Unlike the scandal-tarred and cowardly West Midlands police leadership, Huw Miller was a conscientious, well-intentioned cop. Yet, he can’t even retire properly. Maddeningly, the serial killer who got away continues to humiliate him. Still, his up-close poking and prodding might open up an opportunity for redemption in creator-writer Tim Grieves’ four-episode The Game, which premieres tomorrow on BritBox.
Somewhat reluctantly, Miller retires in his mid-50’s and only DS Jenny Atkins is sad to see him go. Sad is a strong word. It is more like she feels sorry for him. Miller was once a rising star, but he made a dog’s dinner of the Ripton Stalker. Basically, the killer ran circles around Miller, tricking him into arresting an innocent man, while mocking him with a constant stream of insulting letters.
There is still a lot of golf to be played. Unfortunately, Frank Byrne, Miller’s neighbor and partner on the links, soon dies in a supposed overdose the he finds suspicious. The ex-cop soon realizes Patrick Harbottle, the new guy on the block, is indeed the Ripton Stalker, who has resumed tormenting Miller for his own amusement—probably even murdering Byrne, so he could move into his house. At least Miller is pretty sure he is.
As per his M.O., Harbottle fabricates embarrassing incidents to turn the neighborhood against him. Frustratingly, the awkward Miller is often Harbottle’s best ally in that regard. Frankly, it is often painful to watch poor Miller blunder about. Nevertheless, he is still smarter than all the other characters, except, Harbottle, of course.
Even though it excessively stacks the deck against Miller, there is still a lot of tense cat-and-mouse stuff in The Game. It just would have been even effective if Miller and Harbottle seemed more evenly matched. Instead, several sequences basically amount to watch Miller stepping on one rake after another.
Series director Toby Frow keeps the one-darned-things-after-another coming at a healthy clip. Green makes a memorable villain and the limited episode count (a mere four) is refreshingly manageable. It is grabby, but it comes with a fair amount of face-palming. Okay for rabid consumers of British crimes series, The Game starts streaming tomorrow (1/8) on BritBox.
