Storyline: Almost 10 years after working undercover during World War II, Susan, Millie, Lucy and Jean work to catch a serial killer using their astute decryption skills. These 'ordinary' women secretly track patterns of a complex killer targeting young women in London. They do this on their own, with no help from Scotland Yard.
What's so interesting, of course, to mystery fans, is that these women, Susan, Millie, Lucy and Jean, have the extraordinary ability to break codes, a skill honed during World War II when they worked undercover at Bletchley Park, site of the UK’s main decryption establishment. Now, in 1952, the four have returned to civilian life, keeping their intelligence work secret from all (they signed the Secrets Act), including family and friends. A series of terrible murders targeting women, however, reunites the team as they set out to decode the pattern behind the crimes.
Two-time BAFTA award-winner Anna Maxwell Martin (“South Riding,” “Bleak House”) stars as Susan, now a housewife with two children, who has collected data on a series of murders and tried, unsuccessfully, to convince the police that another is imminent. Rachael Stirling (“Women in Love,” “Boy Meets Girl”) is Millie, the feistiest of the bunch, conversant in 14 languages, worldly and street smart. RADA graduate Sophie Rundle plays Lucy, a young woman equipped with a photographic memory. Julie Graham (“Lapland,” “Doc Martin”), oldest of the four, is the former head of the Bletchley Park unit.
Initially unaware of the Bletchley background, the police don’t take Susan’s theory about the crimes seriously. She quickly realizes she can crack the murders and bring the culprit to justice only with the help of her former colleagues. “He’s making a pattern, and he doesn’t realize he’s doing it,” Susan tells her friends. “If we can crack it, we’ll be able to see what his next move will be. Just like knowing where the German army will be in three days’ time. We can get ahead of him and stop him before he kills again.”
“THE BLETCHLEY CIRCLE combines a vivid portrait of post-war Britain with a taut and original code-breaking mystery that is equal parts thriller and whodunit,” said Beth Hoppe, Chief Programming Executive and General Manager, General Audience Programming, PBS. “We think American audiences are going to love the story and the characters. The production is exceptionally vivid, capturing London of the 1950s fully. In addition, the journey home for these women, from war intelligence to 1950s domesticity, is highly complicated, further emphasizing the importance of their bond and friendship.”
I loved this production. There are a few gaps, but you can fill them in. Watch or set your DVR. As with many PBS productions, you'll be able to watch the program on your computer/iPad for a week or two after airing.
this is definitely on my to be watched list. I have seen a lot of stuff on Bletchley and this will just add to its mystique.
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