Merseyside Police’s PC Chris Carson is a police response officer. That means he responds to 999 calls. He also, as we quickly see here in the outstanding new BBC One drama The Responder, responds to his job in a very emotional way too.
Chris – a career best Martin Freeman – is on the edge. To the point of losing his balance and falling off the cliff. And so burnt out he’s practically just smoking embers. His is a physically and emotionally draining job and he’s not coping well with it. He can no longer see the point of his incredibly stressful job, either: ‘It’s just whack-a-mole,’ he tells his work counsellor during talking therapy. ‘Except the moles wear trackies. Every night, there’s spit on my face and blood on my boots. And it never stops.’
Put like that, it certainly sounds like a rather exhausting and demanding job. Then we’re shown it and it is. It’s also one which looks capable of taking a sizeable psychological toll on a person. This, it seems, will be the focus of the piece.
‘I wanna be a good bobby. I wanna do good things.’ It’s another crucial insight into Chris’s psyche during his counselling that reveals what looks to be the crux of the series.
Chris’s colleagues either dislike him or tolerate him based on how good he used to be as a DS – before he was, presumably, demoted, which we’ll no doubt find out all about soon enough. His family love him, but we know it’s only a matter of time before things come to a head between him and his wife Kate (MyAnna Buring, Ripper Street).
Deep down, we sense that Chris is a good man with a moral compass. He’s just become jaded and lost his way. Being ‘mates’ with a local drug dealer doesn’t help his good bobby credentials much, though. His relationship with crim Carl Sweeney will propel the plot forward over the next four parts. Carl is played with snarling glee by Ian Hart in a Fred Perry/curly wig combo that makes him look like an angry John Power from the ’90s Britpop band Cast.
To that plot, and it involves a local ‘baghead’ called Casey, played by the excellent Emily Fairn. She’s ripped Carl off and stolen a rather significant amount of cocaine from him. Chris is asked to find her for Carl ‘as a favour’. When he ignores the request, it becomes more of an instruction. Then when Chris refuses to hand her over when it’s obvious Carl and his goons intend to hurt Casey, Chris drives her away and tries to convince her to leave the city.
She doesn’t, of course. All Chris has done has upset Carl. The man’s hair may be slightly ridiculous, but he’s an intimidating prospect nonetheless. Overall – it’s not something that’s likely to help Chris’s ever-worsening mental health.
The script comes from a screenwriter making his television debut, a man called Tony Schumacher. He’s a former police officer, which explains why The Responder is just so realistic. This feels less like a Line of Duty-style thriller than it does a Channel 4 fly-on-the-wall documentary series.
The script is tight, clever and funny, while the direction is lean, unfussy and sharp. Supporting performances are all on point. None of that will likely be remembered, though – only this is all about Martin Freeman. Even just one episode in and it feels like a notable and award-winning performance.
Freeman’s Liverpudlian accent is perfectly observed and executed and he pulls off vulnerability while still being street tough with impressive delicacy. PC Carson doesn’t throw his weight around like Jack Regan in The Sweeney or Vic Mackey in The Shield, but when he casually slaps a local weed dealer multiple times or tells a repeat nuisance 999 caller that he’ll ‘f***ing kill him’, you do sense he’s capable of doing something terrible.
The Responder could be a big hit for the BBC. It looks as if critics and audiences alike have responded very positively to it anyway. As well they should. Barely a month into the year and the BBC have treated us to what looks almost certain to be one of the very best drama series of the year. With this and The Tourist, they’ve come flying out of the blocks in 2022.
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Former Child Protective Services Social Worker and emergency response team member on ‘the streets of San Francisco’ in the 1970’s -80’s during the crack cocaine explosion, this first episode was so close to home, and painful to watch! Luckily my husband convinced to continue on. Compelling story and terrific acting by all. A real “page turner”! I’m in!!
The first episode was difficult to follow anddidi not make enjoyable viewing – in two minds about watching future episodes
Martin Freeman is outstanding in this edge of the seat drama. Almost too painful to watch as you wonder how far he’ll descend into chaos. Threatening to kill the public whilst wearing a uniform, you can’t help but wonder about complaints against him. Can’t wait to see how the story continues.
Brilliant acting and programme.
I thought that the first episode was hard going, & hard to understand, but I stuck with it & the second episode was much better, as it was clearer what was happening.