'McDonald & Dodds' Season 4 is Witty & Entertaining
BritBox’s intelligent, playful series McDonald & Dodds challenges and intrigues, thanks to its two titular characters, DCI Lauren McDonald (Tala Gouveia) and DS Dodds (Jason Watkins), and Season 4 debuts on BritBox on May 22, with the first of three feature-length episodes written by Robert Murphy. But before we examine the complex and red-herring-littered storylines, it’s worth looking at the ongoing relationship between the two officers, particularly if you haven’t watched the first three seasons.
On her arrival, McDonald, ambitious and fresh from the mean streets of south London, didn’t expect much to happen in her new position; she saw Bath as a sort of living history museum with many wealthy inhabitants. To her, it’s a career step; she expected to go back to London relatively soon, along with her gas fitter boyfriend (whose name we still don’t know). So she wasn’t too pleased to find that she’s been partnered with shy, dithering DS Dodds (whose first name we still don’t know either), a low-performing cop who’d been stuck on an undemanding desk job for the past decade. Not only that, but their overbearing boss of the first three seasons was anxious for Dodds to retire early. He figured if boredom didn’t do it, then having to take orders from an outspoken Black woman surely would. He was wrong.
To everyone’s surprise, including their own, McDonald and Dodds form a working relationship that tips over into friendship. Despite his unprepossessing appearance – the anorak, sliding eyeglasses, and local accent – Dodds’ intelligence and vast knowledge complement McDonald’s outgoing and efficient leadership. (One of McDonald’s first actions was to provide Dodds with a lanyard to secure his eyeglasses.) With Season 4, the department has transformed its culture under the new leadership of Chief Superintendent Mary Ormond (Claire Skinner), who relaxes by singing in the Bath Abbey choir. New team members Detective Constables Goldie (Charlie Chambers) and Lee (Bhavik C Pankhania). Dodds is still annoying and fussy, and McDonald is overbearing and impulsive. Still, somehow, the partnership works, particularly on a practical level.
