I just realized something as I was pondering what to write about the British T.V. series Cracker: flawed characters make for some wonderful televisions, and Fitz is about as flawed a character as they come. He's a know-it-all alcoholic psychologist with a severe gambling problem who has the gift of digging into peoples minds through psychological trickery in order to solve murders that the police have failed to solve on their own. Oh...and his family life is a train-wreck. Download it. Like Prime Suspect, Cracker is a television masterpiece.
From The Unofficial Guide to Cracker:
Cracker first hit british screens on ITV back in 1993, the brainchild of Granada Television and Jimmy McGovern. It ran officially as series until 1995, with a one off special screened in late 1996 (with a new one-off special now due in 2005) and went on to win numerous awards around the world, with Robbie Coltrane picking up the BAFTA award for Best Actor three years running. It centered around Dr Edward Fitzgerald, otherwise known as Fitz, a criminal psychologist bought into assist the Manchester Police Force profile and catch killers. Cracker, during it's UK run was a phenomenal success. So successful it has since spun an american remake. The premise of the show was both topical and ingenious: topical because in 1993 police forces in Britain were beginning to use more and more criminal psychologists to help with their investigations, and ingenious because with the combination of the officers of the Greater Manchester Police and 'consultant psychologist' Fitz, there was the potential to combine the more conventional crime thriller elements and the question of 'whodunnit' with the deeper and more disturbing question of 'why'.
The ingenious twist to this already winning formula was the controversial choice of lead actor. Glaswegian giant Robbie Coltrane known primarily for his comedy roles and stand up routines, was a choice many people saw as odd (Robert Lindsey was the first suggested name), but it didn't take long for his skills as straight actor to become dramatically apparent. For the next two years, Coltrane would walk away from the BAFTAs with the title of Best Actor. Between them, Jimmy McGovern (who wrote the entire first series, and two stories from the second series) and Coltrane captured the imagination of millions of viewers as the character of Dr Edward Fitzgerald - 'Fitz'. Despite the importance of Fitz's character, Cracker has never been a one man show. Much of the runaway success of its first series was down to the group of officers he worked for, notably DCI Bilborough, DS Beck and DS Penhaligon. The young DCI was played by Christopher Eccleston who has since found fame as a movie star (he played the murderous accountant in Shallow Grave and the title role in Jude). Bilborough's energetic, forceful and often deeply flawed style of policing made him an excellent foil for Fitz, and the arguments between them added an extra tension to the series. Fitz was often critical of him, but saved his most disparaging comments for Jimmy Beck (played by Lorcan Cranitch), a copper in the traditionalist, aggressive mould who would become more important in later series. For now, he and Bilborough represented the dangers of a certain kind of policing, in an unusually critical take on detective work.
Episode 1 Technical Information:
Show Title: Cracker
Season: 1
Year: 1993
Episode Title: 1. The Mad Woman in the Attic
Country: UK
Source: DVD Retail
Video Codec: 480p-x264
Container: .mkv
Size: 1.55 GB
Length: 1:39:08
Programs used: DVD Decrypter, JoinVovFiles, RipBot
Resolution: 720x576
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Video: AVC H264 @ 2048 kb/s
Frame Rate: 25 fps
Audio: English- Dolby AC3 Stereo @ 192 kb/s
Subtitles: None
Synopsis: A young woman is brutally murdered on a train, the victim of a serial killer. The prime suspect is an amnesiac man, who cannot confess to the crime if he cannot remember committing it... unless Fitz can crack him.
The Mad Woman in the Attic Megaupload Links
Episode 2 Technical Information:
Show Title: Cracker
Season: 1
Year: 1993
Episode Title: 2. To Say I Love You
Country: UK
Source: DVD Retail
Video Codec: 480p-x264
Container: .mkv
Size: 1.83 GB
Length: 2:32:10
Programs used: Unknown
Resolution: 720x576
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Video: AVC H264 @ 1725 kb/s
Frame Rate: 24.97 fps
Audio: English- Dolby AC3 Stereo @ 224 kb/s
Subtitles: None
Synopsis: While his own marriage is falling apart, Fitz goes up against a young couple who would literally kill for their love, leading to an equally literally explosive climax.
To Say I Love You Megaupload Links
Episode 3 Technical Information:
Show Title: Cracker
Season: 1
Year: 1993
Episode Title: 3. One Day a Lemming Will Fly
Country: UK
Source: DVD Retail
Video Codec: 480p-x264
Container: .mkv
Size: 1.52 GB
Length: 1:37:23
Programs used: DVD Decrypter, JoinVobFiles, RipBot
Resolution: 720x576
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Video: AVC H264 @ 2048 kb/s
Frame Rate: 25 fps
Audio: English- Dolby AC3 Stereo @ 192 kb/s
Subtitles: None
Synopsis: The disappearance of a 13-year-old boy inflames the local community as a teacher becomes the prime suspect. But has Fitz got the right man and is a result that fits more important than the truth?
One Day a Lemming Will Fly Megaupload Links
(Use JDownloader to automate downloading)
Complete Series 1 Megaupload Links
Series 2