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Hi all,
I was wondering if any of you in the UK caught "Prime Suspect: Jack the Ripper" on the Yesterday channel last night (16/08/12), and if so, what your opinions on it were.
While there were some interesting moments (the insights into Deeming's life were fascinating), I felt that a lot of the research was of the "I *MUST* prove my theory" variety and lacked objectivity.
It also indulged in a pet hate of mine, namely trotting out "21st century forensics" in an attempt to establish an air of scientific gravitas to an investigation that is otherwise devoid of proof.
You can feature a million shots of solemn white-coated men staring intensely at test tubes of fluid, but when all you're doing is testing the DNA found under the stamp of the Openshaw letter it really doesn't amount to much.
Likewise, even getting someone who is "FBI trained" to read out the much lauded FBI profile of Jack the Ripper doesn't change the fact that it could probably be applied to most men living in the East End at the time... And let's not even go into handwriting analysis of the "Dear Boss" letter...
Personally, if this show had concentrated on talking about Deeming himself, and possibly giving a nod to the Ripper theory, it would have served itself a lot better. Then again, would it have been broadcast with our the JtR "brand"?
Cheers,
Iain
I was wondering if any of you in the UK caught "Prime Suspect: Jack the Ripper" on the Yesterday channel last night (16/08/12), and if so, what your opinions on it were.
While there were some interesting moments (the insights into Deeming's life were fascinating), I felt that a lot of the research was of the "I *MUST* prove my theory" variety and lacked objectivity.
It also indulged in a pet hate of mine, namely trotting out "21st century forensics" in an attempt to establish an air of scientific gravitas to an investigation that is otherwise devoid of proof.
You can feature a million shots of solemn white-coated men staring intensely at test tubes of fluid, but when all you're doing is testing the DNA found under the stamp of the Openshaw letter it really doesn't amount to much.
Likewise, even getting someone who is "FBI trained" to read out the much lauded FBI profile of Jack the Ripper doesn't change the fact that it could probably be applied to most men living in the East End at the time... And let's not even go into handwriting analysis of the "Dear Boss" letter...
Personally, if this show had concentrated on talking about Deeming himself, and possibly giving a nod to the Ripper theory, it would have served itself a lot better. Then again, would it have been broadcast with our the JtR "brand"?
Cheers,
Iain
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