Wild Crime has been on my list of true crime shows to watch for a while now. For whatever reason, something else always catches my attention first when I look for something to watch. How can I possibly ignore something called The Castration Cure?
Season one of Wild Crime covers the Harold Henthorn murders. Taking a page out of the Michael Peterson playbook, he conveniently has two important women in his life die under mysterious circumstances. Henthorn doesn’t get bonus points for mixing up how they were killed like Peterson who left both at the bottom of The Staircase.
Either way, Henthorn is the featured villain in this show. It’s clear from the beginning he’s guilty. So, is this show still watching even with the mystery revealed early on?
What was good about Wild Crime season
The Henthorn murders of two wives is, in my opinion, an underrated true crime story. I’ve seen this case profiled at least two other places. I think 20/20 did an episode on it. Wild Crime gets a little more indepth.
This true crime series focuses on how it all unfolded. Unlike The Staircase where there’s a ton of mystery surrounding what actually happened, Wild Crime’s first season case is clearcut. Henthorn is guilty. It’s obvious to the audience within the first few minutes of this program.
The lack of mystery was a bit disappointing even though that wasn’t the intent of this series. I’ll talk a little bit more about that after the jump.
This was a fine program with a lot of discussion from different investigators, family members, and others close to Henthorn. It didn’t blow me away. It was actually really good background noise because I already knew a lot about the case.
What could have made Wild Crime season one better
Give me a little mystery. I need it. I crave it. Even when a true crime documentary starts with a dead body, leave some chance the first people we see in handcuffs isn’t the guilty party. It’s why a film series like Paradise Lost is so perfect. We know the end result. We just don’t know everything about what happened in the middle.
The Henthorn case isn’t that. It’s a pretty spectacular one. Just when you think this is a single murder, we go back several years to find he probably intends to continue to kill any woman he can get in close contact with as long as they’re willing to sign off on an insurance policy.
Something about already knowing the outcome of this case had me feeling a bit underwhelming. It wasn’t bad. I just knew the punchline before the setup was even completed.
Is Wild Crime season one worth watching?
If you know enough about the Henthorn murders, you can probably skip this one. If it’s new to you, indulge! This is an ABC News production and they tend to do at least halfway decent work. This is a somewhat drawn out look at the case. It never gets boring, though.
Overall Score: 6 out of 10
I’m giving this one an extra point because a lot of what I didn’t like had to do with the fact that I watch too much true crime. It’s nothing especially fantastic. True crime lovers who can’t get enough should still find enough to enjoy.
Practically Trouble 