Prayer of the Bone

Despite very solid acting by Robson and all the other actors, the plot follows the typical crooked-small-town trope, burdened further by stereotypical images of Texas as being nothing but hot and full of rattlesnakes.

I wonder if Prayer of the Bone was an attempt to crack the U. S. market, or simply an attempt to reignite a spark that the show had a few years prior.

For the most part it's a success, a solid story line, well drawn characters, and Doctor Hill on fine form, witty, intelligent and a tad flippant.

Well acted on the whole, Brad Hawkins did a fine job as villain of the piece Darius, as did Tom Nowicki, who was in it all to briefly as Lee Burrill. The show was stolen by Jennifer Griffin, who was excellent as the Judge, she played off Robson Green really well.

The trouble is it feels a little too detached from the regular series, some of the core quality just isn't there. Tony perhaps not able to be quirky enough. Perhaps I'm being too harsh, it's definitely watchable.

A shame that maybe The American angle didn't take off, but the show would come back for one last hurrah, a sixth and final series.

7/10.

I guess if you set a UK show's episode in Texas, you have to use every tired cliché in the book. It's expected, what?

I gave the episode a seven out of ten because it was OK, even a little fun.

Am I partial to this episode? Perhaps. I was an extra; one of the jury members.

In a series with episode-quality that varies from very good to poor, this episode is the lowest one yet. The American acting is stiff and subpar and as stated by others, the plot relies on some cardboard stereotypes.

There are also several inconsistencies such as Tony getting a classic Mustang as a rental car (I know they exist, but not in small-town Texas!) and cooling his feet in a sun-baked steel barrel of water.

I feel like someone wanted an over-the-top season finale (or opening?) and they threw away the formula that makes this series good. I hope non-US viewers know that this is a gross exaggeration of our country.

Dr. Tony Hill travels to Texas to be an expert witness in "Prayer of the Bone," a special episode of "Wire in the Blood."

Tony is there to assist the local district attorney in the case of Darius Grady, who has confessed to murdering his wife and two young children. Tony knows Grady from a time when Grady was stationed at a U.S. military base near Bradfield and was charged with the rape of a 15-year-old. The military spirited him out of the U.S. before he could be prosecuted. However, Grady's defense is the same one he used in England: he has PTSD from his service in Iraq.

Tony does not think Grady suffers from PTSD. He's also not sure Grady is guilty.

Tony wanted to stay in a place like Linda Hamilton did in "Terminator," so he's at some awful motel. And it's hot.

This is a strange episode with too many characters who came and went before we got to know them, and people acting strangely for no reason. Tony is much funnier in this episode than he usually is, and the atmosphere certainly is Texan. One feels the heat. (It was filmed in Austin.)

I think I prefer the handsome Tony at home among his people, but this was a nice change. I especially liked the female judge (Jennifer Griffin) - she was excellent.