Ripper Street BBC out of 5

It would be easy for a TV series set in 1889 Whitechapel to fall completely back on the notorious Jack the Ripper slayings. Where the BBC series Ripper Street succeeds is in avoiding yet another retelling of the gripping yet alltoo-familiar story.

That’s not to say the spectre of Jack the Ripper — believed to have been responsible for the horrific murders of five prostitutes in the autumn of 1888 — isn’t lurking in the shadows of this series. It’s that disturbing presence — or lack thereof — that provides the series with some of its best tension.

Ripper Street stars the ever-watchable Matthew Macfadyen as Insp. Edmund Reid, one of many police officers whose personal lives had taken a back seat to the Ripper investigation. One year later, he and his colleagues are still haunted by their inability to put a face and a name to the killer who terrified London.

But life goes on in Whitechapel and Reid’s H Division — considered at that time to be the toughest police district in London’s East End — has far more to worry about than just chasing ghosts. The show presents what seems to be a genuine slice of life in a troubled area of Victorian London and a well-rounded cast of characters — many with dark tales of their own — brings it to life.

As with any good period drama, there’s plenty of attention to detail here, from the sets and costuming to the dialogue. The three-disc set contains a handful of special features, including a look at Whitechapel past and present and a forensic study of one Jack the Ripper suspect.