated like characters as well quite striking. The music matches that perfectly and the main theme is unforgettable. The script has its moments, especially between Jackie and Robbie.

Jackie and Robbie&apos;s chemistry, both their friendship and Robbie&apos;s annoyance at her, between those two is the most interesting of the character interactions and has both charm and tension. More interesting than the case from personal opinion. Robbie turning up to work in a dishevelled state was quite amusing as well. &quot;Halfway House&quot; starts off quite well, with an opening murder that did have a suspenseful vibe to it. Burke has grown on me and the team interaction gels better, their teamwork more cohesive. The acting is good.

However, the case brings it down. The Burke-era&apos;s episodes tended to have a tried and tested formula to them, and for a lot of the episodes that was not a good thing. The story here felt tired with not enough twists and turns and with plot elements that felt re-hashed. The pace can flab and some of it felt too thin, with the second half losing steam too early. There is not enough bite to other parts of the script and while the support acting is competent none of it really stands out, did find the murderer played too obviously though.

Also was not surprised by the identity of the murderer at all, in a case where suspects were too few. Did guess quite early on that they either did it or were at least closely linked, and there was a something not right about them vibe as soon as they were introduced and throughout the episode (not helped by the role being played too obviously). The motive is one of the oldest in the book when revealed in a rushed denouement.

In conclusion, just about above average but not great. 6/10

The Burke-period of 'Taggart' started off somewhat shaky, with the sense that the show had run out of ideas and and tiredness had kicked in. "Blood Money" though was a marked improvement though still not perfect and that applied too with the next two episodes, "Bad Blood" being for me the best episode since "Death Trap". So there was the hope that this would continue the step in the right direction that was starting to show.

Unfortunately, to me "Halfway House" was a step backwards and did make me feel sad that the show generally at this point just didn't feel the same, not even close to the high standard of the Taggart-period episodes and the first half of the Jardine period. While the team continued to gel better and had more spark and Burke has grown on me a large part of me was expecting much more from the case, which let things down significantly.

Will start with the good things. 'Taggart' is a gritty kind of show, and often fairly grisly, and that is reflected in the photography, which is moody but never drab-looking. The Glasgow location is like its own character, have always found that non-human and non-animal characters, so scenery and houses and such, treated like characters as well quite striking. The music matches that perfectly and the main theme is unforgettable. The script has its moments, especially between Jackie and Robbie.

Jackie and Robbie's chemistry, both their friendship and Robbie's annoyance at her, between those two is the most interesting of the character interactions and has both charm and tension. More interesting than the case from personal opinion. Robbie turning up to work in a dishevelled state was quite amusing as well. "Halfway House" starts off quite well, with an opening murder that did have a suspenseful vibe to it. Burke has grown on me and the team interaction gels better, their teamwork more cohesive. The acting is good.

However, the case brings it down. The Burke-era's episodes tended to have a tried and tested formula to them, and for a lot of the episodes that was not a good thing. The story here felt tired with not enough twists and turns and with plot elements that felt re-hashed. The pace can flab and some of it felt too thin, with the second half losing steam too early. There is not enough bite to other parts of the script and while the support acting is competent none of it really stands out, did find the murderer played too obviously though.

Also was not surprised by the identity of the murderer at all, in a case where suspects were too few. Did guess quite early on that they either did it or were at least closely linked, and there was a something not right about them vibe as soon as they were introduced and throughout the episode (not helped by the role being played too obviously). The motive is one of the oldest in the book when revealed in a rushed denouement.

In conclusion, just about above average but not great. 6/10

When an anonymous victim is shot dead in a local park the only clue on him as to his identity is a library card for a city college. This in turn leads to a half-way house for recently released criminals, some of whom are known to the team. Unfortunately the hostel warden is not keen to cooperate.

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Halfway House

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