Here's a thriller that has everything going for it at the start and loses its way in such short order, even the presence of Michael Kitchen in the lead isn't enough to rescue it. Kitchen, of course, is the star of the hit "Masterpiece" and Acorn Media DVD series "Foyle's War." The huge promise of "The Guilty" is that, on the moral compass, he's about as far away from Foyle as anyone could be. In "The Guilty," he plays Steven Vey, a hard-drinking, philandering, morally bankrupt lawyer who goes out drinking with Nicky (Caroline Catz from the later "Doc Martin" series), his new secretary, within the first moments of the first episode, and rapes her. There is also the parallel story of Eddy Doyle (Sean Gallagher), a petty crook in Birmingham who belatedly discovers that his clergyman father is not his biological father. Reluctantly, his mother tells him who his dad is. Think you can guess who that might be? You will soon enough, once you realize how unfortunately "The Guilty" relies on unlikely coincidence. Eddy borrows a friend's car and goes to London to look up dear old Dad, only to get into a car accident with - what do you know? - the flatmate of Vey's secretary, who has belatedly decided to seek justice from Vey since he's had her sacked from her job. Elevated to a judgeship, Vey needs to eliminate the pesky secretary, and you'll never guess whom he tries to hire to do the job. OK, you will. That's the problem. But there is no denying the pleasure of watching Kitchen be so repugnant. The rest of the performances are equally winning. Eventually, the coincidences pile up to the point where you just say "the heck with it" and enjoy the good parts of the show.





$39.99 (TWO DISCS)