The second episode delivers a twist on expectations when a retired police detective shows up with evidence he has on the Invisibles. Instead of arresting them, he blackmails them into doing a job for him. Maurice’s daughter Grace (played by Emily Head, Anthony Head’s real life daughter) puts in her first appearance in the series. She has no idea what her father did.
The third episode deals with Maurice’s relationship turning rocky for a time while Syd goes head over heels for an old flame. By this time, the writing and the characters have gotten really smooth. There are more gags, more biting sarcasm and funny repartee, as well as enough character weight to feel the risks that are going on.
In the fourth episode, Maurice has to deal with the one safe he couldn’t crack. Everyone around him assures him that the safe is cursed, but Maurice just can’t back away from the challenge. I especially liked this one because it showed how competitive Maurice is and also played him off all the other characters.
The human factor kicks in again in the fifth episode when Hedley discovers his wife is pregnant and wants out of the gang. I liked the fact that she knows what her husband is doing, though, and that touch really makes this episode spin.
And the sixth episode puts Maurice and Syd smack dab in the middle of a police siege. The dialogue and situation here is great even though we’ve seen similar plots. The cleverness is really well done too.
All in all, these six episodes are real keepers for fans of BBC crime shows. With summer reruns glutting the channels, picking up this series on DVD would be a good investment.
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