Ripper Street

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Ripper Street
Alt=Series title against printers typefaces
GenreDrama
Created byRichard Warlow
StarringMatthew Macfadyen
Jerome Flynn
Adam Rothenberg
ComposerDominik Scherrer
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes8 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersGreg Brenman
Will Gould
Simon Vaughan
Andrew Lowe
Ed Guiney
ProducerStephen Smallwood
Production locationsDublin, Ireland
CinematographyJulian Court
PJ Dillon
Peter Robertson
Running time60 minutes
Production companiesTiger Aspect Productions
Lookout Point
Original release
NetworkBBC One
Release30 December 2012 (2012-12-30) –
present

Ripper Street is a BBC mini-series set in Whitechapel in London's East End in 1889, six months after the infamous Jack the Ripper murders. The series stars Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn and Adam Rothenberg. The first episode was broadcast on 30 December 2012 as part of BBC One's Christmas 2012 package. In the U.S. it began airing on BBC America’s on 19 January 2013.[1] It was confirmed on 29 January 2013 that Ripper Street will return for a second 8-part series in 2014.[2]

Plot

In April 1889 (six months since the last Jack the Ripper killing), H Division is responsible for policing one and a quarter square miles of East London, a district with a population of 67,000 poor and dispossessed. The men of H Division had hunted Jack the Ripper and failed to find him. When more women are murdered on the streets of Whitechapel, the police begin to wonder if the killer has returned.

Among the factories, rookeries, chop shops, brothels and pubs, Detective Inspector Edmund Reid (Matthew Macfadyen) and Detective Sergeant Bennett Drake (Jerome Flynn) team with US Army surgeon and former Pinkerton detective Captain Homer Jackson (Adam Rothenberg) to investigate the killings.[3]

They cross paths with Tenter Street brothel madam Long Susan (MyAnna Buring), who came to London with Jackson from America and lets him reside at the brothel. Their relationship becomes strained due to Jackson's attraction to one of her most profitable girls, Rose Erskine (Charlene McKenna), and because of his close involvement with H Division and Reid.

Sensationalist newspaperman Fred Best (David Dawson) knows a dark secret about Reid's daughter's death. Although still being troubled by her daughter's death, Emily Reid (Amanda Hale) determines to make a new life by helping the fallen women of Whitechapel despite her husband's reservations.

Each episode features stand-alone crimes that test Reid, Drake and Jackson, both in their working and private lives.

Production

A joint BBC and BBC America production written by Richard Warlow, Julie Rutterford, Declan Croghan and Toby Finlay and directed by Andy Wilson (4 episodes) Colm McCarthy (2 episodes) and Tom Shankland (2 episodes). The series includes scenes of the seedier side of life during the late Victorian era, including bare-knuckle boxing, early pornography and prostitution.[4]

Director Tom Shankland said of the series, "[Whitechapel]'s not an area that was short of vicious murders and any woman found murdered with a knife in the consequent months was held up as a Ripper murder... So we’ll touch on Ripper in that way but not dig anybody up or change the canonical five... All the period depictions I’d seen of that particular crime story had almost been a bit too well behaved in a slightly slower way and shots have to be a bit wider to show off the nice furniture, but if you can think of something awful [in Victorian London], it was happening.”[4]

The series was filmed entirely in Dublin, Ireland in locations which included the former Clancy Barracks beside Clancy Quay and Trinity College, Dublin.[5] Macfadyen discussed the sets in Dublin in an interview with The Daily Mail saying, "The barracks were like a big playground, big enough to recreate a huge area of Whitechapel, and we filmed in Dublin Castle and Kilmainham Jail, all as if it was the East End of London."[6] The same article claims that "a second series [has been] commissioned even before the first episode has been publicly screened".[6]

The Leman Street police station and "The Brown Bear" public house used in the series are still in Leman Street,[7] and the Jews Orphan Asylum still exists renamed and relocated first to Norwood, South London then to Stanmore.[8]

The BBC UK's promotional TV trailers for the show use Jay-Z and Kanye West's song titled No Church in the Wild.

Main cast

L-R: MyAnna Buring, Adam Rothenberg, Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn, and Charlene McKenna

Casting

The three leads of the show, Macfadyen, Flynn and Rothenberg, have discussed how they got the roles in recent interviews. Macfadyen claims his involvement was all down to his interest in the 'fresh' script: "I had a few months of nothing, then a load of scripts all came at once, and this was by far the best. It's such terrific writing; it just barrelled along. I saw the title and thought, 'This has been done before', but it was so fresh, and it had all the qualities, interest and depth of a period drama."[9] Rothenberg's involvement in the show was more straightforward, as he auditioned during pilot season. In an interview with both Flynn and Rothenberg, the latter states: "I auditioned for it, got it, and then showed up. That’s as simple as it was for me." to which Flynn chimes in, claiming: "it was very funny, though, ‘cause when he [Rothenberg] did show up, he was like, “I don’t know how the f*** I got here!”. Flynn's casting experience was similar: "It was pretty basic for me. The writer, Richard Warlow, had seen me in Game of Thrones, playing Bronn, and asked about casting me."[10]

Episode guide

Series 1 (2012-13)

Episode Title Directed by Written by Original airdate Viewers (millions)[11]
1"I Need Light"Tom ShanklandRichard Warlow30 December 2012 (2012-12-30)7.89
When the body of violinist Maude Thwaites is found it bears all the hallmarks of a Ripper killing. However, an autopsy by Jackson suggests it is a copy-cat killing, and in the face of opposition from journalist Fred Best (David Dawson) and Inspector Frederick Abberline (Clive Russell), Detective Inspector Reid and his team enter into a world of early photographic pornography and one of the first 'snuff films', with the discovery on moving film of Thwaites being strangled. The investigation becomes more urgent when it is discovered that Long Susan has received payment for the services of Rose, who had already appeared in risque photos, and another prostitute from their suspect.
2"In My Protection"Tom ShanklandRichard Warlow6 January 2013 (2013-01-06)6.94
Ernest Manby (David Coon), a 60-year-old toy maker is found beaten to death. George Lusk (Michael Smiley) and the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee claim that 14-year-old Thomas Gower (Giacomo Mancini) is responsible. Reid's conscience is challenged by a radical lawyer Eagles (Hugh O'Conor), a friend and confidant of Reid's wife, and orphanage governess Deborah Goren (Lucy Cohu) and it leads to Gower being put under the protection of Reid. Jackson’s drinking and gambling have led to the loss of the ring that ties him and Long Susan to their American past. The two events lead to the death of Eagles and a dangerous task for Long Susan to recover the ring from a gambling den run by Carmichael (Joe Gilgun) who uses his vicious child gang to attack Miss Goren’s orphanage to kill Gower sheltering there with Reid and Drake, the location having been given up by Jackson when he and Long Susan are captured by Carmichael.
3"The King Came Calling"Andy WilsonDeclan Croghan and Richard Warlow13 January 2013 (2013-01-13)6.54
Fear of the return of "King" cholera joins Whitechapel's H Division and the independent City of London police forces amid the panic. Captain Jackson's autopsy discounts cholera and indicates St Anthony's Fire caused by wilful contamination of food in both boroughs. Inspector Sydney Ressler (Patrick Baladi) joins Reid’s team as they scour Whitechapel for clues and connections of five dead City of London workers that include transvestism and homosexuality. Reid's wife seeks patronage for her charity efforts and is rebuffed and succumbs to the same illness seeing her dead daughter in her delirium. As Jackson’s lab fills with bodies, and with no clear connection between the victims to be found, the team work against the clock to find some underlying pattern amidst the rising tide of sickness and death.
4"The Good of This City"Andy WilsonJulie Rutterford and Richard Warlow20 January 2013 (2013-01-20)6.95
The clearing of a Whitechapel slum for the underground railway by progressive councillor Stanley J. Bone (Paul McGann) of the new LCC reveals a murder scene of two bodies, two young children in an adjoining room and an unreliable girl witness. Lucy Eames (Emma Rigby), a beautiful, disturbed, three months pregnant former 16 year old prostitute at Long Susan's brothel, is the centre of a complex web of conspiracy which involves benevolent Dr. Karl Crabb (Anton Lesser), a leading psychiatrist specialising in lobotomies. Reid discovers one killer is someone he knows and the mystery children are taken from the safety of Miss Goren's (Lucy Cohu) orphanage as Reid closes in on a solution that leads to corruption and abuse by seemingly respectable individuals.
5"The Weight of One Man's Heart"Colm McCarthyToby Finlay27 January 2013 (2013-01-27)5.22 (Overnight)[12]
A military style robbery is a puzzle to Detective Inspector Reid when the stolen gems are returned save for one blue sapphire. Drake's heart has fallen for Rose, and he hopes for a life with her, despite warnings from Reid and Jackson. She, however, has dreams of being an actress. Drake is confronted with his past when his former commanding officer during the Egypt campaign of 1882, Colonel Madoc Faulkner (Iain Glen) returns to London to seek compensation for the 'unjust' treatment of the British army's soldiers by planning an audacious robbery of the Royal Mint, requiring Drake's help to gain entry. Reid closes in on the robbers and Drake finds his loyalties put to the test.
6"Tournament of Shadows"Colm McCarthyToby Finlay3 February 2013 (2013-02-03)[13]TBA
With the London Dock Strike of 1889 taking grip of the city, the killing of a Jewish anarchist sees Reid and the team moving into the merciless chicanery of the British government’s fight against international terrorism.
7"A Man of My Company"Andy WilsonRichard Warlow17 February 2013 (2013-02-17)[14]TBA
An international shipping magnate arrives in London with his Pinkerton retinue to complete the acquisition of an ailing London shipping line. Meanwhile, the murdered body of an engine inventor draws Reid's attention just as Jackson and Long Susan's past comes back to haunt them.
8"What Use Our Work?"Andy WilsonRichard Warlow24 February 2013 (2013-02-24)[15]TBA
Reid is adrift. His team is in pieces and Leman Street is shaken to its foundations following recent events. A kidnapping offers him cause to assemble his men and tackle the white slavery ring operating in their midst. But Reid is gripped by a growing obsession that leads back to a terrible secret from his own past.

Series 2 (2014)

It was confirmed by BBC commisoner Ben Stephenson, on 29 January 2013, that Ripper Street will return for a second 8-part series.[16]

Speaking about the show's renewal, creator and writer Richard Warlow told the BBC: "I am enormously grateful to have been given the opportunity to return to 'H' Division once more and will be working tirelessly to ensure that those who have joined us each week will find ever more compelling crime-fighting thrills down on Ripper Street the second time around. The series will move forward into the 1890s: the death rattle of a century coming to a close, the labour pains of a modern world on the rise. It is this sense of climax and calamity that, week by week, our heroes will confront with conviction and heroism."[17]

Series two of Ripper Street is planned to start shooting spring 2013, for its broadcast in early 2014.

Reception

Critical reception of the first two episodes was divided, with many praising the show's gritty script and good acting performances whilst other critics felt the show was an unoriginal mix of ITV's Whitechapel and Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes.[18] Many agreed following episodes improved each time, due to its development of the three main characters and their back stories, setting up the rest of the series for a big climax. In his weekly review of the show, Jamie-Lee Nardone wrote of its continued improvements, "more of this please, just perhaps not before dinner", referencing the show's gory nature.[19]

Sam Wollaston of The Guardian discussed the pros and cons of the show, claiming "It would be easy to be negative about Ripper Street. Do we really need more on a story that's been not just done to death, but then carved up, and had its insides torn out?" but he concludes his review stating "[ the] script is real, alive and human. It's beautifully performed, and beautiful to look at – stylish, and stylised. The bare-knuckle fight scenes are brutal and memorable. It's proper, character-based crime drama, gripping, and yes – I'm afraid – ripping as well".[20]

Benji Wilson of The Daily Telegraph reviewed the first episode positively, praising the performances of the three leads, which he said compensated for the "dull grind of all the exposition" and "tedious" historical references.[21]

J.C. Maçek III of PopMatters reviewed the debut episode, remarking "writer/creator Richard Warlow and episode director Tom Shankland’s attention to the period details: streets are sooty, gaslight creates flickering shadows, and stone floors make footsteps seem chilling. These details help make Ripper Street a compelling procedural, its long form narrative and deliberate pace different from the CSI and Law & Order clones. But the show also bears traces of contemporary influences: an underground boxing club sequence in the first episode resembles similar scenes in Sherlock Holmes (2009) so much that a coincidence is hard to imagine. Equally derivative, some overt efforts to shock viewers deliver graphic violence and some nudity, courtesy of the evolving technology of photography, as it’s inspiring an evolving “smut” industry."[18]

Ahead of it's debut in the US, IGN's Roth Cornet reviewed the first episode, discussing how "the setting is handled with absolute care and a razor-sharp attention to detail, from costume and production design to the varied vocal cadences of the players, the texture and flavor of London's East End are brought to vivid life." The review continues to discuss the show's depiction of London's streets in the Victorian era: "Ripper Street provides a gritty look at the evolving streets of London and the advent of technology at the time; be it the "moving-picture-machine" that is featured in "I Need Light" or the introduction of early forensics that follows through the series. More interesting still is that it is the dirt and bones look at the uses of said technology that is in play here. This is no wink-wink "look at how charming early cameras were" depiction, but rather a portrayal of the underbelly of what those cameras would have been used for. Additionally, there is engaging interplay between those who would usher in necessary change and those who are, as Jackson says, "the barriers to progress."" [22]

Hollywood Reporter gave it significant praise “Ripper Street is a well-acted, well-written and compelling mystery series. And even better, there’s no waiting around, wishing it would improve. It’s alluring from the start.”[23] Los Angeles Times called it “Well-written and acted.” [24]

Female critics have not been so positive about the show, disappointed by its 2-dimensional portrayal of women as either repressed wives and mothers or prostitutes. Jan Moir of MailOnline wrote that "the torture and murder of women" is "enthusiastically depicted", claiming "there is terrible violence meted out to men and children, too, but the focus of the viciousness is always on the knicker-dropping molls and the ‘tarts’".[25] Grace Dent of The Independent was more satirical about the show, but was still unamused by the portrayal of women, stating "centuries may shift and fashions may change, yet raping and murdering women has really never been as popular."[26]

Slang used in various episodes

  • Cracksman - A burgler, a safecracker.
  • Lurk - Place of concealment
  • Molly house – homosexual, specifically transvestite, brothel
  • Nipper - Young child
  • Rookery - Slum or ghetto
  • Scratch - Line drawn in the ground where boxers stand at the beginning of a round[27]
  • Snide - Counterfeit money
  • Thomas - Prostitute's client
  • Toff - well-dressed or upper-class person, generally male
  • Toffer - High class prostitute

Historical references

Ripper Street is set firmly in the Victorian period. Although the show provides generally accurate portrayals of historical events, the chronology of these events may occasionally be shifted for dramatic effect by some decades. For example, there is almost a century between Dr John Snow's epidemiology of cholera in water pumps and the development of transorbital leucotomy. Also, the term 'molly house' would be distinctly archaic by this time.

In her blog, hosted by the Guardian Online, Vanessa Heggie explored the science of Ripper Street and it's historical accuracy. Heggie looked at poisoning by antimony-contaminated flour; Abortion by pennyroyal; Robbery by chloroform (or ether); Lobotomy by icepick; Intoxication by amphetamine and explosions using picric acid. The type of lobotomy was unusual in Victorian England (but not impossible) and only the intoxication by amphetamine was found by Heggie to be totally incorrect, with the others being historically accurate.[28]

Historical events/themes in the series include:

DVD

A region 2 (Europe), 3-disc set and 3-disc blue-ray set will be issued on 18 February 2013. The same DVDs in region 1 (U.S. and Canada) will be released on 12 March 2013.

References

  1. ^ "Ripper Street". BBC America.
  2. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/jan/29/ripper-street-second-series
  3. ^ BBC media centre http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/ripperstreet/ Retrieved 10 January 2013
  4. ^ a b "Ripper Street: gruesome new crime drama set in the east end of London". The Daily Telegraph. 25 September 2012.
  5. ^ "'Ripper Street' gets Dublin preview". The Irish Times. October 10, 2012.
  6. ^ a b The MailOnline 28 December 2012 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2254341/Matthew-Macfadyen-shares-gory-details-new-TV-series-Ripper-Street.html
  7. ^ Goodsman's Field http://www.stgite.org.uk/goodmansfields.html Retrieved 13 January 2013
  8. ^ Norwood Jewish Orphanage http://www.jewishmuseum.org.uk/jb-Jews-Hospital-and+Orphan-Asylum-banner Retrieved 13 January 2013
  9. ^ http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/news/macfadyen-couldnt-resist-ripper-st-16263503.html
  10. ^ http://collider.com/ripper-street-jerome-flynn-adam-rothenberg-interview/#more-225620
  11. ^ http://www.barb.co.uk/viewing/weekly-top-30 - Official ratings taken from BARB (See Relevant Week)
  12. ^ http://www.digitalspy.ie/tv/s213/ripper-street/news/a454225/itvs-mr-selfridge-bbcs-ripper-street-neck-and-neck-in-ratings.html?utm_source=twt&utm_medium=snets&utm_campaign=twitter
  13. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2013/05/ripperstreet-ep5.html
  14. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2013/05/ripperstreet-ep5.html
  15. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2013/05/ripperstreet-ep5.html
  16. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/jan/29/ripper-street-second-series
  17. ^ http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/ripper-street/24281/bbc-orders-ripper-street-series-2
  18. ^ a b Macek III, J.C. (2013-1-19). "'Ripper Street': The Famous Killer Inspires Anew". PopMatters. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ Den of Geek Website http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/ripper-street/24067/ripper-street-episode-3-review-the-king-came-calling
  20. ^ The Guardian Online 30 December 2012 http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2012/dec/30/ripper-street-tv-review
  21. ^ Daily Telegraph 31 December 2012 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/9769580/Ripper-Street-BBC-One-review.html
  22. ^ IGN 19 January http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/01/20/ripper-street-i-need-light-review?abthid=50fb4162ba1f8a9968000029
  23. ^ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/bbc-americas-ripper-street-tv-412614
  24. ^ http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-ripper-street-review-bbc-20130119,0,2536062.story
  25. ^ MailOnline 7 January 2013 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2258723/Ripper-Street-Who-decided-make-BBCs-Sunday-night-period-drama-anti-women-orgy-gore.html
  26. ^ The Independent 5 January 2013 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/grace-dent-on-tv-ripper-street-bbc1-8437063.html
  27. ^ Yahoo answers http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090716092725AAyucGk
  28. ^ The Guardian Online 3 February 2013 http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/the-h-word/2013/feb/03/victorian-science-of-ripper-street?CMP=twt_gu
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