THE FIXER 1.1

Writers: Ben Richards & Neil Cross
Director: Alrick Riley

Cast: Andrew Buchan (John Mercer), Peter Mullan (Lenny Douglas), Tamzin Outhwaite (Rose Chamberlain), Jody Latham (Calum McKenzie), Craig Storrod (Steve), Tony West (Minder), Oliver Bower (Robert), Tyler Anthony (Abigail), Liz White (Jess), Elisa Terren (Manuela), Tom Beard (Ian Risdale), Kim Medcalf (Caroline Risdale) & Amelda Brown (Mercer's Aunt)

A man is released from prison to lead a team of hitman who operate above the law to clean the streets...

ITV haven't had a drama series worth bothering with (if you're under 50, anyway) since the heyday of Jimmy McGovern's Cracker in the 90s. The Fixer hopes to change all that. It's a gritty crime thriller from the writers of Spooks and produced by Kudos -- the company behind BBC hits Hustle, Spooks and Life On Mars...

Andrew Buchan (Party Animals) plays dour John Mercer, an ex-Special Forces soldier who was thrown in jail for killing his aunt and uncle, after he discovered they had abused his sister Jess (Life On Mars' Liz White) when he was separated from her as a kid.

Mercer is granted early release by shadowy Scotsman Lenny Douglas (Peter Mullan), along with cheeky wide-boy Calum McKenzie (Shameless' Jody Latham), to help Lenny "disorganize crime" by eliminating criminals the law can't touch. It's state-sanctioned vigilantism, essentially.

Rose Chamberlain (EastEnders' Tamzin Outhwaite) is thrown into the mix as a "femme fatale", using her charms to get Mercer into bed when he threatens to go back to jail, before revealing she's an ex-cop also recruited by Douglas. And the trio are soon involved in their first "hit" together...

It's an arresting premise for a TV series; a kind of British Untouchables (itself name-checked), and surfing a trend for vigilante tales – with Death Sentence, Outlaws, The Brave One and Dexter all tapping into the idea of people taking the law into their own hands. The Fixer's unique selling point is in its state-sanctioned team element, although this triumvirate failed to impress me...

Buchan is appropriately hard-faced, but not exactly menacing. He definitely improves as the hour rolls along and kept my interest, but Mercer wasn't the magnetic, dangerous-looking character I think he should have been. Mercer is also written as an intelligent man (he's shown reading a book on the "Human Genome" during a stakeout), but it just came across as awkward insertions.

Outhwaite is engaging as the love-interest, but that might just be because she's the only injection of oestrogen in a show choking on testosterone. Latham gives a memorable, enthusiastic performance as mischievous Calum – but he's irritating as comic relief much of the time. The only truly note-perfect performance belongs to the excellent Peter Mullan as unsettling boss Lenny.

Taken individually, there's potential in every character, but they're implausible as a skilled team of assassins. Mercer's inclusion makes perfect sense (he's professionally trained, a good guy at heart, capable of killing), but why partner him with Calum – a jack-the-lad cellmate he hates? And how did petty thief Calum even make the grade for Lenny's team anyway? What does he actually offer, beyond the ability to make bacon sarnies? Rose at least has police training that should prove useful, but her relationship with Mercer was made unfortunately prickly after bedding him.

It's hardly a dream team, is it? But, drama is born out of conflict, so writers Ben Richards and Neil Cross ensure nobody likes each other much. I'm sure they'll eventually reach an understanding, but TV audiences rarely enjoy watching hate-filled "teams", so hopefully they'll bond before viewers turn on them. Mercer already softened slightly toward irritating Calum by the end, when the smart-mouthed kid was silenced by vomiting after assisting in the death of a bad guy.

This first episode did a great job of establishing the premise, tone, character relationships and Mercer's tragic background, although the actual storyline (involving two hits; in a toilet and on a beach) weren't particularly compelling. However, first episodes have a lot to contend with, so I'm not too concerned. I'm sure subsequent storylines will feature villains whose crimes we actually get to witness, and become quite eager to see them dispatched by Mercer's crew.

The Fixer is certainly a more enticing proposition than any ITV drama in recent memory, if only because of its morally-questionable premise and potential for slick, exciting and violent action. If the cast develop an engaging rapport, and the writers avoid falling into "assassination-of-the-week" territory, ITV may have found a drama that's actually worth a damn. An impressive 6.2 million people tuned in last night, but let's see how many come back for another fix...


10 March 2008
ITV1, 9.00 pm