Posted May 1, 2011 It struck me recently how many of my favourite programmes fall into this category. Not to say they're all the same — The Mentalist is far goofier than Wire In The Blood, despite ostensibly being similar in concept — but there's clearly something about the scenarios and characters depicted in such shows that I find compelling. Anyway, this thread isn't about me: do you have any favourites in the genre, or does the entire concept leave you cold? Naturally "crime drama" is a pretty loose term that covers a lot, and I imagine most people have been recommended The Wire at some point. However, a show I've only recently become aware of, despite being in its third season, is the French Spiral (Engrenages). You can catch up with the current season via iPlayer — it's shown on BBC4, subtitled — and whilst it doesn't really have a 'gimmick', unless you count it being in French, I think it's an excellent example of a multi-threaded drama with a good line in wry humour. It's not for the faint of heart, mind; if you can think of a reason for something to be shown past watershed, this programme probably has it. I'm also a fan of two of the BBC's home-grown shows: Waking the Dead and Silent Witness. The former's recently finished for good and I prefer the more recent, post-Amanda Burton series of the latter, but both shows have saved many a Sunday night for me. Oh, I don't really like CSI. Whilst I never expect total realism in my TV shows, that... franchise pushes things a bit far for my taste; give me grit over glitter any day. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2011 The Wire is great, and I keep meaning to watch The Shield, but I have a hard time pushing myself to watch something that I know is going to be dark and depressing. I've also heard great things about AMC's The Killing, so I may watch that once the season concludes. I can't stand all of the crime procedurals on CBS, though. It's like there are 5+ versions of the same show, where the characters are dull and underdeveloped and the killer is always caught at the end of the hour. I much prefer shows like The Wire, where you can't go into every episode knowing exactly what to expect. I've thought of maybe possibly check out Bones because it seems to have quirky characters, but I've been reluctant to do so. But at least it's not on CBS, so it's got that going for it, I guess. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2011 (edited) I stopped caring about CSI a while ago. It just became too ridiculous, and the crimes themselves uninteresting. I pretty much take a look once in a while for Horatio's one-liners and not much else. I do enjoy Bones and NCIS: LA, that emphasise character interaction and are actually well written. I've also taken a liking to Lie to Me, but it's more because of the cases-of-the-week, which are more creative and interesting than in other series. Writing-wise, it's a bit on the mediocre side, I feel. Non-American shows, I don't watch that much (aside from a few German shows that occasionally air around here). There was this Portuguese show about lawyers, Liberdade 21, that I enjoyed, but I think they cancelled it. Pity. The good thing about "crime dramas" is that you can just watch them casually, without accompanying them and still find them entertaining at any time. Wait, just as I typed this, a Bones episode started airing here on FOX. lol :P Edited May 2, 2011 by Jonnas Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2011 I much prefer shows like The Wire, where you can't go into every episode knowing exactly what to expect. Generally I don't think an hour's long enough. Both BBC series I mentioned are comprised of two part episodes that are an hour each, as is Wire In The Blood, and Spiral only seems to tackle a single primary case each season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2011 I've been watching Castle(Best selling author follows a detective in New York City) and The Mentalist for the last few seasons. I'm also working my way through Monk(About a man who is the best detective in the world, but also has more mental problems than anyone in the world, which have only gotten worse since his wife was killed) on Netflix. I'm not sure if it counts as its from the other perspective, and also a serial drama, but I recently finished watching all the seasons of Prison Break(Engineer robs a bank so he can break his brother out of death row, who's there because of a crime he didn't commit) on Netflix, which was probably one of the best shows I've seen in a while. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2011 Prison Break was so good in its first season, but then... bleurgh. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2011 Did you finish it? It seemed to pick up a bit after the first part of season 2. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2011 Did you finish it? It seemed to pick up a bit after the first part of season 2. Oh, I finished it, alright. I kept watching through three years of increasingly bad writing just to see how it ended. I loved seeing Michael's plan unfold in the first season and seeing him adapt to things and watching him care for people that he knew he would eventually have to betray. That was an interesting show! I liked that show. But they could never figure out how to reinvent it when the plot demanded it. Once they made it out of prison they spent the entire first season finale just running through the woods, and that was the point I stopped liking the show (the only episode I genuinely liked after this was the second season finale). And that was basically what they did through the entirety of season two. The show went nowhere. They wasted how many episodes on finding the money that they ended up losing in the end anyway? The only thing that saved season two for me was Mahone. He was pretty awesome in season two. They killed off one of the main characters in the season two premiere, thereby making that person's entire plotline in season one a waste of space. Seriously, none of that person's discoveries actually had a chance to make a difference before they died. They just loved killing off people just for the shock value. But hey, The Company has to kill everyone who's been in contact with Michael for some reason! Except for certain characters (like the warden, to give a non-spoilery example), who The Company never seemed to care about. Though I suppose The Company never did make much sense. It was mysterious and powerful in the first two seasons, but turned into a joke by the time the show ended. They even tried to make us think that maybe it wasn't so bad after all, after three seasons of them killing people all over the place. And it's like... no. Shut up. I can't take that seriously. The show built up a great cast in season one, and then it struggled to keep those characters around. Sucre had to stick around for various reasons 'just because', until the actor decided to leave, but then the show was canceled and he returned a few episodes later. It made little sense for him to stick around to begin with, but it made even less sense for The Company to just let him walk away. Bellick was a great character in season one, but was completely ruined by the writers after that. LJ, meanwhile, who actually had a reason to stick around, got written out and was never used for anything more than a McGuffin anyway. Mostly, the show just became increasingly convoluted and started contradicting itself to the point where I could barely stand watching it. The whole Sara debacle (you know what I'm talking about) was ridiculous, and when they backpedaled due to fan outrage they managed to contradict so many things in the process. The whole show was like that. The magical brain tumor was a terrible plot device and had nothing to do in the show. And the ending sucked. I barely even remember what happened, other than there being some big deus ex machina at the end and them bringing back a dead character (thereby ruining one of the best scenes from season two). And, of course, brain tumor! The movie (or whatever you want to call it) made no sense after the end of season four and felt like a poor attempt to imitate what made season one so great. The joke's on me, I guess, since I kept watching a show I didn't like. Also, if we're counting shows about crime that aren't necessarily about the police (or the CIA or whatever), then I highly recommend the one and only season of Terriers. It's a show about two deadbeats who work as private detectives, and it's another show where the cases don't always last just one hour. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2011 There IS rather a lot of these shows, so I rarely watch any of them with much consistence, but one which jumps to me that nobody's mentioned yet is Numbers. I'm sure it takes a certain number of liberties sometimes, but I like putting the numbery theme behind it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2011 The only Crime Drama I watch religiously is Dexter, otherwise I rarely watch them. I see CSI when it comes on sometimes and I like Bones as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2011 The Soprano's is quite possibly the best programme I've ever seen. Coming up to the end of Season 6; can't get enough of it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2011 I find the Law and Order series to be most entertaining. Even the UK version, which I wish they'd do one which wasn't based on someone else's story. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2011 Breaking Bad has drugs. And is the best. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2011 The Soprano's is quite possibly the best programme I've ever seen. Coming up to the end of Season 6; can't get enough of it! For some reason, I didn't count it as a Crime Drama but looking back, of course it is, lmao. :p I love that show as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2011 (edited) You can't beat the holy trinity. Edited May 2, 2011 by The Mad Monkey Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2011 The only thing close to a "crime drama" I can think of that I've watched recently was Sherlock, which was ace. But other than that they don't really thrill me. Though I do love an Agatha Christie, it has to be said. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2011 I prefer more light-hearted ones like Castle and Pushing Daisies. The two-parter of Castle where the killer thinks he's challenging Nikki Heat (a fictional character from a book based on the main cop from the show) is brilliant. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2011 You can't beat the holy trinity. Only one man has the power to defeat the trinity's combined power. He's only pretending to think to give them the impression they still have a chance. He's already thought of ten ways to fuck them over. Twice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2011 Only one man has the power to defeat the trinity's combined power. He's only pretending to think to give them the impression they still have a chance. He's already thought of ten ways to fuck them over. Twice. Only one man? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2011 All Columbo needs to do is take away his lolly and he'll cry like a little bitch. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2011 I like my crime dramas to feature either a serial killer, a pie-making dead-waker or a sassy teen. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2011 woop not really a drama more like a comedy but WHATEVER its good Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2011 It's so awesome that MBAM! accidentally introduced Scooby Doo in this thread Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2011 I like my crime dramas to feature either a serial killer, a pie-making dead-waker or a sassy teen. They should make a show about a serial-killing sassy teen who works as a pie maker! Obviously she'd need to be played by Kristen Bell. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
