What does the name Lynda La Plante mean to you as a TV viewer? Perhaps you are old enough to remember her as an actress in Rent-a-ghost, but chances are you are more familiar with her screen-writing skills. Prime Suspect and Trial & Retribution are of course her biggest successes, but in 1998 she turned her hand to another drama, based around the world of the internet.
What was the computer world like in 1998? Well the internet existed of course, but wasn't as wide spread as it is today. You'd need to remortgage your house to own a home PC and laptops were the size of a small car and needed three burly weightlifters to move them around. The idea of surfing the net from your phone wasn't even a concept back then (in fact, mobile phones were still only just being reduced from brick-size.) There was an explosion of interest though in the internet about this time, with net cafe's cropping up, and Lynda La Plante couldn't let this craze pass without exploiting it for her own gain...
..if only she'd done a bit of research first though...
Ok, basic plot: Set around three university students who share a house in Brighton. One of them has his own computer and after getting more and more involved with a mysterious woman, he eventually finds himself playing a CD ROM game called Killer Net. It takes over his life, planning and executing the perfect murder, to the extent that he is the main suspect when a real murder crops up that follows the one he had played out on screen.
The TV drama was split into three distinct parts (Not sure if it was broadcast in two or three parts, but the plot is definitely in three distinct sections). Firstly we have character development, set-up and the introduction of the game. The second section is all about the game itself, planning and trying to get away with the murder of a young girl on the streets of Brighton. The final section switches to the police's point of view as they try to unravel the case of the REAL murder.
I have such a soft spot for this drama. I must have seen it right through 20 or 30 times, but I still find it charming. I can't help but laugh though at the massive howlers Mrs La Plante has left in when it comes to what computers can and can't do. You have to watch it with an open mind and just breeze past the gaping plot flaws. The murder and it's subsequent investigation are water-tight, so don't think she didn't get those parts right because she did.
You also have to raise a smile at Jason Orange's first foray into acting. This was made just after Take That had split up for the first time and whilst Gary and Mark tried their hands at solo careers, Jason wanted to have a stab at acting. Don't remember seeing him in anything else after this....I wonder why.
I have to give this a thumbs up, simply because I love it so much, but am not blind to how bad it actually is on paper. It is nothing compared to her other works (the early Trial & Retributions are first class) and so I only recommend it out of a sense of loyalty to it. I can't defend any of the acting (hardly any stand-out performances at all) and the script just seems a bit wooly. It does act as a whodunnit, although I seem to remember working out who it was very early on the first time I watched it, so I don't think it's too much of a brain-buster. Not sure that's the point of it though.
Filmed on location in Brighton, so if you know the area, you'll be able to spot a few familiar landmarks. Due to the subject matter, Killer Net was dated the moment it was released...
..but I still like it :)
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