Murder Investigation Team: Series 1 [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

Sometimes gruesome, always gritty, crime sleuth team. Realistic faced investigation struggles are dramatized. All cop stuff, only a hint at MIT individual lives outside of the investigations. Episodes are filled with police action, raids, chases and arrest struggles. Clue searching moves at a fast clip with false leads, new suspects, and dead ends. This team must dig for clues in the bowels of London society. Certainly not the scenic vistas of `Midsomer Murders' series. Drugs, incest, murder, rape, prostitution, mutilation and other things are seen which are not on the tourist brochures.
A crack team with women in the forefront. 2 beautiful ambitious female MIT leads, one nail tough, one a bit softer. A bit of a British "Cagney & Lacey" but with more raw & cruel crime.
A dialogue quotation is series descriptive: "Forensics would like you to have a look at some vomit."

Episode details, 49 min each, with SUBTITLES:
1 MOVING TARGETS
DI Vivien Friend (Samantha `Sam' Spiro) heads MIT (Murder Investigation Team) in a shooting case of a police Sgt. A second victim at the scene is a credit card thief. Who was the target? How much police involvement is associated with the duel deaths? Commentary option with episode 1.

2 DADDY'S LITTLE GIRL
A dead body of a 3-year missing girl is found in concrete. DI Friend is not so sure the obvious suspect is the truth.

3 RUBISH
A boy's body (minus its heart) is found in a refuse barge. The MIT finds some distasteful clues. There's more to this murder than meets the eye...and nose.

4 READING, WRITING AND GANGBANGING
A vagrant's beating murder and a questionable teacher's suicide set the MIT looking for a connection and ultimately the solution.

5 RED HEADS
The murder/abduction MIT investigation takes a detour when a 2nd kidnapped girl is found nearly nude walking the streets. The only initial connection is red hair. Maggots only come in white.

6 LAMBS TO THE SLAUGHTER
A released pedophile is stabbed and emasculated sending the MIT looking to his past which seems to have disappeared from police records. Why?

7 MODELS AND MILLIONAIRES
Murdered porn model's body is found beside the Thames. DC MacManus (Lindsey Coulson) suspects the spouse. DI Friend finds MacManus' judgment a bit suspect. Friction midst MIT.

8 THE BIGGER THE LIE
A journalist's `big scoop' leads to her brutal murder. The story dealt with racial problems which culminate in a huge problem within the MIT.

One pleasantry, without grit, is the theme song "Sweet Bitter Love" performed by Petra Jean-Phillipson. Audibly pleasant, quite the contrast to MIT cases. This DVD is unrated but comes with the box warning of strong language, violence, and graphic images. It's that and more, not for kids, only for adults with a serious interest in murder drama. This 2003 series continued in 2005, and I'll be looking for the next Series on DVD.

I am enjoying this new (to the US) British mystery. Cast is very good and the stories very intricate. The cast interacts well and that enhances your enterTainment.

'Murder Investigation Team' is a spin-off 'The Bill' and begins with solving the murder of Sgt. Boyden. The casting in this show show just didn't work. The 2 female leads are embarrassingly bad - no similarities to Cagney & Lacey. The supporting cast just seemed to go through the motions. It's hard to really put a finger on what was wrong with the ensemble, other than they just didn't work. The stories were gritty, but also heavy-handed and predictable. This is possibly worth a rental if you are bored, have nothing else in your queue, and want to watch an English cop show. However, there are much better shows out there, including 'The Bill.' I'd go with 'George Gently','Dalziel & Pascoe' or 'Lewis' before buying this. I own the DVD's and would love to get rid of them.