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Des (2020)

159 statements
30 feature instances
1 referencing feature instances

Des (2020)	type	TVTItem
Des (2020)	label	Des (2020)
Des (2020)	page	Des2020
Des (2020)	comment	Des is a dramatisation of real events, so things that might otherwise be treated as spoilers are unmarked on this page.Des is a British television miniseries, originally broadcast on ITV in 2020. It stars David Tennant, Daniel Mays and Jason Watkins. The series is a docudrama covering the 1983 arrest of a real serial killer, Dennis Nilsen, played by Tennant, and the events that followed.The three-part series is written by Luke Neal and Kelly Jones, largely based on the book Killing for Company, written by Brian Masters (played by Watkins in the adaptation). It's directed by Lewis Arnold.After human remains are found in a blocked drain at a London apartment building, police are called to the scene. Dennis 'Des' Nilsen, one of the residents, is swiftly identified as the likely killer.As soon as the police access Nilsen's flat, they find evidence of more murders. Nilsen, who calmly surrenders, has been preying on the vulnerable and homeless for years, and claims to have killed more than a dozen men. The series follows the police handling the case, led by DCI Peter Jay (played by Mays), as they try to identify Nilsen's victims and charge him with the murders. Due to the law at the time, Nilsen can only be charged if a victim's name is known. Nilsen, however, claims that he can't remember any names.Further revelations complicate the investigation - including Nilsen's past career as a police officer, previous reports about him that weren't taken seriously, and a connection to a politically sensitive missing persons case.In parallel, author Brian Masters takes an interest in the case and starts writing a book about the murders, regularly visiting prison to interview Nilsen. The police, initially unaware of Masters' involvement, are very wary of his motives, and Masters' conversations with DCI Jay are tense and unproductive.Tennant's portrayal of Nilsen himself bridges both narrative strands, with his initial calm and casual demeanour gradually eroding to reveal an unrepentant and manipulative killer, a man fascinated by his own fame.The final episode focuses on the trial itself, following Nilsen's unexpected plea of 'not guilty' to all charges. If the prosecution can't convince the jury that he's legally sane, Nilsen's diminished responsibility defence could free him within 15 years, a possibility that appalls both Jay and Masters.The first episode aired on September 14, 2020.
Des (2020)	fetched	2023-11-09T13:16:16Z
Des (2020)	parsed	2023-11-09T13:16:16Z
Des (2020)	processingComment	Dropped link to Montages: Not a Feature - ITEM
Des (2020)	isPartOf	DBTropes
Des (2020) / int_10416043	type	Dropping the Bombshell
Des (2020) / int_10416043	comment	Dropping the Bombshell: Early in the first episode, immediately after his arrest, Nilsen's asked if there were actually two victims. He replies that there were many more than that. It's followed by shocked silence. Midway through the first episode, McCusker arrives late to a meeting, drops a file on the table, and announces that Nilsen used to be a policeman. Late in the first episode, DCI Jay interviews Douglas Stewart, who says that he was nearly murdered by Nilsen three years ago. Jay asks why Stewart didn't report it to the police... and the reply is that he did, but they took no action. The second episode ends at the start of Nilsen's trial. Despite all the evidence, and his own confessions, he unexpectedly pleads "not guilty" to all charges, suddenly forcing a full trial. Masters and Jay are both visibly shocked. During the trial, Nilsen's lawyer claims there are inconsistencies in key prosecution witness Douglas Stewart's story, then asks if he's sold his story to the newspapers. He has, and the police weren't aware of it, undermining his testimony.
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Des (2020) / int_1c8b3cc3	type	Mugshot Montage
Des (2020) / int_1c8b3cc3	comment	Mugshot Montage: Immediately after Nilsen's arrest, while in a police car, he confirms how many bodies there are. The scene then cuts from DCI Jay's shock to a montage of Nilsen's mugshots and fingerprinting.
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Des (2020) / int_28af866c	type	Pen Pals
Des (2020) / int_28af866c	comment	Pen Pals: While Nilsen's awaiting trial, he starts a correspondence with Brian Masters. Each of them has their own motives for writing to the other. Masters hopes to write a book, whereas it gradually becomes clear that Nilsen loves the attention.
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Des (2020) / int_33d5b7f2	type	Adapted Out
Des (2020) / int_33d5b7f2	comment	Adapted Out: In real life, three survivors testified against Nilsen at trial. In the dramatisation, there are only two and Paul Nobbs is never mentioned. This is Played for Drama, with DCI Jay desperately asking the fragile and vulnerable Carl Stottor to testify after the defence undermines the testimony of the only other survivor, Douglas Stewart. In reality, Nobbs was scheduled to testify after Stewart and was considered a credible witness — the jury unanimously found Nilsen guilty of his attempted murder.
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Des (2020) / int_40c57041	type	Manipulative Bastard
Des (2020) / int_40c57041	comment	Manipulative Bastard: Nilsen is portrayed as carefully, coldly manipulative. At various points it's called out that he's only told the police exactly what he wants to tell them, and many of his actions seem designed to keep himself in the spotlight. When he unexpectedly pleads not guilty in court, the police suddenly realise that in all their interviews, he's avoided saying anything that would undermine his insanity defence by confirming he planned the murders. In another scene, DCI Jay points out that Nilsen himself reported the blocked drains that led to his arrest, raising the subject in a way that seems to wonder if it was deliberate.
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Des (2020) / int_44989f6f	type	"Could Have Avoided This!" Plot
Des (2020) / int_44989f6f	comment	"Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: The lost opportunities that could have stopped Nilsen before he killed so many are bleakly acknowledged at several points. In particular, there's DCI Jay's "How didn't we know?" line and his reaction when Douglas Stewart, who survived a murder attempt years earlier, reveals that the police dismissed him and took no action against Nilsen. Journalist Charlotte Proctor, who doesn't know the full details, is far blunter, with a press conference question asking how Nilsen could kill undetected for years.
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Des (2020) / int_51ecf708	type	Self-Disposing Villain
Des (2020) / int_51ecf708	comment	Self-Disposing Villain: In the second episode, after the investigation is halted, DCI Jay tells McCusker that it was Nilsen himself who reported the blocked drains at Cranley Gardens, something which directly led to his own arrest. However, by this point Jay is well aware of the way Nilsen craves attention, and it's implied that he's wondering if the arrest was what Nilsen wanted.
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Des (2020) / int_53c9fc92	type	Flashback
Des (2020) / int_53c9fc92	comment	Flashback: The second episode opens with the only flashback in the series. It shows Nilsen at night, long before his arrest, silently watching a fire (containing a Carpet-Rolled Corpse) in his Melrose Avenue garden. The scene then dissolves to show the same garden in daylight, after his arrest, with the police searching the scene.
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Des (2020) / int_6d332aea	type	Driven to Suicide
Des (2020) / int_6d332aea	comment	Driven to Suicide: During the final episode, forensic psychiatrist Dr Hardy testifies during the trial. As part of the defence's claim that Nilsen is insane, his barrister points out that his pre-trial behaviour was considered so extreme and erratic that Dr Hardy recorded him as a suicide risk.
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Des (2020) / int_7301ae04	type	Serial Killer
Des (2020) / int_7301ae04	comment	Serial Killer: The docudrama centres on Dennis Nilsen, a real serial killer who's believed to have murdered over a dozen victims. Nilsen is portrayed as calm and cooperative when arrested, after human remains are discovered in his flat, but becomes increasingly manipulative once he's in custody, seemingly 'forgetting' key details about his victims and crimes when he's interviewed. It's implied that this is so that he can influence the investigation and prosecution, maximising the publicity he gets.
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Des (2020) / int_7b6e47a5	type	Armor-Piercing Question
Des (2020) / int_7b6e47a5	comment	Armor-Piercing Question: After Nilsen pleads not guilty he speaks to Masters, claiming that none of the murders were intentional, as he wasn't in his right mind and had diminished responsibility. Masters immediately asks why, in that case, he didn't contact the police after the first death. When Jay and Masters meet after the trial starts, Jay states that, if the diminished responsibility defence succeeds, Nilsen could be deemed "cured", released and free to kill again in fifteen years. Jay says he can't live with that, and asks if Masters can. There's a moment of bleak silence, then Masters agrees to hand over the notebooks that might discredit that defence.
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Des (2020) / int_7d89315b	type	"The Reason You Suck" Speech
Des (2020) / int_7d89315b	comment	"The Reason You Suck" Speech: There's a variant when DCI Jay testifies regarding Nilsen's character and sanity, as Nilsen himself is present, but not the main audience for the speech. Jay ends by stating that he's seen prisoners awaiting trial request all sorts of visitors including priests, rabbis and imams. One man even wanted to talk to a shaman. But the only visitor Nilsen wanted to speak to was his biographer. It paints a clear picture of Nilsen's apparent obsession with publicity, and it's implied that it makes an impact on the jury. In the final scenes, Nilsen comments that Masters' book, Killing for Company, should really be named after him, as it's his story. Masters, who's previously seemed wary of antagonising Nilsen, bluntly says no and tells him that it's not his book, it's not about him, and it's been written as a warning about how people like Nilsen come to exist.
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Des (2020) / int_83997339	type	Accent Interest
Des (2020) / int_83997339	comment	Accent Interest: When Nilsen first meets Brian Masters, he reacts to his fairly upper-class accent, saying that he knows where Masters is from and that he's probably a Tory. He's initially unconvinced when Masters replies that he was actually raised on the Old Kent Road (in Southwick, a relatively poor area of London).
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Des (2020) / int_84d29a11	type	Drag Queen
Des (2020) / int_84d29a11	comment	Drag Queen: In the final episode, Carl Stottor is the second survivor to testify against Nilsen, added as a witness after the first survivor's testimony seems discredited. The defence then try to undermine Stottor's own testimony by revealing his career as a drag queen, hoping this will make him seem unreliable.
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Des (2020) / int_95b7c400	type	Faux Affably Evil
Des (2020) / int_95b7c400	comment	Faux Affably Evil: Nilsen is portrayed as calm and casual in his initial conversations with the police. When Masters first visits him in prison and mentions the wrong number of victims, though, he's suddenly raising his voice and swearing. He becomes increasingly angry and manipulative as events progress.
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Des (2020) / int_aca32000	type	Armor-Piercing Response
Des (2020) / int_aca32000	comment	Armor-Piercing Response: After Nilsen pleads not guilty, Masters challenges him over the way the press will exploit the story for profit, able to report every word said in court. Nilsen points out that, as his biographer, Masters is much the same.
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Des (2020) / int_c2339e22	type	Identifying the Body
Des (2020) / int_c2339e22	comment	Identifying the Body: Elizabeth Sinclair initially wants to identify her son Stephen's body, to be sure that it's really him. McCusker and Jay explain that Stephen's already been identified, and then, without mentioning the condition of the body, successfully persuade her that she doesn't want to see him like this.
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Des (2020) / int_c23525d4	type	Character Title
Des (2020) / int_c23525d4	comment	Character Title: "Des" refers to Dennis Nilsen himself, who doesn't use his full name. In the final scene, Nilsen criticises Masters' title for his book, Killing for Company, saying that it should be called Nilsen as it's about him. Masters bluntly tells him why that's not going to happen.
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Des (2020) / int_c75df49a	type	Shout-Out
Des (2020) / int_c75df49a	comment	Shout-Out: At the start of the final episode, after pleading not guilty, Nilsen is shown quoting Don Quixote in his conversation with Masters, while explaining why he doesn't accept responsibility for the murders he committed.
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Des (2020) / int_c868a42a	type	Freudian Excuse
Des (2020) / int_c868a42a	comment	Freudian Excuse: Nilsen tells Brian Masters that seeing the body of his grandfather, a fisherman killed at sea, led to his actions. Masters isn't buying it, and immediately says so.
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Des (2020) / int_cdfe12c3	type	Nothing Is Scarier
Des (2020) / int_cdfe12c3	comment	Nothing Is Scarier: After his arrest, Nilsen talks about disposing of his victims' bodies and casually mentions "boiling heads". When DCI Jay returns to Nilsen's Cranley Gardens flat, he sees a huge pot on the stove. Jay walks towards it, the soundtrack starts to build up the tension... and he's warned off by a colleague before he can actually look at it.
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Des (2020) / int_cfe9b605	type	Docudrama
Des (2020) / int_cfe9b605	comment	Docudrama: The miniseries dramatises events following the 1983 arrest of Dennis Nilsen, a real Scottish serial killer, who's played by David Tennant. It doesn't attempt to show Nilsen's crimes themselves, only the aftermath.
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Des (2020) / int_db015585	type	False Confession
Des (2020) / int_db015585	comment	False Confession: When DCI Jay visits Nilsen in prison, he confesses to killing Kenneth Ockenden, a Canadian student whose family had political connections, whose disappearance made headlines several years earlier. Chambers is furious when Jay tries to reopen the case, assuming Nilsen is lying for publicity. It's later revealed that Ockenden really was a victim.
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Des (2020) / int_df79b05b	type	Media Scrum
Des (2020) / int_df79b05b	comment	Media Scrum: The police are wary of getting caught up in a crowd of reporters and are initially able to keep them at a distance while moving Nilsen from the station. Later, when Nilsen's committed to trial, reporters do manage to crowd around the police van, pressing cameras up against the windows.
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Des (2020) / int_e11e88b6	type	Thousand-Yard Stare
Des (2020) / int_e11e88b6	comment	Thousand-Yard Stare: In the first episode DCI Jay stands across the street and watches, unmoving and unblinking, as the press photograph the group of police officers bringing bagged human remains out of Nilsen's Cranley Gardens flat.
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Des (2020) / int_e7022a49	type	Talking to the Dead
Des (2020) / int_e7022a49	comment	Talking to the Dead: In the final episode, during the court case, Nilsen's barrister mentions him watching TV alongside the bodies of his victims, conversing with them as if they were alive. It's part of a defence claim that he's not guilty of murder, only manslaughter, due to his state of mind.
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Des (2020) / int_ea30a388	type	Carpet-Rolled Corpse
Des (2020) / int_ea30a388	comment	Carpet-Rolled Corpse: During his initial interview, Nilsen mentions wrapping his victims' bodies inside carpet when taking them into the Melrose Avenue garden to burn them. He adds that the burning carpet, topped with a car tyre, also helped to mask the smell. The second episode opens with a flashback, showing him in his garden at night, watching one such fire.
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Des (2020) / int_ecc7e956	type	Dissolve
Des (2020) / int_ecc7e956	comment	Dissolve: The second episode opens with a flashback showing Nilsen, at night, watching a fire (containing a Carpet-Rolled Corpse) in his Melrose Avenue garden. It then dissolves to the same garden, by daylight, after his arrest, with the police searching the scene.
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Des (2020) / int_ee00a219	type	The Show of the Books
Des (2020) / int_ee00a219	comment	The Show of the Books: The series is based on Brian Masters' book Killing For Company, and Masters himself (played by Jason Watkins) is one of the main characters in the dramatisation. The book itself is discussed in the final scenes.
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Des (2020)

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