Prime Suspect 4
Three different stories are presented in Prime Suspect 4 which finds the newly promoted Jane Tennison, now working for the Area Major Investigation Team, assigned to different stations to head up major inquiries.
After making some tough personal decisions, Tennison returns to old territory in London's Southampton Row station to find herself working against the clock to trace abducted toddler Vicki Covington in The Lost Child.
Inner Circles takes Tennison to a very different part of London -- an affluent commuter suburb -- to investigate a bizarre death. The case exposes the web of fraud, local government corruption and hollow relationships that can lie beneath the respectable veneer of the community.
And in The Scent of Darkness, Tennison faces personal and professional conflicts as, for the first time in her career, she begins to doubt whether the pressure of her job and her obsessive relationship with it are worth jeopardizing another romance for. A series of murders take place bearing a chilling resemblance to those Tennison investigated in Prime Suspect 1. Are they copycat crimes?
Story synopsis | Cast & credits | What the press said... | Awards
Prime Suspect 4 story synopsis - Plot Revealed Below!
The Lost Child
After making some tough personal decisions, Tennison returns to old territory in London's Southampton Row station to find herself working against the clock to trace abducted toddler Vicki Covington.
The child's mother, Susan Covington, has separated from her husband and is coping alone with the demands of career and baby. Studying late into the night after finally settling her teething child, Susan falls asleep over her books, but jumps awake at an unexpected noise. The next morning the nanny turns up for work to discover Susan lying in a pool of blood and no sign of the baby. WPC Maureen Havers is assigned to the distraught mother as she recovers from head injuries, while Tennison and her team move into action.
Once again, however, she finds herself at odds with her superiors in the Metropolitan Police and increasingly frustrated by bureaucracy. As the team investigates links with pedophile organizations, child sex offender Chris Hughes quickly emerges as the prime suspect. Tennison and DI Muddyman arrange a meeting with Patrick Schofield, the clinical psychologist responsible for his recent treatment. Tennison is pleased when he compliments her handling of the case, but his refusal to release Hughes' notes provokes an unexpected response from Muddyman.
Meanwhile, Hughes' girlfriend Anne Sutherland, a divorced mother of two, is unaware of his past and Schofield warns Tennison that the pressure of the investigation could tip Hughes over the edge and put Anne's young daughters at risk.
As the investigation reaches its climax, an attempt to arrest Hughes is badly bungled and results in a tense siege situation. With police marksmen in position and concern mounting for the safety of the hostages, Tension moves in to take control.
Inner Circles
When Denis Carradine, manager of the local country club, is found dead in his home, neighbors are quick to blame youngsters from the rundown housing estate nearby -- and the local police are happy to go along with that view.
Tennison soon finds herself at odds with the resentful DCI Raymond, the type of cop she has had problems with throughout her career, as well as with the influential voices of the middle-class community -- in particular that of James Greenlees, managing director of Huntington Country Club and chairman of the Police Consultative Committee.
Tennison's personal resources are fully stretched as she is forced to engage in political games with the community, while pulling together a difficult team and leading a problematic investigation.
As the investigation continues, the dead man's financial dealings make less and less sense. Tennison begins to suspect a link with an on-going council probe into a property sale involving chief planning officer Paul Endicott. She becomes convinced that Carradine's solicitor, the tough and manipulative Maria Henry, holds many of the answers, but the divorcee is giving nothing away.
The Scent of Darkness
Tennison's relationship with psychologist Patrick Schofield has developed into a promisingly happy affair. Determined to make a success of it, she nonetheless worries about the conflict between her job and the demands of her private life.
Then a series of murders takes place, bearing a chilling resemblance to those Tennison investigated previously. Are they copycat crimes? Or was George Marlow innocent of the original murders -- as he always insisted?
As the ambitious DCI Mitchell casts doubt on Tennison's objectivity, an investigation begins into a possible miscarriage of justice -- a task carried out with obvious relish by Tennison's old adversary Superintendent David Thorndyke.
Removed from the investigation, Tennison's determination to restore her professional reputation and prove she was right the first time brings her face to face with Marlow once more. She goes into the confrontation armed with information gleaned from the senile Doris Marlow and convinced Marlow has vital clues to the latest killings. Her actions incur the wrath of Commander Traynor, who immediately suspends her from duty while Thorndyke's investigation continues.
Tennison carries on her own inquiries with the secret assistance of DI Richard Haskons, whose loyalty puts his own career at stake. But as Tennison grows increasingly paranoid about her other colleagues' motives, she is badly shaken by the discovery that makes her doubt Schofield's motives. Prevented by working, possibly betrayed by her lover and haunted by the past, she is forced to re-examine her most fundamental beliefs about her life and work. In the meantime, time is fast funning out for the killer's next potential victim.
Cast and credits
The Lost Child | Cast| Supt. Jane Tennison | Helen Mirren |
| Susan Covington | Beatie Edney |
| Chris Hughes | Robert Glenister |
| Anne Sutherland | Lesley Sharp |
| Carolyn Norwood | Tracy Keating |
| DI Richard Haskons | Richard Hawley |
| DI Tony Muddyman | Jack Ellis |
| DC Pride | David Phelan |
| Doctor | Graham Seed |
| DCS Kernan | John Benfield |
| DS McColl | Tony Rohr |
| DC Aplin | Mark Bazeley |
| DC Westbrook | Chris Brailsford |
| WPC Maureen Havers | Mossie Smith |
| Alison Sutherland | Caroline Selby |
| Gayle Sutherland | Candace Paul |
| John Warwick | Adrian Lukis |
| DC Hawker | Fergus O'Donnell |
| Dr. Patrick Schofield | Stuart Wilson |
| DCI White | Stephen Tindall |
| Pathologist | Anthony Daniels |
The Lost Child | Credits | |
| Director | John Madden |
| Writer | Paul Billing |
| Executive Producers | Rebecca Eaton Sally Head |
| Producer | Paul Marcus |
| Director of Photography | David Odd |
| Editor | Anthony Ham |
| Production Designer | Chris Truelove |
| Costume Designer | Mike O'Neill |
| Casting | Doreen Jones |
| Music | Stephen Warbeck |
Inner Circles | Cast | |
| Jane Tennison | Helen Mirren |
| Geoff | Tom Russell |
| Paul Endicott | James Laurenson |
| Lynne Endicott | Helene Kvale |
| Maria Henry | Jill Baker |
| Polly Henry | Kelly Reilly |
| Denis Carradine | Gareth Forwood |
| James Greenlees | Anthony Bate |
| Olive Carradine | Phillada Sewell |
| Micky Thomas | Jonathan Copestake |
| Sheila Bower | Julia Rice |
| Norman | Roger Milner |
| Alan | Tony Spooner |
| Younger neighbor | Hamish McColl |
| PC Wilson | Sam Rumbelow |
Inner Circles | Credits | |
| Director | Sarah Pia Anderson |
| Writers | Eric Deacon Meredith Oakes (story) |
| Executive Producers | Rebecca Eaton Sally Head |
| Producer | Paul Marcus |
| Music | Stephen Warbeck |
| Cinematographer | David Odd |
| Editor | Oral Norrie Ottey |
| Casting Director | Doreen Jones |
| Production Designer | Chris Truelove |
| Art Director | Claire Kenny |
| Costume Designer | Mike O'Neill |
The Scent of Darkness | Cast | |
| Supt Jane Tennison | Jane Tennison |
| Geoff | Scott Neal |
| PC Andy Dyson | Marc Warren |
| Dr. Patrick Schofield | Stuart Wilson |
| Elizabeth Bramwell | Penelope Beaumont |
| DCS Kernan | John Benfield |
| Wayne | Glen Berry |
| DCI Tom Mitchell | Christopher Fulford |
| Forensic Scientist | Linda Henry |
The Scent of Darkness | Credits | |
| Director | Paul Marcus |
| Writer | Guy Hibbert |
| Casting Director | Doreen Jones |
What the press said...
The Lost Child
Tighter and grittier than the other three, this one was jam-packed with so much raw energy and high emotion that by the end of it I felt as drained as Helen Mirren looked...
-- Today
Inner Circles
Jane (Helen Mirren), superb as ever, soon demonstrates to her police team that her weaknesses do not include a need to be liked. Some fellow-feeling may be expected for DS Cromwell, another woman struggling in the teeth of the male culture, but she is brusquely told to expect 'no special favours.'
-- Sunday Telegraph
The Scent of Darkness
Behind the ...plot lay what we were really interested in -- the drama of Jane Tennison's perennial struggles against bombastic bosses, sexist subordinates and unreliable lovers...
-- Guardian
Awards
The Lost Child BAFTA Awards 1996- Nominated, Best Photography and Lighting (Fiction/Entertainment), David Odd
- Nominated, Best Sound (Fiction/Entertainment), Nick Steer, John Rutherford, John Senior, John Whitworth
Edgar Allan Poe Awards 1996
- Nominated, Best Television Episode, Paul Billing
PGA Golden Laurel Awards 1997
- Won, Television Producer of the Year Award/Longform, Sally Head, Rebecca Eaton, Paul Marcus, Brian Park
The Scent of Darkness Emmy Awards 1996
- Won, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special, Helen Mirren
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