Acorn Media
Release date: Aug 30th, 2011
MSRP:  $39.95
James Nesbitt is back as Tommy Murphy, an undercover cop whose job is his life. While the character of Murphy is from the novels of Colin Bateman, these tales are created for television.
Season four finds Tommy infiltrtating the gang of Billy and Drew Johnston. Both originally hail from Ireland, but that is where the similarities end. Billy, is a short-tempered, racist thug, while Drew has not only converted to Islam, but is engaged to the daughter of an influential Pakistani businessman. Tommy is also struggling with the reality of his aging mother and the losing battle she is waging with Alzheimer’s disease.
In season five, Tommy has two of his charges disappear while undercover. Detective Sergeant Mitch Kershaw (Tim Dantay) and DC Kim Goodall (Andrea Lowe) go undercover to investigate and indentity theft ring. Tommy himself goes undercover in hopes of finding them before it is too late.
Both are good, but series five is as dark as dark gets and delivers an ending that is not what one would call happy. Truth be told, series five delivers some of the bleakest television I can recall seeing with prostitution, child porn and human trafficking. Not for the faint of heart.
ML is the kind of show that would be at home on AMC or FX in the  U.S. It makes excellent use of violence and offensive language, using them for impact rather titillation.
Nesbit did a hell of a job with the character and his supporting cast more than holds their own. Series four is good enough, but five is world class and makes this set a must-own.
Jeremy Lynch