Scott & Bailey Season 3 - DVD

Film: Janet Scott (Lesley Sharp) and Rachel Bailey (Suranne Jones) are investigating again! In the third season of the hit British series Scott & Bailey, the two women not only have to investigate a mysterious murder case that runs throughout the season. They also have to deal with several private problems and do their everyday police work. It all takes on extremely dramatic proportions when Rachel herself is targeted by investigators during the investigation into her ex-boyfriend's murder at the hands of her brother. Unless she can prove that she didn't put her brother up to the murder, losing her job would probably be the least of her problems. But the fact that her marriage, which is still quite young, seems to be on the rocks doesn't make life any easier for Rachel either. Janet, on the other hand, wants to focus entirely on the challenges that come with her role as a deputy detective sergeant. But it's not that easy to ignore her personal life. And when it comes to a big fight between her and Rachel, the chaos is perfect. But then a very personal case forces the two friends to pull themselves together again and work together as a strong team. Because only so duo are Scott & Bailey really unbeatable...

The third season of Scott & Bailey quickly shows again where the strengths of the British hit series lie. There are, of course, the two very different main characters, who are not overstyled as infallible heroines, but are portrayed as ordinary women who are allowed to show many strong sides, but also some clear flaws and all-too-human weaknesses. This makes the two women very accessible to the viewers, which is why one is then happy to forgive them for one or the other wrong decision they make in their jobs or in their private lives.

Also the not always linear narrative makes the series very interesting and, despite the inherently rather conventional stories, extremely exciting and involving. And finally, the good mix of criminal cases and the private lives of the policewomen is what makes the series so appealing. It also pays off that, in addition to the very mundane police work here, a main case runs through the entire season, which keeps the tension level at a consistently high level with some unexpected twists.

For the third season, the creators have also come up with a conflict that puts the friendship between Janet and Rachel to the test. This makes it very interesting on an interpersonal level, especially as they end up facing the difficult task of putting their personal differences aside to solve an extremely dramatic case. Thanks to the very strong acting of Suranne Jones and Lesley Sharp, the final episodes of the season in particular are extremely involving due to the private tensions between the women.

Scott & Bailey may not be reinventing the wheel, but he does blow a breath of fresh air through the crime genre with his blend of classic police series and strong female drama with a fine dash of British humour. If you liked the first two seasons or if you just appreciate good series fare from the UK, you should definitely pick this up. Recommendable! <x><BR</x>

Picture + Sound: The audio-visual realization of the third season is on a good to very good TV level. The picture is absolutely clean, the colors are mixed coherently and the image sharpness is in bright moments on a very high level. In darker moments, there are slight quality losses in the detail representation, but overall an absolutely positive overall impression prevails. The sound is present in an unspectacular stereo mix, but it does its job more than satisfactorily. Good!

Extras: As a bonus, there is a worth seeing look at the filming of the third season (approx. 15:13 min.) on the fourth disc, which is in the original English without subtitle options.

Conclusion: Scott & Bailey once again provides very good crime entertainment in the third season, which is given a special touch by the dynamic between the two disparate main characters. In the third season, the friendship of the two policewomen is put to the test, which dramaturgically gives the series a few new impulses. Gruesome murders, Rachel under suspicion of having incited her brother to murder, failed marriages and surprising twists in their investigations make these eight episodes again the best British TV entertainment with lots of female power. For fans and all who would like to become it, therefore: Absolutely recommended!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp