City of Vice (2008) User Reviews

superb drama

[Tillbradley · 8/10 · 15 January 2008]

I couldn't wait when they advertised this period drama, but expected the usual costumes, dark and dusty streets and basic poverty. But this story brought to life Georgian England, its not your usual period drama. Set in the late 18th century, City of vice tells the story of London's first police force the Bow street runners lead by John and Henry Fielding. London is a centre for debauchery with pick pockets, thieves, murderers and prostitutes, plus gang warfare all accounting for the need for the police. The brothers use brutal tactics to get their man but are generally concerned for the victims and for the city of London itself. This drama is unlike any other it make you feel you are part of the mystery as it tells stories of these crimes. But also has the makings of other crime dramas such as Cracker and Prime Suspect. I hope they continue this as a series i feel it would do very well. the cast are brilliant and well done channel 4.

Excellent drama, and rather brave television...

[neilschroeder2004 · 9/10 · 15 February 2008]

At first glance you may think, as I did initially, "Oh God, yet another police procedural" and that the setting in Georgian London was a desperate attempt to differentiate it from the zillion and one others.

But this genuinely is different. It is a high quality piece of drama with good production values, good scripts and solid acting.

It is also a rather brave piece of prime time television.

Firstly it has avoided the worst excesses of dumbing down. For example the structure and rhythm of the language (and I am no expert) feels old fashioned and of its time. There are no modern phrases ruining the suspension of disbelief.

Secondly it is also brave enough to have the characters expressing the mores of the time: gay sex is illegal and punishable by death; the investigators have no compunction about sending men and women to the gallows; they express disgust at the poverty of London, but do not articulate modern views of how society should change to help the unfortunate, they are just trying to set up a police force to control crime.

Thirdly all the main characters are white and male (as would be historically accurate). The only black Bow Street Runner was found to be a gay prostitute in episode two (from memory) and not seen since. There are no women on the "team" as such though they do appear as characters in the investigations.

Fourthly the grime of London is portrayed in pretty depressing detail. This is no "prettified" period drama.

Finally, there are very rarely any genuinely happy endings.

This drama therefore takes the dull checklist of accessible modern prime time drama (none to taxing, PC attitudes should prevail, minorities represented, happy endings) and deliberately ignores all of them.

I really hope it succeeds, but I have a suspicion its brave refusal to "tick the boxes" may mean we should savour this series as a one-off treat

Depressing depravity, titillatingly told. Georgian London under investigation, with an o.k budget and good filming technique.

[destinysmile · 10/10 · 14 January 2008]

I am a sucker for historical drama, particularly when its the sordid history of sorts. This one though particularly fascinating due to it being about the so-called first policemen! I love police drama. So my two favourite genres colliding. Reminds me of from Hell or Sherlock Holmes. The fact that its is a British budget so not Hollywood SE its very well done. A little OTT and not entirely factual, but thoroughly enjoyable and educational. Definitely raising some points for debate and setting one thinking. I was impressed by the filming of the streets in that 3D dark style, the general Gothic- feel of depressingly, stifling despair is fantastic. A great atmosphere! The two brothers are great actors and fascinating figures representing morality and justice, one Anglican one catholic, one blind one seeing. Great contrasts and characterisation. I did find it perfect but any faults where not particularly jarring and one could overlook them. Overall very good. No actionor exaggeration to make it exciting, its plain and disturbing in its message. Its about the evil underneath London's veneer in the Gerorgian Era. A guilty pleasure for those interested in history and entertaining enough for those not.

Lawlessness vs Morality 18th c Style

[csdcsdcsd2003 · 10/10 · 28 September 2023]

"City of Vice" is an exceptionally well written historical crime drama enacted by a superb cast led by Ian McDiarmid as Henry Fielding, author of "Tom Jones." His witty and thoughtful delivery of dialogue is especially worth watching. Ian Glen, portraying his blind brother, is also a most capable actor. These harrowing productions have a dark and stage-like quality full of action and unexpected twists. I was disappointed that there are only 5 episodes about the origins of the London police force and would gladly continue watching if more episodes become available but magistrate and novelist Henry Fielding suffered from increasingly poor health and died in his 50s. Subjects of this short but frightful series include murder, sex crimes, home invasion, kidnapping, thefts, muggings, blackmail - and the despair of victims of high moral character vs the tight-fisted attitude of those holding the purse-strings. Not for the faint-hearted! >> Alas, today's immorality and crime problems are much like those of yore - and funding for the police, at least here in the United States, is equally problematic so "City of Vice" is most timely. >> I enjoyed viewing the map of London becoming 3D as the action speeds viewers from one neighborhood to another along densely structured city streets. Having visited London several times over the years, I have always found it a dangerous place with some pretty nasty characters roving about. >> I recommend this series to anyone with an interest in true crime.

Awful sound editing made it impossible to watch

[missypowers · 5/10 · 9 February 2016]

The history of the police as we know it today is a subject I'm very interested in so when Hulu added this show to their line-up I was immediately intrigued. I watched the first episode with my husband. We agreed that the sound editing is atrocious. The background sounds are far too forward in the mix and overwhelm the dialogue. There is nothing wrong with the actors' performance. It is not a case of mumbling performances. It is most definitely a case of very poor quality sound mixing. I tried to watch with closed captions but I couldn't manage to activate this function in Hulu in spite of changing my settings to allow for it. I gave up when I realized the second episode was not going to be any different. It's too bad, although now that I see this is a show from 6 years ago and it only enjoyed one season, it's just as well.