Blythe Duff

John Michie

Alex Norton

Mike Cullen

gambler is found dead, and it is discovered that he had thousands of pounds stashed in his flat, leading the team to suspect that he was part of an illegal betting scam. The wife of the owner then gets killed out riding and the in...

Ian Madden

Users and Losers

Not a loser of an episode

For quite a while, &apos;Taggart&apos; was a personal favourite. The Taggart period was consistently good to outstanding and the period where Jardine was in charge also had a number of great episodes (only didn&apos;t care for one if remembered correctly). The Burke period was more hit and miss, there are winners such as &quot;Compensation&quot; and &quot;A Death Foretold&quot; but the later years of this period (where &quot;Users and Losers&quot; fits in) indicated that the show had gotten tired.

&quot;Users and Losers&quot; is a long way from being one of the best episodes of &apos;Taggart&apos;. It is though above average and better than most episodes from this period, quite a big step from the previous few entries. Which were not a good representation of &apos;Taggart&apos;, especially &quot;Law&quot;. &quot;Users and Losers&quot; is not the most original &apos;Taggart&apos; has ever been and doesn&apos;t stand out, but none of its components are executed disastrously and a lot is done right.

It did feel like the episode began to lose momentum towards the end. So many promising plot elements and ones that weren&apos;t too foreseeable, but it could have had more tension later on and the ending was on the predictable side.

The music has gone downhill. Loved it in the Taggart, Jardine and early Burke episodes, but it did become discordant and repetitive and that is the case here. Sounds too stuck in the 80s too.

However, &quot;Users and Losers&quot; does do a lot of things very well. As usual for &apos;Taggart&apos;, it is well-made visually, with the usual grit and moodiness in the photography. The scenery is both picturesque and unforgiving. The script intrigues, pulls no punches and there is some entertaining banter within the team. Burke has some fun lines. The team interaction is always cohesive and there is never a disconnect, with some nice banter and also intensity. Burke took a while to get used to when he first appeared in &apos;Taggart&apos; but he grew on me and while he is stern and authoritative he is not as much of an abrasive bully now. It is a very well acted episode, lead and supporting, Alex Norton really throws himself into the character of Burke.

The story avoids trying to do too much but at the same time it is not too simple either, the tone is suitably disturbingly uncompromising. While there are familiar tropes they aren&apos;t obvious or feel too rehashed and any twists and turns are interesting and plausible.

Overall, not great but not bad at all for an episode during &apos;Taggart&apos;s&apos; decline period. 7/10.

For quite a while, 'Taggart' was a personal favourite. The Taggart period was consistently good to outstanding and the period where Jardine was in charge also had a number of great episodes (only didn't care for one if remembered correctly). The Burke period was more hit and miss, there are winners such as "Compensation" and "A Death Foretold" but the later years of this period (where "Users and Losers" fits in) indicated that the show had gotten tired.

"Users and Losers" is a long way from being one of the best episodes of 'Taggart'. It is though above average and better than most episodes from this period, quite a big step from the previous few entries. Which were not a good representation of 'Taggart', especially "Law". "Users and Losers" is not the most original 'Taggart' has ever been and doesn't stand out, but none of its components are executed disastrously and a lot is done right.

It did feel like the episode began to lose momentum towards the end. So many promising plot elements and ones that weren't too foreseeable, but it could have had more tension later on and the ending was on the predictable side.

The music has gone downhill. Loved it in the Taggart, Jardine and early Burke episodes, but it did become discordant and repetitive and that is the case here. Sounds too stuck in the 80s too.

However, "Users and Losers" does do a lot of things very well. As usual for 'Taggart', it is well-made visually, with the usual grit and moodiness in the photography. The scenery is both picturesque and unforgiving. The script intrigues, pulls no punches and there is some entertaining banter within the team. Burke has some fun lines. The team interaction is always cohesive and there is never a disconnect, with some nice banter and also intensity. Burke took a while to get used to when he first appeared in 'Taggart' but he grew on me and while he is stern and authoritative he is not as much of an abrasive bully now. It is a very well acted episode, lead and supporting, Alex Norton really throws himself into the character of Burke.

The story avoids trying to do too much but at the same time it is not too simple either, the tone is suitably disturbingly uncompromising. While there are familiar tropes they aren't obvious or feel too rehashed and any twists and turns are interesting and plausible.

Overall, not great but not bad at all for an episode during 'Taggart's' decline period. 7/10.

gambler is found dead, and it is discovered that he had thousands of pounds stashed in his flat, leading the team to suspect that he was part of an illegal betting scam. The wife of the owner then gets killed out riding and the investigation heats up further. Meanwhile, Burke is convinced that a former heroin addict and petty criminal has changed, until he is left with a decision to either arrest a killer or do a deal to catch a more major criminal.

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