TV Review: Murder: Real People Solving Real Crimes

I remember my first crush. He was older than me, quite a lot actually. And as some crushes invariably go, he had no idea I was alive. But that didn’t bother me; I was content to see him once a week – on my television set. You see, my secret crush was Dr. Quincy. Yeah, that rumpled California coroner who was portrayed by Jack Klugman in the decades old series, Quincy, M.E.

I was in my late teens, and Quincy was – well, older. As a younger girl, I got hot and bothered over David Cassidy or the band Chicago – but eventually I became infatuated with older men like the good doctor. Or perhaps it was just Quincy (although that Detective Columbo kind of had it going on). It was that great mind that got me. This expert medical examiner quietly did his thing week after week, way before criminal forensics were the hot topic.

And these days, hot is cold. Cold as in a city morgue or cold case. Cold as in the chill of goosebumps a viewer will feel when hearing a real 911 call as a neighbor reports gunshots – and the victims’ daughter screams in the background – in Spike TV’s Murder: Real People Solving Real Crimes. The new, unscripted-style show by Bunim-Murray Productions (The Real World, The Simple Life, The Bad Girls Club) will follow the work of several civilians as they step into a highly detailed re-creation of a homicide scene. These amateurs will have 48 hours to collect evidence, watch witness interrogation tapes, even meet with the coroner in the attempt to name a suspect before the other team.

Yes I said team. As in much of the world of reality or unscripted television, there is competition on Murder. In the first episode, “Hometown Homicide”, six regular people are divided into two teams of three. They are not professional investigators, but do have helpful backgrounds; firefighting, EMT training, or law students or professors. One individual was even a former gang member. But this is where a very interesting premise could be compromised by the need for drama. A real murder investigation is already loaded with pathos, to conduct even a re-creation of this investigation as a contest is questionable entertainment.

Article Author: Mary K. Williams

Mary K. is a freelance entertainment writer living in the Greater Boston area. She pens CD reviews for Metronome Magazine and is a former Features Editor for Hot Psychology Magazine. Mary K. has also contributed to the anthology, Brewed Awakenings.

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