Fans of Janet McTeer, which should mean everyone, can get a lovely serving of her early work when Acorn TV revives her 1995-95 series The Governor just in time for Labor Day weekend.
The Governor has been out on DVD for a while, and as of Friday all episodes of both its seasons can be seen on the streaming service Acorn (www.acorn.tv).
McTeer plays Helen Hewitt, a relatively young woman who is put in charge of the out-of-control Barfield Prison on the cynical premise that whether she fails or succeeds, the men in charge will have deflected any responsibility.
Over the past two decades we’ve seen a fair number of shows in which women had to overcome both the problems of a job and the failure of men to give them any meaningful support in that job.
The Governor has a similar setup, obviously, one it turns into solid drama. It may have broken a little more ground in the 1990s, though very little about it feels dated these days.
Maybe the lack of cell phones and the hair. Otherwise, that larger issue remains on the table for far too many women.
Hewitt is plucked from relative obscurity after the previous governor of Barfield becomes the scapegoat for a riot in which a prisoner dies.
It is determined the prison is a hornet’s nest of drugs and corruption, and the hope of higher-ups is that sacking the governor and bringing in a fresh face will make it look as if serious reform has been undertaken.
In reality, no one cares much about reform and a number of officials actively work against it. That includes deputy governor Gary Marshall, who expected to get the job and pays only the minimum required amount of lip service to the woman who got it instead.
Marshall also may have his fingers in a more serious situation. That dead inmate, officially written off as a suicide, may have been murdered, with the riot serving in part to cover it up.
Hewitt is determined to investigate that case, against the wishes of every other official. This makes her even less popular, and McTeer does a terrific job conveying Hewitt’s high-stakes battle with both the all-male hierarchy and herself.
She wants to show everyone who doubts her that she can do this job. Trouble is, there are points at which she doubts it herself.
As The Governor rolls along we get to know other characters, too, both guards and inmates. We come to know Hewitt as likeable and imperfect, with some flaws in her social skills in addition to inexperience in handling an exceptionally tough gig.
The Governor, which only ran two seasons, tackles some tough prison and crime issues in addition to being an engaging procedural. Brit TV fans will note early appearances by Sophie Okonedo and Idris Elba, among others.
But McTeer is the selling point here, and a fine one.