Friday 12 July 2013

My Top 3 Crime Dramas

My Top 3 Crime Dramas
By Katie Power



1. Whitechapel


Broadcast on ITV 1 since February 2009, and has completed 3 series. Starring Rupert Penry-Jones as DI Joseph Chandler, Phil Davis as DS Ray Miles, and Steve Pemberton as Edward Buchan.

The reason for why Whitechapel is my favourite crime drama is because it doesn’t necessarily follow the typical crime dramas such as The Bill. Whitechapel includes exciting storylines, including the copycat murders of Jack the Ripper, with paranormal events included. The main characters within Whitechapel all have diverse roles and storylines. Steve Pemberton’s character in Whitechapel is one of his best yet; he plays a crime based historian, mainly a Ripperologist, who is fascinated by well know crimes in history, and is an expert in analysing copycat cases of Jack the Ripper. He is extremely passionate about each historic case, and with this he starts to annoy Ray Miles. Rupert Penry-Jones character suffers with OCD, which effects him when he is stressed, and I think this is portrayed really well. Phil Davis character is most probably the best one in Whitechapel; I love his dry sense of humour and his sarcasm, even when he is in the most dangerous of situations.


2. Luther


Broadcast on BBC 1 since May 2010, and has completed 3 series. Starring Idris Elba as DCI John Luther, and Warren Brown as DS Justin Ripley.

Luther is a crime drama, which also includes psychological aspects. As I enjoy psychology and I’m interested in criminology, it makes me enjoy watching Luther and expands my interest in the psychology of murderers. In my personal opinion, DCI John Luther is the best crime drama detective of all time. He is obsessive, dangerous, dedicated and fixated on the motivations of the criminals, but with these traits it makes him one of the finest detectives, and it is one of Idris Elba’s best work since The Wire. Luther includes a subgenre of psychological horror, which makes it stand out from all of the standard crime dramas, and this is why Luther is so successful because it provides further entertainment for the audience.


3. Ashes to Ashes


Broadcast on BBC 1 since February 2008, with the third and final series broadcast from April – May 2010. Starring Philip Glenister as Gene Hunt, Keeley Hawes as Alex Drake, Dean Andrews as Ray Carling and Marshall Lancaster as Chris Skelton.

Ashes to Ashes is a police based crime drama with a subgenre of time travel, and is the sequel of Life on Mars. Gene Hunt is probably one of the most loved characters with his straight talking personality, being very corrupt with in the police force and having a love-hate relationship with Alex Drake. However, one of my favourite characters in Ashes to Ashes has to be Chris Skelton, who is the most cheeky and loveable characters with his sense of humour and naivety. What I love most about Ashes to Ashes has to be the mystery of how Alex Drake had woke up in 1981 and the importance of the people she is working with, mainly Gene Hunt, who ended up being the one who had brought her there.

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