The Ridge
BBC Scotland (Tuesday), iPlayer, BBC2 (Thursday)
****
First she played a detective going after wrong ‘uns in Scotland, now she is at the centre of a psychological thriller set in New Zealand - Lauren Lyle is rapidly making a name for herself in the standing room only arena of tartan noir.
Geographically and in almost every other way, The Ridge is far removed from STV's Karen Pirie. For a start, the heroine, Mia (Lyle), is not a copper but an anaesthetist, one who sleeps the sleep of the dead if the number of alarms is any guide.
Director Douglas Mackinnon (Line of Duty) starts as he means to on by getting Mia up and out the door at breakneck pace. She has places to be (the hospital where she works), people to see (her surgeon pal), and an opioid habit to feed, which she does by stealing from the drugs lock-up. What, you thought she was going to be an ordinary, straightforward kind of gal who would solve a mystery and be home in time for tea? Behave.
Mackinnon puts his foot down harder once Mia gets to the hospital. A big-name gangster is rushed into surgery, and it’s all hands on deck. It would be a tricky case at any time, but the patient is overweight and in generally poor health.
The op makes up her mind about going to her sister Cassy’s wedding in New Zealand. But shortly after Mia arrives in the mountain town, her sister is found dead.
It looks like a dreadful accident, a fall from the ridge of the title, but Mia is not convinced. Cassy knew the territory well, and as flashbacks to their childhood years suggest, the sisters were two of life’s survivors. Cassy would not have gone down without a fight, and now Mia sees it as her responsibility to find out the truth, with or without the help of Cassy’s fiancé, Ewan (Jay Ryan), and the locals, all of whom seem to be connected.
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Lyle is not out to win Mia any popularity contests. Even allowing for the shock and jet lag, the character is blunt to the point of rudeness with the townsfolk. Is she too unlikeable? I expect more will be revealed in the next five parts as the past and present catch up with the character. Meanwhile, Lyle and Ryan spark up a storm, which only adds to the tension of the piece.
The Ridge rattles along at a good lick, keeping its secrets close for now. The New Zealand setting is spectacular, with MacKinnon’s direction lending it a strange, unsettling air. It feels as if anything could happen there. Lyle does a sterling job of steering her character away from cliches about addicts, and the general tone of the first episode is nicely understated, given events.
The Ridge is a co-production between Scotland and New Zealand and is the kind of layered, out-of-the-ordinary drama that BBC Scotland believes is the future. Fingers crossed they are right.
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