| Vexed | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy-drama Police procedural |
| Created by | Howard Overman |
| Written by | Howard Overman |
| Directed by | Matt Lipsey |
| Starring | Lucy Punch Toby Stephens Rory Kinnear |
| Composer(s) | Willie Dowling |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 3 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Jill Green Simon Wilson (BBC) |
| Producer(s) | Eve Gutierrez |
| Cinematography | Tim Palmer |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Greenlit Rights Productions |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC Two, BBC HD |
| Original run | 15 August 2010 – 29 August 2010 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Vexed is a comedy-drama, police procedural television series for BBC Two. Created and written by Howard Overman, the series stars Lucy Punch as D.I. Kate Bishop and Toby Stephens as D.I. Jack Armstrong, a detective duo with a fractious relationship. Jack is lazy and disorganised but charming whereas Kate is efficient and usually exasperated by Jack's way of doing things. The show also stars Rory Kinnear who plays Kate's husband Dan, with whom she is going through marriage counselling.
Contents |
Three episodes were produced for the first series by Greenlit Rights Productions for BBC Two.
During the UK transmission of the programme in July 2010, it was reported that Greenlit had entered administration.[1]
The theme tune for the series was composed by Willie Dowling, former keyboardist with rock group The Wildhearts.
The series received a mixed response from critics.
The Liverpool Echo's Paddy Shennan called it "deliciously black" and added that it could become a "cop classic". He also praised Stephens's performance, likening it to Leslie Nielsen's in The Naked Gun.[2] The Guardian's Sam Wollaston also liked it, saying "It's cheeky, irreverent, puerile, sometimes inappropriate It also made me laugh, almost out loud a few times, and that's no bad thing in a comedy" and again praised Stephens's acting, saying he was "fabulous", while Punch's performance was "excellent".[3]
Most others disagreed. The Metro called it "rubbish" and said Stephens's acting was "over the top"[4] The Daily Telegraph's Patrick Smith lamented its "Thuddingly lame humour" [5],Paul Connolly in the Daily Mail added that the programme didn't seem to know what it wanted to be but "What it most certainly wasn't, was funny".[6] Rachel Cooke of the New Statesman called it "atrocious" [7]'Truly abysmal' said Kevin Myers of the Irish Independent [8] Sean Myers blamed "a sub-standard script totally lacking in style and imagination". [9] and Damien Love of the Herald of Scotland said it was "Bad beyond belief... one of the worst things I have ever seen on television."[10], and likened Toby Stephen's performance to "Hugh Grant doing an impression of Ross Kemp, doing an impression of Hugh Grant doing an impression of Bodie from The Professionals", although he believed there was a chance that Lucy Punch was "wasted" in the show.
| Title | Directed by | Original airdate | Viewers |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Episode One" | Matt Lipsey | 15 August 2010 | 2.26 million[11] |
| When three single women are murdered and the only link is their credit card purchases, Kate is set up as a potential victim to flush out the killer. The use of credit card records proves both good and bad for Jack and Kate's love lives, career paths and their relationship with each other. | |||
| "Episode Two" | Matt Lipsey | 22 August 2010 | 2.09 million |
| Jack and Kate find themselves entering the world of therapy when a depressed banker, with many enemies, being treated at a private rehabilitation clinic is targeted by a hit-man and their investigations lead them to look for the killer amongst the other patients. | |||
| "Episode Three" | Matt Lipsey | 29 August 2010 | 1.90 million |
| The high profile kidnap of a girl band member, Gemma G, puts an uncomfortable spotlight on Jack and Kate when the ransom drop goes wrong and suspicion falls on the band's publicity seeking manager Richard Anderson. | |||