Dangerfield

Dangerfield (Wed. (3), 9-10 p.m., 10-11 p.m.; Weds. (10, 17, 24, 31), 10-11 p.m., PBS)

Cast: Nigel Le Vaillant, Amanda Redman, George Irving, Kim Vithana, Sean Maguire, Lisa Faulkner , Bill Wallis, Tracy Gillman, Nadim Sawalha, Catherine Terris, Tim Munro, Martin Troakes, Mo Sesay, Roderick Smith, Linda Polan, Moray Watson, Eleanor Marrin, Audrey Tom, Mo Sesay, Malcolm Storry, Orla Brady, Brendan Coyle. At first a seemingly low-key, 1994 med-crime mix from the BBC, the increasingly complex "Dangerfield" gains in dramatic force and interest as the episodes tick off. A summer six-part entry, with each chapter about Brit Dr. Paul Dangerfield (Nigel Le Vaillant) turning the screw tighter, the stories are handled adroitly by its two directors.

First chapter (first two ride piggyback on opening night) intros a petty thief accusing a respected copper (Mo Sesay) of beating him; the inspector (George Irving) obviously would like to see the cop cleared. In a secondary case , an elderly woman with a progressive disease in a nursing home dies abruptly -- and her honorable husband (Moray Watson) becomes too frank.

Dangerfield, whose teenagers Marty (Sean Maguire) and Alison (Lisa Faulkner) live with him, goes about his medical-police worlds with an impersonal exterior, seemingly unperturbed by the way he has overextended himself.

TX: TX:Filmed on location in Warwickshire, England, by BBC-TV. Exec producer, Chris Parr; producer, Adrian Bate; directors, Jan Sargent (I, II, III) , Diana Patrick (IV, V, VI); writer, Don Shaw; Occasionally he spots imaginary images of his late, beloved wife, Celia, who died when his car hit a truck. Son Marty, still suffering from the horror, unconsciously blames his dad. Those sweet memories of Celia fade away as attractive defense attorney Kate Durrani (Kim Vithana) steps into Dangerfield's life.

Over the series' run, Dangerfield loses favor at the clinic where he works because he isn't pulling his load. Resentful Dr. Joanna Stevens (Amanda Redman) carries her own bitternesses; Dr. Nick Mackenzie (Bill Wallis) lives with his secret demons; and patient Dr. Hamaba (Nadim Sawalha) tries calming waters.

The inconsiderate Dangerfield, absorbed in his police work, hasn't time for his kids, either; he makes an unlikely hero.

Medical cases blended with his police cases in the small town of Warwick turn him on. A schizophrenic off his medication is accused of murdering his ex-employer; an AIDS patient begs Dangerfield to keep his secret until his daughter can pass a rigorous exam; a man's body inexplicably found in the middle of a field summons up Peeping Tomism.

Episodes four and five combine for an intriguing case. A habitually self-mutilating woman, Diane (Orla Brady), badly hurt, seems to have been attacked by her ex-b.f., David (Brendan Coyle), but she won't let anyone examine her for signs of rape. Dangerfield, Stevens and Durrani all get into the action; there's nearly a parallel act closer to Dangerfield's home.

Le Vaillant is convincing as the self-concerned doctor, and Faulkner and Maguire make excellent teeners. Redman's strong Dr. Stevens is a plus despite the final hour's change of character, and Vithana's secretive lawyer is a shrewd puzzle.

Production designer Amanda Atkinson ably provides a good British town milieu in Warwickshire, and the Dangerfield residence is handsome and enviable. Ken Brinsley's camerawork's good, and Roger Wilson's editing is snappy. Nigel Hess' score's on the mark.

Camera, Ken Brinsley; editor, Roger Wilson; sound, Dave Baumber; music, Nigel Hess; production designer, Amanda Atkinson; casting, Suzanne Crowley, Gilly Poule.

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