Catch Me a Killer

I like this show, it was better than I thought it would be, but it's hard to believe the science part in all of the storytelling. I know it's based on actual events, but I just can't imagine in 1994 she's allowed to walk right up to bodies smoking cigarettes with no gloves on. Not to mention, we get it, she smokes, but it doesn't need to be a thing every 5 minutes of every episode. BY the end of the season, they've literally wasted a half episode worth of time focussing on her smoking. She's also constantly handling evidence and moving in crime scenes smoking. It just doesn't make any sense, and I can't believe that's how the handled crime scenes in the mid to late 90s in South Africa. But she's good, the cast is solid, the stories are compelling, its beautifully shot, so it was a solid watch.

The.content of the episodes was interesting; and all well acted. Some early episodes seemed forced, as if the resolution of the crime came too easily; but it is a tv episode, not a documentary. The main character became too intense and basically unlikable; yet none of her colleagues intervened. Some of the supporting actors, Vaughn Lucas, and the actor who played Mark, softened her and added dimension, but essentially she was becoming ego maniacal believing only she could solve the case. I found this aspect excellently acted. In reality this aspect would be a huge problem for co-workers.

The smoking was ridiculous. It was distracting and it appeared to be a police force of chain smokers.

The first episode was very good. I remembered that case as it was splashed all over the news and serial killers were still something not really heard of then. No-one quite believed it at first - apparently such a well liked and respected teacher. Just goes to show, never judge a book by its cover. I thought the episode was well acted and gripping.

Things sort of dropped off thereafter as she steadily became more unlikeable. I have no idea what she is like in real life, but god she must have been hard work, even with making allowances for the exceptionally horrendous circumstances she had to work in.

I know a lot of people smoked back in the day, but jeez she was like a walking coffin.

The settings were very authentic though and the supporting actors were good.

In the 90's, South Africa, which has the 2nd highest murder rate in the world. Many, many woman are found murdered, raped, tortured and mutilated in sugar cane fields. Besides other horrific crimes involving children and citizens just hanging at the pub.

Along comes real life profiler, Mickey Pistoris. The underfunded and under staffed police stations, look to her as men in the 90's would look at a woman who has ideas. Not welcome...at first.

This is an extremely well acted 11 episode show.

It is disheartening to see these crimes, most of which are serial or mass murders.

The scenery and film stock totally is the 90's.

I had no idea what this was when I started the show. Despite part of this being hard to watch - it's very well done. This is the true story of horrific crimes, but I give the series credit for showing the crimes in a respectful way. There is not much gratuitous violence - most of what we see of the crimes comes from the profiler and her reactions to them. We also see what happens to a person when they are exposed to so much violence. Nobody can see terrible things every day without consequences.

The landscape of South Africa looks incredible, and it's a stark contrast to the crimes committed. The acting is great - Charlotte Hope is amazing. The direction is good. It's a bit slow, but appropriate for its subject matter. You can tell it's based in the 90s - they caught that vibe perfectly.

Give it a watch - it's a bit sad, but a very good series.