Independent Research Analysis - Criminal Minds

Fellow media student have been discussing about a crime drama which sounds rather interested so I watched an episode to see what all the fuss was about.

Independent Research Analysis - Harper's Island

One night whilst I was browsing the television guide I came across a crime drama called "Harper's Island", I was lucky enough to catch the first episode on the first encounter of the series. It is an american crime drama which is usually shown on CBS, April 9, 2009 - July 11, 2009. It is only a 1 season crime drama which is very annoying as the crime drama was very interesting and unique. The series was shot on Bowen Island. Instead i viewed this series on BBC Three. I watched this series a while back when it was relatively new. As Harpers island is based on  a wedding, so there in a minimal amount of characters. It consists of a background humming type of sound to girl the audience that creepy style effect to the episode which they are about to watch which excites the viewers. The intro illustrates a main character in a scene then that specific scene has a caption to explain who he/she is, then it skips to scene which they are in. The scenes are very fast paced so they let any clues out about the series.


The show takes place on Harper's Island, where John Wakefield went on a killing spree and murdered a number of people before supposedly being killed by the island sheriff, Charlie Mills. One of the victims was the sheriff's wife. After her death, the Sheriff Mills sent their daughter, Abby, to live with family in LA and she hasn't returned since. After 7 years, Abby is finally returning to the island for her best friend Henry's wedding but now the killing starts again and everyone is a suspect. The guests manage to unlock secrets of the island and of Wakefield as the series progresses. (from Wikipedia) The series included a live online chat on a Fan cast Forum each week with the "murder victim" from the Saturday night U.S. broadcast, where questions and comments from viewers trying to solve the mystery are encouraged, as well as providing a behind-the-scenes view from the series. This encourages the views to interact with the series and make them feel closer and more personal to it. This series was rated 7.3/10 with 5,927 votes. Each episodes around about 45 minutes so it doesn't bore the audience. Due to the dramatic scenes when adverts approached I became anxious what will proceed on the island, the blocked out island also gives the series that extra scare!


I began to develop a real love to this crime drama as it was unique and there scare theme was always recurring, even though this series is in the past I know I will come back to it in the future to uncover the forgotten mysteries. Through the 13 episodes at some point someone (or as many as five) were killed off during each episode. This made the audience become alone as in episode 1 there were 30+ guests and at the episode (13) there could have been 10. The episode began to have more and more space for individual characters to roam which made them vulnerable. Each episode was around 45 minutes long which made the audience have the same feel towards the series "Scared". 

Further Independent Research Analysis - Kidnapp and Ransom

I thoroughly enjoyed my first viewing of Kidnapp and Ransom and felt that a further watch would increase my knowledge of an unknown crime drama. Yet again it is still a British television crime drama and it is aired on ITV1.This episode was released on air on Thursday 1st March after the watershed (9pm). As usual I watched this as a catch up on ITV Player as i have been very caught up with coursework these past few days. The episode was just a carries on from the first, but due to the interesting dialogue and different character backgrounds i was hooked. I wanted to find out if the silent intro was a one time offer only, but to my surprise it was a recurring introduction which still amazes me every time due to its unique twist.


The two kidnappers fall out as the less fervent Leela questions the need to execute hostages. The injured Mahavi is released and Flo slips her passport into his pocket to hide her identity. However he is later seen making a phone call and when the kidnappers agree to release all the women and children she is held back... There is still no IMBD rating due to being such a new episode, but the overall rating has been increased by 8 people which illustrates the growing population of views for Kidnap and Ransom. There isn't a dramatic change in the length of the episode as the second episode of the season 2 is only an extra minute (total of 46 minutes).

I know that the episode as a whole is unique and has its very on twist which stuns the auditions in shock. We know everything that's happening in the scene, but the only thing we don't know is what he is going to do next. The episode again was really fast compared to a Sherlock episode which feels never ending, I personally feel that the quicker the episode the more engaged the audience are which then makes the audience more interested. 

Independent Research Analysis - Kidnapp and Ransom

I was introduced to a crime drama which goes by the name "Kidnap and Random", it is a British television miniseries, shown on ITV1. The series revolves around the latest cases for expert British hostage negotiator Dominic King, played by Trevor Eve. The first episode aired in January 2011. I viewed an episode of the latest series(2) on ITV iplayer so it is still access able on the the ITV website, to be more specific this episode aired on February 23, 2012. I felt that the beginning sequence to this episode was completely different to what I have ever seen in a crime drama and that element of this specific episode "Wowed" me. There wasn't any special effects as the series is realist, the begining intro is silent and only photos and words of the actors appear, there is a redy colour which is illustrated in the intro, could it link to blood?

In the new series, we join Dominic King in Srinagar, Kashmir negotiating the release of the Mehtas, a British Asian family kidnapped while on holiday visiting their son Mahavir. As the handover is completed, the police arrive and a shoot-out ensues.Dominic gets most of the family to safety but the kidnappers get away with Mahavir. In their panic they board a tourist bus, taking all those on board hostage. As this series is still new there has still been no rating on IMBD but the rating for season 1 was at 6.7/10 with 132, this illustrates the reduced population that Kidnap and Ransom has, especially compared to Luther (132 - 7022). It also could be that I have never actually seen an advert for "Kidnap and Ransom" and that could reduce the viewings dramatically. Each episodes around about 45 minutes so it doesn't bore the audience. Due to the dramatic scenes when adverts approached I became furious as I wanted to see what was going to happen next and I wanted it as soon as possible.

I felt that the episode as a whole was very interesting and unique. Instead of us finding out the killer like CSI we knew who the criminal was but the problem catching him. I felt the episode went really fasted as it is a very fast paced crime drama and gets into the action very quick, even though I know its a 45 minute episode it felt like 20 minutes. I really enjoyed the unique twists that this episode had and due to this I will be watching the new episode and staying tuned to the series as a whole.

Independent Research Analysis - Luther

I stumbled across a different crime drama entirely at around 10 O'clock after the watershed, Season 1, Episode 2. Luther is directed by Brian Kirk and Written by Neil Cross, it first aired on the 11th of May 2010 but was replayed on TV in 2010/2012. This specific episode got around 5.93 million views, Which is outstanding for a second episode of a new crime drama. Replays illustrate the crime drama as a whole as being "worth it", if the series was terrible they wouldn't put it on replay after a year, but if it was good of course they air it so that the audience can relive the excitement they had a year ago or new views could begin watching.

Luther has to stay ahead of a killer who is trained in using sniper weapons and has been murdering police officers. Luther struggles to discover the shooter's true motivation, which is tied to his war veteran father. This episode was rated 8.6/10 with over 7022 votes which is astonishing amount of votes, especially to "NCIS". These episodes of Luther run for about 1 hour which is a very long time but due to the intense,action and creepy scenes the audience are engaged and couldn't care less about how long it is as they are so interested in watching the rest of Luther.

My thoughts of this episode overall was very high, I enjoyed the whole as it was very jaw dropping as the audience didn't know what to expect next, the episode was very sped up whilst it was in intense moments which gave the episode that extra effect which had the audience really concentrate, which of course then led to the audience engaging with the episode.I really enjoyed the victims roll in this episode as he had a very interesting and unique background story which we then began to feel sorry for him, even though he killed 5+ police men. Last Words "Brilliant, I will be watching Luther again in the future."

Independent Research Analysis - NCIS - Naval Criminal Investigative Service

Whilst i was browsing the Television guide, I came across NCIS Season 1 Episode 4 or simply known as "The Immortals" episode. This program is usually aired on Broadcast "CBS" in American and is only on after the watershed. This episode broadcasted in 14 October, 2003 but I watched it as a replay in 2012, this demonstrates how the show is watched any day and any time due to its interesting and fascinating content.
The NCIS team investigates world of online gaming after a reconstruction of a video game stunt gone bad, kills a sailor. This episode was rated 7.4/10 from 166 people on IMBD (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0658030/). The episode ran for 42 minutes which is a good time to keep an episode as if the episode is too long the audience feel that it's dragging and same vies versa but instead of dragging it's annoying as they are really getting into the episode and then 20 minutes in it finished which aggravates the viewers.

My thoughts of this episode as a whole was interesting and very in-depth and gives an incite to the gaming world and what it could do to you both bad and worst. The victim in this episode was very out of past compared to the rest of the army which meant the team had to identity the online video game then tie it with the fictional character to reality.