Murder in Mind (TV Series) Vigilante (2001) User Reviews

When criminals fall out.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 26 April 2020]

A trio of men take the law into their own hands, when they aim to give out justice to a man the newspapers claim is a sex offender.

This is a terrific psychological thriller, one which captures the same dark, twisted vibe of the first episode. An intricately written plot, one that pushes the theme of man's instinct to survive, regardless of the cost.

The twist comes when we learn the profession of one of the trio, although you can't help but question how on Earth these three could possibly be friends. The twist late on is well delivered, it's a very good scene.

All acted, Ian Kelsey is excellent as the calm and measured Liam Taylor, Alan Stocks and Tom Goodman Hill are excellent in support.

Dark, very good, 8/10.

Trust Me - I'm a Policeman!!!

[kidboots · 8/10 · 10 September 2011]

Three men are on a vigilante mission - they have read that a child molester has been rehoused in their area and they go around there to teach him a lesson. But things go horribly wrong - for a start, they accidentally kill him and then P.C. Taylor (yes, one of them is a policeman!!) finds out that there was a misprint in the paper and the man they killed was just an innocent family man.

This is a brilliant episode which delves into the psychology of each man's personality. David (Tom Goodman Hill), a criminal who does not want to go back to prison, is the one who gets the other two fired up enough to barge into the man's house - but, once there, doesn't want to be involved, determined that nobody will be able to say he took an active part. Poor old Jack (Alan Stocks) does though, he even strikes the blow that kills Henderson. He is a bundle of nerves and is instantly remorseful. He is dealing with his own grief - the death of his child (obviously the result of a car accident), at one point his wife says "It wasn't your fault, you weren't to blame" - seeing that Jack was thinking about his part in the murder at that time, it really threw him!! He is the loose cannon of the group and at one time Taylor finds him outside the police station. The thing that tips Jack over the edge is when the child who has disappeared and started the whole vigilante thing, is found safe and well - she had been lost.

So it is time for Taylor (Ian Kelsey), the most callous of the trio to act. He initially tries to deflect suspicion by inadvertently implicating David. Taylor drops a few intentional hints at D.C.I Duggan (Tim Healy) and they pay edgy David a visit. The ending is completely gripping as Taylor goes on his merry way tying up all loose ends until a chance conversation with Duggan proves his undoing. Ian Kelsey is suitably cold blooded as the rogue cop - he also played a nice policeman in the "Blue Murder" series. Tim Healy is also good, he starred in "Auf Wiedersehen, Pet".

Some lessons in life

[DoctorStrabismus · 8/10 · 25 March 2024]

A very good episode in which as the plot slowly unwinds, it leave a few very important lessons in life.

As the title tells us, it is all about a 'vigilante' attack, and as our social fabric becomes more and more stretched by those who would tear it apart, these might yet increase in frequency.

But as this episode reveals, the would-be vigilantes have based their entire action upon total misinformation, something they read in some local paper, in which some lazy reporter couldn't be bothered to get a name right.

And this is the norm. Those somehow feeling themselves justified in taking vigilante action are seldom the brightest or best educated, and the life lesson is that vigilantism is really not a good thing at all.

The second half of that same lesson is to leave it to the police. But suddenly we see that one of the vigilantes is getting ready for work, revealing a police uniform! New life lesson here - the police do somehow seem to recruit a fair few with the vigilante mindset, and that has always been a global problem, and a challenge to the social fabric. How much can we trust those who are entrusted to enforce our laws?

The third lesson is that criminals fall out, and their trust in one another is wafer-thin. If you are not a criminal this should not be a worry, but the potential for 'collateral damage' is huge.

Finally, a very nicely 'unresolved' ending to challenge the mind. We wonder how much DCI Duggan actually knows already, and how much he is about to find out.

A good watch. 8/10.