Vienna Blood

Not for the unsophisticated block-buster fans or the action movie addicts. This superb, refreshingly different, historical who-done-it series takes a little bit of work to fully enjoy. It's not popcorn and candy cuisine, and it requires a degree of digesting.

It is quietly funny in places and very disturbing in others, the crumbling Empire and undertones of Nazism and not so much the gore are what I found to be the bits that left an aftertaste .

The main characters are very accessible. believable and quietly colourful. The casting, acting, directing, styling, cinematography, and for the most part the story lines were of a very high quality.

I am hooked, please sir can I have some more?

ADDENDUM: On reading some of the critical reviews, I felt I should add a further note to my very brief review in order to help place the series in a little sharper relief. One of the complaints I read was that the story lines were rather too simple, another complained that the series was slow moving.

The prime value for me in this excellent series is in enjoying the texture of the work. It is best not to view and to try to apprehend a grand master painting in the same way as one might set about enjoying a Mickey Mouse cartoon.

I loved the care taken with settings, camera angles, lighting, the colour balance etc. I loved the way both the visuals and story details were gradually unfolded and the characters allowed to evolve. My wish was rather to have some more time to explore the places, the times, and to get to know a little more of the intriguing characters.

Caveat emptor - If you want candy floss - look elsewhere.

Sure, this one has a lot of thanks to do to Sherlock Holmes, but that is also in the book series, that this series is based on. Good atmosphere, stunning environments. If you love periodic detective dramas, this one could also be for you.

First of all Vienna Blood based on the novels by Frank Tallis (no me neither) and developed for TV by Sherlock's Steve Thompson, is beautifully filmed, the whole production oozes quality from the costumes, script to acting. Maybe the lack of big name stars in the lead roles prevented the BBC from giving this show a more prominent slot on on BBC one. Which is a shame as the show has all the same qualities that made Sherlock such a successful worldwide hit. Set in Vienna at the start of the 20th century our dynamic duo played by Mathew Beard and Jurgan Maurer one an old school detective, his partner a student of Sigmund Freud plays a budding criminal psychologist and between them set out to solve a series of murders with the stunning backdrop of Vienna.

One minor criticism however in episode one we our exposed to a couple of graphic sex scenes. Which did not bother me but we're they really necessary? 8/10

I loved the setting in Vienna which highlighted the beautiful architecture which was a setting that held and supported the characters incredibly well. Each episode was a slow burner composed of many layers which, little by little, kept the viewer captivated and drawn deeper into each episode as it unfolded. I loved each of the three storylines and really warmed to the two main characters.

I sincerely hope that there will be further episodes?

Very good and fresh crime-solving drama set in Vienna on the eve of the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Damned by a patronising and sneering review in the Observer, it is most enthraling.