AWESOME show, keep away from children

I initially discovered the BBC America channel because I would stop on it to listen for a minute to British accents. I always kind of liked those and I liked to be reminded of the two great months I spent in London. That is how I found the series Coupling which I think is the funniest show in history. After discovering Coupling I started watching shows I had never heard of, just to see if they were good. That is how I came across Wire in the Blood. Wire in the Blood is a great mystery series. Even though I have seen it on BBC America, I have since borrowed the first season again from the library and I often try to get other people to become disciples as well. Perhaps you will allow me to tell you why it is so great.

Details
Wire in the Blood – Complete First Season is made up of three discs, one for each episode. (Yes there are only 3 episodes in the first season. I have a theory about that, which I will discuss later). It was released in July of 2005 and the total run time is 292 minutes. The three episodes are; “The Mermaids Singing”, “Shadows Rising”, and “Justice Painted Blind”.

The World of “Wire in the Blood”
A big part of the overall plot will be common to each episode, since they take place in largely the same settings with mostly the same main characters. The stories are based in a town called Bradfield in England. I don’t know actually if the town is real or fictional but if it is real I recommend you not go there due to the extraordinarily high incidence of serial killers.

The mainest of the main characters is Dr. Tony Hill, played by Robson Green. Dr. Hill is a psychology professor, specializing in the criminal mind, deviant behavior, et al. Due to his expertise he is called upon to help the police in certain delicate, important, or tough cases. He will analyze the crimes and try to decide exactly what kind of person the police should look for. I guess that is profiling, but it is darned interesting. The back-story on Tony is that while he can analyze people, he has a lot of trouble communicating or socializing with them.

Along side Dr. Hill is DI (Detective Inspector I think) Carol Jordan, played by Hermione Norris. She is usually in charge of the cases and calls upon Tony for help. For the most part the episodes stand alone, meaning you won’t need to watch them in order or know what happened previously, but there is a bit of tension, stuff, relationship, between she and Tony that carries over from one episode to the next. It is a minor story line.

So Why Only 3 Episodes in a Season?
I don’t have an official answer as to why the seasons are so short but I have a couple of theories. When watching it on BBC America I thought it had been yanked unexpectedly or something. For one, the episodes are quite long. On average, they will take over an hour to watch, without the commercials you would get were you watching them on TV. In a way, this season is kind of like 3 movies. My other theory is more related to the quality of British television since Coupling had really short seasons too. These episodes are darned good, all three of them. A series in the U.S. has a lot more demands; to make more money, and air more episodes. I think TV in our country would be better if there were less quantity. It is just harder to be creative for 30 episodes than it is for 3 or even 8, and I think the overall quality suffers for it.

Details on the first season
I REALLY don’t want to ruin this for anyone because suspense and surprise are keys to enjoying the show. I will try to introduce the plot a little, and the plot formula, but I want to be as vague as possible about plot details. In “The Mermaids Singing” Carol Jordan and Dr. Hill join for the first time to solve the case of 3 men who have been tortured and strangled to death. In “Shadows Rising” a celebrity stalker is linked to the bodies of two girls found in a lake. In “Justice Painted Blind” there is a killing in Bradfield that resembles a murder from 11 years ago, and the only suspect was acquitted.

As far as the general formula I am pleased to say that it is not entirely formulaic. There are episodes where the killer was front and center the whole time, and you never suspected him/her. There are also episodes where you don’t even see the killer until the case is about to be solved. In at least one episode you know who the killer is the whole time, but you just don’t know why. Generally you will suspect the wrong people and be deliberately led down the wrong path.

I have just one more point, but it is an important one. This is a DARK series. These episodes are not for children. I wouldn’t even want a teen watching this, at least not early teens. Even for adults this can be difficult subject matter. There have been times when we have watched before bed and then my wife doesn’t sleep well. I just wanted to warn you, the subject matter is heavy.

Conclusion
Wire in the Blood – Complete First Season is riveting, but man is it expensive. I have seen it for as low as $40 shipped but that is for only 3 episodes and I think the retail price is $60. I can’t recommend in all cases that everyone should buy it, but get your hands on it somehow. I got it from my library and maybe you can too. Failing that form a club or something and chip in. Now that I think about it, it might make more sense just to rent it. Nevertheless, Wire in the Blood – Complete First Season is thrilling, frightening, and fascinating. I highly recommend it.