Touching Evil:The Complete Collection DVD Review

Actor Robson Green became well known to television audiences in North America following his six year stint in the extremely successful recent British series Wire in the Blood, in which he portrays a psychiatrist who aids the police in profiling criminals.  What people may not know is that a few years before Wire in the Blood Robson had already become a well established face in his native country of England, courtesy of his role in the  crime drama Touching Evil.

 Touching Evil lasted 3 seasons (1997-1999) and chronicled the adventures of Detective Inspector Dave Creegan.  D.I. Creegan returms to work following a sick leave necessitated by a severe bullet injury to his brain.  Upon his return, Creegan joins a special unit of the London police that is tasked with investigating ugly, violent criminals such as serial killers, child abductors and dangerous psychopaths. In the course of his work Dave finds that having been shot in the head allows him to inexplicably somehow feel closer to understanding the criminals he is pursuing. This ”gift” often causes Creegan to go head to head with his colleagues or with the proper police procedures and ethics in order to follow an instinct that he knows is right or to replicate the thinking of the killer. The darker side of the mind that most people do not use, unleashed after the accident, often leads the Detective Inspctor to surprising results but also forces him  to take actions that make his entourage and even himself wonder what side of the law he is really on.

 So notwithstanding his irracible personality, his questionnable methods, his lack of team work and his poor social skills, Dave Creegan will certainly grow on viewers as the episodes go on for his dedication to fighting evil doers can only be commendable… and entertaining ! His co-workers, including D.I. Susan Taylor (Nicola Walker, who you might remember as Ruth in the secret services drama «MI-5», BBC’s version – and a far superior version at that ! – to Fox’s «24»,) certainly seem to grow to think this way as they quickly accept him as an integral part of the team as the series moves along.

 This release of Touching Evil consists of 5 DVDs in a slipcase.  The DVDs span 8 hours and forty minutes and contain every episodes of all 3 seasons(3 dics contain the first two seasons and 2 contain the third and final season.)  This nice set from Acorn Media will definitely interest viewers who go for television with darker plots and characters. The stories are at times quite heavy emotionally as they chronical crimes of pedophilia, child murdering and molesting as well as the typical psycho killer. Forget thieves and embezzlers, this unit deals with only the ugliest cases that no one else wants to touch. The scripts are well written and gripping though and always done with taste – very little is actually shown in terms of blood and gore but the content can be considered unsuitable for some viewers. One of the strongest forces of the series is the team work shown by the OSC unit, where we are shown equally the 5-6 detectives working on the case instead of primarily concentrating on one or two lead characters. Although each story does stands alone, there are numerous references to previous episodes as well as a story arc that might be hard to follow if you join the series halfway through a season.

 So I would say enthusiastically recommended for those who are not bothered by the difficult subject matters.

 Series 1, Disc 1
Episode 1
Creegan races against time to find three recently abducted young boys. Despite Taylor’s reservations, he zeroes in on a suspect who leaves a distinctive calling card at the scenes of the crime. But when the man appears likely to walk free, Creegan decides to take matters into his own hands.

Episode 2
The death of three hospital patients in one night from drug overdoses suggests euthanasia. But these are not simply mercy killings. Drawing from his own near-death experience, Creegan focuses on a murderer with whom he shares a surprising commonality.

Series 1, Disc 2
Episode 3
Someone is stabbing horses as part of a worldwide, Internet-based crime ring. As the police close in on those responsible, the drug-fueled attacks escalate to human mutilation and murder. Believing these are copycat killings, Creegan visits an unorthodox source to lure out the mastermind behind them.

Series 2, Disc 1
Episode 1
A journalist is getting messages from a psychopathic killer who has been targeting young women. The OSC team tracks the murderer down, trying to save his next victim in time. But Taylor realizes too late just how close the danger is.

Episode 2
Haunted by the atrocities he witnessed in Bosnia, an ex-soldier is systematically wiping out his memories of the conflict by killing those who served with him. The OSC team must hunt him down before he strikes again, but DC Mark Rivers—trying to redeem a past mistake—gets a little too close to the prey.

Series 2, Disc 2
Episode 3
Creegan finds himself romantically involved with a young woman who snatches a child from its home, claiming the boy is her son. The incident reveals an international pedophilia ring, and Taylor goes undercover to investigate. Meanwhile, Creegan deals with the fallout from a previous case.

Series 3, Disc 1
Episode 1
Creegan investigates a series of gruesome, ritualized murders in the north of England. He suspects that even though the victims were all women, the real targets were their husbands, each of whom visits a local grief counselor.

Episode 2
A trail of burned corpses leaves in its wake a number of urgent questions for Creegan and Taylor: What links the victims? Where is the killer likely to strike next? And why might the killer consider Creegan a legitimate target?

 Touching Evil is available on DVD now, courtesy of Acorn releasing.