Enigma's In Crime Dramas

Kidnapp and Ransom:

Questions we ask in a crime drama:
Where are we?
Who's that in the boat?
Where is he going?
What's in that bag?
Why are we now in India?
Why are those two people tied up?
Who is the guy with the gun?
Where is he taking the two tied up men?
How many people does that man have tied up in the back of his car?
Are those to friends?
Why didn't he answer the phone?
Why is he moving more cautiously now?
How does he know the people who have been kidnapped?
Why did he answer the second time but not the first?
Who are these two?
Who is this family?
Who was the guy who has just been kidnapped?
What was his relationship to the main character?
Will they be ok?
Who is the person in London?
How does she link to the crime?
Why does he care about a phone?
Who is this family?
What will the army do?
Will they die?
Who is Sophie?
What will the lead protagonist do?
Did the lead male and this Sophie have a relationship?
Will everyone die?
Who is Angela?
What is her realtionship to Sophie?
Why won't the give money?
Who is Robert?
How much authority does Robert have?
Were Dominic and Sophie married?
Why did the police kill Brendan?
Why does Dominic need the bullet?
What can he prove with the bullet?
What is Dominic doing?
Why does he have what looks like a pen?
What is he writing?
How did he know this would work?
Is he crazy?!
Does he have the experience to pull this off?
Why are they giving them guns?!
Will the injured man live?
Will the hostage taker kill anyone?
What will dominic do?
Who's body is Dominic throwing into the lake?
Why is he putting a body in the lake?

Glossary

Glossary:

Alibi - Someone or something which can secure the suspects whereabouts during the time of the crime.
Motive - Why the killer killed the victim
MO - (Means of Operation) the way the killer kills, what he uses, what he leaves behind.
"In The Wind" - If a suspect vanishes they are said to be "In The Wind"

TV Listings Magazine

New Crime Drama I've Watched: Alcatraz

On March 21, 1963, the inmates and guards at Alcatraz prison mysteriously disappear. To cover up the problem, the government reports to the public that the prison has been closed because of unsafe conditions. A secret government unit was set-up to find the prisoners. Now, in the present-day, the inmates begin returning - unaged and unaware of where they have spent the missing decades - and continue their criminal ways. They are acting out of character and appear to be searching for specific objects. A federal agent employs a police officer and a conspiracy theory novelist to help track them down.

Crime Dramas I've Watched: 9/3/12 - 16/3/12

The Mentalist

Always Bet On Red

While the team investigates the death of a divorce attorney, Patrick discovers that Red John may still be alive and stalking an FBI agent who is asking too many questions.

Castle

Heroes And Villains

When an ex-con is mysteriously slain in an alley, Castle and Beckett believe a vigilante is behind the murder. But efforts to identify their suspect are thwarted when they discover that he roams the city in a Superhero costume -- and may indeed be a Superhero. Can they capture and unmask the killer before he strikes again?

Rizzoli & Isles

 

Rebel Without a Pause

Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles find themselves investigating a death that occurred during the re-enactment of of a Revolutionary War battle organized by a university professor, Dwayne Cravitz. They soon determine that far from being an accident, the shooting was from a sniper who was actually out to kill Cravitz. A DNA sample leads them to believe that the shooter is someone from his past.

Bloodlines

Jane and the team investigate what appears to be a modern-day witch hunt in Salem. Meanwhile, Frankie's old girlfriend returns to town with a surprise, and Jane has no problem speaking her mind about the situation.

Luther as an anti-hero

Lutrher is a DCI (Detective Cheif inspector) in the BBC crime drama "Luther". He is suicidal because he just runs straight into the line of fire and uses himself to tempt out the serial killers rather than make a tactical approce and capture them as a team. He makes many references to the devil, like when he insulted the female reporter and said that her phone number waas "666". Also he is socialising with Alice who is a serial killer to the extent that they are meating up and talking on the phone regularly through out each episode. He let the man fall and he punched his wife's boyfriend in the face. He is the complete opposite of Horatio in the way that he would rather get revenge on someone rather than convict them. Horatio wouldn't have let the guy fall he would have helped him up and arrested him but Luther punished him for the crime of kidnapping those girls by himself by letting him fall to his death.

Narrative

Give examples of opening teasers in shows you have seen and explain why they are important

CSI uses this in the way that you see the crime commited at the start of the program. This involves the audience and then makes them want to watch on because they will want to see if the criminal is every caught.

Other representations of opening teasers would be in a crime darma called chase. In this interesting addition to the crime drama genre you see the main antagonist at the start commiting their crime which is normally murder or and act of terrorisim. This is another intersting method mainly due to the fact that not many crime dramas use it and the way in which chase uses it really draws you in. Another way opening teasers can be used is in the form of a flashback to a previous episode which is normally voiced over by one of the lead characters saying "Previously on...". This is not only an effective method but it also makes the audience want to then go back and watch the previous episode again or for them to buy the DVD and watch the two epsidoes similtaneously.

What example of enigmas have you seen?

The use of enigmas is strongly present in crime dramas such as Luther, Sherlock and CSI. These are represented in many different way. For example, in Luther the use of the "yawn technique" which Luther uses to attempt to make the character of Alice slip up and give away her guilt. Whereas, in CSI, it is used in the way that they can obtain evidence on the fly when they don't have the proper equipment by utilising their surroundings. 

How would you describe the 'quests' of the key protagonists in crime dramas?

The key protagonists tend to go on lengthy adventures full of twists and turns. These adventures contain many bumps in the road including not limited to red herrings, multiple suspects, false evidence and misuse of evidence. These trip-ups lead to the wrong people being convicted or suspected. This adds to the realism of  the show because it demonstrates how the law enforcement do not always make the correct call all of the time. CSI rarely ever uses these twists and turns mainly because Horatio is meant to look like the top notch cop who can solve every crime.

How have shows you've seen used either open or closed narratives?

By using a closed narrative it is harder to get the audience involved, whereas with the open narrative the audience want  to watch on because they get a thrill out of solving the crime.

Crime Dramas I've watched: 2/3/12 - 9/3/12

This week I've watched

Dexter:

Circle Of Friends

The Ice Truck Killer is supposedly identified, but Dexter is skeptical. Meanwhile, Rita must deal with the return of her menacing, recently paroled ex-husband.

Shrink Wrap

The suicide of a wealthy and powerful businesswoman leads Dexter to suspect that her psychologist may have killed her. But Dexter gets a surprise of his own when he pays a visit to the suspect, Dr. Emmett Meridian, which he forces Dexter to open up dark secrets from his past. Elsewhere, as Rita becomes more warmer to her ex-husband Paul, who claims to be a changed man, she wants to move onto intimacy with Dexter, who is afraid of consummating their romance.

Father Knows Best

Dexter learns that his biological father (named Joe Driscoll), whom he was told had died 30 years ago, has just recently died and left him everything he owned, including his house. He goes on a trip to pack the items in the house, along with Rita. But later, Debra and Rudy also show up at the house to help out, where Dexter clicks with Rudy, while suspecting something strange about Joe Driscoll's death, and about who Dexter's biological mother was.

Seeing Red

When the Ice Truck Killer leaves a horribly bloody crime scene at a hotel, Dexter digs deeper into his past.

Truth Be Told

Dexter investigates when the Ice Truck Killer strikes again, killing the prosthetic arm prostitute and leaving her body before a Christmas tree in Miami's Santa's Cottage. Sgt. Doakes continues to grow more suspicious about Dexter after catching him in a series of lies about his connection to the Ice Truck Killer. Dexter finally finds a connection between him and the Ice Truck Killer over a past case involving Harry Morgan and a bloodbath crime scene back in 1973 involving Dexter's biological mother.

Born Free

Dexter races against the clock to find Debra when she is abducted by Rudy, the Ice Truck Killer, which leads the two psychopathic killers to have a fateful showdown, and who finally reveals his connection to Dexter.

NCIS: Los Angeles

Betrayal

The CIA reports several casualties in Khartum, including an unidentified one matching Sam's physique. Callen flies to Khartum, where Sam, still alive, is dating the daughter of an Al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic fundamentalist governor in the rebellious south, while employed for regular security checks. The LA team meanwhile races against time as a mole in the CIA operation may fatally expose Sam.

Castle

Knockout

Cop killer Hal Lockwood, whom Becket visited unsuccessfully in jail for month hoping for a lad in her mother Joanna's closed murder case, is released by fake order into the general population, where he slices fellow rogue cop Gary McCallister's throat, then is helped by fake cops to escape. Becket, his likely next target, waives warnings from his father, chief and Castle. Much helped by Ryan and Esposito, the duo works out there must be a police accomplice and/or mastermind on top of Chuck Ryker, the debt-ridden corrupt jailer who is found murdered at his home.

Rise

Castle is grieved when Becket, once regaining health, tells him to leave her time without calling for months. Yet when she returns to work after therapy, Ryan and Esposito tell Castle help them keep the case of her mothers killers going, behind ex-IA by-the-book-Captain Victoria Gates's back. They work out the only remaining angle are bank files lost in a fire, according to decorated officer Rod Halstead definitely no arson.

Setting

The glamourous setting of miami makes CSI: Miami look expensive and high tech. Whereas the gritty setting of London makes Sherlock and Luther make them look more serious and makes the audience feel more afraid. The setting of whitechapel being in whitechapel is the english gang culture and because whitechapel is where jack the ripper commited his crimes meaining that it has a history of bad crimes. The connotations of miami being bright and sunny almost directly links to the fact that they are top notch detectives. Where as Luther is the anti hero and he makes alot of mistakes. He walks head first into traps and puts himself in danger.

New crime drama that I watched: Grimm

Grimm Season 1 Episode 1:
"Pilot"
After the mysterious brutal attack of a local college co-ed, Portland homicide Detective Nick Burkhardt discovered he is descendant of an elite line of criminal profilers known as "Grimms," charged with keeping balance between humanity and the mythological creatures of the world. As he tries to hide the dangers of his new found calling from his fiancé, Juliette Silverton, and his partner, Hank Griffin, he becomes ever more entrenched in the ancient rivalries and alliances of the Grimm world.

Set Peices

The Laboratory (CSI, Sherlock)

-In this scene they usualy analyse the peices of DNA nad fibre and any other evidence from the crime scene to check from DNA matches and try to narrow down a killer.
-It plays a huge role in the narrative and allows the audience to make their own assumptions on who they think is the killer based off of the evidence that is found.
-The microscopes and other techy equipment connotates smartness and makes the audience believe that the CSI's know what they are doing.
-The audience gain pleasure in the sense that they can play a role and even act like a CSI in the way that if evidence is found that "Dave Smith" was at the crime scene they can either think that the evidence was wrong, planted or correct meaning that the case will tell different things to different people.
-The main things you would hear in a laboratory scene would be "DNA" or "FIBRES" also things that relate to the case and general vocab.

Interrogation scene(Two-way Mirror, Glass of water)

-In this scene normally the suspect sits on one side of a table whilst the detecitves sit on the other. SOmethimes it can be the situation where the detectives do a home visit (like the picture). Some detectives are usually behind some form of one way glass analysing the suspects ever move.
-The role this scene plays in the narrative is maki8ng the audience feel like they are a detective due to the fact that they can make thier own assumptions on if the think the suspect is innocent or guilty. The audience can judge the suspects body language and their facial expressions.

Eureka moment,

Initial crime scene (Yellow Tape)

Arrest/Confession (CSI mainly)

Crime flashback

Chase (Chasing down the criminal, Sometimes called the dash)



Visit to next of kin

Autopsy

Press Conference (Flash of cameras, Tense, Microphones, More Realistic)

Crime Dramas I've Watched: 17/2/12 - 24/2/12

Dexter x6,
Rizzoli & Isles x1,
CSI: NY x4(couldn't find the episode names or numbers so I chose not to add them),
The Mentalist x1,

Dexter:
Pilot S1 EP1:
Dexter takes part in the investigation of a serial killer who drains his victims of blood. He also kills two criminals, and his romantic relationship may be going to the next level.

Crocodile S1 EP2:
Dexter's world of police analyst by day, and serial killer by night, is rocked when he's privately contacted by another serial killer, whom the department is investigating, who claims that the killer knows about Dexter's double life. Meanwhile, Dexter's sister, Debra begins investigating the mysterious killings with Dexter's help, but who lets her take the credit. She then finds a stolen refrigerated truck which contains a gruesome message. Dexter also begins stalking his next victim, a wealthy businessman who gets acquitted of a drunk driving charge.

Popping Cherry S1 EP3:
After the dead body of another of victim of the so-called "Ice Truck Killer" is found on the ice rink at Miami's Hockey Dome, Dexter helps out Debra, newly transfered to the homicide squad to investigate when Lt. Laguerta, ambitious for a promotion and the media spotlight, decides to have the department pursue a security guard whom they believe is the Ice Truck Killer. Meanwhile, Rita receives an unpleasant visit from her imprisoned ex-husband's drug dealer who confiscates her car, leading Dexter to drive her to and from her hotel receptionist job.

Let's Give the Boy a Hand S1 EP4:
The mysterious Ice Truck Killer escalates his killing spree by leaving body parts of his latest victim at sites that relate to memories from Dexter's childhood, leading Dexter him to confront his dark personal history.

Love American Style S1 EP5:
Debra and the rest of the squad start to make headway when one of the Ice Truck Killer victims is found alive. Meanwhile, Dexter gets in over-his-head trouble when he begins stalking a murderous human-trafficker.

Return to Sender S1 EP6:
The Ice Truck Killer leaves a surprise dead body for Dexter at one of the crime scenes of Dexter's most recent kill which puts him in the cross hairs of his own Homiside Division of the Miami Metro Police.

The Mentalist:

The Redshirt S4 EP9
After the assistant of a retired pro quarterback is accidentally killed instead of the quarterback himself in a car explosion, CBI pretends that the quarterback was killed instead in a plot to flesh out the real killer.

Rizzoli & Isles:

Don't Hate the Player S2 EP5
Jane and Maura investigate after the coach of the Boston Pilgrims baseball team is found dead in the locker room. The death comes as a star player and the team owners battle for control of the team. Meanwhile, Jane's brother Tommy returns home after being released from jail.

Viewing List (Crime Dramas I Watch)

The Mentalist

Castle

Rizzoli & Isles

Bones

Unforgettable

Numb3rs

Body Of Proof

CSI: NY

CSI: Miami

Dexter

Sherlock

Covert Affairs

NCIS: Los Angeles

Chase

Hawaii Five-O

Law And Order: UK

Crime Dramas I have watched: 4/2/12 - 10/2/12

Rizzoli & Isles - living Proof S2 Ep2:Jane and Maura's mud bath at the spa is interrupted when a man brings in a pregnant woman who has been stabbed. She dies but Maura manages to save baby. The woman's husband, a commercial fisherman, was on his boat when she was killed but says he wasn't aware that his wife was pregnant. The case gets more that just a bit complicated when it turns out she was a surrogate, carrying a child for a couple who were unable to have a child on their own.

Body Of Proof - Lazarus Man S2 Ep4:A man, presumed dead, who walks off Ethan's examination table leads the team to a shocking discovery.

Body Of Proof - Point Of Origin S2 Ep5:Peter stumbles upon a house fire in progress before the fire department arrives and is able to rescue a young woman. When Megan goes to the scene of the fire, she discovers that there is another victim who perished in the fire. This dismays Peter, who didn't know there was someone else in the house and now has a personal attachment to this case. As Megan begins her investigation, she is usurped by veteran arson investigator Ray Easton and his young colleague, Skip, who challenge her at every step.

Castle - Overkill S2 Ep23:A robbery-homicide prompts Beckett to invite Demming to assist on a case, giving Castle a ringside seat to their budding romance. When it becomes clear that the two men have very different ideas about how to proceed, the investigation becomes an unspoken competition for Beckett's attention, one in which each man races to solve the case, as Beckett referees between her two admirers.

NCIS: Los Angles - Lone Wolf S3 Ep6:After a murder attempt on a retired US Navy intelligence officer, her husband Casey Freed is puzzled, but the team soon discovers all she told him about her professional life was a cover. She worked as an analyst for a water company, which doesn't explain either why she had secret contacts concerning Afghanistan. Hetty knows the man, traumatized former top NSA-agent Larry Basser.

Hustle - Episode #8.3 S8 Ep3:Mickey simultaneously tries to con their next mark, Linda Runcorn, while dealing with threats from corrupt Detective Inspector Fisk; meanwhile there's an old friend of Sean and Emma wanting to join the crew.

Crime Drama's I have watched: 29/1/12 - 3/2/12

This week I have watched:

Body Of Proof - Hunting Party S2 Ep2,
Body Of Proof - Missing S2 Ep3,
Castle - Food To Die For S2 Ep22,
Rizzoli & isles - We Don't Need Another Hero S2 Ep1,
Unforgettable - Up In Flames S1 Ep4,
NCIS: Los Angles - Sacrifice S3 Ep5,
Body of Proof:
Hunting Party:When a wealthy tycoon's much younger new wife, Julie Loeb, is shot at a family deer-hunting outing, suspects abound. The tycoon, Martin Loeb, is such a likely suspect that Megan openly accuses him and is fired from the case by Kate, at the request of the highly-influential Martin. Martin's ex-wife, Alexandra Loeb, had a clear financial motive, but his grown children are also potential suspects. Megan and Kate's relationship grows ever chillier, but Megan's new case, that of a bludgeoned man killed in a bad neighborhood, brings her right back to the initial murder.
Missing:Megan investigates the death of a young nanny run down by a car and discovers that her 5-year-old charge has been kidnapped -- and requires medication. A handsome FBI agent, Derek Ames, is assigned to the case. Meanwhile, Bud comes under scrutiny when an interrogation of the prime suspect in the kidnapping takes a wrong turn; and Megan's mother, Joan, offers to help her, but Megan is leery - is it just a PR stunt for her mother's re-election?
Castle:Food To Die For:A high profile chef is found frozen to death in the kitchen of a hot New York restaurant. Complications ensue when Castle and the restaurant owner, an old high school girlfriend of Beckett's, share an attraction. Meanwhile, Beckett's relationship with Det. Demming continues to grow.
Rizzoli & Isles:We Don't Need Another Hero:
After taking a bullet in the Season Finale during a siege of the precinct, Jane Rizzoli is honored as a hero at a public event. The celebration is short-lived, however, when disaster strikes. The ensuing case reunites Jane with an old high-school flame, Sgt. Major Casey Jones, who may be just the person she needs to heal her emotional scars.
Unforgettable:Up In Flames:
When a crime scene is destroyed in an explosion moments after Carrie catches a glimpse of the room, her memories become a crucial piece of the investigation.
NCIS: Los Angles:Sacrafice:The LAPD officially asks NCIS for help after one of three thugs shot in a raid on the Mexican Molina drug cartel is identified as a member of Jamel Ahmed Shallah's Al-Qaida branch. The investigation for the link between both illegal organizations is gravely complicated by apparently fake FBI agents, who 'clean up' everywhere just before the team arrives, and by Mexican police commissioner Eva Espinoza, who is on a personal revenge quest but has an informer and bonds with Deekes. Meanwhile the whiz duo searches behind Hetty's back for Sam's stolen heirloom classic car.

Crime Drama Characters Prezi

Crime Drama Audience's Prezi.

Sherlock

The new series of sherlock is on. (series 2)
watched episode 1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_(TV_series)

Sherlock finally gets a love interest and someone who can match him.
After sitting through loads of boring interviews, a strange and confusing plot unravles.

Very good episode.