Where is cracker set

Cracker might be a procedural on the surface but it avoids many of the cliches that litter the genre. Instead of a whodunnit mystery, the story follows the killer or killers and the police effort to hunt them down.

The victims are never just props to set the story in motion either, with the murders themselves depicted in disturbing detail. The effect these deaths have on families and friends is also explored, especially when one key supporting character played by Christopher Eccleston Doctor Who is stabbed to death during the second season. Cracker was created by Jimmy McGovern and set in his hometown of Manchester. He often used the crimes on the show to explore various social issues, including a storyline involving a killer named Albie Robert Carlyle, Trainspotting , a survivor of the real-life Hillsborough stadium disaster.

The killers themselves are never one-note psychopaths either and are usually suffering from some kind of trauma themselves. At the center of Cracker is fantastic writing, with great dialogue and fascinating, three-dimensional characters. This is best seen in Fitz himself, who verges from incredibly likable to repugnant - sometimes in the space of one scene. More humane and accomplished than Fitz, and smart enough to see through his elegant excuses, she knew deep down that his weaknesses were the price she had to pay for such a big-hearted, big-brained husband.

She was stronger than he could ever be, and he knew it — which is why he always returned to her. Then there was Penhaligon Geraldine Somerville — a young, bright detective persistently undervalued by her sexist colleagues, who saw in Fitz a chance to prove her own abilities.

She also had sex with him, much to her embarrassment and Judith's fury. But he was so much more. We even started to like the stupid sod — his obvious loneliness and devotion to Bilborough's bereaved family whoops, spoiler! But then came the utterly gruelling race-and-rape-themed 'Men Should Weep'. Beck had long held a grudge against the smart, ambitious Penhaligon. While investigating a series of rapes, he intended he later confessed to give her a fright and put her in her place by pouncing on her with a mask on, but, carried away by the sensation of power and his own bitter resentment, he ended up raping her.

All of which paints Cracker in some pretty sombre tones, and it's fair to say that few shows have ever dared to go as dark while retaining a sense of realism. Liam Cunningham and John Simm were an inter-generational, gay Bonnie and Clyde, expressing their unhappy love through murder; Brid Brennan played a Catholic housewife who sexually assaulted and murdered prostitutes; and as for Robert Carlyle, he virtually wrote himself a place in TV history with his performance as the tormented Hillsborough survivor Albie Kinsella.

Carlyle was, at the time, a relative unknown Trainspotting was two years away , but he made an instant and indelible impact as the tormented Scouser who shockingly stabbed Bilborough to death at the beginning of the second series. Lorcan Cranitch Beck as Beck ….

Ricky Tomlinson Wise as Wise. Tess Thomson Katie as Katie …. Christopher Eccleston D. Bilborough as D. Bilborough …. Wil Johnson Skelton as Skelton. Colin Tierney Harriman as Harriman. Robert Cavanah Temple as Temple. Clive Russell Danny as Danny. Paul Copley Pathologist as Pathologist.

Ian Mercer D. Giggs as D. Giggs …. Susan Lynch Tina as Tina. Jimmy McGovern written and created by. More like this. Watch options. Storyline Edit. This mystery series from the U. Add content advisory. Did you know Edit. Trivia Fitz is never seen driving and is always driven by others. The reason is never explained in the series. But in the book "Cracker: The Truth Behind the Fiction", it says that "He's never trusted himself behind the wheel of a car - its just too tempting to put your foot down and close your eyes and gamble that you won't hit anything before you've counted to twenty".

Quotes Teacher : Please don't smoke sir, this is a school.