Taking its inspiration from the British cop shows of the seventies, Harker is a modern-day The Sweeney.
Harker himself is a no-nonsense, old-school Detective Inspector with the Metropolitan Police. He drives a classic car, favours a liquid lunch and can’t stand the sight of bloodied corpses. He works with his Detective Sergent, Critchley, who drives an Audi TT and can’t pass the opportunity to chat up a lady. He’s young and dynamic, but still has a lot to learn from the ‘Guv’. Forensic backup is provided by a pathologist called Griffin, who seems to save the grimmest jobs for when weak-stomached Harker is hanging around the lab.
This case sees the police investigating a series of murders around a sect of devil worshippers. Most of them are in it for the kinky sex, but when the rituals tip over the edge and the body count starts piling up, the police need to find out what’s going on.
While an entertaining homage, it doesn’t add anything more to the genre than an updated setting. The characters conform to their stereotypes and you can’t help but feel like you’ve seen it all before.
If you’re a fan of cop drama then this may fill a gap in your life, but you can’t help but wonder if you might not be better off watching re-runs of The Sweeney instead.
