Mindhunter

[Ja'moke]

I don't think there is any plan to continue with Rader. It was just meant to show this was going on at the time.

Next series is about the Atlanta murders.

[biggytitbo]

Really? Why not seed that one then, considering it happened at the same time as series 1, rather than Rader? Atlanta will be tricky too, considering unlike most of the big cases there is still a bit of controversy about whether Williams really acted alone.

[Ja'moke]

I think it was just to show the physical manifestation of the kind of things Ford and Tench were talking about and investigating throughout the series. The seemingly regular man going about his everyday mundane activities, only to be suppressing a sinister dark side which would eventually be unleashed. I'm not too familiar with the Atlanta murders, but I'm not sure they would represent the themes of what Series 1 was investigating quite as well.

I suppose they could come back to Rader later, seeing as John Douglas (who wrote the book Mindhunter was based on) investigated the BTK killer for decades. But as you said, they didn't actually capture him until the mid 00s, so it would be difficult to make the timelines work.

[sillymisslily]

The bloke who writes this looks like a wanker, doesn't he?



That is all.

[spamwangler]

The bloke who writes this looks like a wanker, doesn't he?



That is all.

looks like a darts champion

[paruses]

Why is there not two pages of comments on how terribly thought out the credits are? I enjoyed them the first time and then did not enjoy them.

The Kemper guy is fantastic.

[Steven]

The Kemper guy is fantastic.

Cameron Britton, he's nowt like him in interviews either.

[paruses]

I could listen to him as Kemper, or Kemper himself, for hours - not just on how best to kill ladies.

They should release a lecture series - Bronze Age Trade Routes in North Western Europe, An Introduction to Organic Chemistry - anything. I would listen to them.

I still haven't decided if Rader is an excellent or terrible choice for the opening scenes. Did he have a pathology that the Behavioural Science lot correctly identified but just couldn't find the one man amongst millions of American men. Or did they get it completely wrong?

[Steven]

I still haven't decided if Rader is an excellent or terrible choice for the opening scenes. Did he have a pathology that the Behavioural Science lot correctly identified but just couldn't find the one man amongst millions of American men. Or did they get it completely wrong?

One theory is he was born with a defected thalamus which effects how one feels emotions, so Rader was seeking out the ultimate thrill with his torturing and killing in order to feel. But he certainly had a very Jekyll & Hyde compartmentalised personality and could resume a normal life for years before being compelled to kill again, it was only his ego that eventually got him caught. Hearing him talk through his crimes he diplays no emotion whatsover like he's reading a grocery list, in a murder trial court setting it comes across very sinister but if you encountered him in the local store or whatever he'd probably sound stultifyingly normal, boring, the person you'd least suspect of committing the acts he did, which of course probably worked heavily in his favour.

[paruses]

Interesting - I did see a made-for-TV thing a few years ago about him. I might rewatch as the only thing I properly remember is him killing a neighbour's dog under the auspices of being a dog warden.

But what I was getting at more was - did the BAU people have an accurate profile of him when he was finally caught or were they way off the mark. If the former then he's a good choice if the the latter then doesn't choosing him suggest that their output comes down to guesswork?

Maybe they just chose him because people who have an interest in this kind of thing - like me - can get a jolt of excitement recognising who the makers have referenced but without being told.

[biggytitbo]

Rader is relatively atypical of serial killers though in that he had multiple, unenforced, long gaps (at least officially) between killing, indeed when he was caught he hadn't killed for 14 years, although was apparently planning another 'project'.


How that would fit in with the show I don't know. The other thing that never sat right with me about Rader is that what are supposed to be his first murders are by far the most extreme in seriousness and number of victims 4 in one night, and the latter murders by comparison 'deescalate' somewhat. Thats kind of the opposite of what you see with other killers, so again might go against the profiling premise of the show.

[Ja'moke]

I could listen to him as Kemper, or Kemper himself, for hours - not just on how best to kill ladies.

They should release a lecture series - Bronze Age Trade Routes in North Western Europe, An Introduction to Organic Chemistry - anything. I would listen to them.

The real Kemper actually recorded audiobooks for the blind while in prison: https://www.avclub.com/listen-to-the-real-ed-kemper-from-mindhunter-reading-au-1819716594

"There are some pulpy westerns, romance novels, book four of Frank Herbert's Dune saga, a novelization of the Star Wars trilogy, and a Robin Cook potboiler".

[paruses]

Fantastic - I tried to read Dune and a friend told me it is excellent but I just couldn't get into it. This could be my opportunity.

I also love westerns.

[Goldentony]

You'd have to push the series forward til floppy discs come into vogue to go anywhere with the Rader plot

[paruses]

I suppose he had a readily identifiable MO with his BTK thing so it's a nice shorthand for an organised, classifiable killer that viewers can get a bit excited about recognising - despite the attendant problems with fitting him into the show's premise or timeline.

[Steven]

I suppose he had a readily identifiable MO with his BTK thing so it's a nice shorthand for an organised, classifiable killer that viewers can get a bit excited about recognising - despite the attendant problems with fitting him into the show's premise or timeline.

He might not figure into the show short of the short scenes referencing him until way down the line as an 'exception to the rule' case, where forensics had to be employed to catch him.

Also good find the Kemper audiobooks, wondrous strange.

[biggytitbo]

Kemper would have made a fantastic host for Jackanory,  reading a Roald Dahl perhaps.

[EOLAN]

When they played "I don't Like Mondays" at the end of episode 6 I believe; did anyone believe that that it was a pre-cursor to the San Diego school killings that inspired saw Bob (no longer freeman of Dublin) Geldof and his Rats.

[spamwangler]

Why is there not two pages of comments on how terribly thought out the credits are? I enjoyed them the first time and then did not enjoy them.

The Kemper guy is fantastic.

if you mean the opening credits, then hell yea, - the sev7en esque strobing pictures of dead people seems a bit tacky and 90s

[biggytitbo]

When they played "I don't Like Mondays" at the end of episode 6 I believe; did anyone believe that that it was a pre-cursor to the San Diego school killings that inspired saw Bob (no longer freeman of Dublin) Geldof and his Rats.

I thought it was contemporary to the action, the song was released in 1979, same year as the shootings, and the show is set circa 79-80 ish isnt?

[EOLAN]

I thought it was contemporary to the action, the song was released in 1979, same year as the shootings, and the show is set circa 79-80 ish isnt?

True that. Given theme of show it felt a bit on the nose; although in fairness there wasn't much need for a psychological analysis to identify the killer. Not a sequence killer either so may be not relevant for interviews either.

[paruses]

if you mean the opening credits, then hell yea, - the sev7en esque strobing pictures of dead people seems a bit tacky and 90s

Yes - oddly dated - but maybe I am confusing retro and old-fashioned. It seemed old fashioned to me .

Also - they just go on for an age. I watched 90% of offline this on a mobile device while travelling so didn't have the skip intro option - the series made 2 x 3 hour flights zip by though.

[biggytitbo]

True that. Given theme of show it felt a bit on the nose; although in fairness there wasn't much need for a psychological analysis to identify the killer. Not a sequence killer either so may be not relevant for interviews either.

Oh I forgot, the bit where they first coined the term serial killer skirted with being utter cringe but just pulled it back with its understatement.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

That felt like the inevitable bit in a music biopic, when the main character is inspired to write their big hit song.

[biggytitbo]

Still a lot better than when Peter capaldi coined the term volcano in Doctor Who.

[biggytitbo]

The first 20 minutes of this is mindhunter S2 https://youtu.be/rF_BMXryMYY

[jobotic]

if you mean the opening credits, then hell yea, - the sev7en esque strobing pictures of dead people seems a bit tacky and 90s

Studies of retro tape recorders - fuck yeah. Just get rid of the flashes of dead women.

[spamwangler]

Studies of retro tape recorders - fuck yeah. Just get rid of the flashes of dead women.

yea the suppergettified cashgenerator porn i was cool with

[Gregory Torso]

Oh I forgot, the bit where they first coined the term serial killer skirted with being utter cringe but just pulled it back with its understatement.

"Doing-it-again-and-again killers?"

"What about 'serial killers'?"

"Serial killers... heeey!"

"Let's go and hunt some minds!"

Freeze-frame. "Baker Street" saxophone riff starts playing.

[phantom_power]

I struggled a bit in the middle but the last few episodes were great. As is the case in these circumstances, it took me a long time to realise that the main character was MEANT to be a twat. I always assume it is muddled characterisation for far too long before the penny drops.