The Investigator: A British Crime Story (2016–2018) User Reviews

have to agree with other reviews

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 18 November 2017]

The sad story of the disappearance of Carole Packham - and who could blame her if she did disappear - is told in a four-hour series, "The Investigator: A British Crime Story" from 2016.

I agree with other reviewers, there just wasn't enough there to justify four episodes - 90 minutes would have sufficed.

The other problem is that the investigator did not solve the case or find out where Carole's body is, if she is indeed dead and buried.

The story is bizarre - Carole's husband moved his mistress into the house to live with him, the wife, and the daughter. Gee for some reason it caused a strain in the marriage. One day Carole was gone, leaving only a note and her wedding ring on top of it.

The prevailing theory is that Russell Packham, in prison for her murder, killed her, though he says he didn't. His girlfriend took Carole's identity in order to get a job in Canada using her visa. She also impersonated Carole to sign over the rights to the house so it could be sold. But no, gee, she didn't know Carole was dead.

I wish Carole could have escaped but no doubt Russell did her in. He likes that feeling of control he gets from not telling anyone where her body is. One thing we know, wherever Carole is, she's at peace now.

It's actually not that bad; it's just longer than it needs to be

[melwilson-80584 · 7/10 · 6 September 2018]

I watched both seasons of The Investigator before I looked it up on IMDB. I thought both seasons were OK (otherwise I would have stopped watching) and am surprised to see all the very low ratings (0, 1, 2 etc).

The show is based on true unsolved crimes. The crimes and events are convoluted and fascinating to learn about. And although Mark Williams-Thomas ("the Investigator") doesn't solve the mysteries, I give him credit for retracing the original investigations and turning over every stone and shedding some new light on the mysteries. The show follows his thought processes which involves numerous red herrings and dead ends. But hey that's real life investigative work. It's why the mysteries still remain unsolved after 30 years.

So while the underlying stories are interesting, there was a lot of filler. As other commenters have pointed out, there was a lot of repetition. A little bit of repetition is necessary because the stories are so convoluted and it is easy to lose track, but the show goes overboard. Both seasons could have easily been edited down to an 90 minutes each.

That said, I enjoyed it and have no problem recommending it if you like true crime dramas. Especially season 1.

disappointing

[thedisco · 5/10 · 24 August 2018]

Unfortunately there are no new discoveries made on the cases presented and pretty poor investigative work in attempting to do so. But that's show biz.

One annoying thing about the way this is made is that the same things are repeated over and over again to stretch out tv time.

Apart from that and the fake wrapping, the history of the cases itself is interesting I guess

Not bad at all

[vispateresa · 7/10 · 18 April 2020]

I just don't understand all the negative reviews. As a rule, I don't watch this type of programmes, but I want to learn English, so I started watching an episode on Netflix and was hooked. The presenter/investigator seems a nice guy, the reconstruction of the '60s and '70s (decoration, clothes, etc.) is very accurate. Another thing I appreciated is that the crime scenes are not too gory. There are some unnecessary repetitions, but all in all it's an interesting programme.

Absolute Waste of Time

[Branzal48 · 2/10 · 16 March 2017]

This may be a spoiler so please be warned.

There are four episodes, which constantly repeat the few facts that are found by the investigator, certainly he never arrives at an answer as to what actually happened to Carole Packham probably because the only person who knows, Russell Causley won't tell.

It isn't the story however that is at fault, it is the way the 1 hour episodes are padded out to extend the series into 4 episodes. It would have been a very good 1 hour programme, perhaps 90 minutes.

It deserves 0 stars...

[cgans-49313 · 1/10 · 23 August 2018]

Well 3 hours of my life I can't get back. If the main character of this show is actually an accomplished police detective as claimed, then I am setting up a criminal enterprise in England. Normally I am all over British crime shows as they tend to be top notch. This,however, is a load of repetitive drivel that meanders aimlessly between the odd revelation but never reaches any satisfactory conclusion. Other reviewers suggest it would make an interesting 1 hour documentary, I wouldn't even give it that much. Its just some self aggrandized near do well who rides around in his Jag pretending to play copper while getting the hopes up of terribly distraught people.

Rubbish, terrible, awful ... one star is way too generous

[niallsop · 1/10 · 13 April 2018]

This is a truly awful series ... don't waste your time. As others have noted, it would have been just as interesting as a one-episode, 20-minute, mini-series. The main presenter, an ex-detective, has as much charisma as an ash-tray. How any producer fell for this series is beyond belief. The female journalist, Branagh Munro, who does something similar for the BBC is light-years more authoritative and thorough. Curious how the only 8-star review appeared here just a week before the screening of Series 2 ... don't fall for it, watch paint dry instead.

Interesting

[daviddale-35590 · 10/10 · 17 April 2019]

I live local, worked in the same nick as DS Paul Donnell at the time of the crime and know most of the other cops interviewed. If you're ex Old Bill and local you're going to find it an interesting trip down memory lane.

The story is as old as the hills but it's good to see Paul and the teams work has stood the test of time. So much stuff was corrupt in those days (as likely illustrated in the other series of The Investigator).

If you want a quick thrill then not perhaps for you. If you want to see a real case reviewed in depth, then you're much more likely to appreciate it.

A True Simon Cowell Series

[elizabeth-92953 · 1/10 · 23 August 2018]

From the weird, over dramatized "detective lab" or wherever the investigator's "team" works out of to the constant repetition of information and the majority of leads being already proven and publicly known, this is a very boring and completely stretched out version of a crime documentary.

I have never been so irritated with a TV show that I felt the need to write a review but I am so disturbed that Simon Cowell needed to get involved with dead and missing persons cases and cause added distress to the victim's families for nothing. I believe 100% that this series did not gain them any more closure whatsoever as the investigator's "detective work" was completely laughable.

Everything in the series is presented as if it is a revolutionary discovery, when in fact basically the whole series is this investigator interviewing officials and reiterating what they had already previously discovered and known. It feels like a desperate attempt to cash in on the current trend of "dark documentaries" and it really shows.

That and the irritating way the information is displayed, if you are going to watch the show, get ready for at least a collective ten minutes throughout the episode just to be pure recapping.

I can not overstate what an absolute waste of time this was, I am furious for the families involved, the second supposed subject of season 2 was basically dropped in the first episode. It is lazy and rather disgusting, knowing the money-grabbing nature of Simon Cowell.

Almost unwatchably repetitive rubbish masquerading as a criminal investigation

[stairways · 2/10 · 21 January 2020]

The presence of the investigator who is credited with unmasking notorious DJ and charity pedophile Sir Saville should not convince anyone to waste their time here. Over four and three episodes, respectively, these two criminal investigations are simultaneously sensationalist and utterly boring (a significant achievement), replacing development with endless repetition, supposition and speculation. In the end, nothing is unearthed that wasn't known from the start, and the biggest mystery is no longer 'Who dunnit?' but 'why make it?'

Getting their money's worth for 15 minutes of footage

[cowley_iow · 1/10 · 25 January 2020]

This is almost like an American documentary with the amount of repetition of footage. Trying to stretch this to four episodes was a bit optimistic

This show is criminal

[Positively_Annoying · 1/10 · 21 August 2018]

Season 1 was pretty terrible but I was certain they would not try the same BS again. I was wrong. It's really sad to know that loved ones had their hopes raised by the incompetent boob posing as a real detective. He should be charged with a crime.

A very insightful programme

[jenny-91399 · 8/10 · 20 April 2019]

I don't think any intelligent person can begin watching one of these true crime investigation series expecting to get all the answers gift wrapped at the end. The truth is, these families have waited over 30 years to have anybody take a serious look at what happened to these women. Things were missed or overlooked in the original investigations. The show doesn't promise to blow your mind with calculated Hollywood style plots, the investigator merely follows leads that the authorities do not have the budgets for to look into now. I personally think it's well worth the watch, but if you are looking for a Sherlock Holmes ending, it's maybe not your cup of tea.

A real piece of crap

[neilnmarty-05613 · 1/10 · 24 May 2017]

This could be considered a spoiler, except there really was no ending. Totally repetitious and at the end you don't know any more than at the beginning. I can't believe this is up for consideration as a series. With so many superb British mysteries, the only mystery here is why anyone would make it. Unfortunately I'm not getting those four hours back.

Twenty minutes stretched into four boring hours

[TheDurangoKid · 3/10 · 7 September 2017]

Spoiler alert: you won't learn much and nothing interesting happens.

Another example of those infuriating "documentaries" which have little or nothing to say and take forever to expound their "information".

The story of a dimwitted murderer and fraudster, his dimwitted mistress and accomplice, the dimwitted police who investigated and a dimwitted man who takes it upon himself to re-investigate but finds nothing useful.

Never mind. He still can make some money from a deadly slow, repetitive four part series.

Every 'discovery' he makes was discovered years ago.

[jollyharris-956-406832 · 3/10 · 5 October 2020]

The show goes under the guise of a re-investigation but every new suspect and discovery is followed an interview with police detectives who made the very discovery or named the particular suspect decades ago.

Is this a joke ?

[allanmayes-20591 · 1/10 · 26 December 2017]

I felt sure this was a spoof / parody / comedy mockumentary. Are you telling me this is a real crime and a serious piece of investigative.journalism ?.They're taking the piss, surely.

Dont understand the bad reviews!

[karmakay · 8/10 · 24 March 2019]

I loved it! And I was interested to find out what happened, its pretty obvious the people involved in her murder weren't willing to talk...but the facts uncovered around the story were interesting. Personally I cant wait for the next season

The Joke

[mike198687 · 1/10 · 21 April 2020]

This guy is so full of himself calling himself THE INVESTIGATOR!!! lol, he basically did not do anything other than reading and listening to the real investigators who did tremendous work in this case. throughout the series, you hope that he will stumble upon something of significance, a new revelation perhaps, but nothing of that sort, on the contrary, it will make you angry, so angry because someone else is trying to take the fame and glory of the other detectives who did the real investigation work. Throughout the show he was trying so hard to get the husband to tell where the wife's body is to credit himself. He believed that releasing the first season will make such a huge publicity and drive either Russel or Patricia to confess thinking that this show will get attention like the other investigation series did on Netflix such as "making a murdered", of course, there is no comparison. That failed tremendously. There was also the part where he said that the other detectives did not take Russel's confession of the murder seriously because they thought he is a manipulator, so he goes all the way to test the fire theory "here you would say, that's it, he is into something" just to realize that the other detectives were smarter than this clown, and Russel was manipulating him back and forth. I only hope they didn't kill the pig to test his theory !!! In my opinion the real winner of this show is Russel who gave the show a bit of suspense and made fun of "THE INVESTIGATOR" throughout the show. I just cracked laughing when he was reading Russel's last letter.

Boring

[greekBruin · 2/10 · 25 September 2017]

If this was a single 40-minute episode, it might be bearable. Still pointless but bearable. Stretched to 4 episodes it is completely boring. They repeat the same things over and over and over again...

The "resolution" is completely unsatisfying, too. If you want to find out what happened, I will save your time: 1. Yes, the convicted guy killed his wife. 2. No, he is not going to talk to his daughter or to anyone else. 3. Nobody else is going to be prosecuted. 4. No new facts came out of this investigation. Then why make a movie about it? I have no idea!

Not worth the time.

[grandmove · 1/10 · 25 February 2019]

Have you ever started to read a book, and from the middle you find only blank pages ? Watch these episodes and you know exactly what I mean :(

Utter repetitive time waster!

[mandygodbehear · 1/10 · 19 September 2020]

It is an utter time waster. you are none the wiser at the end than you was in the beginning and it is so repetitive that I kept thinking I must be watching the same episode twice. I can not begin to put into words what a waste of time that was. If you want to know anything just watch the last episode as it is just a repetition of all the rest but I wouldn't even waste your time with that. A spoiler is impossible as there is nothing new to spoil.

Heking color! (They wouldn't allow me to use the F-word)

[kim-57621 · 10/10 · 20 February 2019]

Holy heck (see above for my restricted use of language) 10/10 for the color correction and filmography alone! Otherwise easy to sleep to. It should be noted that I have a tremendous rigid on for the faded film effect though. But the color is punchy and the effects are seamlessly blended. Idk really appreciate the production framing etc.

Over 4 episodes the same facts repeated over and over

[bradleyb-88944 · 1/10 · 28 December 2020]

Could've just made a one hour doco and called it at that

Huge waste of time and no closure to what happened to the offenders

So catastrophically bad that even I have to write a review once

[honzzze · 1/10 · 27 December 2020]

All the negative reviews are unfortunately right. We, too, were fooled by the promise to find out any details that would have helped the families of the victims. However, we are only viewers without personal connections to the cases. What might this self-promoting nonsense have done to the victims' families? Disgusting!