I thought Tennant was excellent but found the drama rather flat and not especially compelling. These days we know a lot more about psychopaths and they are not unfathomably complex creatures. Though some have charisma, they are usually narcissistic and lack a conscience or any ability to empathise. Those who come into their orbit have no more significance to them than an inanimate object. The last time I checked, I think it was being suggested that psychopathy was inheritable. They are born that way, in other words. Not sure if the most recent research has confirmed this.
However, in spite of being a bit underwhelmed, I will be watching again tonight and the reason for that is Brian Masters. I read his study of Nilsen (‘Killing for Company’) about 30 years ago and it has lingered in my mind ever since then.
He is an exquisitely lucid prose stylist, even when writing about the macabre. And he is still alive too. Here is a link to something he wrote for The Sun very recently. Don’t be put off by the fact that this newspaper published the article. It’s worth setting that aside just to get a sense of how Masters approached the task ahead of him.