tv review
Big crimes, small screen; true crime television series and TV documentaries that recreate and reexamine some of the mystifying and grisliest cases in history.
'Pennyworth:' S01.E05. "Shirley Bassey"
Esme Winikus’s (Emma Corrin) premature death takes its toll on Alfred Pennyworth (Jack Bannon) in this latest episode. In Rob Bailey’s "Shirley Bassey," old foes are seen reinvigorated, new ones crawl out from beneath the woodwork, and a restaurant is redecorated with an interesting shade of brain matter.
By Shain Thomas6 years ago in Criminal
'Westside': S05.E09. 'Episode 9'
The latest episode of the New Zealand period dramedy Westside saw the war between Rita West (Antonia Prebble) and Wolf West (Reef Ireland) finally break through the surface and take on a new dynamic. The war has been simmering for a while. It was only a matter of time before the pot boiled over and the sh*t finally hit the fan.
By Shain Thomas6 years ago in Criminal
'Instinct': S02.E07. “After Hours”
In the first of two Instinct episodes, televised on CBS Sunday, 11 August 2019, we found Yale Psychology Professor and NYPD consultant Dr Dylan Reinhart (Alan Cumming) and NYPD Det Lizzie Needham (Bojana Novakovic) “go undercover in New York’s erotic underworld when they investigate the murder of a high-powered public relations rep. Also, a glamorous love from Julian’s [past] comes back into his life with a proposal he can’t resist.”
By Shain Thomas6 years ago in Criminal
Why I Love Characters from 'Criminal Minds'
Criminal Minds is a show that’s been around for a long time and I am super excited that it is. It’s my favorite Crime Show. I love how character-oriented they are, and not just about the show’s main cast. Every episode takes us into the minds of the villains and really shows us the things that they went through to make them the bad guys they are today. Today, I’m going over my favorite characters from Criminal Minds and why I love them so much.
By Joanna White6 years ago in Criminal
Carrying Biracial Guilt Through the Lens of 'When They See Us'
Unless you’ve been living under a pop culture-deprived rock, you’ve probably either heard, watched, or cried along to Netflix’s latest drama miniseries, When They See Us. As the brainchild of Ava DuVernay (A Wrinkle in Time), Robin Swicord (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), and, unsurprisingly, Oprah Winfrey, the series chronicles the truth behind the infamous Central Park jogger case in which five innocent black and Hispanic minors were wrongfully imprisoned for the rape and attempted murder of Trisha Meili.
By Melissa Lee7 years ago in Criminal
Series Review: 'When They See Us'. Top Story - June 2019.
So... when I saw this dramatic re-telling of the ordeal of the Central Park 5 being advertised on Netflix, I was already pretty sure that it was going to be must-watch television. I was also extremely apprehensive about seeing the events through the eyes of these five kids (now grown men) and being able to emotionally process it all. The case (and the legal and societal issues it brings to the forefront) kind of hits close to home for me as a parent, and as an African-American man. I'd seen the Ken Burns documentary on the Central Park 5 a while back, so I was already very familiar with the case, and some of the very problematic issues it brought to the table for the American public to address. Systemic racism, classism, and lack of accountability for law enforcement and agents of the legal system were all things that were at the forefront of the documentary. Ava Duvernay did an excellent job of showing the social and personal toll this case had on these men and their families, as well as the greater impact that the institutions of the law and media played in that accrued trauma. Every episode of this mini-series was visceral and traumatic. Whether it was the very public shunning of Yusuf Salaam, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, and Raymond Santana upon their release from custody as adults, to the entire fourth episode being devoted to the ordeal of Korey Wise's experiences at Riker's Island as an adult, the entire progression of the series takes a huge emotional toll on the audience watching it.
By Herbert L. Seward III7 years ago in Criminal
True Crime Must Watch
Lately, all the rage on Netflix has been about these True Crime Documentaries. It truly is fascinating to learn why these men and women decided to do such horrible things towards other humans. With so many out there, there are some great ones and some that are not as thrilling. I have watched a fair majority of them, well pretty much all but 2 or 3. In talking with others and seeing posts online I've noticed that many people question why they did the crimes they did, how they don't get the why.
By Hannah Elliott7 years ago in Criminal
20 Must-See Netflix Crime Documentaries
Don't know what to watch tonight? Why not dive into the sought-after genre of crime documentaries? I have compiled a list of 20 documentaries that will stay on your mind long after the film ends. We cannot explain, why we as a society have become obsessed with crime documentaries. Is it the (oftentimes) blood boiling botched investigations? Is it the suspense of the manhunt and conviction? Or are we simply facing the foreign and unknown to us, acclimating ourselves, in return one day hoping to have no fear and therefore fear nothing? Whatever your reasons may be, here is a promising list of must-see Netflix (chills involuntarily provided).
By Angie Robinson7 years ago in Criminal
10 Documentaries About Dangerous Cults
Call it human nature, nosiness, or just plain fascination—there is something inherently intoxicating about cult documentaries. While they are quite dark in nature, they are nonetheless intriguing; mostly due to the fact that they just appear so insane that you couldn't believe people ACTUALLY fell for that kind of a farce. But hindsight is 20/20, and these poor victims who fell pray to "drinking the Kool Aid," so to speak, made gruesome history in the process.
By Timothy Kohut7 years ago in Criminal
Review of 'The Case Against Adnan Syed' 1
The Case Against Adnan Syed debuted last night on HB0, the first in a four-episode documentary about the murder of Hae Min Lee on January 13, 1999, for which Syed was convicted. The podcast Serial in 2014 generated enormous international interest about this case, and the possibility that Syed was not the killer. Presumably at least in part as a result of this and new evidence brought to light, the path to a new trial was set for Syed in July 2016 by a Maryland Court of Special Appeals. That court indeed ordered a new trial in March 2018. But a higher Maryland Court of Appeals overturned that order on March 8, 2019—or, amazingly, just two days before the premiere of the HBO series. You just can't make this stuff up.
By Paul Levinson7 years ago in Criminal
