First things first, this isn't awful. If you don't know a lot about the story of Jack the Ripper and investigations into the mystery, there will be much to hold your attention.
The problem is that a lot of the theories regarding possible suspects have already been discredited elsewhere. It places too much importance upon the fact that after the killings in London, prostitutes in New York were murdered and mutilated. Sadly, misogynistic killings have occurred across different countries in the past, they needn't be the work of one maniac. At one point Ed the investigating detective says experience has told him not to believe in coincidence, but it's certainly no stretch of the imagination to believe that two violent killers whose modus operandi is slicing their victims up are operating independently thousands of miles apart; there's even a very believable theory that London killings may not have all have been the work of one killer.
Does the letter X carved into a victim of the NY killings indicate them being a 10th victim (X being 10 in Roman numerals)? It's likely if you are carving someone up, a couple of slashes are going to form this very basic shape without it having any meaning.
Let's do a computer image of one of the suspects. How might he have looked 40 years previously when the murders happened? Let's give him a hat and a moustache like in one of the eyewitness accounts from the time! My dog could be made to look like a generic suspect if you did that! Let's make the evidence fit the hypothesis!
Ed Norris the investigator is certainly a man on a mission with a great deal of interest in the case, but in the earlier episodes he really does come across as someone who feels it is his personal mission to solve a mystery that has endured for over 100 years. Unless Scotland Yard has documents that will be declassified at some point, this is an enigma that will continue to perplex. The very most anyone can hope to do is either discount someone from the investigation or throw another possible name into the mix.
That isn't to say it doesn't have moments of interest, but if you have already watched and read a lot about Jack the Ripper there'll be little of any genuine interest.
The problem is that a lot of the theories regarding possible suspects have already been discredited elsewhere. It places too much importance upon the fact that after the killings in London, prostitutes in New York were murdered and mutilated. Sadly, misogynistic killings have occurred across different countries in the past, they needn't be the work of one maniac. At one point Ed the investigating detective says experience has told him not to believe in coincidence, but it's certainly no stretch of the imagination to believe that two violent killers whose modus operandi is slicing their victims up are operating independently thousands of miles apart; there's even a very believable theory that London killings may not have all have been the work of one killer.
Does the letter X carved into a victim of the NY killings indicate them being a 10th victim (X being 10 in Roman numerals)? It's likely if you are carving someone up, a couple of slashes are going to form this very basic shape without it having any meaning.
Let's do a computer image of one of the suspects. How might he have looked 40 years previously when the murders happened? Let's give him a hat and a moustache like in one of the eyewitness accounts from the time! My dog could be made to look like a generic suspect if you did that! Let's make the evidence fit the hypothesis!
Ed Norris the investigator is certainly a man on a mission with a great deal of interest in the case, but in the earlier episodes he really does come across as someone who feels it is his personal mission to solve a mystery that has endured for over 100 years. Unless Scotland Yard has documents that will be declassified at some point, this is an enigma that will continue to perplex. The very most anyone can hope to do is either discount someone from the investigation or throw another possible name into the mix.
That isn't to say it doesn't have moments of interest, but if you have already watched and read a lot about Jack the Ripper there'll be little of any genuine interest.