Customer Reviews

Wire in the Blood - The Complete Fourth Season

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One negative comment first:

1. Not only has season five already aired, but so has PRAYER OF THE BONE, a stand alone episode that brings the Tony Hill character to the United States. Realize it has been a year and a half since season four first aired and it is just now being released on DVD. I wish they would put them out quicker and include some extras.

About this season:

1. Someone incorrectly stated that the producers have created a love interest for Tony Hill this season with new DI Alex Fielding, played by Simone Lahbib. That is not true. If anything, this season and especially season five focus more on the investigations and less on the relationships between the central characters. They do explore it to some extent, but it is one of mutual respect.

2. Some will miss Hermione Norris as DCI Carol Jordan initially, but as the series progresses, Simone Lahbib as Alex Fielding really starts to grow on you. As a single mother, not only is she a more fully realized character from the start, but she creates more possibilities for the show and provides a new direction for future episodes.

3. Overall, this is the best season of the four available on DVD. In the first three seasons you usually got one episode that you felt was so-so, but not with this one. The acting is top notch as usual and the episodes have enough variety to make you want to watch the following season. And that is a good thing because season five is even better... I just wish they would put it out on DVD!

Wire in the Blood is one of those wonderfully icky crime dramas that the British do so well. Based on the series of four really creepy books by Val McDermid, this series features the character of Dr. Tony Hill, a clinicl psychologist who moonlights as a criminal profiler for the police in Bradfield, a fictional city in Northern England. The best part of the series is the casting of Robson Green (from the equally compelling British crime drama, Touching Evil) as Dr. Tony Hill. Robson brings a strange likability to Dr. Hill, an individual nearly as tortured as his clients and who has the ability to see the most grusome crimes from the perpetrators' perspectives. McDermid's books, and the first three seasons of the t.v. series, also featured the character of DCI Carole Jordan, the police inspector with whom Dr. Hill has a close professional relationship and would like to have a personal one, only neither of them has any ability whatsoever to maintain a close relationship with another human being. Carole Jordan was played by Hermione Norris, and she and Green had a magical chemistry. Unfortunately, Norris left the show after the third season and it suffers as a result. Sioban Lahbib who plays DCI Jordan's replacement is quite good, but inasmuch as the relationship between Dr. Hill and Carole Jordan was a huge part of the show, the producers sadly chose to try to make the new detective a romantic interest for Dr. Hill from the get-go and it feels forced, leaving the series as just another criminal profiler/cop show about really twisted cases. Good, but not the sublime show that the first three seasons made for.

If you've never seen the show, start with Season 1. If you've seen the first three seasons and liked them, read the books. If you've done all the above and have seen Touching Evil as well, then by all means dig in, but don't expect to be as enthralled as you were.

I've read 2 of the 4 books and have watched the first three series of the show. First off, don't expect the books (do we ever?) which are brilliant (tho even more grusome than the show). Also, don't expect series 1-3 in series 4. It's definitely different. If you are attached to Hermione Norris/Carol Jordan, you may have trouble w/ the addition of Simone Lahbib. I, however, kept an open mind and have been pleasantly surprised.

Simone's rapport w/ Robson Green and her acting is awesome. I also think her character is very well rounded (Alex is a single mum who also struggles w/ relationships; a bit feisty/abrupt, but caring).

Did I miss something where there is talk of a romantic relationship between Tony/Alex? I saw them get closer, but no sexual tension between them. There is definitely a trust and respect that develops, but even that becomes temporarily strained in the later episodes.

The only thing I didn't like about the first episode (Time to Murder) was how they "phased out" Carol Jordan - it was a bit abrupt and not believeable to me given the relationshp between Carol/Tony. She never would have just left him hanging. I also thought that Alex's initial strong rejection of Tony's "help" was resolved too quickly in the episode (she came round too quickly). Maybe not to have been so extreme (Carol gone POOF! and Alex hating profilers) in either case would have been less jarring in the transition, but once the 4th series got going, I was very drawn in and the stories were as good or better compared to the first 3 series. Torment was AWESOME (and no where as grusome as the book)!, Hole in the Heart was a little bizarre and the involvement of the chief was a little hokey, but I thought it was a great episode. Wounded Surgeon was an amazing close to the series. Tony's tortured "soul" and Alex's doubt were brilliant and the end "reconciliation" was great (still didn't see the romance tho).

Though I will miss Carol (Norris), Alex (Lahbib) is a GREAT new addition to the show and I can't wait for series 5 to come out on dvd. I've watched it once and it looks WOWZA! Can't wait! My only request to Coastal is to release in the US a little quicker, either to tv or to dvd!

Well, except maybe Touching Evil, and I must admit that the charismatic Robson Green has a lot to do with my enjoyment of both Touching Evil and Wire in the Blood. Season 4 of the latter is no exception. It's better than Season 2, in my opinion, and on a par with Seasons 1 and 3. I do miss Carol Jordan a bit, but it's also interesting to see the development of the relationship between Tony and Alex. Unlike another reviewer stated, there is no romance...yet. There's a hint of potential for a romance, but that's all.

One complaint is that I find it hard to believe that Carol would have just packed up and go without so much as a goodbye to Tony. Then again, maybe she thought it would be easier that way.

As for the storylines, they're all brilliant and true to the Wire in the Blood tradition. If you liked the rest, I see no reason why Season 4 would disappoint.

Finally, if I could have one wish for the production of the DVDs, it would be for a subtitle option. As a South African, I sometimes have to strain to hear through the beautiful but unfamiliar accents, such as Alex's. So subtitles for Season 5 would be nice - someone take note, please?

I hope this series goes on forever. One could compare Dr Hill to Hugh Laurie's House but Robsen Green takes us one step further into the thoughts and feelings of not only his character but of the deranged criminals he pursues. the show is intense, intimate, with a bit of humor mixed in. Dr. Hill's tentative relationships with the the team of detectives, as well as, with his leading lady counterpart also helps propel the series forward. I hope to watch this, Foyle's war, Inspector Lynley and Waking the Dead, to name a few, for years to come.

Koch Vision presents "WIRE IN THE BLOOD: COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON" (Released: September & October 2006) (344 mins/Color) (Dolby Digital) --- Wire In The Blood is an ITV television series, based on characters created by Val McDermid, which teams a university clinical psychologist, Dr. Anthony "Tony" Valentine Hill (Robson Green), with a tough female Detective Inspector, originally Carol Jordan (Hermione Norris) but replaced by Detective Inspector Alex Fielding (Simone Lahbib) from series four onwards.

Only the first two episodes of the first series, "Mermaids Singing" and "Shadows Rising", are based on McDermid's books, the rest having been written by others. However, the second episode of series four, "Torment", is an adaptation of McDermid's novel "The Torment of Others" --- The series has appeared in America on the cable channel BBC America, in Australia on the public channel ABC, in France on NT1, in Germany on ZDF, in Brazil on HBO and in South-East Asia on the cable channel the Hallmark Channel -- (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

TITLE & ORIGINAL DATE AIRED:
DISC ONE:
"TIME TO MURDER AND CREATE" (20 September 2006)
As a rape case ends in failure for Tony, a sadistic serial killer is at work.

DISC TWO:
"THE TORMENT OF OTHERS" (27 September 2006)
The grisly murder of a prostitute recalls a series of similar murders years ago - ones whose perpetrator is locked up in a mental asylum. Based on McDermid's novel The Torment of Others.

DISC THREE:
"HOLE IN THE HEART" (4 October 2006)
Tony is troubled by the attempted suicide of one of his students as well as the mystery of a series of deaths that are tied to a suicide cult. This episode takes many twist and turns including the possibility of a tie with the Masons.

DISC FOUR:
"WOUNDED SURGEON" (11 October 2006)
Tony has no doubt the first killer he helped catch, recently released from prison, has started killing again.

BIOS:
1. Robson Green
Date of Birth: 18 December 1964 - Hexham, Northumberland, England, UK
Date of Death: Still Living

2. Simone Lahbib
Date of Birth: 6 February 1965 - Stirling, Scotland, UK
Date of Death: Still Living

Great job by Koch Vision --- looking forward to more high quality titles from the BBC Collection film market --- order your copy now from Amazon or Koch Vision where there are plenty of copies available on DVD, stay tuned once again for top notch releases --- where they are experts in releasing long forgotten films and treasures to the collector.

Total Time: 344 mins on DVD ~ Koch Vision KOC-6517 ~ (2/05/2008)

Despite losing its female lead, this series maintains its high level of excellence. Dense, intricate plotting keeps the viewer on tenterhooks for the entirety of each two-hour episode, and male lead Robson Green's sometimes-endearing, sometimes-frustrating eccentricities allow the new female lead to develop her character in counterpoint to him. This series is the best of all the serial-killer TV dramas; each of the four episodes is like watching an individual Silence of the Lambs-caliber film.

Robson Green is a gem. Besides inventing some weird murders, this series has created a really interestingly torn character in Dr. Tony Hill. He is drawn like a moth to flame to these creepy murders even though it is obvious that the police dept. is ambivalent about using his services and even though the work takes an enormous psychic toll on him. I heartily recommend the entire series. Liked the first three with the original female detective.

I really enjoyed this show. It is just captivating. I couldn't believe there were only 4 episodes. I can't wait for Wire in the Blood - Season Five comes out.

I've been a fan of the show since it started and it is very unusual that after replacing one of the main character a show would get better, well this one does. Although Carol Jordan's character was very unique and individually strong it came across needy and unsure of her skills as an investigator when Tony Hill's character was part of her investigations. The newly introduced character in season four, Detective Inspector Alex Fielding's character is well played in the sense that she is still confident and capable of her skills as an investigator without being threaten or intimidated by Tony Hill's expertise. The character conveys authority, leadership, human nature and vulnerability which seems to relate better with Tony Hill's complex personality.