The world is fascinated by murder. It’s not just America, but rather the whole world. All of these crime series only prove that not only are people fascinated by creating these shows, but they sell. The audience loves it. It’s similar to how we rubberneck. We’ve all done it. When you find yourself stuck in a traffic jam in southern California, it very well could be due to a traffic accident up ahead. You turn to your passenger next to you and mention that if only people would quit rubbernecking, we’d get home faster. You round the bend up ahead and begin to see the flashing lights of an ambulance, let’s say. Or a few fire trucks. Do you keep your eyes on the bumper in front of you? Or do you glance over your shoulder, onto the shoulder? Yes…you rubberneck. Everyone does. We as human beings have a fascination with this sort of thing, and that surreptitiously includes murder.
Wire in the Blood exploits our fantasies to become forensic psychologists or detectives. To be the one whose experience and mind is called on to decipher the sadistic movements of a serial killer. We want to be the one who gets called to the scene and becomes knee-deep in dirty details only to have epiphanies related to the case over something simple like getting dressed or applying a shade of lipstick. We pause amidst these menial tasks while we suddenly discover the motive to our case. We are consumed by our cases. This is the fantasy that we are allowed to act out while becoming completely engulfed by a crime show—and Wire in the Blood allows us just this.
The ITV television show (brought to the States by BBC America) has been on the air since 2002, putting its sixth season out in 2008. The four episodes were aired in eight parts, although on the DVD each runs through as an 80-minute show. They are almost like movies because of their length and the intricate plots the show takes on to explore. It’s like watching a sequel to a popular movie. You already know the characters because of the first one, so they needn’t waste time with the introductions. Instead, they toss you right into an 80-minute-long drama that provides our fantastical minds with chronicles of serial killers.
Like other crime dramas such as American shows like Law & Order or The Closer, this show starts each tale off with a murder. In some episodes, Wire in the Blood will let the audience know who the killer is, as it might continue to kill during the episode. In other crime dramas, the audience must wait to find out who the criminal is until the end, right along with the detectives. This was an interesting way to go. The same old plot structure can get tired, but this way keeps us on our toes.
The story techniques are also great for a crime drama because they include flashbacks and flash forwards to keep us guessing. Some of these come as projections from the mind of Tony Hill (Robson Green), a clinical psychologist who advises the police efforts on the cluttered minds of the show’s serial killers. Although the other main character changed from seasons prior, season six follows the investigations led by Detective-Inspector Alex Fielding (Simone Lahbib). The pair have great chemistry and their close friendship moves the episode along. At times, the length of the episode can become annoying because of multiple plot twists that not only keep you on your toes, but also make you want to just get off them already and have a nice sit. But, in general Wire in the Blood does a nice job at creating interesting stories in a genre that has been done time and time again, while still keeping you fascinated by the murders.
DVD Bonus Features
No extras are provided along with these discs. I thought this was lame considering the sheer thickness of the packaging, you’d think with only one episode per disc (normally the number of discs for a season that has 22 hour-length episodes), it would come with many extras. But unfortunately there are none.
"Wire in the Blood: The Complete Sixth Season" is on sale July 21, 2009 and is rated NR. Drama, Television. Directed by Declan ODwyer, Peter Hoar, Philip John, Richard Curson Smith. Written by Naill Leonard, Charlie Fletcher, Simon Block, Alan Whiting. Starring Emma Handy, Mark Letheren, Robson Green, Simone Lahbib.
