Gently does it, Inspector

The much-loved detective series finally returns to our screens after a tense two year gap, revealing the much anticipated outcome of the dramatic, and cruel, cliff-hanger of the last series. The poignant final image of the two detectives lying shot in Durham cathedral left fans unsure of the detectives’ fates and anxiously anticipating their return. Happily however, this new series hasn’t disappointed. Picking up one year after the incident, we are immediately thrown back into the world of the Durham police force during the tumultuous sixties.

This opening scene depicts the police attempting to evacuate people from their homes in order to demolish their community under the council’s orders. However, the situation quickly escalates when a police officer is found, having been attacked and struck on the head. In a rage, the police then arrest several people, including a man they believe to be high on drugs as they drag him, literally kicking and screaming, into his cell. However, when he is found dead the next morning, questions of neglect and police brutality begin to be asked making it the perfect case for Gently (Martin Shaw) and his partner John Bacchus (Lee Ingleby) to return to.

However, it quickly becomes apparent that everything is not as it was before; we find Gently and Bacchus estranged from each other as Bacchus cannot put the incident behind him, haunted and psychologically scarred by the violent episode which he only barely survived. This creates tension between the two characters, with Bacchus angrily accuses Gently of ‘not feeling anything’ because of his ability to distance himself from the memory and move with his life. It comes as no surprise when Bacchus offers his resignation at the beginning of the episode, only staying to work out his months’ notice. It’s then down to Gently then to solve the crime and entice his partner back into the world of policing. There’s definitely some great amusement to be found in the new dynamic between the two from Bacchus’s childish reluctance to follow Gently around, sulking in the corner and smoking, to Gently’s cheeky attempts to make him realise that he was born to detect.

Picking up one year after the incident, we are immediately thrown back into the world of the Durham police force during the tumultuous sixties.

Gently is, as always, proven right as Bacchus becomes more and more involved in the case and flashes of his former impetuous, fiery character begin to resurface, finally facing up to his fears and recognising that though the violence of their occupation may affect him, he shouldn’t let it ‘change him’. The episode’s climax highlights Bacchus’s return as he enters a half-demolished building that he could not previously enter for fear of the unknown dangers which the dark corridor concealed. The stand-off which then takes place between Gently and the murderer is highly reminiscent of the cathedral scene in the last episode as Bacchus puts himself in harm’s way once more and ends up clinging on for life off the edge of the broken building. This time however, our nerves are spared as the wounded Gently rescues his partner by throwing the enemy over the edge of the building himself and pulling Bacchus to safety.

The episode then ends with Gently have succeeded in bringing his partner back from the brink with a stronger understanding of each other now existing between them. This series then promises to further develop and complicate the dynamic between the two although I’m sure the amusingly characteristic love-hate aspect of their partnership will remain prominent! For those die-hard fans of the series who have stuck with it from its pilot episode, this opening episode definitely won’t fail to entertain. The new dynamics combined with the traditional structure deliver a strong return and it looks like it will only get stronger.

Tune in for the next episode of Inspector George Gently next Thursday at 20:30 on BBC One.