High Roller - Summary and ReviewHigh Roller - Summary and Review
by Melissa Rivers
Written by: David Phillips
Directed by: Robert Klenner
Original Air Date: 20th February, 2001
In an effort to flush out the killer, Julia releases information to the press which makes the front page of the major newspapers. Alex is not impressed with Julia releasing details of the case to the press. Mick defends Julia's actions, pointing out that she's a profiler and maybe she released the information for a good reason. It makes an impression with her boss, Chief Superintendent Bronson, who calls a meeting with Jeff. Bronson circumvents Julia's push for a task force by negotiating with Jeff for her to head up an investigation using the Water Police team.
Julia addresses the team, setting out details of the serial killings. Several members of the team, including Jack, question different aspects of the case to gain a better understanding. At the end of the briefing, Julia asks Jack not to question her during a briefing as it undermines her authority and she needs them focused.
Interrupting Jack's interview of Rebecca, the last companion of the most recent victim, Julia expresses her annoyance that he has started without her and that the interview is not being taped. Jack indicates that he could not find her to which she tells him that she wants to be present at all interviews and requires them to be taped to ensure that no possible evidence is lost. Helen interrupts them, advising that the divers have located the victims shoes and jacket of the victims; forensics have found trace evidence leading them to the crime scene.
Jack and Julia arrive at the crime scene and Mick informs them that they've found footprints and drag marks and three Polaroid tabs. Julia is frustrated by the lack of evidence, even though they are at the crime scene less than 24 hours old. Alex is angry with Julia's attitude towards the case, saying "I have been looking at a girl's blood and seeing how she's died. How long before you get a profile of this guy that means anything?"
PLOT 2: FLIGHT OR FRIGHT?
Gavin is woken by Eva in the morning, gently teasing him about his snoring. Making breakfast, he gets the paper and finds
that the alarm system that they've had installed (see last week's episode 'It Happened One Night') is not set. Taking in
breakfast and the paper into Eva in bed, she is shocked by the headline news.
Arriving late for work, Gavin tries to speak with Jeff but is forced to wait until he is free from other commitments. When Gavin finally speaks to him, he tenders his resignation but will not disclose his reason. Matt will be assigned a new partner and can't believe that Gavin didn't say a word to about his leaving the force After hearing of Gavin's resignation, Julia asks for a list of all officers' addresses and telephone numbers.
As Gavin and Eva pack their belongings to leave, Eva expresses her fears that the serial killer has been following her. Gavin tries to reassure her that she will be safe with him.. Julia arrives at their house and introduces herself to Eva. She explains that she has listened to the statement Eva made to the police in Darwin about her friends abduction.. Julia has been keeping track of Eva since she is her only witness and Julia pushes her point to make Eva rethink running away from the killer.
Eva and Gavin argue about leaving. Eva realises that running will not achieve anything, she will still be scared. Matt arrives to find out why Gavin has quit and Gavin tells him about Eva being a witness to the serial killer that they are investigating.
Headline news the next morning reveals details of Eva being a witness and has a photograph of their home. It is news to the staff at the station that Eva is the sole witness in the case and they are concerned for Gavin & Eva's safety. Alex is angry about the press release and when Jack asks her to go speak to the journalist, Alex asks him "the sex is that good that you can't see how this woman operates outside the bedroom?"
Jeff confirms that Eva is the witness and explains that he already has the house under surveillance. Jeff instructs Mick and Jack to get them relocated and protected. As they leave the station, they ask Matt why he didn't tell them about Eva Matt explains Gavin only found out yesterday and that Inspector Goodwin knew since she had been at the house yesterday and talked Gavin and Eva out of leaving.
Gavin is livid with Julia for releasing the latest information to the press. Jack arrives and wants to have a word with Julia outside. Jack questions Julia about the media release and Eva being the witness. Mick has checked the garden and found some polaroid tabs; the killer has been at the house.
Back in Hawker's office, Jack tells Jeff that Eva has consented to being put in protective custody. They decide to do a switch between Alex and Eva. Alex will stay in the house with Gavin while Eva will be transported to the safe house using disguises.
PLOT 3: TAKEN FROM UNDER THEIR NOSES
Helen arrives at the safe house to drop off personal needs for Eva and Andrea, another officer, will stay with Eva and Mick
in the short term. The surveillance team see Helen leave the safe house but their vision is broken by a garbage truck. Mick
notices that Helen has forgotten her mobile phone. He goes out to give it to her and finds her car door open but she's
nowhere to be seen. Mick notices a blue van driving away and realises that Helen has been abducted. He rings Jack and
tells him of Helen's abduction. Alex and Jack head off to follow the chase of the van while Gavin heads over to the safe
house to protect Eva. With Gavin arriving, Mick also joins in the chase.
They follow the van to a park which has numerous tracks and foot trails and they lose track of the van. Alex knows the area well and thinks that the killer is heading for a bush reserve above the beach. There are five foot trails and Jeff warns them to all be careful, that they are dealing with a killer. They locate the van but find no sign of Helen. Jack follows drag marks from the van and locates Helen. Movement in the bush alerts Jack to the killer running off and he sends the team after the killer.
Within a short distance, they have him cornered and Alex tackles him to the ground. He laughs as she cuffs him and calls her a 'bitch'. Back at the station, he is part of a police line-up where Eva is able to identify him and attacks him in her anger. Eva breaks down in tears and Gavin takes her home. Jack asks Julia if she does truly understand what it is like living with that sort of fear for the past twelve months.
The abductor of Helen is being interviewed and is toying with them. He claims that Eva hurt him when she attacked him in the line up and that the police allowed him to be injured.
Helen is in hospital and is doing well, with no concussion. She is grateful that they arrived in time. Jack gives her a single flower from the hospital garden, a Gerbera, and she tells him that she hates them. Helen asks if he is here for her statement and tells him that she can't give him much details anyway. She was blindfolded and couldn't see a thing in the van. When she was finally dragged out of it and the blindfold was removed, she was looking straight up into the sun. She didn't even get a good look at the guy taking the photograph; h was in silhouette. As the flash went off she was hit.
Jack calls Julia out of the interview and explains his theory that there are two abductors. There was no way that the guy in their interview room would have been able to subdue Helen, bind and tape her and drive off in the thirty seconds that Mick was behind Helen leaving the safe house. Helen was also being photographed at the same time as she was being hit.
PLOT 4: GETTING UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
Jack and Julia have to cope with the pressures of trying to maintain a professional relationship separate from their personal
relationship. The morning after the discovery of the body (see Plot 1), Jack and Julia share a shower after spending the
night togther. Jack cooks eggs for breakfast and brings them out to Julia on the back verandah. She is deep in thought about
the case and at first does not hear his question.
That night, after locating the crime scene, they are ordering take-out for dinner. Julia is once again pondering the case, pointing out that "he's somewhere out there". Jack reassures her that Alex was out of line with her comments and Julia brushes them aside, stating that many believe you're a witch or some sort of fake. Julia tells him that no one else saw the pattern and when she pursued it, they claimed she had lost perspective and she persevered because she knew she was right. Jack makes a joke about the case and she pulls away from him, claiming that she has no appetite and a lot of work to do and will do it better at home.
Alex overhears Jack & Julia's conversation (See Plot 1) and correctly assumes that the two of them are sleeping together. When Mick hears about it, he complains about Jack being such a hypocrite for always warning about mixing the personal with the professional. Alex agrees saying that "he needs to get his butt kicked. And I reckon that playing second fiddle to Julia Goodwin, he is going to get just that."
REVIEW: "High Roller"
In tackling Summarising and Reviewing the current season of Water Rats, I have endeavoured to have them finished just
over 24 hours after the show has aired. With this episode I have struggled to do so for a few of reasons - Suddenly I am
doing two jobs at work (Nb - never complain that you're bored with your work or TPTB will ensure that you don't suffer
from the condition for very long!!) but mainly the reason was there were points in this episode which were flawed and I
wanted to back up my opinion with some research before putting pen to paper for this review.
The episode itself overall was good, with classic Water Rats action and turns of events that surprised. However, it also was thready in places, directly related to the flaws that I'll address further on in the review, and not as centered an effort as the preceding two episodes, which each made a point of emphasizing and highlighting the characters and their way of dealing with the crimes thrown at them.
Seeing Gavin and Eva together makes me pine for true romance. A man who is willing to provide breakfast in bed, join you for Saturday morning shopping in the markets and willing to quit his job to protect you. They are a rare breed and Gavin was willing to be Eva's knight in shining armour despite the fact that she hadn't been truthful with him.
Others may say that it has been too impulsive, that they haven't had time to develop a deeper relationship that inspires the sort of commitment that Gavin is willing to go to, sacrificing his job for the woman he loves. However, I disagree. There are relationships which immediately click and do engender this sort of commitment from the partners. These are hard to understand by people who have entered relationships the traditional way but it doesn't mean that these cannot be successful.
Set against this is Jack and Julia's relationship; one that has also developed overnight. Yet there are stark differences. Alex's comment to Jack "the sex is that good that you can't see how this woman operates outside the bedroom?" draws out the truth of their relationship.
In the first scene at Jack's home, we see them passionately enjoying each other, but over breakfast Julia is deeply immersed in her own thoughts. Later that night, we also witness them being totally comfortable with each other until the subject of the case comes up. During this case, Jack is getting to see another side of the woman he is sleeping with and he is not happy with what he is witnessing. Not only does she not disclose information to the team, in particular himself, she endangered the lives of Eva and Gavin to accomplish her goals.
Julia's introduction this episode into the Rats turf allows us to see how close-knit the teams have become and show her as an outsider. Alex, Mick and Jack are a team and it is clear that they are working as one, particularly when contrasted to Julia's solo missions. They are willing to listen to each other and work together towards the same goal - solving the crime. Matt and Gavin, although apart for most of the episode, still manage to convey how their partnership has grown to the point where Matt is willing to help Gavin & Eva if he can.
Acting Inspector Julia Goodwin tells us that she is a profiler. This is where my problem began. My past experience through fictional, non-fictional and my work made the scenes with Julia briefing the Rats team and also at the scene of the crime grate. While I've never sat through a briefing by a profiler, I have seen enough fictional ones that are consistently similar in the way they address their team that I was immediately shaking my head in disappointment. After last week's positive introduction to Julia, I was dissatisfied with her portrayal this week, which was a dismal shadow of the strong, level-headed woman we had experienced in 'It Happened One Night'.
Julia's directions to the team were fairly cliche in places, but also seemed to be disjointed and lacking continuity. For a person who had been working the case since its early inception, she didn't seem to be confident about the finer points of the investigation. I found it interesting that while she had a witness who saw her friend being abducted and Julia's belief that they were using the same van to accomplish the abductions, that she did not give the colour or type of van, which we later find out is rather distinctive.
Secondly, she refers to the photographs as 'trophies'. Again, a cliche term, however, what struck me even more was the fact that she didn't acknowledge that the killer was possibly taunting the police with leaving the tabs at the scene. These killers are meticulous, leaving behind no trace evidence to link them to the crime. So why are the Polaroid tabs left behind? A profiler questions the motives of the killer.
Thirdly, she is meant to be profiling the killer. All she did throughout the briefing was state facts. Where is the profile? After eighteen months on the case, I would have expected more from her and for these reasons, the character of Julia as a profiler did not ring true.
In an interview promoting his non-fiction book on serial killers, Roy Hazelwood, an ex-FBI profiler, lists the traits a profiler needs: "Common sense. Another term for that is practical intelligence. An open mind--you have to be able to accept other people's suggestions. Number three is life experience. Number four is an ability to isolate your personal feelings about the crime, the criminal and the victim. Number five would be an ability to think like the offender thinks--not get into his mind. I don't believe all that crap. All you have to do is reason like he does. You don't have to get into his mind."
Roy Hazelwood also explains how a profiler assists in the investigation of a case. "First, we give them a profile. That doesn't identify a particular person, but it identifies a personality type. Then you can do proactive strategies. You give them ideas on how to cause an individual to surface. If they identify someone who meets the profile criteria, you can then assist them with interview strategies. Or you can give them search warrant information. You may also end up helping with trial strategies, like cross-examination techniques. And then you can also appear as an expert witness."
I think Julia failed on four counts to match the traits that a profiler needs in this particular case. Common sense tells you that if you are going to leak information to the press, you go through the right channels and obtain the consent of those it is going to affect. She is close-minded to anyone else's suggestions or opinions. She has become obsessed with the case, unable to isolate her personal feelings about the crime and she hasn't demonstrated an ability to think like the offender thinks. What motivates him to perform these crimes and what sort of person are they looking for? Julia also operated individually from her team, thus causing potential danger to her witness and leaving the investigative team in the lurch.
It was a stark contrast to the officer we were introduced to last week, which I described in my review as 'level-headed' with a 'calm acceptance' of events. Granted, this case is very different to the Dennis Dugdale case, however, the assumption is that she was in Port Bligh to interview Dugdale regarding his possible involvement with the serial killings. Julia featured in 'High Roller' and there was an expectation set when the writer gave her the description 'profiler' and this script failed to
MISCELLANEOUS THOUGHTS:
LOTW1: Jack: "Listen, I don't think I made enough eggs for you, me and Chief Superintendent Bronson."
LOTW2: Jeff: "Suddenly we're a taxi company; I might as well put a meter in the bloody boat."
LOTW3: Matt: "Geez, what are we looking for - a feral backpacker?"
LOTW4: Alex: "[Jack] needs to get his butt kicked. And I reckon that playing second fiddle to Julia Goodwin, he is going to get just that."