User reviews

This is a taut British crime drama very much in the "Cracker" mould. In this case, our lead character is Dr. Tony Hill. It features a crime-weary psychotherapist who is part profiler, part detective, part forensics expert. (Think "Cracker" meets "Inspector Morse" meets "CSI").There is a bookish, academic quality to Doctor Hill, without him being tweedy and standoffish (he's more human, and less lofty than Morse).

Dr. Hill is well played by actor Robson Green, who played another complex Detective in the British miniseries "Touching Evil."

In "Wire in the Blood" the stories and the crimes often unfold slowly, with just enough bits of clues and hints to make the slow development seem satisfying.

WARNING: The crime scenes can get a bit grisly, but are never gratuitous.

If you like the aforementioned "Morse" series, and enjoy the psychological gymnastics by Robbie Coltrane's "Cracker" then you will not want to miss "Wire in the Blood."

Criminal Psychologist Tony Hill assists The Police with all manner of complex and disturbing crimes. He's quirky, he's a little odd, but he helps to provide a different, and intellectual insight into the killer's mind.

I loved this show, six great series, twisted, bleak and mind bending crimes. The show shocked, thrilled, entertained and intrigued.

Effectively the show is split up into two eras, series one to three, The Carol Jordan years, series four to six, The Alex Fielding years. Both having very different relationships with Tony.

What I'm struck by, was just how explicit this show was, it wasn't afraid to show violence and gore, at the time they got away with a lot more than they'd be allowed to now.

Torment, Synchronicity and The Mermaids singing were my favourite episodes, but the standard in general is very high, only the final, US set episode didn't quite work for me.

Robson Green was terrific as Tony Hill, a very original character, one it's hard not to like, quirky, but sincere and smart.

A great series, 9/10.

I found Wire in the Blood purely by accident and I am now a die-hard fan. It's quite dark, with just enough wit to keep you from falling over the edge into the great abyss. The intelligent and complex story line demands focus to follow clearly, and make you think. Sometimes the jumps in logic can seem a bit far fetched, but that is what makes it interesting and fun, without having to be a series of mindless chase scenes and explosions. Robson Green is incredibly impressive (and maybe a little bit scary) as eccentric psychological profiler Dr. Tony Hill, and Hermione Morris does a great job as tough DI Carol Jordan, a woman in what is still very much a man's world. All the characters have distinct and believable personalities. All in all, this series is great fun.

I first discovered "Wire in the Blood" by happy accident, I was watching Agatha Christie's Miss Marple on Amazon prime and "Wire in the Blood" popped up in my recommended list. I became hooked from the first episode "Mermaids Singing" which is done in 2 parts, with each episode my enthusiasm for the show also grew. Wire in the blood is now one of my favorite crime/Mystery/Drama shows for T.V. I'm a big fan of good,clever mystery. There are many crime/mystery books and shows out there but few are done this well with excellent character development, believable plots and story lines that are on one hand complex, terrifying, fully engrossing and on the other hand funny, thoughtful and informative. The show and books are dark and twisted. If your a fan of the genre and have not yet discovered Dr.Tony Hill I recommend that you do.

Wire in the blood was created and produced by Coastal Productions for the ITV network, it ran from 2002 to 2008 comprising of six seasons. Wire in the Blood was ITV's top rated show, was syndicated to 30 countries and won multiple awards. So when ITV did not pick up Wire in the blood for another season there was widespread disbelief and major disappointment for the millions of devoted fans.

Coastal Productions was created by Robson Green and Sandra Jobling in 1997. Their main objective was to create and produce quality shows in east Britain, creating jobs and giving voice to that area of the country. It blows every CSI, cop procedural made in the US totally out of the water. Wire in the Blood is based on the books of noted and award winning Scottish crime writer Val McDermid.

Dr.Tony Hill played by Robson Green is our main character, he is a clinical psychologist who works as a profiler for the Bradfield police; he specialises in repeat violent offenders, and has come into contact with a number of serial killers throughout his career. D.C.I. Carol Jordan played by Hermione Norris is a hard working officer and head of the Major Incident Team (MIT) of Bradfield Metropolitan Police's CID. Season 4 introduces us to a new lead character - DI Alex Fielding she is a senior detective at Bradfield CID and is a dedicated professional, always willing to put in the hours to get the case solved. Her warmth and down-to-earth style have gained her the respect of her police colleagues and Dr Tony Hill. There are many very well developed characters in this series i recommend you visit Wikipedia to get the full description of the show and it's wonderful characters http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_in_the_Blood

I also recommend that once you finish watching the series you read Val Mcdermid's books on Tony Hill & Carol Jordan. After the last episode of season 6 I felt left just hanging there - I wanted more more more and to know what happened next?!! As tribute to the shows success and devoted fans there is even a fan site where fans of both the TV show and books have written some pretty good Fan Fiction from chapters to full short stories. http://www.fanfiction.net/TV/Wire-in-the-Blood/

I started watching this show in series 1. It was edgy and gritty, with strong performances from everyone. It still is. "Wire in the Blood" is the story of Dr.Tony Hill (Robson Green), a slightly eccentric clinical psychologist who works part time with the police force of Bradford, England. He has a reputation of taking small seemingly unconnected facts puzzling them together and providing a profile for the police to follow. The show is bases on the books written by crime novelist Val McDiarmid. In series 1-3, Hermione Norris played Detective Inspecter/Chief Inspecter Carol Jordan of Bradford CID, who managed to rein Tony's scattered abilities and make sense of them. In series 4, Ms Norris has left the show and Simone Lahbib as Inspecter Alex Fielding has the dubious job of reining in Hill. Green is, of course, the lead of the show and he is brilliant. He mixes in just enough idiosyncrasies to make Hill human, endearing and sometimes down right aggravating. Norris brought an adult, feminine, vulnerability to her role as Carol Jordan. Brought up to believe in hard case police work, her world was turned upside down by Tony's presence. In the end, she asks for a transfer. Enter DI Alex Fielding, Simone Lahbib. Ms. Lahbib is an unknown entity to me, but as I finished watching series 4, I felt a bit queasy. When one actor leaves a show and is replaced. It is important to give the newcomer a distinctive identity. Fielding is a single mother with a son and a cat, yet in the second episode of s4, "Torment", the writers were able to slide her easily into the role that would have been Norris'. The "Jordan" character was specific to the McDiarmid book "Torment of Others", of which the episode was derived. The Jordan/Fielding character played a large part. The writing is exceptional, especially for the episode, "Torment". The acting is exceptional. This statement is meant to include: Mark Letheren(DI Kevin Jeffries); Emma Handy (DC Paula McIntyre) and Peter Sullivan (ACC Paul Eden). When there is an ensemble cast and crew that work their hardest to put out the best product possible, it makes viewing a very satisfying activity. Note: this show is designated TV-MA, because of some intense or violent scenes. I would not recommend this show for anyone under the age of 16.

I absolutely love this program so so much! I just want to watch it over and over again without stopping. The story the music the acting is just so damn beautiful. Every episode is gripping. Whenever I watch it is like the whole world stops I am just focused on the TV. I just love it so so so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Green's vulnerability, intensity and flexibilty in his craft is a complete pleasure. He displays tremendous potential; one can hope that he will continue to create performances that are filled with the humanity, compassion and insight that "Tony Hill" shows us. Brilliant!

Wire in the Blood, is first of all a showcase for the excellent acting skills of the charismatic Robson Green. For a mystery/suspense,thriller this show easily surpasses virtually all shows in the genre. The shows all involve murder and this is the focus of the plots. The plots, moreover, are taut and well-written. The setting and actors are British. For non-British viewers the British actors provide something faintly exotic and alluring, which works fine to subtly draw the viewer into the action of this suspense show. It is our not insignificant loss that more shows weren't filmed

The acting overall is fine; Green's outstanding acting seemingly makes all of his fellow actors elevate their performances. The stories are quite compelling, but the real interest is in the way Green solves the murders, using his training as a psychologist who teaches at a university and in at least one episode is seen acting as a therapist. His credentials are present just to make him initially credible. He has the intelligence, training, and experience to solve complex crimes.

For a t.v. show, there an unusually high level of tension and suspense, often only seen in movies. All in all, this show rewards close viewing, while the violent/gruesome scenes are few, they are minimally sanitized, and are contextually justified. In fact the reality of violence and destructive sexuality reflect quite accurately what homicide detectives see in the real world on a regular basis. This is a show about evil--so don't expect extenuating circumstances, except for brief views in some of the shows of the past of the criminals, usually childhood, that help explain why they commit their heinous crimes.

This is one of the best crime series if not the best crime series I've ever seen..praying they will do another series.

Robson green is amazing in it.

Highly recommend if you haven't seen this please do. You will not be disappointed.

I have been seeing quite a lot of this show on TV lately and i find it surprisingly entertaining. Surprisingly because i'm usually no fan at all of the serial-killer genre nor the kind of grisly imagery that this show always provides. But the gratuitous images and the worn-out theme aside this show has a lot to offer.

My favorite aspect is without a doubt Robson Green as the forensic psychologist Tony Hill. His weary and distraught appearance is enough for this to be worth watching. Also his interaction with Hermione Norris as the steely CID Carol Jordan is entertaining as well as many times touching.

The scriptwriting doesn't really live up to the characters in my opinion, but it's decent enough. Considering that i have read several of Val McDermids novels and liked none of them the writing in this series far exceeded my expectations. McDermids writing is simplistic and unimaginative in my opinion and the only real aspects from the novels that has been transferred to this show is the gratuitous nature of the crimes.

All in all i would say that this is a very entertaining show, at least for those who can stomach the gritty themes. I feel it far supersedes other shows in the same vein like for instance the quite dull "Messiah". Recommended.

If you like your murder mysteries uncensored this is the best one. Done very tastefully.

Very seldom will you find a British murder mystery TV series of this quality were "every single episode is great" not just OK, but great.

Even amongst the UK's best such as Prime suspect or A Touch of Frost. While undoubtedly there great TV series some movie episodes fall short of expectations. But not Wire in the Blood.

I watched all 6 seasons and 24 episodes. I rather enjoy dark, gruesome mysteries and Wire in the Blood isn't just that, it's also intense, VERY INTENSE! As well a graphic.

I read on the wikipedia page that the series was canceled because of it's high budget cost of about $1,250,000 per episode. Well.... watching this series you can really tell were all that money went. Each episode feels like your watching a multi-million dollar Hollywood production on TV. It is very fast pace tangled with multiple sub-plots everywhere.

Interesting that prior to this series, Robson Green started in "A Touch of Evil" that remarkably resembles Wire in the blood on a more "toned down" level. I suggest watching this one as well.

I specially find the first 3 seasons entertaining. I rather like the female co-star better than the one on the last 3 seasons. I felt the was more chemistry. In spite of that though the intensity of the series and plot lines don't die down. If anything they it gets even better with each episode.

Of any British TV series this is the one I hope is resurrected as too many things are left unresolved during the last episode. INTENSE! INTENSE! INTENSE!

By Dedoshucos.

Robson Green is a favourite of mine which is why I really wanted to love this show. I gave up due to some of the most annoying characters I have seen written. Perhaps one on the books it is based on might warm me up to it. For now I will just pass.

I was lucky enough to have a copy taped from BBC America (cheers, Mom!) -- if you're a Robson Green fan, it's a fantastic showcase for his acting. Not as cavalier as his "Touching Evil" series; his "Wire in the Blood" character of Tony Hill is much more reserved, quirky, and, being a criminal profiler, is more internalized with his processing of information. Even if you're not a Robson Green fan, this will surely garner him new followers. There were three full-length movies: "The Mermaid's Singing", "Shadows Rising", and "Justice Painted Blind". The first two, "Singing" and "Shadows" are adaptations of author Val McDermid's books;

"Justice" is an original script based off of McDermid's work, but closely follows her style and she was directly involved with its creation, so I think it's a respectful homage to her work as a whole, so I don't think her fans will be disappointed. All three deal with strange and grisly serial killings, the profiling of possible suspects, and the drama involved with tracking down the unique killers. Set against the backdrop of the bleak, lonely hills of the north of England, the movies are all gritty and disturbing (but not overly-so), and they really show the darker side of human nature and the lengths at which a profiler like Tony Hill is willing to venture to capture the killer. The supporting cast is brilliant; Hermione Norris as D.I. Carol Jordan is just wonderful to watch. Intelligent, sincere, and admirably professional, it's as much her story as it is Tony Hill's. The chemistry they have is marvellous to watch and not at all contrived. Personally, I think "Mermaids" was the best; it was the first, it clearly had the most detailed characterizations and plot complexity, and was definitely the most vicious -- some scenes definitely not for the faint of heart. But still compelling and highly recommended. The other two are still great, well-plotted and suspenseful, but slightly less edgy as the first. I recommend seeing the series in its proper order, to catch little references to past storylines.

An eccentric psychologist, with zero social skills, and a smart and charming female detective come together in Bradfield, England, to solve cases that no normal policemen could ever. I found this series especially delightful because Robson Green's character lives within the confines of his own mind. Though he shows remarkable insight into the actions of the violent and deranged, he also displays that phenomenal lack of social consciousness that is particular to geniuses and artists (as in "Yes, I just invented nuclear fission, but no, I didn't know I was supposed to wear socks and shoes to this award ceremony."). This makes for some truly unusual and amusing situations, that help bring levity to the gruesome crimes he investigates. If you like Touching Evil or Monk, this series may be for you.

Best way to approach this tv series is that its 100% based on psychopathology and the darkest side the human soul. its the broken human soul that compells extreme acts of depravity, violence .. there is no place this doesnt go... pedophiles, incest, beastiality, satanism, fundamental christians, child killers, oepidal complex,self harm, cannibalism, bondage, all kinds of fetish, drug users and of course the narcissitics psychopaths...all the sickos you can imagine, this goes into the glory details , doesnt skimp on the blood and guts and goes deep into their heads and turns out episodes that leave you guessing at the edge of your seat till the end... its a classic who done it detective mystery.

If you like dry detective work, heavy drinking cop shows, gangs, drugs, shoot'em ups... you probably *wont* like this one as there isnt much tough guy, street cred, grit and fast draw action in this, instead its all internalised as dr hill discects crime scenes, profiles, interrogates and puts it together ..

bad points? 1) sometimes its contrived as the good dr. who is wrong is somehow later shown to be right about with his analysis .. feels like they had to rework the plot too often. 2) sometimes unbelievable plots... the nick of time rescue is a bit cliche, they always catch the bad guy just before he cuts victims throat at eats him 3) some episodes are weaker that others...in weaker episodes it feels like the episode was written in reverse ie. they tried to write the story to fit the ending which makes the story unconvincing

good parts - too many, should just watch it if you like this type of show. only people who wont like this would be those who dont like the genre...

This series is about a physcologist which assists with cases for the police. It goes deep in depth in to the criminals minds and thinking. He shows how he narrows down people by "profiling" them which gives them the idea of what the person looks like, acts and their job. This series is an amazing detective series and I would recommend to any one 13+ looking for a good detective series.

I've been in love with Robson Green for years, and he's in top form here in "Wire in the Blood," a British TV series based on characters created by crime writer Val McDermid. It ran for six seasons and I believe had some specials along the way.

Green plays Dr. Tony Hill, a clinical psychologist who works as a criminal profiler for the Bradfield police department. Tony gets into the minds of both killers and victims in his attempt to help DCI Carol Jordan (Hermoine Norris) and later, DI Alex Fielding (Simone Lahbib). The crimes are gruesome, violent, and sometimes hard to watch.

Nevertheless, this dark, atmospheric series is compelling and absorbing to watch. I can't understand one word that Simone Lahbib says, but I still enjoy the show. Robson Green, as the thoughtful, quirky Tony Hill, is marvelous.

I love British crime and TV shows - this is one of the best.

Storyline and performances by the actors are equal if not almost perfect.

This is really a two part TV series.. the first three seasons with Green and Norris.. bit.ly/1780gxl .. in the leads, and the second three with Green and Lahbib.. bit.ly/13Pgcqi .. Both are similar, and both are very good. Either of the two excellent actors would have been able to perform equally well for the entire six season run, and many viewers believe that's the way it should have been (Green is tops in all episodes). And yes, as many reviewers commented, the transition from Norris to Lahbib could have, and should have been handled with much greater care (CJ abruptly abandoning him without an explanation to addicted viewers, and heading off to So. Africa was not at all logical to their 'can't do without you' relationship). Simone Lahbib is a favorite UK actor, but if forced to choose in this series, I'd have to go with Green/ Norris. There was just increasingly natural interplay between them that made viewing more diverse and interesting (e.g. watch again the final 5-6 minutes of season 3; episode 4). WITB is a dark, gritty, British crime drama that most all will heartily enjoy.. should you like the genre.

Robson Green is brilliant as the criminal psychologist who assists the local police department with many of their murders.the stories are always gripping keeping you guessing and the acting excellent great scripts perfectly paced to keep the intrigue and interest from start to conclusion. The only moan is that the amount of episodes in a season could be more and was sad when season 6 ended as it was the last one and it showed in the last episode as the loose ends were far too quickly tied up and I blame that on the fact that without a follow up season it seemed the script writers had to end it earlier than they probably wanted to. If like me you love psychological based thriller style you will love this tv series.

Psychologist Dr Tony Hill assists the police, in particular Detective Inspector Carol Jordan, on murder investigations. He provides keen insights into the motives and personalities of the perpetrators and has an intuition for whether the investigation is heading in the right direction.

Cracker Lite. From the start this series looks like a copy of Cracker, the brilliant Robbie Coltrane series. However, it's not in the same league as Cracker, not even close. Plot isn't as solid and feels a bit contrived. The character of Tony Hill feels overdone, troubled and weird for the sake of being troubled and weird. More than this Tony Hill / Robson Green is quite irritating, limiting engagement.

After a few episodes it also becomes apparent that the series is quite formulaic, following roughly the same pattern each episode. There's also no overarching storyline joining episodes and seasons together - each episode is largely independent of previous ones - further limiting engagement.

On the plus side, there is a fair degree of intrigue around the perpetrator each episode and the dark tone helps the atmosphere.

Overall, borderline okay but nothing more.

This series is generally well-scripted and acted. The man who plays Tony Hill, the psychologist, is great. However, of the many detective series that my wife and I have watched, British, French, Scandinavian, Icelantic, this series has the sickest, most graphic murders in every episode. After a while, we tired of the gore and wished the series would end. We don't recommend this series.