The Field of Blood (TV series)

The Field of Blood is a Scottish crime drama television series, broadcast between 8 May 2011 and 9 August 2013, adapting the novels of Denise Mina. Jayd Johnson stars as the protagonist, Paddy Meehan.

Plot
The first series of The Field of Blood adapts the novel of the same name, which is set in 1982. This series comprised two episodes, broadcast on BBC One on 8 and 9 May 2011, respectively. The second series adapts the follow-up novel, The Dead Hour, which is set later in the same decade. The second series was commissioned by the BBC in 2012, again containing two episodes, which aired on 8 and 9 August 2013, respectively. Set in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1982, a young female reporter sees an opportunity for a riveting story for her slowly dying city newspaper when a young boy is kidnapped from a Glasgow park and later is found murdered. She sees connections to a year-old prior murder with similar characteristics that nobody else wants to see, and she is determined to connect them and convince the police.

Reception
Time Out gave the second series four out of five stars and said "It’s good to see this grubby Glaswegian crime drama get another run – it slipped under the radar somewhat when it first appeared in 2011." Sarah Hughes of The Independent said "While the television version of The Field of Blood lacks the sense of human fraility of the Denise Mina books on which it's based, occasionally seeming clunky in comparison, its great strength lies in the accurate portrayal of a distant, darker time." Sarah Rainey of The Daily Telegraph also gave it four out of five stars and said "The opening half was bleak but authentic, from the clack-clack of the Olympia typewriters to the obligatory Irn Bru advert. ... The camerawork was clever – just the right amount of jumpy hand-held shots and haunting close-ups – and the dialogue was witty."

Sarah Hughes, also writing for The Guardian, called the first series "impressive" and said it was "a cut above the usual summer schedule-filling fare." Lucy Mangan, another journalist for The Guardian said "this potent brew of corruption, conflict and car coats is nevertheless a waste of David Morrissey's talents" when talking about the second series.

Main cast

 * Jayd Johnson as Paddy Meehan
 * Matt Costello as Con Meehan
 * Bronagh Gallagher as Trisha Meehan
 * Ford Kiernan as George McVie
 * Kelsey Griffin as Mary Ann Meehan
 * David Morrissey as Murray Devlin
 * Brian Pettifer as Father Richards

Series 1

 * Derek Riddell as D.S. Mickey Patterson
 * William Ruane as D.C. Colin McGovern
 * Jonas Armstrong as Terry Hewitt
 * Peter Capaldi as Pete Walker
 * Stephen McCole as Danny Ogilvey
 * Gavin Mitchell as Henry Naismith
 * Andrew Sloey as Daily News Journalist

Series 2

 * Ron Donachie as D.C.I Thomas Sullivan
 * Michael Nardone as D.I. Michael Gallagher
 * Stuart Martin as D.C. Dan Burns
 * David Hayman as Red Willie McDade
 * Amy Manson as Karen Burnett
 * Katherine Kelly as Maloney
 * Andrew Sloey as Daily News Journalist

DVD
The first series was released on DVD on 5 September 2011. A box set of both series was released in the United States on 30 September 2014.