Wire in the Blood

Wire in the Blood, is first of all a showcase for the excellent acting skills of the charismatic Robson Green. For a mystery/suspense,thriller this show easily surpasses virtually all shows in the genre. The shows all involve murder and this is the focus of the plots. The plots, moreover, are taut and well-written. The setting and actors are British. For non-British viewers the British actors provide something faintly exotic and alluring, which works fine to subtly draw the viewer into the action of this suspense show. It is our not insignificant loss that more shows weren't filmed

The acting overall is fine; Green's outstanding acting seemingly makes all of his fellow actors elevate their performances. The stories are quite compelling, but the real interest is in the way Green solves the murders, using his training as a psychologist who teaches at a university and in at least one episode is seen acting as a therapist. His credentials are present just to make him initially credible. He has the intelligence, training, and experience to solve complex crimes.

For a t.v. show, there an unusually high level of tension and suspense, often only seen in movies. All in all, this show rewards close viewing, while the violent/gruesome scenes are few, they are minimally sanitized, and are contextually justified. In fact the reality of violence and destructive sexuality reflect quite accurately what homicide detectives see in the real world on a regular basis. This is a show about evil--so don't expect extenuating circumstances, except for brief views in some of the shows of the past of the criminals, usually childhood, that help explain why they commit their heinous crimes.

I started watching this show in series 1. It was edgy and gritty, with strong performances from everyone. It still is. "Wire in the Blood" is the story of Dr.Tony Hill (Robson Green), a slightly eccentric clinical psychologist who works part time with the police force of Bradford, England. He has a reputation of taking small seemingly unconnected facts puzzling them together and providing a profile for the police to follow. The show is bases on the books written by crime novelist Val McDiarmid. In series 1-3, Hermione Norris played Detective Inspecter/Chief Inspecter Carol Jordan of Bradford CID, who managed to rein Tony's scattered abilities and make sense of them. In series 4, Ms Norris has left the show and Simone Lahbib as Inspecter Alex Fielding has the dubious job of reining in Hill. Green is, of course, the lead of the show and he is brilliant. He mixes in just enough idiosyncrasies to make Hill human, endearing and sometimes down right aggravating. Norris brought an adult, feminine, vulnerability to her role as Carol Jordan. Brought up to believe in hard case police work, her world was turned upside down by Tony's presence. In the end, she asks for a transfer. Enter DI Alex Fielding, Simone Lahbib. Ms. Lahbib is an unknown entity to me, but as I finished watching series 4, I felt a bit queasy. When one actor leaves a show and is replaced. It is important to give the newcomer a distinctive identity. Fielding is a single mother with a son and a cat, yet in the second episode of s4, "Torment", the writers were able to slide her easily into the role that would have been Norris'. The "Jordan" character was specific to the McDiarmid book "Torment of Others", of which the episode was derived. The Jordan/Fielding character played a large part. The writing is exceptional, especially for the episode, "Torment". The acting is exceptional. This statement is meant to include: Mark Letheren(DI Kevin Jeffries); Emma Handy (DC Paula McIntyre) and Peter Sullivan (ACC Paul Eden). When there is an ensemble cast and crew that work their hardest to put out the best product possible, it makes viewing a very satisfying activity. Note: this show is designated TV-MA, because of some intense or violent scenes. I would not recommend this show for anyone under the age of 16.

I found Wire in the Blood purely by accident and I am now a die-hard fan. It's quite dark, with just enough wit to keep you from falling over the edge into the great abyss. The intelligent and complex story line demands focus to follow clearly, and make you think. Sometimes the jumps in logic can seem a bit far fetched, but that is what makes it interesting and fun, without having to be a series of mindless chase scenes and explosions. Robson Green is incredibly impressive (and maybe a little bit scary) as eccentric psychological profiler Dr. Tony Hill, and Hermione Morris does a great job as tough DI Carol Jordan, a woman in what is still very much a man's world. All the characters have distinct and believable personalities. All in all, this series is great fun.

Criminal Psychologist Tony Hill assists The Police with all manner of complex and disturbing crimes. He's quirky, he's a little odd, but he helps to provide a different, and intellectual insight into the killer's mind.

I loved this show, six great series, twisted, bleak and mind bending crimes. The show shocked, thrilled, entertained and intrigued.

Effectively the show is split up into two eras, series one to three, The Carol Jordan years, series four to six, The Alex Fielding years. Both having very different relationships with Tony.

What I'm struck by, was just how explicit this show was, it wasn't afraid to show violence and gore, at the time they got away with a lot more than they'd be allowed to now.

Torment, Synchronicity and The Mermaids singing were my favourite episodes, but the standard in general is very high, only the final, US set episode didn't quite work for me.

Robson Green was terrific as Tony Hill, a very original character, one it's hard not to like, quirky, but sincere and smart.

A great series, 9/10.

This is a taut British crime drama very much in the "Cracker" mould. In this case, our lead character is Dr. Tony Hill. It features a crime-weary psychotherapist who is part profiler, part detective, part forensics expert. (Think "Cracker" meets "Inspector Morse" meets "CSI").There is a bookish, academic quality to Doctor Hill, without him being tweedy and standoffish (he's more human, and less lofty than Morse).

Dr. Hill is well played by actor Robson Green, who played another complex Detective in the British miniseries "Touching Evil."

In "Wire in the Blood" the stories and the crimes often unfold slowly, with just enough bits of clues and hints to make the slow development seem satisfying.

WARNING: The crime scenes can get a bit grisly, but are never gratuitous.

If you like the aforementioned "Morse" series, and enjoy the psychological gymnastics by Robbie Coltrane's "Cracker" then you will not want to miss "Wire in the Blood."