This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper

The whole point of why the Police are made to look clueless is because I'm afraid that is exactly what happened. If you did not know about the case you would think the same way as Boba Fett, in that its that ridiculous it cannot be true. Unfortunately all the major incidents and mistakes made by the Police portrayed in this 2 part series actually did happen. We should not forget that if the Ripper was to have practised his evil ways the year 2000 he would have been caught extremely quickly with all the advances in modern technology.

This is the late 1970s. No DNA testing, No Super Computers, No CCTV to name but a few.

Alan Armstrong gives an absolutely first class performance of George Oldfield and steals the show.

We are shown how much pressure the West Yorkshire Police force were under and how they were unable to deal with an investigation of such evil magnitude.

In hindsight it is very easy to criticise the Police however the programme takes great detail in explaining how they were sidetracked by the hoax letters and tapes which allowed Sutcliffe to continue for another 3 years and how in the end he was caught not by their great detective work but by pure chance.

If you read in detail about the Ripper case and the Police enquiry into it, some of the mishandling by The Police was astounding. If you don't know a little about the case it's easy to imagine its all fiction.

I think this programme is excellent viewing for anyone who is unaware of the case and offers an insight into the difficulties they had in the late 1970s.

A bit more detail could have went into the numerous alibis given for her husband by Sonia Sutcliffe as in my opinion this was the other reason, along with the tape, for him eluding capture for so long.

This one will stick with you long after viewing. A gritty, grimy, chillingly real show. It kind of gave me Stendhal Syndrome, and I felt like I was an active participant hunting for the vile Ripper himself. Speaking of, the bloke that plays the aforesaid Ripper could pass for Sutcliffe's doppelganger. Intense, grisly closeups of the carnage are balanced by sublime frames that could pass for pastoral paintings. The slate grey skies and tragic tooth to head ratios really drive the sadness home with the force of a ball-peen hammer. An early, well ahead of its time, "Me Too" movement abounds. Misogyny and misandry in equally potent doses. Alun Armstrong gives one of the most visceral performances of all-time. A masterclass in acting by him. The series truly captures the paralyzing fear, hysteria and mayhem that seized England during the other Ripper's six year reign of terror. This one is as real as it gets. Other show runners should take copious notes.

It's amazing and horrible that all of this actually really happened. But even so the story remains highly unrealistic especially towards the ending, I just couldn't believe how dumb and stupid the police were at the ending! Yes, there are some tense and good moments but not as many as dumb and unrealistic moments.

The story also uses a bit too many unneeded sideline stories about some of the main characters. It's uninteresting and distracting and even dumb at times.

The only reason why this is a watchable mini-series is because of Alun Armstrong that is fantastic as always in roles like these.

It really isn't THAT bad but there most certainly are better and more interesting English detectives out there to watch.

5/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Extremely well done portrayal of the hunt for the infamous "Yorkshire Ripper"! Alun Armstrong is superb as the main character, Assist Chief Const George Olfield. He and Richard Ridings, as Det Supt Dick Holland, are excellent and with a great supporting cast who retell this grim chapter in 20th Century England very convincingly and accurately. I'm mystified why these two stars aren't heading the main cast line-up on this web-page. They deserve so much credit.

Accurately recreating the fear, desperation and hopelessness surrounding the Ripper hunt in northern England, the film takes you along on this terrible journey.

Alun Armstrong delivers yet another amazing performance, making you 'feel' for his character (George Oldfield) through every event of bad luck, bad judgment or bad mistakes.

Seeing Armstrong (as poor George) deteriorate through the prolonged investigation is simply sad and shocking. Perfect for the role, Armstrong's acting can not help but make you feel sorry for the task that faced the police during the time.

It isn't available to buy on DVD? Why not!!!