As the opening episode of Steeltown Murders begins, a man works with evidence in a lab. Phil ‘Bach’ Rees (Steffan Rhodri) and DCI Paul Bethell (Philip Glenister) listen to a Badfinger cover band. Micky Potts said CID is looking at Llandarcy again. The new boss, Jackie Roberts (Karen Paullada), is in charge. Paul is very interested in hearing about it. In the morning, Paul’s wife gives him pills for his hangover. As he gets ready, the show jumps back to a young Paul Bethell (Scott Arthur). He tells his wife he is going to a rugby match. He leaves home. While driving, he notices a poster nearby asking for information about Sandra. Geraldine Hughes (Calista Davies), Sita Anwar (Natasha Vasandani), and others work.

In the present, Paul speaks to Jackie about the Llandarcy case. He insists he knows more about it than anyone. Jackie says it hasn’t been assigned, but the scientists are pushing it based on DNA evidence. She won’t say whether DNA proves that Sandra’s killer also killed the other two. Jackie is just getting her feet under the table and she is more about fresh starts than raking over past mistakes. She thanks him for coming in and trying to stake his claim. In the past, Paul goes to the rugby game where he speaks to DI Tony Warren. Warren says she’d have a real detective on her case if she was killed in Port Talbot. Once Tony leaves, Paul talks to Silky and his partner about Sandra.

They say he is married and he was so close to cracking, but his solicitor pulled the plug. Paul does his best to get more information from them. He is asked if he wants to meet the prime suspect. They make Paul drive them somewhere. They take him to meet John Dilwyn Morgan (Ben McGregor) who is asked to take a ride with them. In the present, Paul meets Phil to tell him about Jackie wanting to look at the Llandarcy murders. Phil isn’t optimistic because DNA isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Paul thinks Sandra’s case should’ve been linked to the Llandarcy murders from day one. Phil believes he is getting ahead of himself since they haven’t been given the green light yet.

Paul says they need this. The rape victims and Phil’s friend Jane need it as well. Phil questions whether the killer could be dead, but Paul doesn’t believe he is. In the past, John is taken to the scene and told to point out the spot. He refuses because he isn’t going to confess to something he didn’t do. John is reminded that he had glass on his jeans while Sandra had glass on her skirt. John says they did it in the scrapyard in an old van with broken windows. After the cops point out where she was left, John reminds them that he doesn’t own a car and this is in the middle of nowhere. Although Paul doesn’t like it, the other cops decide to leave John there. In the present, Paul joins his wife at home.

In the past, Paul and the cops drive by Sandra’s house where they see her mom, Pat, and stepdad, Dai Williams. They looked into him, but he had an alibi for the night in question. At the factory, Pauline admits she doesn’t miss working there although she misses the girls. Sita talks about sneaking out and getting a discount on the dress in the window. Sita mentions Sandra who got murdered. Paul tells his wife, Karina, that they might open the case and ask him to work on it again. In the past, Paul and Karina go out while Sita and the other girls get ready as well. Paul notices a man outside his taxi talking to several women and it seems to concern him. It could be Dai Williams. Once they go inside, Paul begins speaking to Phil.

He tells Phil that he did something really stupid. Pauline is told that the barman has eyes for her. Geraldine yells that she is young enough to be his daughter. Pauline worries she is going to get them kicked out. Sita’s father finds her and takes her out of the pub. Paul and Phil continue talking about the case. Paul tells him that John Morgan can’t drive. Paul worries the killer is going to get a free pass because they’re so focused on Morgan. Pauline and Geraldine speak to Mr. Watkins at a nearby bus stop. Phil tells Paul that he should speak to Chris Wynne because he was seconded to Neath a while back. Pauline and Geraldine get off the bus while Paul speaks to Chris (Richard Corgan).

Chris tells them about three or four rapes. Paul wonders if the rapist could also be Sandra’s killer. He is interrupted by Tony who complains about him talking shop again. In the present, Paul tells Karina that Sandra didn’t know Pauline or Geraldine. Paul is convinced they were killed by the same man though. Jackie calls Paul to tell him that the Llandarcy job is his. Attempts to link Sandra to Geraldine and Paulina via DNA are inconclusive but ongoing. In a flashback, the girls leave the venue and try to get a ride. A man pulls up to a red light and notices the girls in the back of a car with a man driving in the front. A man walking in the woods finds a body. Paul receives a call telling him it was found in the Llandarcy woods off Swansea Road.

Geraldine’s parents realize she isn’t home. Tony tells Paul that Walter Watkins made the discovery and admits to knowing the girls. Another body is nearby. It looks like she ran for the road. The father arrives at the scene and breaks down when he sees the body. Paul drives him home and offers to come inside with him. He thanks Paul before going inside. In the present, Paul and Phil go to the old police station. As they go inside, Paul tells him how they’re going to create a database by swabbing a lot of men. Phil isn’t happy to learn that there will only be three of them on the case. DC Geraint Bale arrives to join them. In the past, Paul and Phil join the others in the incident room.

They believe the victims got dressed after he raped them although they’re not sure what that means. Paul wonders if he lost control and Geraldine tried to run away. He leaves and visits John. Paul blames Owen and Griffiths for leaving him, but John says he was driving the car. Paul comes inside and interviews John and his female friend. He learns that they went to the cinema to see The Exorcist in a special showing at ten. Paul says it is in John’s interest to provide a timeline of his movements last night. Paul is told to speak to Julie Stone since she works at the cinema. He tells John that he is a lucky man. At the station, the boss urges everyone to track down eyewitnesses.

When Paul brings up Sandra, the boss says he doesn’t want to get sidetracked. DCS Allen insists they’re only focusing on Pauline and Geraldine. They’re told that a taxi driver spotted two girls in a light Austin 1100 or 1300 parked in a lay-by between 1:45 and 2:15 AM. In the present, Paul, Phil, and Geraint talk about Sandra not being connected to the other two murders because they didn’t believe she had been raped. Phil says they were looking for a serial killer and just didn’t know it. The budget limits the number of men they can swab to 500. Later, Phil and Paul question whether the man responsible raped the girls in Neath before he became a killer. Paul talks about getting closure for the victims, but Phil worries they’ll fail and upend their lives.

Paul is adamant that they have to look at the rapes. Phil says he’ll order the evidence. If there is anything actionable, they’ll move to step two. Back at the station, Geraint learns about the rapes. Phil says Jane lived on his street and was 16 at the time, but she didn’t come forward for five years. When Sandra was killed, it should’ve been linked to the rape straight away. However, everyone was interested in blaming John Morgan. A funeral is held for the victims. Phil speaks to Jane who is expecting them tomorrow. He tells Paul about hitchhiker Susan Ferry who was attacked in December of ’72. Her description of the attacker is similar to what Jane said. The rope is tied in a knot like the one used on Pauline. Susan died in a vehicle crash in 1979 so they can’t speak to her.

They visit Jane who says the first thing she felt was her hair being pulled. Then, he was grabbing her and punching her. He threatened to kill her if she screamed or struggled. After getting her on the ground, he tied a rope around her neck. He asked if she was a virgin. Jane’s strongest memory of her attack is his smell. He smelled of tobacco. When the attacker stood up, Jane could see that he was touching himself. He said he was going to have a cigarette and think about whether he should kill her. When he told her to get dressed, Jane knew he wasn’t going to kill her. Jane agrees to sit down with a police artist to describe the man who attacked her. In the past, the police hold a press conference in hopes of getting information about the killer.

Paul looks at a picture of a man on his taxi license and compares it to a picture of a man on his computer. While he watches the man from his car, he gets a call from Colin who says they have the results from the DNA. Colin confirms there is a link between Sandra, Geraldine, and Pauline. He is dealing with a serial killer.

 

Steeltown Murders Review

The opening episode of Steeltown Murders was enjoyable with an excellent time period feel that will definitely take viewers back to that period. The cast is obviously very good and even the supporting cast helped add realism to the series. The show’s soundtrack helps solidify the time period that the show is trying to portray pretty well.

The jumping back and forth between past and present will take some time to get used to, but the story was fairly easy to follow. The pacing is a little slow so it’ll be interesting to see whether it can maintain this quality through four episodes or whether it should’ve been condensed to three. One of the big issues I have with the series is the decision to add fictional characters for whatever purpose.

This is a crime series based on real events about real people who lost their lives so it would be fair if the story was told authentically. The decision to create a fictional character in Sita and allow her to escape thanks to her father doesn’t feel like it is doing the victims of their loved ones justice.

Are we supposed to believe that Sita is alive because she had better parents than Pauline and Geraldine? If I am being honest, that was a big turnoff and it’ll make me question other things in Steeltown Murders as well. When television attempts to adapt true stories, they’d be better off sticking to the facts instead of trying to put their spin on everything.

Other than that, the series was actually one of the better things I’ve watched recently, but I am not sure if I’ll be able to overlook that. The opening episode scores a 6.5 out of 10. Recaps of Steeltown Murders can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising on Reel Mockery here.