The Commander

When a package of extras feels more like a duty than a challenge, it is not going to be worth watching. Sadly, that is the case here.

Amanda Burton's interview is as flat as a puncture. She is dressed for an evening at Covent Garden, elegant and expensive-looking, but when she talks about Clare Blake and The Commander, she appears shy and insecure, as if afraid of saying the wrong thing, which drains any personality from the exchange. Only at the end, when describing her first infatuation with the theatre, does she speak from the heart and it makes a real difference. The interview itself, in which she discusses the character she plays, interspersed with anecdotal titbits, is relatively short and devoid of interest. In order to pad it out, scenes from the series are intercut, a bit like a trailer.

The cast featurette is a conventional talking heads affair, with the ubiquitous scenes-from-series dropped in to illustrate actors-at-work. Four of the main players talk about their characters and what they think will happen to them in the next series. Also, they talk about their writer/producer Lynda La Plante ("She's a force of nature", etc). With the exception of Poppy Miller, who plays Clare Blake's PA, or whatever it's called at the Met, and is one of the very best things in the series, the interviewees are on a charm offensive. They seem flattered to be asked their opinions and want you to know how much they liked the series, their jobs, the crew and everything to do with Lynda's production company. Poppy is different. She answers the questions intelligently, doesn't flirt with the camera and is genuinely worth listening to.