Weekly Review 6 - Prison Break

Abruzi is in hospital with a slit throat, and Lincoln is taken to solitary after punching a guard (who was about to discover the hole), so the five remaining inmates must figure out what to do about their escape plan. Michael wants to delay the escape but the other four want to leave as soon as possible. Following threats from his co-conspirators, Michael decides that they must leave that evening at 9pm. Back in his cell, Michael cut open his arm and removed a hidden pouch which contains a black pill. He then borrows Sucre’s crucifix and hides the pill inside it. With his brother’s execution now only 36 hours away, Michael prays with a priest and asks him for a favour – would he mind giving a crucifix to his brother, Lincoln? Lincoln receives the crucifix containing the pill and a note instructing him to eat it at 8:10. When Lincoln does so he becomes violently ill, and is taken to the prison’s infirmary. Dr Tancredi believes Lincoln suffers from food poisoning, and the five inmates use the tunnels beneath the prison to make their way to the infirmary. They arrive at the room underneath the infirmary containing the pipe Michael previously corroded; however, the pipe has now been replaced. Michael tries to remove it, and Lincoln helps from the room above. Their attempts fail as the pipe cannot be removed.

I enjoy Prison Break as unlike other crime dramas I’ve seen, it shows the criminals point of view more than the police or the victims. Still in this drama the set pieces are similar although less frequent e.g. crime scenes aren’t involved, where as interrogation, laboratory etc. are included. In a way the narrative is restrictive as we know as much as the criminals attempting to escape, however we are unaware that other characters have more knowledge. Most of the main characters are criminals in this crime drama, and are each stereotypical as they play the ‘thug’ characters – up to no good all of the time. The way they dress connotates this as they alter their prison uniforms to make themselves stand out, as well as the majority of the characters being tattooed.

Weekly Review 5 - Inspector Morse

Plot

Steven Parnell, an accused murderer of a number young girls the previous summer, is killed while in prison awaiting trial. Morse, the protagonist, had not been involved in the case as he was on leave during most of the investigation. What interests inspector Morse is that one of the victims, Karen Anderson, was never found and it is assumed that her body was dumped in a nearby lake but Parnell confessed to his priest when on his deathbed that he wasn't responsible for that particular murder. When one of the witnesses in the case, George Daly, is murdered, Morse and Lewis try to find some connection to Karen Anderson's disappearance. They also wonder why Anderson's camera (she was a photographer) wasn't found. What they came across was a group of middle-aged men whose hobby is taking so-called glamour photos. The case takes an interesting twist when the body they find in the woods is a middle-aged male rather than Karen Anderson's. Morse then realises that he was wrong and the cause for murder is elsewhere.

Iconography

There are several set pieces used which are typical of crime dramas and regular in most crime series, one being the interrogation scene. However in Inspector Morse, as it is set in the countryside and is more old fashioned, the interrogation scene appears much calmer, in a home rather than a police station. Also, the crime scene featured in this episode doesn't involve any gore and isn't dramatic - the facts are stated and investigators are calm and gentle about the crime. Inspector Morse himself comes across as a friendly character, who is dedicated to his job and allows his work to be all-consuming, as well as working very much alongside the law as he believes that the truth should always be revealed, even when, (as in this case) the case isn't even his to investigate. When in a dramatic scene, alike most crime dramas, music is used to build tension for the audience. However in Inspector Morse, a band of classical music is used which isn't common amongst usual crime drama. I enjoy Inspector Morse for its simplicity as it doesn't try to sugar coat crime; it isn't flash, but more down to the point.

Weekly Review 4 - The Professionals

The Professionals differs from most other crime dramas that I have watched as it is a lot less modern than others, filmed in the late 70s. The fact that it's older gives a calmer approach to the drama as there is no glitz and glamour, the setting is basic and more toned down than some crime dramas. Some of the typical scenes are still there, though. For example in this episode there are scenes of crime taking place, interrogation, chase, and investigation. The chase scene is far more basic than one in, for example, CSI, although they still use tension building music to create a mood for the audience to get gripped into. Mild humour is used amongst investigative characters which is typical of most crime dramas - to have some form of teamwork within a group of characters, who each have personalities that resemble different typical crime drama characters. Cowley presents this well, as he is the boss of Bodie and Doyle. Previously a major in the British Army, Cowley is a confident and experienced character, who is able to defend himself against physical attacks.

Weekly Review 3 - Dexter

Dexter lives in a world of police by day, and serial killer by night, until in this episode he is contacted by another serial killer who is being investigated by the police, and claims to know about Dexter's double life. Meanwhile, Dexter's sister, Debra begins investigating the murders with Dexter's help, but he kindly lets her take the credit for the sake of her career. She then finds a stolen refrigerated truck which contains a gruesome message from the serial killer. Dexter also begins stalking his next victim, a wealthy businessman who gets accused of a drunk driving charge. Also, Dexter’s unsure girlfriend Rita tries out intimacy with him after they have a get together with Debra and her blind date, who turns out to be married.

Once again in this episode flashbacks of interaction with his father as a child are used to explain certain aspects of Dexter's personality or background story that aren't completely clear. There is a restrictive narrative to Dexter as we as an audience only find out information at the same rate that he does as a character, keeping the viewers enticed. Some other iconography used in this particular episode are the crime scenes, as there are many included in Dexter. Typically of crime dramas there tends to be blood splatters, police tape and investigations taking place in crime scenes. None of the victims are introduced to the audience until they are dead, so their character type is unknown although there appears to be a pattern of women across the first two episodes of this series, and their stories are barely explained but are presented in a vulnerable manor. Identification of the victims is somehow left behind by the killer in some creative way, for example the frozen fingertips of one victim, however evidence of their own identity is always kept very discrete. In comparison to other crime dramas, there is less action used in Dexter. The upbeat music sometimes played throughout the episodes keeps the audience curious for more but not emotionally attached to the losses caused by the criminals, as Dexter has no emotional attachment whatsoever, so we are able to identify with his complex character.

Weekly Review 2 - Dexter

Dexter very simply differs from other crime dramas as for the majority of an episode the mood to it is more positive than the typical crime drama, with the humour used amongst characters and the fact that the protagonist, Dexter, works very much against the law rather than alongside it. In this episode, the case of a serial killer of several prostitutes in Miami is being investigated. As a forensic, Dexter takes part in investigation but also has his own 'projects' that he attends to. The audience learn alot about his past in this episode as it involves flashbacks of his childhood, of conversations with his father about his mental issues and urges to kill, which gradually reveal more and more about his character. The serial killer featured in this episode has a unique way of achieving murder, as he cuts up body parts and somehow removes all trace of blood from the dead body. Dexter is amazed by this, as though he admires the murderer, illustrating just how twisted his character is. Throughout the episode there are several ways in which the crime drama appears typical - firstly through set pieces such as crime scenes, which allow the audience to find out more detail of the crime itself visibly. Dexter's character however is not so typical. Inside he is dark and twisted, yet on the outside he manages to act his way through life, manipulating people into believing that he is your average forensic investigator. His girlfriend plays the typical nervous female, as she is aware of Dexter's dark side but chooses to look past it, as does his sister - who Dexter's character claims is the only person he has feelings for, if he were to have feelings at all. In this way Dexter differs from other crime dramas, such as CSI, where the protagonist Heratio expresses a large amount of emotion towards others and into the work that he does. I enjoyed watching Dexter because of this, as he is such a complex character.

Weekly Review 1 - CSI: New York

A friend of the singer of a band is killed after the couple go back to his apartment after a gig. The singer awakes to find him shot dead, and calls the police. The CSI team are suspicious of her because originally she lies about the happenings of the night prior to his murder, but eventually explains that she broke the window to get into the apartment due to the fact that he’d left his key at her gig. The next suspect is his roommate who was absent the night of his murder, but before all of this the victim had bought the singer a guitar as a gift and it is later discovered by the CSI team that the money he used to pay for it was fake. Towards the end of the episode it is revealed that the shop owner, who was given the fake money, shot the victim.

In this episode many conventions of crime dramas are obvious, for example flashbacks are used to display the scene of the crime when evidence is collected (lots of pieces of evidence is also typical of crime dramas). As well as this, multiple suspects are included as more than one character is questioned. Some of the characters involved are stereotypical – for example the victim comes across as an innocent character; we then later discover that he has done wrong and is not completely innocent. The criminal is a stereotypical bad guy, as he has the dodgy appearance that makes the audience suspicious of him. An obvious set piece used in this episode is the lab, where the CSI team investigate and discover scientific evidence.

Horatio!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeeyWvo1rNg