frieda-92366

This series certainly has a wide selection of interviewees. It was not surprising how each subset saw the Ripper, his victims, and how the police were handling things. It's hard to fathom how so much work was done by the police for so many years, with so few results. Which is admirable. But their attitude toward women in general and sex workers in particular made me feel their jobs should be stripped from them and given to more competent women. And I'm not even a feminist. The documentary was muddied by all of the sideshows and too many dark old newsreels. I would have preferred a clean, clear exploration of the killings without so many different characters that had little new to add.

This is one of the most interesting crime shows I have seen, and I've seen many. The pace is excellent -- not a slow moment in any episode. They choose a number of lawmen (from FBI to the local sheriff) to recall their experiences on major killer crimes. Of course, these are all familiar territory. I have seen several different shows on each killer and his/her crimes and they almost always tell the same story the same way. Even when they involve family members, it doesn't feel as fresh and riveting as this show. I love seeing the attitudes of these retired lawmen/law-women and how it affected them and their families. But it doesn't dwell on that, it also hits the highlights of the crimes. And it doesn't focus on the criminals. It is like getting to sit a table with the good ol' boys and their war stories. Great stuff.

When I read about this show online, I was all hyped up for it. But from the opening lines to the end of the second episode (I didn't watch the third) it was a constant struggle to understand what was being said. I understand the interview tapes of victims and killers are of poor quality, but surely there is a way to enhance them. I finally put on over-the-ear headphones and turned them way up to hear the dialogue clearly enough to keep watching. Even the rest of the show's audio was bad. It gave me a whole new appreciation for rape victims then and now -- how tragic that they were rarely heard or believed, or worse, blamed. Hats off to Ms. Burgess for doing the work and making a difference.