Cracker

First screened in 1993, Jimmy McGovern's Cracker was at once a variation on a familiar theme and a daring new departure from the run-of-the-mill cop show. Robbie Coltrane's Fitz is an independent criminal psychologist called in by the police to help them crack intractable cases, usually involving grisly serial murders. But like its Granada TV stablemate Prime Suspect, Cracker also delves deep into the main characters' personal lives, revealing a chaos of emotional entanglements that become increasingly inseparable from their professional duties.
Robbie Coltrane's charismatic presence dominates: the contrast between Fitz's professionalism and his complete inability to diagnose his own psychological failings provides much of the show's dramatic impetus. His frequent interrogations of murder suspects are tour de force demonstrations of coolly analytical method shot through with biting humour. But his drunken, intemperate behaviour towards his wife and everyone else is a telling contrast of extremes, and one that creates dangerous resentment among his colleagues. Coltrane is supported by a strong cast that includes Barbara Flynn, Geraldine Somerville, Lorcan Cranitch (as the terrifyingly unstable DS Jimmy Beck), Christopher Eccleston, and a pre-Royle Family Ricky Tomlinson. McGovern's screenplays balance gritty, Manchester-based realism with splendidly mordant wit, making Cracker simply riveting viewing. Contains :- The mad woman in the attic / To say I love you / One day a lemming will fly / To be a somebody / The big crunch / Men should weep

Part 2 featuring : - Brotherly love / Best boys / True romance / White ghost / Cracker all new 2006 Episode

Cracker is back. The multi-award winning crime drama returns in a hard-hitting, new murder story starring Robbie Coltrane as criminal psychologist ‘Fitz’. This brand new feature-length episode, written by acclaimed writer and Cracker creator Jimmy McGovern sees Fitz and his wife back in the UK after 10 years living in Australia. What was meant to be a fleeting visit for their daughter’s wedding sees Fitz rediscovering old passions and desperate to prove he’s still got what it takes to get inside the mind of a killer. The lure of a new murder investigation proves irresistible, despite the changes to the people and places he knew before, and he leaps at the chance to help police crack the apparently random killing of a well-connected American comedian. He’s soon on the trail of a troubled ex-soldier, who - like Fitz - is trapped in the past. Tormented by his experiences in Northern Ireland, and haunted by the ghosts of his Comrades, Fitz is alone in understanding - but we he be able to stop him killing again?