No, I can't see you now!

Most professions require good vision, but in the case of police officers, being able to identify suspects and monitor their expression is vitally important. So it is with great alarm that DCI Ross Tanner (played by Clive Owen) receives the news that he is losing his sight in the crime drama Second Sight. He is determined to hide his affliction from his co-workers (as in the photo, where he is ever-so-unobtrusively skimming along the wall!), but his new partner, Catherine Tully (Claire Skinner) notices and promises to help him keep his secret. In return, he will give her glowing reports in her personnel file, which is slightly tarnished.

It was hard to feel very sorry for Tanner, as he was brusque, surly, arrogant and generally unpleasant. Naturally, his new female partner is instantly attracted to him and they begin a relationship. However, without much explanation, she requests a transfer and leaves him. Odd. She does show up at his flat and gives a vague reason for her abandonment, but it doesn't make much sense to the character of Tanner (nor to the viewer).


I realize it is difficult to portray the symptoms of the eye disease that Tanner supposedly suffers from, but I must say the blurry camera effects rather reminded me of what the world looks like to me before I put my contact lenses in each morning. Tanner's disease is supposed to be getting progressively worse, but surely some strong glasses wouldn't have gone amiss. I'm sure he could have said something about his "middle aged" vision problems which would have been more plausible than the fumbling attempts he makes to appear "normal". It is quite amusing that his eye problem is supposed to be quite rare, but naturally one of his co-workers "recognizes the symptoms", because his father suffers from the same condition! What are the odds???

The entire series also takes a strange turn in that in the first episode, a great deal was made about setting up Tanner's group to investigate old "cold" cases. Then after a few episodes, suddenly, they are called to the scene of a murder that occurred the night before. What's up with that???

Final Verdict for Second Sight: Two Gherkins, for elements of modern British mystery, but with some illogical plot developments