Harry - Like a P pipe in the dark?

Harry lit up the underbelly of the "P" or methamphetamine trade in Auckland like a "P" pipe in the dark. Brightly illuminating the trials police and criminals face in their daily war with each other but obscuring the wider social reality in which the pipe gets lit. Through six episodes, this TV3 series led us up the drug labyrinth from street dealers through cooks and importers as it wound its way around Auckland's suburban streetscapes. The critics didn't like him but Oscar Kightley was perfect as the lead detective (Harry Angelsea) and Sam Neill in his role as Kightley's boss gave the show a solid feel. The acting throughout was superb as was the tempo of the main storyline unfolding, as most crime shows do, through autopsys and apprehensions. By the end of the series however one could sense something missing. Unlike the American drug crime show The Wire, TV3's Harry never came close to dealing with the political economy of the meth tra