Cracker Concluded It would be naive and silly to suggest that Cracker dropped in quality when Christopher Eccleston left the series, though it must be noted that, even if by coincidence, there was a noticeable decline after he departed. Taking it purely on character terms, then it did have an effect. With Chris in the role as DCI there was an undercurrent of misplaced attraction between him and Penhaligon, and a clash between him and Fitz, possibly added to because of this. Bilborough and Penhaligon were the alpha male and female at the station, and simple biological rationale should dictate she would be with him and not the overweight, boorish Fitz. Fitz also clashed with the angry younger man, desperate to prove himself professionally and intellectually, and constantly undermined not just by Fitz but by his own elder underlings. By contrast, while Ricky Tomlinson (Brookside, The Royle Family) did a good job at filling in the DCI role, several of the elements were stripped away. For one thing, there was no psychological backdrop, with Tomlinson a peer of Fitz's in more than just age. While his appointment naturally scored resentment from Bilborough's loyal staff, it still felt forced and less natural. By the time of feature length special White Ghost DCI Wise was little more than comic relief, a world away from the gritty realism of earlier seasons. Most importantly of all was Jimmy McGovern's desire to move away from the series and onto other things (including Hearts and Minds, which he was writing for Chris). To a casual viewer it wasn't clear why the story following Bilborough's death and the final two stories of season three were below-par in their writing. Why would a casual viewer check or recall a writer's credit beyond the few seconds it was on screen? The replacement writers weren't bad, but they weren't Jimmy McGovern, not by a long way. Paul Abbott, the stronger of the two, always seemed to have problems with realistic motivation, rendering his two-parter Best Boys - while very well performed and shot - merely average because it was so illogical. While the incidental music became more orchestral and so less dated in modern terms, the overuse of sensationalist elements and unnaturalistic dramatic devices (such as characters experiencing flashbacks to previous episodes) made the series more cartoonesque. When we come to the final story of season three and Coltrane's acting isn't up to the job of displaying grief, it's possible to reason that the series hit its zenith and then descended very quickly. Coltrane's last role in Cracker was a cameo for the US remake, though we won't go into that... Exactly ten years after Cracker last aired came the surprise return of the series with a one-off special focussing on the implications of terrrorism. Although Chris obviously did not appear in the special, he filmed an interview for a documentary on the programme, a guide to which will be presented shortly. As for the special itself, then while probably better entertainment than 90% of television in 2006, it lacked that feeling of being vital television and McGovern's propogandaising seemed even more apparent than before. But while not capturing former highs, it was nevertheless a worthwhile addition to the Cracker canon. THE BIG CRUNCH Written by: Ted Whitehead Directed by: Julian Jarrold Certificate: 18 Compilation Length: 147'40m Originally Broadcast: 31/10/94, 07/11/94 and 14/11/94 DVD Availability: Try amazon (region 1)/sendit.com (region 2) Rating: * * * MEN SHOULD WEEP Written by: Jimmy McGovern Directed by: Jean Stewart Certificate: 18 Compilation Length: 148'33m Originally Broadcast: 31/10/94, 07/11/94 and 14/11/94 DVD Availability: Try amazon (region 1)/sendit.com (region 2) Rating: * * * * * BROTHERLY LOVE Written by: Jimmy McGovern Directed by: Roy Battersby Certificate: 18 Compilation Length: 148'05m Originally Broadcast: 22/10/95, 23/10/95 and 29/10/95 DVD Availability: amazon (region 1)/sendit.com (region 2) Rating: * * * * * BEST BOYS Written by: Paul Abbott Directed by: Charles McDougall Certificate: 15 Compilation Length: 99'10m Originally Broadcast: 06/11/95 and 13/11/95 DVD Availability: amazon (region 1)/sendit.com (region 2) Rating: * * * TRUE ROMANCE Written by: Paul Abbott Directed by: Tim Fywell Certificate: 15 Compilation Length: 100'22m Originally Broadcast: 20/11/95 and 27/11/95 DVD Availability: amazon (region 1)/sendit.com (region 2) Rating: * * * * WHITE GHOST Written by: Paul Abbott Directed by: Richard Standeven Certificate: 15 Length: 100'21m (feature-length special) Originally Broadcast: 28/10/96 DVD Availability: amazon (region 1)/sendit.com (region 2) Rating: * * * CRACKER Written by: Jimmy McGovern Directed by: Antonio Bird Certificate: Length: m (feature-length special) Originally Broadcast: 1/10/2006 DVD Availability: amazon (region 1)/sendit.com (region 2) Rating: * * *