AMMAN: Understandably, much of the pre-release hype around the new British crime thriller series “Trigger Point” centered on its links to “Line of Duty” — the massively popular police-procedural series created by Jed Mercurio that has received great acclaim from viewers and critics alike.
First off, Mercurio is an executive producer on “Trigger Point” (written and created by Daniel Brierley), and secondly Vicky McClure, who plays DI Kate Fleming in “Line of Duty,” is its star.
The British series is centered on its links to “Line of Duty” — the massively popular police-procedural series created by Jed Mercurio. Supplied
There are numerous other similarities too: Like Mercurio, Brierley isn’t scared of killing off characters you expect to be around for a while and is particularly adept at crafting a good cliffhanger/big finish to ensure viewers return the following week. And, like Mercurio’s, Brierley’s work is hugely entertaining while often requiring the audience to suspend their disbelief at some of the borderline-preposterous actions of supposedly highly-trained law-enforcement officials. Both men are also fond of a bit of melodrama.
McClure is a fine choice as the lead. She plays Lana Washington, an ex-military bomb-disposal expert (aka an ‘Expo’) who now heads up a bomb squad for London’s Metropolitan Police, with an intriguing mix of no-nonsense competence and the kind of cocky-but-brittle self-assurance that makes sense for someone who makes their living under the constant threat of death.
“Trigger Point” is a wild ride; it’s gripping television. And great fun to watch. Supplied
From the very first episode, Brierley wisely makes extensive use of the edge-of-your-seat tension inherent to any bomb-defusal drama as the Expos contend with a series of homemade, but far-from-amateur, explosive devices planted around the city by a far-right nationalist group known as The Crusaders.
The complexity of the devices leads Washington to believe that whoever is making them has military experience — and she thinks that person might just be a member of her team. As the show progresses, it becomes harder and harder for her to know who she can trust both to discuss her suspicions with and to watch her back. It doesn’t help her stress levels that her own brother may have become unintentionally caught up with The Crusaders.
“Trigger Point” is a wild ride; from the almost-unbearable claustrophobia and nerve-shredding stress of the bomb-defusal scenes to Washington’s steadily building frustration with the perceived lack of support for her theories from her superiors, it’s gripping television. And great fun to watch.