Dark Tormented Cops

There is a great examination of the genre of hard edged British crime drama in a recent LA Times, British TV cops are a tormented lot.

Reporting from London — Channel-surf almost any night of the week in Britain and chances are you'll come across a gruesome crime drama featuring a dark and tortured soul whose brutal, morally repellent deeds make you recoil in horror.

And that's just the detective.

To this I would also add Judge Dredd, a combination cop, judge, jury and executioner tracking down perps for such crimes as littering, jay walking, theft and murder. Dystopic policing for a distopic world.