the audience applauded

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

I found this a wonderful rendition of the trials and pains involved in creating the DNA fingerprinting process. It did have a good amount of science included but this was a theme that undergirded the entire series. The dogged work by the police the anxiety of the scientists and the grief and hope of the victims families were woven into a great story. This is the type of show we need more of.

If you are a fan of the true-life crime investigation series out in the wild (Forensic Files, Murder Comes to Town, etc.) that involve matching suspects to DNA evidence, then this is a must-see for you. The inventor of DNA testing, Alec Jeffreys, is a main character in this 'sort of' 3-part docu-drama about catching a rapist-killer in a small town in England in the mid-80's. Jeffreys' research at a university lab near the infamous attacks on 2 teen girls is profiled, as his work is key in exonerating a falsely-accused boy, and nailing the real killer.Interestingly, if this were a fictional story, many viewers would be saying, 'O come on... this sort of thing could never happen that way...!', thus proving that truth is stranger than fiction (or 'life imitates art', as you please).Three actors always worth watching (together or apart): John Simm (who plays Jeffreys), Robert Glenister (the DCC - Glenister looks like a real DCC, or a cop you would want on your side if you were wrongly accused of murder - he gets my vote) and David Threlfall as the determined DCS doggedly chasing the real perpetrator. I think Simm & Glennister effectively teamed up also in the Brit version of 'Life on Mars'. Threlfall looks completely different from his IMDb profile pic, thus showing that great Brit actors transform themselves enough to suit even a grim role, unlike popular American actors who show the same glam profile in every shot of every movie - (you know the ones I mean: pretty boys!).A great BRIT 3-parter I caught on ACORN-TV, well worth the price of admission for this alone. 9/10

i remember these events real time and watched the show with admiration and interest several times since being aired. so on the 1st episode and just after Gavin Hopkirk is refusing to confess to the second murder. The scene is now in the office DI Alan Madden leaves with DCS David Baker is looking at the new paper with the headline "local scientist proves paternity" . clearly this is where we are meant to believe the source of inspiration for DNA testing is coming from:but then the camera drops down passed the picture of Alec Jeffreys and then my eye was caught by the name Lynda Mann next to the chin of Alec: it possible to read that " the technique has been used by leicestershire police eliminate people from their enquires...etc....". Me thinks they used this prop prematurely.

I was not originally planning to watch this programme, I may not have even read about it, I just happened upon it following a previous programme, hearing the cast in it and what it was about was what attracted to me to watch, and I'm glad I did. Basically, set between 1983 and 1987, two schoolgirls, Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth, have been brutally raped and murdered in Leicestershire, DCS David Baker (David Threlfall) is leading the investigation. A few miles away Leicester University scientist Dr. Alec Jeffreys (John Simm), through years of grafting, uncovers a remarkable method to read each individual's unique DNA finger print, seen on paper like a supermarket shopping barcode. A teenager admits to one of the two murders, but to be sure he is truly guilty Baker drafts in Jeffreys to utilise his newly discovered scientific technique and compare his DNA with the sample found in both the murdered women, he is proved innocent through this process and his confession is false. Baker then made the extraordinary decision to create the world's first DNA manhunt, every man between the particular age the killer is designated, every man within five miles of the crime scenes will be sent a letter bringing them in to have a blood sample taken to prove their innocence, any man who ignores the letter will have a second letter sent, and anyone who does not turn in will be suspected and questioned. After months of unsuccessful tests on over five thousand local men, it is only when a man confesses to providing his own blood in the place of a man named Colin Pitchfork (Nathan Wright) that they finally identify the guilty man, comparing the found sample they confirm that his unique DNA barcode is identical to that found in the women's bodies. Colin Pitchfork was convicted of the two murders, Baker continued crime investigation for many years, and Jeffreys was knighted for services to genetics and to science and technology, he continued working until his retirement in 2012, his scientific breakthrough is the most important crime investigation discovery since the fingerprint, and is still used today. Also starring Anna Madeley as Sue Jeffreys, Lorcan Cranitch as DI Alan Madden, Jaz Deol as DC Taran Kholi, Andrew Tiernan as DS Geoff Taylor, Robert Glenister as DCC Chapman, Lydia Rose Bewley as Vicky Wilson, Farzana Dua Elahe as Tania Patel, Paul Copley as Sidney Jeffreys, Ged Simmons as Eddie Eastwood, Shirley Dixon as Joan Jeffreys, Hannah Walters as Kath Eastwood, Dorothy Atkinson as Barbara Ashworth, Jessica Woods as Carole Pitchfork, Neil Edmond as Robin Ashworth and Darren Bancroft as Mr. Hopkirk. Threlfall gives a good performance as the head of the investigation, and Simm is great as the scientist who makes the important discovery, it works really well because it is based on the true events of Alec Jeffreys' discovery and catching the double murderer Colin Pitchfork, and it is a great story, I would definitely recommend it as a terrific drama. Very good!