Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer

I decided to watch this because I've become fascinated with the serial killers that were active in the 70s and 80s. I enjoyed the documentary series about the Night Stalker on Netflix and thought this would be similar...it was not.

The information about the murders and how they finally caught the serial killer would've only filled one episode (if they were lucky). The majority of this limited series was actually about the sex business in Times Square in the 70s and 80s. There were a lot of explicit photos and videos that had absolutely nothing to do with the murders. Sure, some of the victims were sex workers and sure, the serial killer did find some of his victims in Times Square. However, the connection they gave between the murders and the sex businesses in Times Square was extremely tenuous at best and non-existent at worst.

Honestly, this should've been two different series: one about the history of the sex business in Times Square and one about the serial killer and his victims. It was very disappointing to find the information of the serial killer was randomly peppered into this story about pornography in NYC.

If you're looking for a good true crime series about a serial killer, this isn't it.

A wild story of the torso killing and how the atmosphere of New York in the 70s contributed to his prolific reign of terror. However, much of the introspection was on the sex worker atmosphere and not on the investigations and catching of the killer.

If I'm being honest, I missed some of the 2nd episode because I kept falling asleep. Some of that was not having had a lot of sleep lately but the show just wasn't what it's purported to be. It's more a story about the tawdry pornography of Times Square before it got cleaned up. It focused on the sex workers as well as the peep shows and sex clubs that were so prevalent back then. The murders were almost a side story and admittedly started the series off with a bang with a double murder in a hotel near Times Square. Clearly the murders were done by a deranged man. And then another murder happens. And so the investigation began. That part of the story kept this at 5/10 stars for me. It's before DNA and surveillance cameras so it was interesting to watch what the police did with little to no evidence. But, as I said before, this is mainly a story about Times Square when it was a dangerous part of the city. It's full of pimps and XXX rated movies and former prostitutes telling their stories. Former police officers from that time period as well as that particular case were also interviewed. When it wasn't talking about the murders I did get a bit bored. Sorry. I just think it would have been better told with less about the sex trade and pornography and more about the murders. It might have made it shorter, but that would have been to the good, not the detriment of the documentary.

Could have been a very interesting documentary if it was 2 hours long. But as usual they had to stretch into 3 episodes. Very tired of shows on Netflix that are stretched out and turn repetitious and boring.

Literally forgot I was watching about a serial killer and not a documentary on Time Square sex industry in the 70's. The whole doc could have been 1 episode or just a doc film.