Have loved 'Taggart' (another show gotten into during my teenage years) for a long time, although the more deliberate and even grittier Taggart and Jardine periods to me are superior to Burke's. Although it was actually through watching the late afternoon reruns of the Burke period episodes (starting from "Compensation" right up to when the episodes became shorter (too short in my mind) at one point that got me hooked, the Taggart and Jardine episodes were actually seen a lot later.
"A Death Foretold" became one of my favourite 'Taggart' episodes very quickly, and it is not down to nostalgia at all from it being one of my first episodes watched. It still is one of my favourites. Almost everything works here in a great and powerful episode that is a prime example of why Jackie (put in the spotlight) has always been one of 'Taggart's' best characters. Other episodes may have shocked me more in terms of perpetrator identities, but "A Death Foretold" is one of the episodes of the show to bring tears to my eyes every time.
It is made with a lot of grit and atmosphere, as well as a slick style, that fits the gritty tone of the show very well. The scenery once again is both beautiful and uncompromising. Personally disagree with the complaint regarding the music, this was around the time when the scoring did start to become intrusive and not always fitting, but to me it fitted well in "A Death Foretold" with the more understated tone in some places a good match for the emotional parts.
With the writing, "A Death Foretold" pulls no punches while having lots of intrigue and emotion. Not much humour here this time but that was not a problem. The story was great, the identity of the murderer was not a shock (my only complaint of the episode has always been that they are suspectable too prematurely) but the motive was not foreseeable and neither was the inventive brutality of the killings. What made it special was Jackie's subplot, never in the history of 'Taggart' was there a more poignant subplot (the latter stages are heart-breaking) and it was done without being too sentimental or dominating the case too much.
Despite Jackie, at her darkest and most interesting, the team are hardly underused and work very well together. Did find Burke too unsympathetic towards Jackie on first watch, but on re-watches it becomes more understandable as to why he comes over that way (unlike his earlier episodes he doesn't behave as too much of a bully towards her here). The climax has tension and the case is twisty enough without being convoluted. The acting is extremely good, with Blythe Duff being superb in perhaps her best performance, one that has always moved me to tears, of the show.
Concluding, wonderful and a favourite. 9/10