Wire in the Blood

Wire in the Blood

One word. TERRIFYING!!!!!!!!!!!! This is a murder mystery series that you do not want to watch in a dark room. I did. Often during my strenuous college days... probably why I currently have so many issues...

Anyway, most murder mystery series on TV are entertainment in varying shades from light to gray. This show is hard to watch because it feels so real. The sadistic nature of the killers is very potent. It's not a documentary by any means, but it isn't light fiction. It strikes a chord.

The protagonist is Dr. Tony Hill played by Robson Green. He is a psychologist, on staff at the local university, but also advices the police on the side. Or, as his collogues feel, he is police asset first and a member of staff second. He is odd. He never packs anything he needs in anything but a plastic bag. Be it a file or clothes and toiletries for a conference. The problem? He has a hard time separating himself from work. Yeah, I know you're thinking "how original". But there is nothing new under the sun and this conflict was portrayed very realistically. Once he got into the psychology of the perpetrator he couldn't step back. Sometimes he is so caught up in the abstract that he fails to see the sheer horror of what he is discovering-- as his partner DCI Carol Jordan once tells him "But we're bringing back bodies, not the actual loved ones. You remember that don't you?' Ok, that's not exactly what she said. But I don't remember word for word.

The supporting character DCI Carol Jordan is played by Hermione Norris. She is a tough police officer. Hermione Norris is an excellent actress, but she generally known for playing Ice-Queen characters. Carol is no exception to this. In fact, she could have started Hermione Norris on this road. But the writers and her acting make Carol believable rather than the stock cop side kick. She and Tony are bonded because they are both very lonely, and seek comfort from the nasty world they work in in each other. She is tough, but very protective of Tony.

Unfortunately -- as is the nature of TV-- she didn't stay the whole ride. Carol disappears, if I remember correctly she takes a job in Australia or New Zealand. Tony is emotionally crushed and never quite recovers from this abandonment. While I commend the writers for giving Tony realistic emotional baggage, I felt that there was no motivation on Carol's side for this choice. But then, television is a genre where the audience has to be forgiving.

No matter how traumatized Tony was about Carol leaving him without warning he needs another female co-star. Enter DI Alex Fielding played by Simone Lahbib. Alex is a loving single mother, terrified of the world her son will know given the sorts of crime she sees every day. She realizes very quickly that she too needs Tony's expertise to solve any crime. She and Tony are close, but his oddness and his baggage from Carol never cease to get between them.

There is a smattering of other characters, but they don't do much other than help spread dialogue and provide a person to go under cover.

There are a few weak points in the show. Firstly, Tony is never wrong. Neither Carol nor Alex can ever solve a crime without his help. Ironic, because they both had to be fairly capable before they met him in order to rise to their current positions. They argue for clear evidence. He will argue for abstract theory. He will be right. There would be much more tension if the writers alternated which character was right. This way we wouldn't know the outcome of every argument and muddled plot point. 

Secondly, and worse, is the flat tension. This show is very tense in the murder department. But the sub-plots often fall short. Audience cares about sub-plot. These writers would set up serious conflict between Carol and Tony or Alex and Tony-- and then let it drop at the climax.  Tony and either female counterpart never actually got to have a scene with real tension because the writers seemed keen on preventing them from being cliché. Well, there is cliché, then there is not letting the story develop. Guess what? Audiences like romance. We like it when two characters get together. Let them. Or at least let there be tension. Not flop. Flop is bad. These writers were controlling the story rather than telling it.

In the end, yes, very good series. Yes I found some things that I wish had been done better; but certainly worth watching.