The Escape Artist

This is one of the finest televised dramas I have ever seen. I was watching it on the TV channel that brings us wonderful British shows, Part 1, knowing that Part 2 would be aired the next week. About and hour into the telecast, the TV went dark and I looked about and there were no lights anywhere. We were undergoing a power outage. Determined to see the entire production, I ordered the DVD which I then did as gifts for film aficionados. I had no prior introduction to the work of David Tennant but was so impressed. Learning of his amazing career is a pleasure. He admires Derek Jacobi, an actor long admired in the States beginning with "I, Claudius." I was privileged to have drinks with Sir Derek in Stratford in the autumn of 1982 following his stellar performance in "The Tempest." He continues turning out marvelous performances.

This is very important. if you enjoyed this series, stop here. seriously stop. reviews here have combed the plot to within an inch of its life.

if you have no knowledge of UK courtrooms, like me (i have no idea if the complaints in other reviews about court procedures hold water) and decided to excuse stupid actions to human failings then you can enjoy this immensely. i don't know if i'm trying to excuse plot holes here or if the writers meant for his characters to make seemingly stupid decisions deliberately. ppl do insane things everyday. look around you, reality is illogical.

at least everyone can agree David Tennant killed it here and the last episode made it worthwhile. the last 10 min were nerve wreaking. my heart was beating so hard, i couldn't breathe or move i could only stare mouthing "wow"

As others have pointed out, there are irritating problems with logic throughout the story. But I found the show clearly worth viewing - because the dialog was great, the premise was a good one, the acting and directing were outstanding, I cared about the characters, and the ending was satisfying.

The writing of a screenplay has a number of important components, and not every good writer is a master of all. David Wolstencroft was the author, and his dialog is very good, his character development excellent, the basic scenario good, his plot creativity good, his resolution of the story rather brilliant. His one fault, as I see it - and it's a big one for me - is believability. In order to advance his story, he resorts to plot twists that defy logic, and characters who act stupidly and have emotions that don't fit - and he does it over and over. A serious failing. I've often thought that every screenplay that wants to be considered as serious art should go through a logic evaluation process before screening.

Still, it was a riveting series, and I couldn't wait to see how it would turn out. I worried about some of the characters, the villain was memorable, and I loved the ending; it was so clever that a little implausibility there didn't ruin it for me.

Well, we love David Tennant (late of his Phileas Fogg presentation on PBS & Dr. Who, in the past). So, when this 2013 entry popped up on PBS-Prime, we jumped at the chance. Tennant plays an emerging Brit Solicitor (defence attorney) who is undefeated. Hence, he is given a case involving a nasty young man who (allegedly) ritualistically murdered a young female.

Tennant is happily married, with an adolescent son of his own in this 3-part story. He has misgivings about the case, but finds a way to get a result. Sadly, soon, things begin to go wrong. No spoilers here, but in part 3, Tennant is forced to take drastic action to protect himself & son. The outcome was nothing like one might expect, and, really incongruent to the story we started with.

I often find Brit mystery shows will deliberately omit details or fabricate plot holes to make the story work. Most of these are forgivable, but, in this story, it almost seems the writers had an axe to grind with the courts allowing dodgy defence tactics to win acquittals. I enjoyed the first 2 episodes, but the closing was WAY out of left field. No problem with the performances, mind you-but I would like to have a long chat with the writer.

7/10.

Definitely an implausible storyline and utterly far fetched, but then many compelling dramas have peculiar twists, and often events would never happen in reality. So I wouldn't consider this to be a valid criticism. The principal cast are talented and accomplished, and the acting is the strongest element. The final episode seems to cram into the plot too many crucial aspects of the story that weren't suggested or introduced in any way during the preceding episodes. This gave the impression that the story was somewhat rushed towards the end. Setting out the storyline in greater depth earlier in the series would have allowed the whole thing to make more sense. However that would probably have required an additional episode, which presumably the producers wished to avoid.