Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Ripper:
Apparently, it’s not a big deal to murder prostitutes in England.
Quick synopsis:
A documentary on Peter Sutcliffe, also known as the Yorkshire Ripper, who murdered at least 13 women.
Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like:
Sutcliffe was interviewed 9 times by the police but was only apprehended when he was caught with a hooker, phony license plates, and a kill kit nearby.
Fun Fact for History Nerds:
Sutcliffe was able to murder 3 more women and attack 2 others after a man named John Humble sent hoax letters and a recording to police which sent them in the wrong direction.
My Take on The Ripper:
It is hard to find a more bungled investigation than this one.
Peter Sutcliffe killed and attacked women over a period of five years from 1975-1980. Except, when the investigation was reviewed years later, he was on police radar as early as 1969. He was quiet and unassuming but was not invisible to law enforcement. However, he might as well have been with the way the police mucked it all up.
The series is good but does start to drag and then feels rather rushed at the end. It is 4 episodes long and Sutcliffe and the investigation fallout doesn’t appear until episode 4. There is a clear attempt by the documentary to highlight how badly misogyny was at the heart of the police incompetence. I was very unconvinced until I did my own research. As a history nerd, additional research can be very enlightening. However, if you bring something up in your documentary, and there is ample evidence to prove it, you need to do a much better job than this did.
If you love true crime, you will like this. It does a great job explaining and showing how much the Ripper out England in a constant state of fear when the sun went down. It is not the best out there, though.
Verdict:
This series is good, but it does not seem to be complete and has an extremely rushed ending. Watch it here!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.