Wire in the Blood
From Zanecorpwiki
Good real-esque crime drama that does a good job of being different, but often veers into excessive brutality and harsh imagery. DVD
Summary
This can be an incredibly brutal and difficult to watch series in places. The first two or three seasons are by far the best, and the characters are interesting. All in all, I'd give it 3.5 stars, with deductions for pushing brutality a bit too far, especially in the later seasons.
It's not in any way realistic, but it does have a realistic feel that's completely absent from CSI, Cold Case, and the contemporary US crime dramas. That aspect of the show is really it's best feature. The characters are well developed and consistent, and for the most part, the show keeps to a highly episodic format that makes the 90 minute episodes more like movies.
Details and Notes
It's nice to see a show push the boundaries and try out a different formula. I cannot stress how far out there some of the episodes are, though. Each and every crime is on a Jefferey Dahmer level of brutality--or worse. One features eviscerated bodies, torture by amputation, and a parade of profoundly broken individuals.
That aspect of the show would actually be, in my opinion, impossible to produce in the US. Network or no. Maybe HBO or Showtime could get away with it, but even there the lack of beautiful people and highly episodic nature run against the aesthetic even if you could get away with a similar level of brutal imagery and storyline.
I like the real-esque aesthetic, but (even for me?) the level of brutality and horror in the crimes depicted goes to far. I watched the entire series with half an eye while working on something else, and found the show just too depressing if I paid too much attention to it.
In my opinion, the series should have ended with the fourth season. I believe the second season was actually my favorite, but it falls off from there and much of the last season is disappointing. The series finale is a just a hot mess. (Spoiler alert.) They bring out all this interpersonal drama to the fore and really whack on the idea of Hill's nemesis. All this goes against the grain of the show in an unpleasant way. Worst of all, they stage this "final battle" between Hill and his nemesis as a physical confrontation. In terms of character, narrative, and the entire reality and raison d'etre of the show, this is just all wrong.
The follow on out-of-series special, "Prayer of the Bone" is also pretty messy. If you live in Texas (especially Austin), you'll find it interesting just for the depiction of life here, but other than that there's probably better uses of your time and attention.
