Wire in the Blood

Brilliant series. The third episode not quite as strong a story as the first two, perhaps has something to do with the fact that it was not based directly on the books of V. McD. Robson Green is a great talent, in spite of what his fellow Newcastleian had to say above. I've enjoyed his first rate performances in two other series I've seen, and can't wait to see how his character's flirtation with D.I. Jobson develops in future episodes. Comparisons with "Cracker" seem off the mark to me. Although its one of my favorites, the only things in common with "Wire..." are forensic psychologists profiling murderous sickos, and helping the police catch 'em. Note to the producers: Have Robbie Coltraine guest as "Cracker" character in a future episode assisting Hill and Jobson! Imagine all the fun they could have conflicting professionally, not to mention romantically, vying for Jobson's attention and favors! Brilliant!

I first discovered "Wire in the Blood" by happy accident, I was watching Agatha Christie's Miss Marple on Amazon prime and "Wire in the Blood" popped up in my recommended list. I became hooked from the first episode "Mermaids Singing" which is done in 2 parts, with each episode my enthusiasm for the show also grew. Wire in the blood is now one of my favorite crime/Mystery/Drama shows for T.V. I'm a big fan of good,clever mystery. There are many crime/mystery books and shows out there but few are done this well with excellent character development, believable plots and story lines that are on one hand complex, terrifying, fully engrossing and on the other hand funny, thoughtful and informative. The show and books are dark and twisted. If your a fan of the genre and have not yet discovered Dr.Tony Hill I recommend that you do.

Wire in the blood was created and produced by Coastal Productions for the ITV network, it ran from 2002 to 2008 comprising of six seasons. Wire in the Blood was ITV's top rated show, was syndicated to 30 countries and won multiple awards. So when ITV did not pick up Wire in the blood for another season there was widespread disbelief and major disappointment for the millions of devoted fans.

Coastal Productions was created by Robson Green and Sandra Jobling in 1997. Their main objective was to create and produce quality shows in east Britain, creating jobs and giving voice to that area of the country. It blows every CSI, cop procedural made in the US totally out of the water. Wire in the Blood is based on the books of noted and award winning Scottish crime writer Val McDermid.

Dr.Tony Hill played by Robson Green is our main character, he is a clinical psychologist who works as a profiler for the Bradfield police; he specialises in repeat violent offenders, and has come into contact with a number of serial killers throughout his career. D.C.I. Carol Jordan played by Hermione Norris is a hard working officer and head of the Major Incident Team (MIT) of Bradfield Metropolitan Police's CID. Season 4 introduces us to a new lead character - DI Alex Fielding she is a senior detective at Bradfield CID and is a dedicated professional, always willing to put in the hours to get the case solved. Her warmth and down-to-earth style have gained her the respect of her police colleagues and Dr Tony Hill. There are many very well developed characters in this series i recommend you visit Wikipedia to get the full description of the show and it's wonderful characters http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_in_the_Blood

I also recommend that once you finish watching the series you read Val Mcdermid's books on Tony Hill & Carol Jordan. After the last episode of season 6 I felt left just hanging there - I wanted more more more and to know what happened next?!! As tribute to the shows success and devoted fans there is even a fan site where fans of both the TV show and books have written some pretty good Fan Fiction from chapters to full short stories. http://www.fanfiction.net/TV/Wire-in-the-Blood/

Green's vulnerability, intensity and flexibilty in his craft is a complete pleasure. He displays tremendous potential; one can hope that he will continue to create performances that are filled with the humanity, compassion and insight that "Tony Hill" shows us. Brilliant!

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.

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.