DCI Banks is that British cop who becomes obsessed with a case. Several young women have disappeared and the department is under intense attack. One day two cops are called to a domestic. While at the home, they find the bodies of four young women and capture the man behind it. Unfortunately, before this happens, one cop is attacked with a machete. He is killed and the wife/girlfriend and the perpetrator are brought to the hospital. This is the first episode of the first series. We are just getting introduced to the characters and their rules. I can't believe how many are judging the entire series on the first 45 minutes. It will be interesting to see how the second half plays out.
13 Reviews
Not great but not dreadful!
Wirefan12226 May 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Story starts out with a domestic abuse call that goes incredibly wrong (as sometimes happens...a police officer once told me that 'domestic' calls are the ones that can be the most dangerous as they never know what they may find). The two responding officers find an unconscious woman and then check the cellar to find a man with a machete who kills one officer before being subdued. Turns out they found a wanted serial killer/rapist by accident, along with all the gruesome details and dead bodies. Not pleasant.
Other reviewers found this 'dreadful'...sorry but life is not always pleasant. A decent enough start to the series although I don't like when Banks and the internal affairs (sorry, American term) investigator go out for drinks and end up back at his flat. Two professionals most likely would not do such a thing (one might try it but two?) as the possible side effects professionally would be too much!
I will watch some more as I like Stephen Tompkinson as an actor (Ballykissangel) and generally like to watch more than one episode of a series before I make a decision.
Other reviewers found this 'dreadful'...sorry but life is not always pleasant. A decent enough start to the series although I don't like when Banks and the internal affairs (sorry, American term) investigator go out for drinks and end up back at his flat. Two professionals most likely would not do such a thing (one might try it but two?) as the possible side effects professionally would be too much!
I will watch some more as I like Stephen Tompkinson as an actor (Ballykissangel) and generally like to watch more than one episode of a series before I make a decision.
Aftermath: Part 1
Prismark109 January 2021
The episode started out great. More Luther than Line of Duty.
Two police officers go down a cellar when they hear a noise. One of them is attacked by a machete and dies. Inside the cellar are the dead bodies of four young girls.
They have been raped and mutilated. DCI Banks investigates as he needs to find one girl who girl in the vicinity who has recently gone missing.
Lucy Payne is the wife of Marcus, the man suspected of killing these girls and killing the policeman. Lucy was regularly beaten up by her husband. Marcus is in intensive care after being physically restrained by the other policewoman.
The surgeon treating Marcus is concerned about the extent of the injuries he received.
Unfortunately once DS Annie Cabbot from the Professional Standards Department shadows Banks, the episode steers off course.
It is hard to fathom given the seriousness of the crimes, a policeman hacked to death, one girl still missing that the Standards department would take such a heavy handed approach. At one point Cabbot even messes up the crime scene.
Two police officers go down a cellar when they hear a noise. One of them is attacked by a machete and dies. Inside the cellar are the dead bodies of four young girls.
They have been raped and mutilated. DCI Banks investigates as he needs to find one girl who girl in the vicinity who has recently gone missing.
Lucy Payne is the wife of Marcus, the man suspected of killing these girls and killing the policeman. Lucy was regularly beaten up by her husband. Marcus is in intensive care after being physically restrained by the other policewoman.
The surgeon treating Marcus is concerned about the extent of the injuries he received.
Unfortunately once DS Annie Cabbot from the Professional Standards Department shadows Banks, the episode steers off course.
It is hard to fathom given the seriousness of the crimes, a policeman hacked to death, one girl still missing that the Standards department would take such a heavy handed approach. At one point Cabbot even messes up the crime scene.
Always Interesting
candidcamel7 July 2016
Warning: Spoilers
First to reference all of the Negative Dreadful Reviews. Every episode in this series which I have just watched in it's entirety to date...Audios an EXPLICIT Warning of Mature Content w. Viewer Discretion. SO...to all of those people that gave Dreadful reviews, what are you really complaining about?...You were WARNED, FOREWARNED...so you should have known better than to watch something that might rankle your sensibilities. I am an American and I ADORE British, Irish, Scottish Crime Drama Series. They are so much more ADULT than American Series. They are RICHLY FULL of REAL LIFE Characters. Not superficial with only BEAUTIFUL people. I watch for all of the DIVERSITY. Pretty, not so pretty, downright repulsive but real life human beings. Conversation and stories are full of adult conversation and intelligent plots, characters and subject matters. So...to this particular series. Adore the main DI Banks. He is smart and compassionate, a warm, caring unique individual. I love a few of his team. The 2 women, Annie (Lowe & then Helen (Cats...or is it Catz...they are both quite irritating to me...however, I look past their backstories and silly parts they play. I am warming up to Helen (Catz as a real characterization, however, still remain annoyed with Annie/Lowe. To compare, say with Wire In The Blood, which was much more sexually and gruesomely written...This so far *S5* has been relatively mild. I will mention this...This is beautifully filmed as in Wallander...and not as dark...but VELVETY landscapes twinkle about as Christmas Cheer for me.
What A Way to Start A Television Series!!!
zardoz-135 July 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Director James Hawes's television episode "Aftermath" serves as the pilot for "DCI: Banks" series. The tip-off is DS Annie Cabbot (Andrea Lowe of "Pandaemonium") hasn't yet been assigned to DCI Banks' squad, and Chief Supt Gerry Rydell (Colin Tierney of "Nowhere Boy") is still Banks' superior. DCI Alan Banks (Stephen Tompkinson of "Hotel Splendide") finds himself in charge of a horrific serial killer homicide case involving a young, married school teacher Marcus Payne (Samuel Roukin of "Turn: Washington's Spies") who has raped, tortured, and killed four women. Banks is still searching for the fifth missing girl. He encounters Cabbot after the police call on Payne as the result of a phone call from a neighbor, an illustrator named Maggie Forrest (Monica Dolan of "Kick Ass 2"), who reports them to the police. Initially, when the two policemen--PC Dennis Morrisey (Myles Keogh of "Chatter") and PC Janet Taylor (Sian Breckin of "Starred Up")--arrive at the Payne's apartment, they believe that they are responding to a simple domestic squabble. However, they are stunned when Marcus attacks them with a machete. Marcus kills PC Morrisey, and PC Taylor batters Marcus into submission with her baton and handcuffs him to a railing. In no time at all, "Aftermath" lurches off to a dramatic, unsavory start as Banks and his detectives discover the four corpses, three of them bundled up in plastic sheathes. Marcus' wife Lucy (Charlotte Riley of "Easy Virtue") survives and winds up in the hospital with DCI Banks grilling her about her part in the murders. Later, they learn that Lucy was abused by her parents, while penniless Lucy blackmails Maggie into writing her a check to pay for her legal representation. The Robert Murphy teleplay takes all sorts of surprising turns. One thing that stands out about this complicated but intelligent episode is the toll that being a policeman takes on an individual.
Better than expected
chrisehunter7 September 2020
After all the negative reviews, I expected this to be awful. It's anything but....
It's not great, but better than many have described it.
The plot is rather gruesome at times, but so is real Police work. Tomlinson played the part well. This is a character that will grow with each episode. I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of them.
In the beginning
safenoe21 December 2020
DCI Banks is realistic and raw that's for sure. It deals with the foibles of the police and their commitment to solve murders at any cost. This is a solid start to the six season run of DCI Banks.
Some reviewers weren't happy with the very downbeat nature of Aftermath. I guess the politically incorrect nature of the episode isn't for everyone, but it's real and raw. Really, an episode of Inside No. 9 deals with far more gruesome themes.
Talking of which, great to see Monica Dolan, who several years later guest starred in one of the most memorable Inside No. 9 episodes, Once Removed. She also starred in the revival of Talking Heads, and you can imagine her DCI Banks character regaling her tale in Talking Heads.
Some reviewers weren't happy with the very downbeat nature of Aftermath. I guess the politically incorrect nature of the episode isn't for everyone, but it's real and raw. Really, an episode of Inside No. 9 deals with far more gruesome themes.
Talking of which, great to see Monica Dolan, who several years later guest starred in one of the most memorable Inside No. 9 episodes, Once Removed. She also starred in the revival of Talking Heads, and you can imagine her DCI Banks character regaling her tale in Talking Heads.
Graphic and raw, but without real 'depth'
catnapbc28 October 2023
It may just be my critical eye, but I find Stephen Tomkinson just not up to his role here. His facial expressions, especially the crazed-eye look, was really amateurish, and since I've seen him in numerous others shows, it's become a standard feature of his 'acting'. Compared to others in similar roles, he is very stiff and too 'over-the-top', as is 'Lucy'. The main characters here are just not well developed nor believable in their positions. Aside from the very detailed and gruesome crimes, there is little real substance here. Too little emphasis on characters and their relationships and a bit too superficial. Not the worst series out there, as I have seen most of the Banks series, but also not on par with other brilliant British crime series like Poirot, Cracker or even Vera. You need to have at least one or two solid characters to carry a series, but neither of these do it for me. It's okay as a time-filler but not as engaging as others.
Sorry, I read the books
callahan-pd10 March 2021
My wife and I have both read all of Robinson's books and have a clear idea of how the main characters should look, sound and act. This show isn't that. The Banks actor is a rough and unpleasant thug, which is far from the book's version of him. Cabot was never as nasty and baiting as she's portrayed here. And Winsom is 6ft tall, damn it. I guess the show-runners felt they had to rough it up to make it compelling TV, in their minds. They lost us along the way. Age old problem, I know, but this show lost me very early on.
Crap
sjhvii23 August 2018
Stephen Tomkinson is usually good value but he phoned in this performance. But then you can't really blame him. A ludicrous Gothic horror meets 6th form psychology plot. and the character of his implausibly attractive DS was absurd. One minute she was ruthless and cold heated happy to crap o anyone on her way up the ladder. Next she was a total softy
The dialogue was dismal an the acting no better than the dialogue deserved
The dialogue was dismal an the acting no better than the dialogue deserved
Dreadful
aew-1011 September 2014
I hate this trend of detective dramas to choose the most gruesome scenario possible and/or to make it as dark as possible. In this case, the story begins with the abduction, systematic rape and torture, and eventual strangulation of five teenage girls. What a sick premise.
Early in the piece we have a basement scene with blood everywhere and a naked girl (dead) tied to a table being filmed with a TV camera. What a sick scene; this is not my idea of entertainment.
Banks himself is over the top and out of control at times, without any effective restraint. In one scene, the wife of the perpetrator, having been beaten, is in hospital. Banks charges in like a bull in a china shop and starts haranguing her. Banks's future sidekick is not much better. You would expect a bit of sensitivity here, e.g. a female police officer.
I will not be watching any more. Instead I shall stick to old series.
Early in the piece we have a basement scene with blood everywhere and a naked girl (dead) tied to a table being filmed with a TV camera. What a sick scene; this is not my idea of entertainment.
Banks himself is over the top and out of control at times, without any effective restraint. In one scene, the wife of the perpetrator, having been beaten, is in hospital. Banks charges in like a bull in a china shop and starts haranguing her. Banks's future sidekick is not much better. You would expect a bit of sensitivity here, e.g. a female police officer.
I will not be watching any more. Instead I shall stick to old series.
"Dreadful" is right
kbayliv5 December 2014
I completely agree with aew-10 and the "Dreadful" review. It feels like sick voyeurism. The premise is disgusting and sad -- the rape and torture of young girls.
We are shown the bloody room and torture equipment where they were kept. A nice policeman is severely injured. This is all in the first few minutes.
Then there is a lot of frustration as the detective tries to work through all the red tape.
Why do we want to see this? I do not. It is not entertaining. I quit watching. Give me Poirot or vintage Sherlock Holmes any day.
We are shown the bloody room and torture equipment where they were kept. A nice policeman is severely injured. This is all in the first few minutes.
Then there is a lot of frustration as the detective tries to work through all the red tape.
Why do we want to see this? I do not. It is not entertaining. I quit watching. Give me Poirot or vintage Sherlock Holmes any day.
Liberal pap
mar9tin13 July 2016
Some elements of mystery, but basically a police procedural, or rather, psychodrama. The love interest, Andrea Lowe, is fetching and has a face which would no doubt have allowed a successful career as a magazine model. Moral of the story, presumably in Canadian Peter Robinson's novel from which this is adapted, is that shutting out feelings leads to inhuman acts, suddenly dawning at the last moment on the eponymous protagonist, who, as played by Stephen Tomkinson at least, no one could possibly think devoid of emotion, nor the woman PC, who, in retribution for the lethal attack on her lover/partner, bludgeons the "suspect" to death. If drunk on duty, the author intimates, she would be culpable, but as a victim is only human. For, as victims we cannot be held responsible, and may feel as guilty as we like. That's liberal pap, of course, for it's control of passion, which makes us responsible, not its absence, as Freud and generations of sermons intoned, a conundrum upon which civilization rests. It makes the accessory, nevertheless played astonishingly well by Charlotte Riley, into a victim, as if it were possible for evil to have never arisen at all with loving child-rearing. Tho this is still debated by wings of the "neo-Freudian" object relations school, as much as by the Romantics, babies are not born innocent, nor was humankind. The author would no doubt like living instead in France where such crimes of passion are coupled with repressive government.
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