I saw a copy of the first series of the ITV series The Bletchley Circle at the library a few weeks ago. I didn't pick it up then but recently someone mentioned how much they liked it and I put it on my queue. There are 3 episodes in the first series and they first aired September 6-20 2012. The main characters are 4 women who worked in Bletchley Park during the war as code breakers, decoding the German Army's messages. Anna Maxwell Martin is Susan Gray, Rachael Stirling is Millie, Sophie Rundle is Lucy and Julie Graham as Jean. That's Lucy, Susan, Jean and Millie below.
Cracking a Killer's Code is the title of the story and it's set in 1952. All of the women have lost touch with each other but they all live in London. There's a serial killer and he's killing and raping women. Susan has been following the case and she thinks she sees a pattern. She thinks there is another woman who has been killed. She goes to see the police and convinces them to look for a fifth victim but they don't find the body where she thought it would be. Susan realizes she needs more help and she gets her old pals from Bletchley Park to come and work on the case. They each have something they bring to the table, Susan sees patterns, Millie is an organizer, Lucy has a perfect memory and Jean has lots of contacts who can help.
The clues are collated and the more patterns emerge. Their detecting causes issues in some of their home lives. Susan's husband is a bit upset but Lucy's husband beats her badly when she comes home late with her underwear torn. She had been attacked on a train when the women try to catch the killer. Millie quits her job when the owner says he'll help her with some time off if she sleeps with him. The women can't reveal that they were at Bletchley Park because of the War Secrets act and revealing their detecting activity might do just that. Susan finally digs out enough info to figure out who the killer is and she walks into his trap. Don't worry, the other ladies of Bletchley Park will come riding to the rescue.
It was pretty entertaining. The sets, costumes and such are all top notch. There's a good script by Guy Bert who had previously written three great episodes of Kingdom. I haven't seen anything else he's written. The director is Andy De Emmony who's directed episodes of Red Dwarf, Spitting Image and Father Ted among a large list of other work that I haven't seen. He does a good job here. Glad I saw the program and I'll be sure to watch the other series. Oh, here it is on my table. Now I have something to watch tomorrow.
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