Vienna Blood

"Max" (Matthew Beard) is a doctor with a penchant for the as yet unproven science of psychopathy as espoused by Sigmund Freud at the start of the twentieth century. Living in Imperial Vienna - a city renowned for being at the leading edge of medical advances, he gets involved with under-pressure local police detective inspector "Rheinhardt" (Juergen Maurer) who is investigating a bizarre series of killings. The latter man is just as sceptical of his new friend as just about everyone else, but "Max" is undeterred and as their investigation progresses, both characters realise that together they make quite a formidable team combining traditional policing with the beginnings of psychological profiling. As the series' progress, a friendship gradually develops between the two men. Meantime, "Max" is finding his rather procedural relationship with girlfriend "Clara" (Luise von Finckh) increasingly compromised by his infatuation with a fellow scientist "Lisa Linder" (Miriam Hie) who isn't exactly reciprocative of his enthusiasm. With that romantic on/off scenario bubbling through series one, it does rather interfere with what is otherwise an enjoyable and a times quite intriguing collection of Holmesian-style dramas that look great and pace out well over ninety minutes an episode. Beard looks about twelve, which does take a bit of getting used to - but as he and Maurer start to get their teeth into what would appear not to be the safest city in Austria, their adventures prove a little quirkier than the norm. There's a little gentle humour, well augmented by Roman Kariolou's score and their habit of one saying "welcome to the investigation" to the other when things start to hot up a bit is quite fun, too. Curiously, they mustn't have had much faith in there being a second series as that starts with both men clearly having become somewhat estranged, and that also applies - though not as distinctly, from series two into three but these moments in the dramatic wilderness soon a...