Reviews

Disclaimer: The next few blog posts will be on true crime shows and documentaries to expand the content range and to find material that more accurately depicts forensic science.

Forensic Files is a classic show for the telling of the stories of real cases, both solved and unsolved. It aired from 1996-2011 and has long been a common program on television stations and Netflix for those interested in forensics, different types of criminal cases, human anatomy and pathology, and more. Each episode includes persons involved with the crime whether they’re a victim, the family of the victim, law enforcement, criminal, etc. and actors reenact the crime on screen. It shows what the crime is, which forensic techniques are used to investigate, and who the key players are in the story while the narrator fills in details and moves the episode along. Forensic Files still stands as the longest running true crime series on tv.

Forensic Files is rated TV-14 for mentions of violence, murder, disease, sexuality, and drug usage. Some episodes could be appropriate for younger audiences with parental guidance.

The first episode of season one, episode one, titled “The Disappearance of Crafts”, is about a Connecticut flight attendant who went missing. It aired on April 3, 1996, as the pilot episode of the series. In this case, it was suggested by evidence that Helle Craft’s husband was the cause of her disappearance and death, despite her body never being located by neither citizens or law enforcement. The incriminating evidence for Richard Crafts being a woodchipper which is where it was believed he disposed of his wife’s body.

The series deserves a 7/10 rating for its variety in cases, forensic technique demonstration, and case accuracy and realism.

Forensic Files is a good rainy day show to binge if someone’s in the mood to learn something new and expand their knowledge of crimes.

The Closer is a crime drama that follows Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, a woman with a strong will and knack for drawing confessions from even the most stubborn criminals through interrogation, and her skills coming from her training in the CIA. recent transfer from Atlanta to Los Angeles to work for the LAPD in their Priority Homicide Division isn’t an easy one, as she is met with doubt by officers with high rankings and even those within her own squad due to her southern accent and attitude, prioritizing doing the right thing over the politics of the justice system, and unconventional methods of drawing out criminal confessions. Though many crime shows are about teams or partners, it’s good to see a show with a bold female lead among a mostly male cast who isn’t scared to play “bad cop” in the interrogation room, while still not straying far from most other crime shows.

The Closer is rated TV-14 because it contains material not suited for most younger audiences such as violence, murder, drugs, sexuality, and rude language.

Season one, episode one of The Closer begins with Brenda’s transition into the LAPD and the Priority Homicide Division to work on a case where a woman turns up dead in the home of a millionaire running a big tech company. Brenda determined to get to the bottom of the gruesome murder, investigate with all she’s got to prove to those at the LAPD she’s capable of working on their level and eventually unravels a large twist in the story of the dead woman.

The show is a 7/10 for good dialogue, pace, writing, emotion, and film aesthetic.

The Closer is a show for anyone looking for good interrogation scenes, drama, plot, and to see a southern lead outside a country movie.

Bones is a forensic show that combines crime solving with comedy and incorporates forensic techniques in anthropology and archaeology. It aired from September 13, 2005-March 28, 2017 and totaled to be 246 episodes across 12 seasons. The show is based off Kathy Reichs’ book series with the character Temperance Brennan named after Reichs’ book’s main character. On television, Dr. Brennan works for the Jeffersonian Institution and is a part-time novelist who law enforcement calls upon to help them investigate crimes involving the need for anthropologic expertise. Anthropology in forensics helps law enforcement determine who a person was and can even tell race, sex, age, medical conditions, etc. and is needed for identifying bodies that are far enough into the decomposition process they are no longer recognizable. It often goes in hand with archaeology because when ancient corpses are discovered, people can learn much about them and what kind of life that person lived. Bones includes other forensic branches such as computer science, entomology, and more.

Bones is rated TV-14 for violence, gore, rude language, mild sexuality, and murder. This show is recommended for ages 14+ but younger audiences could be fine watching this with their parents.

Episode one begins with Dr. Temperance Brennan being assigned a case in which she must discover the identity of the bones that were found in a lake and believed to have been purposely put there. Once the identifying the body and revealing who the murderer is, she works with Special Agent Seeley Booth from the Federal Bureau of Investigation who must convince his boss that Dr. Brennan is capable enough to be his partner in the field.

The show is a 6/10 for its characters, entertainment, and case creativity. Bones offers a lighter cinematic theme than other crime shows and is more of one the family can watch together.

Bones is a good show to watch for those who like anthropology, archaeology, and want a forensic show with more comedic elements.

Dexter Morgan is a blood splatter analyst for the Miami police department, and though he appears like a personable and suave character on the job, his double life entails crimes as gruesome as the ones he solves. By being a serial killer himself, his twisted side gives him an edge in understanding how fellow criminals in the city operate, which are also the very targets he hunts. Dexter is a good actor, pretending to sympathize and care with the average person, although it does appear that his emotions are more genuine towards his sister and girlfriend. The show does not mean to glorify serial killers, but to instead show that many serial killers do in fact act like the average person and can be twice as charming, similar to killers like Ted Bundy. It definitely prioritizes the plot and entertainment over forensic accuracy, however, forensic elements are shown with the processing of bloody crime scenes. Dexter is somewhere between a mystery, comedy, drama, and crime series altogether. An admirable quality of the plot is that the role of the hero and villain is blurred to create a sickening character that just can’t be hated.

The series is rated TV-MA for themes of violence, murder, drug usage, sexuality, and rude language.

Dexter begins by showing the audience just who they are dealing with from episode one, laying out the personality of the characters, mood for the season, and setting of the show from episode one and generally offering a different attitude than most other crime shows that like to showcase a noble protagonist that works for law enforcement and only kills as a last resort. Part of Dexter’s tragic past is also explained (his mother dying a gruesome death when he was only a child), which could be a contributing factor to his violent tendencies.

The show is an 8/10 for its creativity, setting and lighting changes, wordplay, and entertainment.

Dexter is a show worth looking into for those searching for main characters that lie far outside the hero labels such as Venom from the Marvel comics or Harley Quinn from those of DC.

Sherlock, a crime drama series, takes place in the 21st century in London, England. The show was inspired by the original stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Roots of forensics and investigation began in works of fiction such as the beloved Sherlock Holmes detective stories. This modern adaptation incorporates stories and characters from the books with creative liberty to write mysteries for the audience to enjoy. Sherlock is a socially awkward detective living in a humble apartment, making several friends (and enemies) with every new mystery solved with his genius deductive reasoning. John Watson is a retired service member and quickly becomes Sherlock’s right-hand man when it comes to getting into and out of risky situations in crime solving. Though few forensic techniques are actually shown, this show highlights that the most resourceful and powerful tool a man can have is his mind. Whether John or Sherlock are confronting psychotic killers, saving lives, stopping dangerous events from unfolding, or navigating the perils of social life, the two will always find a way to make it back home to their humble apartment on 221B Baker Street.

Sherlock is rated TV-14 for mild references to drugs, violence, rude language, sexuality, and murder.

Season one, episode one “A Study in Pink” follows the baffling case of homicides disguised as suicides that the police just can’t seem to solve. Sherlock soon arrives at the scene of the latest crime, the victim, a woman dressed in pink, and processes the scene finding traces of mud and a half-written name by the victim. Through a chase in London and finding clues, Sherlock and John soon find the man responsible for the mysterious deaths by poison. From then on, these two unlikely friends join forces to solve many more crimes together.

Sherlock is a personal 6/10 due to its advantages in acting, emotion, and film aesthetic, but disadvantages in episode release dates, plot, and excitement.

Sherlock is a good crime show for audiences in middle or high school because it’s writing is akin to something one may find in a typical young adult novel and genuinely does have some well-executed scenes.

Criminal Minds follows the story of fictional agents in the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI, where they bring serial killers to justice by using the skill of profiling. These agents come from a variety of background and all have their personal strengths that they must use if they want to efficiently do their job and make it out alive. Some of the most popular characters include agents Gideon, Reid, Garcia, Prentiss, Morgan, Jareau, Rossi, Lewis, and Hotchner. Many agents come and go throughout the fourteen season series, but all had their own distinct background and personality, which is essential in a show that highlights the importance of psychology. The team dynamic shows that they go through the toughest times and situations, showing that the work of a BAU member is no easy task with its long and demanding hours in order to quickly solve a case. The setting is in the Quantico FBI base, but the BAU travels to several different locations across the United States, each with their new bizarre or twisted crime scene left behind by a serial killer. Criminal Minds can be entertaining to not only true crime fans, but to anyone interested in learning what drives people to kill, and that not all killers operate the same. No matter who they’re up against, the BAU will not stop working until they can close their case.

Criminal Minds is rated TV-14 for the mention or mild portrayal of murder, violence, sexuality, drug usage, extremes of psychological disorders, rude language, and other material not suitable for young audiences.

The first episode titled “Extreme Aggressor” follows the case of women in Seattle disappearing over the course of four months, and expert agent Jason Gideon returning to the BAU after a medical leave to take up this case after his last ended up with six dead agents. Agent Aaron Hotchner must secretly assess the work of his returned mentor to make sure he’s fit for the job. They initially think these missing women are tied to the work of a convicted serial rapist, but soon find out that isn’t what the evidence points to. After constructing their profile and reevaluating the case, they soon find a more unexpected UNSUB (unknown subject, which is a term the real FBI uses).

Like all fictional crime shows, Criminal Minds is not accurate to how exactly the justice system works in reality. What it, along with others, teach us is broad concepts and techniques used. If these shows were 100% accurate, then actual killers would know exactly how to evade law enforcement. Nonetheless, Criminal Minds is a 9/10 for its entertainment, character design and development, and creativity. Seasons 1-9 are filled with memorable episodes and excellent writing, but there is a decline afterward and the episodes become less exciting as they used to be, which is why it does not make the full 10/10 mark.

Criminal Minds is guaranteed to grip the attention of its watchers from the first episode and leave them searching for more in a show with great potential.

Mindhunter is a show based upon the life of John Douglas, a renowned FBI figure and is regarded as the man who best understands the mind of the serial killer. With graphic detail that will set weight in the stomach, it will truly give an insight as to how horrifying both criminal and crime solver can be. The insight it gives into the culture of the 70s is historically accurate and matches how John Douglas described many events in his book which the show is modeled after. The show is about a rookie FBI agent named Holden Ford who slowly begins to learn about psychology and how it can be applied to catching criminals, despite the science being new and rejected among fellow FBI agents. Ford and special agent Bill Tench begin traveling to conduct interviews with serial killers and teach police the methods of profiling them. Ford and Tench originate the Behavioral Science Unit (BSU), which is focused on criminal profiling.

Mindhunter is rated TV-MA, which is appropriate because its graphical detail displayed could even be sensitive to adult audiences. There are themes of sexuality, murder, gore and violence, rude language, racism, sexism, other social prejudices, and more. Not recommended for anyone under 17.

The show begins with a delicate case of a mentally disturbed man who has taken hostages inside of a building, and Holden Ford opening communication with him in order to find out the best way of making sure the hostages and criminal survive. The man is distressed over his wife and demands she be brought, but Ford does not advise his partners to meet the man’s demands because it would trigger a bad emotional response that could make him kill the hostages or himself. The fellow agents bring the wife to the scene, to which the criminal then blows his head off with a direct shot. After this case, Ford begins to reevaluate what he and his fellow agents have been taught and then begins to try to understand what makes people do horrible things. His journey to introduce cognitive-behavioral psychology to law enforcement is not an easy one, but a necessary one.

As a personal rating, the show is an 8/10 for its accuracy to the book, education, realism, and storytelling.

This series will grip the attention of true crime fans and let the audience know of how the most dangerous people are not monsters in the open, but twisted humans who walk among the rest.

Broadchurch is a crime drama centered around a small town devastated by the death of an eleven-year-old boy found on the beach, and fully displays human imperfections and the ways people can find hope in the darkest of times. Even in the seemingly safest and smallest of towns, horrific circumstances can arise. Because of its serene coastal setting, the mood and pace of the show are slow and eerie, which is beautifully captured in the cinematography and soundtrack. Broadchurch paints anyone and everyone as a possible suspect because of how intimately everyone in town knows each other and gives each character a distinct and realistic personality. Though it may not be a loud and flashy series that glorifies ingenious detectives and monstrous killers, Broadchurch will leave its audience on the edge of their seat, haunted by the tragic events.

The series is rated TV-MA for tackling issues involving sexual themes, pedophilia, murder, rude language, and drug usage. Audiences a bit younger than 17 could watch the show, but with some parental guidance.

The first episode begins with Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman), a local detective, returning from a vacation to find out her would-be promotion of Detective Inspector was granted to Alec Hardy (David Tennant), a detective who failed to solve his previous Sandbrook murders case, and the chilling news that her family friend’s son Danny Latimer is dead. At a first glance, it appears as though Danny committed suicide, but forensics ruled otherwise. From there, the show launches into the investigation led by Alec and Ellie, who soon learn that they must work together and search for anyone and anything that could be related to their case. The show is a total of three seasons, each with eight episodes, which is a good fit for those who love to binge-watch. Each season involves a new case, while still following the original Danny Latimer one and its aftermath.

As a personal rating, the show is an 8/10 for its scenery, realism, acting, and depth.

For those who love drama and mysteries, Broadchurch will wonderfully blend both genres to create a story of grief, guilt, redemption, and healing.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is a television series that began October of the year 2000, and has been a beloved show by those interested in forensics and true crime since it started. With a setting in Las Vegas that will make adult viewers reminiscent of the late 90s-early 2000s culture,  the show includes a look at a fast-paced life and the (sometimes fatal) dangers that can come with it. CSI contains a variety of crimes just as unique as the cases off the screen and introduces viewers to several forensic techniques that incorporate the hard sciences such as chemistry, biology, and physics to determine how a crime occurred and how to find evidence that may be unseen at a first glance.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is rated TV-PG, but would definitely be recommended for an older audience 13+ due to mild content dealing with violence, death, human anatomy, sexuality, drug usage, and other themes that tie into the making of a crime. Despite dealing with heavy topics, the show nonetheless is enjoyable and even humorous or heartfelt at times with the interactions between those who work at the Las Vegas crime lab and the witnesses, victims, criminals, and law enforcement they interact with. The characters are realistic and easy to sympathize with and don’t make the job of a CSI look too easy.

The opening to the series (S1: E1) starts off by introducing a cast of unique backgrounds and personalities and ends on a heavier note that shows the consequences faced when even minor mistakes are made. Most shows would not introduce a new character that appears to be the lead, and also does not last the whole first episode. A twist like that shows that CSI grabs the attention of the audience and display the unpredictability of the real world of crime solving and that even a job taking place after a crime was committed can be dangerous.

As a personal rating, the show is an 7.5/10 taking into consideration acting, film aesthetic, plot, and education on forensics.

All in all, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is a good show worth watching for those interested in the use of science to solve a crime.