Wire In The Blood - Give Brit Crime A Chance
A Solid British Drama Possibly Coming To America Courtesy Of CBS
Nov 12, 2009
Wire In The Blood followed Dr. Tony Hill, played by Robson Green, through six seasons of crime fighting on the streets of the fictional town of Bradfield, UK. Hill, a clinical psychologist, assisted the Bradfield PD in their toughest cases, where his ability to embody the victim and the killer was a gift the detectives desperately needed.
The Beginnings of Dr. Hill
In the beginning, Dr. Hill was apprehensively brought on by DCI Carol Jordan, played for 14 episodes by Hermione Norris. DCI Jordan was the detective in charge who needed Hill's expertise, but feared his eccentricities might get in the way of the job. She is soon proven wrong, as these eccentricities add to his insight into the criminal mind, and his profiles of the criminals are invaluable. Hill is frighteningly correct in most of his original assumptions, however, sometimes watching him talk to himself in his apartment gets a bit unnerving. Also, after watching 6 seasons of him walking about carrying all of his world in a blue plastic bag, the viewer begins to wonder how he would analyze that behavior in someone else.
He doesn't have many personal relationships, as he becomes almost fully engulfed in his work. His co-workers are his only real friends, but even with them his odd personality keeps him at a distance. He does strike up a veiled romantic relationship with DCI Jordan, who comes to depend on him maybe a little too much. However, DCI Jordan doesn't stick around for all 6 seasons, so when she is replaced by DI Fielding, played for 11 episodes by Simone Lahbib, Hill starts to take a romantic interest in her as well.
Hill is not just a behind-the-scenes man, as he is targeted 3 times by killers, and once by a delusional psychotic who believed herself to be in a relationship with him. Being the psychologist tracking and profiling them, he is usually able to get out of these tight spots using the psychological methods he's been teaching the police.
The Killers
The killers aren't the average psychopaths either. Without ruining the show, a transgender, a tortured grandson of a holocaust victim, a man who cuts people into pieces over the course of a week using tourniquets to stifle bleeding, and a ritualistic killer who imagines a religious secret society are just a few of the interesting folks that Dr. Hill has to analyze and profile. The killers are some of the most interesting parts of the show, because the same devices or motives are not usually present, as it seems to be in most American crime shows.
The Police Terminology
American audiences are used to hearing the same terminology thrown around in all crime shows dealing with the power hierarchy of police forces. In the British Detective hierarchy, acronyms are as follows:
DCI: Detective Chief Inspector (number 1 in charge)/ same as a Captain in the British Army
DI: Detective Inspector (number 2)
DS: Detective Sergeant (number 3)
DC: Detective Constable (number 4)
The viewer hears these used all the time, and until fully grasping the power structure after watching a few episodes, it is greatly beneficial to understand from the beginning.
British Television Seasons
Television in America is pretty cut and dried the way a season works. Generally for a prime time show, there are usually around 20-24, 30 min. episodes in a season. For a cable show, such as Dexter, there are usually around 12, 1 hr. episodes a season. In British television, the episodes vary in length from week to week and the seasons are roughly 5 or 6 episodes each. Upon speaking to a British gentlemen, it seems that the episodes last as long as they need to, and the seasons follow that same format.
An American Conversion?
In August of 2009, CBS and Dreamworks released a statement saying they are picking up Wire In The Blood to come to America and be adapted for American audiences. The writer of CSI: Miami, Ildy Modrovich, and director of Breaking Bad, Terry McDonough are attached to write and direct the pilot. Hopefully, when translated to American TV, Wire In The Blood will not lose it's original, eccentric, odd magic that was created in the UK version. The killers will still need to be as interesting and the cast, consistently 4 main characters in the UK version, should still be small and multi-talented to make this show a success.
Only the best wishes and hopes are given to the creators of two of television's most popular crime involved shows for the adaptation of a very solid and entertaining British show. The show has already been offered a script commitment, so soon the US of A will see what British television can do in the dramatic world, as it has already seen the brilliance of their comedy shows like The Office.
 |
