Obsession: Dark Desires

I am an avid watcher of the Investigation Discovery Channel, so when I heard about this series I thought it would be interesting. I saw the series premiere last night and it was much better that I expected; a show I'll be watching every week. Instead of using a professional narrator or journalist, the victim narrates their own story. Some narrators on these shows overdramatize the story or have annoying voices, which is a dealbreaker for me. With a different person narrating each time, that issue is eliminated, and it will make the show less predictable week after week. I hope they don't change this format. Secondly, this program is about stalking rather than the more frequent murder shows on ID, and it's great seeing the victims triumph over their stalkers and receive justice without tragedy befalling them.

Generally speaking, the reenacters should be the ones who are, y'know, acting, but here, some of the actual victims relaying their stories also feel scripted, like they're being coached on what to say the entire time for dramatic effect. During a few episodes, the dramatic timing reached a point where I found myself researching, to triple-check that the cases were real.

That's not a slight on the victims, of course, and there were a couple of stories from the first season that ripped my guts out. But, most of the time, I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was putting words in their mouths, which outright contradicts the show's mission statement.

Add to that the (albeut predictably) unrealistic reenactments and a palpable lack of even anecdotal forensics... It's simply hard to feel the truth in Discovery's latest awkward attempt at true crime.

I don't understand how other reviews could say that these are boring or repetitive. Each story has a unique and very personal narrative, dealing with stalkers or sick individuals with different mental illnesses or issues, with crimes ranging from physical attacks to years of drawn out mental abuse. Several stories have made me cry... If you're going to watch the show and judge solely on the reenactments then maybe you should come back when (you've grown up a bit emotionally) you're willing to watch for the actual events and not beg to be entertained over another humans harrowing experience. The stories are most certainly NOT all about helpless women, though I would agree that each case shows that the laws do not protect people enough until it is far too late, that is no surprise though as laws tend to be based around punishment, not preventative measures. My favourite story so far is about the gentleman lawyer who is still being stalked 30 odd years later, it has a pleasant ending.

Look, I think the show is great, and it's amazing to hear these survivors tell their own stories. That takes guts. Seriously, though - where are they interviewing these poor people? In a run-down, moldy, broken down building that looks worse than a third world prison? Please, host these survivors in a nicer location!

Each episode really kept my attention, and I am grateful for the victims deciding to share their stories.

Not so "spoiler" spoilers: According to each episode, the cops are no help at all, and, when your stalker is plotting against you, they will be sweating profusely.

These episodes are definitely worth watching and will possibly contribute in your loss of faith in humanity, but may help you see the red flags the next time someone comes up behind you and sniffs the back of your neck.