Taggart (TV Series) Dead Ringer, Part 3 (1985) User Reviews

A strong conclusion.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 27 June 2023]

Taggart finally manages to track down the missing corpse, and solve a mystery that has hung over him, Jo makes an announcement about The Halfway house.

It's been a rich, absorbing mystery, I've watched it closely, and haven't gotten bored or lost attention once, it's kept me glued and intrigued. The plot developed well, and came to a very strong conclusion here, the killer's identity came as a real surprise. Two mysteries for the price of one.

Red herrings galore, Glenn Chandler wrote a great story, full of twists and turns, everything and everyone was so well developed.

Several very good scenes, the cash in the park was one, well staged and quite a heart sinking moment, and of course the dramatic conclusion, that worked so well.

Colette O'Neil has been wonderful, I loved her character, great actress, every performance mattered, every character was rich. John Carlin made George Cunningham such an interesting character, if you're a fan of mysteries check him out in 'A Game of Murder,' worth seeing him in that.

Dead Ringer is well worth the two hours.

8/10.

Dead Ringer Parts 1-3

[Prismark10 · 7/10 · 30 January 2020]

David Balfour was convicted of murdering his wife Margaret even though her body was not found. Taggart was responsible for the conviction that might had been based on coercing a confession out of David as well as some circumstantial evidence.

Now nine years later her remains are found under the floorboards in an old building rendering David's conviction unsafe. He is released from prison with substantial compensation and is staying in a halfway house.

Pretty soon, David's baby nephew is kidnapped and a ransom is demanded. His brother Mike comes to him for financial help but David turns him down.

This was the first episode of the Taggart series although the character was introduced in a stand alone serial, two years earlier.

This has a complicated plot which allows for plenty of suspects and red herrings. Josephine Peebles who runs the halfway house for released prisoners, married one of them and her husband is acting suspiciously. It just so happens that Margaret Balfour's remains were found in a previous halfway house she operated.

Taggart might come across as dour but he is sharp. Here he also feels guilty that he might have sent the wrong man to prison. This is also a tough Glasgow, in the course of this episode, two women are slapped by their husbands.