DVD: Case Histories: Series 1 (15)

So another television crime drama emerges on DVD. For those who feel fatigued by the genre, it's worth brushing aside all qualms and diving into Case Histories.

It's fronted by the charismatic Jason Isaacs as a former policeman eking out a living in Edinburgh as a private detective. There are a few hoary old clichés thrown in – troubled past, ex-wife threatening to take his child away – and it's too flashback-heavy in terms of his own personal tragedy. But these are small quibbles for a series that has a commanding lead and an interesting structure. The six episodes are not book-ended by individual crimes; the stories extend, intertwine and develop.