KEY POINTS:
No scientific expertise required to trace our seemingly endless appetite for forensic cop dramas to a spin-off in the form of American crime-solving game show Murder (TV2, last night at 10.10).
It had to happen. You might hope that Murder, in which two teams compete to solve a real homicide case, is indeed a spoof. But no, it's just one more step down the ladder to the depths of what is now considered suitable fodder for entertainment.
The murders the show uses have already been "closed", the perps locked up somewhere safe where presumably they can't call for copyright royalties on their misdeeds but probably aren't beyond relishing their reality telly fame.
The two teams of wannabe detectives have to approach the case as if they were the professionals. They visit a replica of the crime scene to glean clues and collect evidence. They are treated to the real autopsy reports and the police interrogations of the suspects.
The crime scene is recreated meticulously - almost lovingly - down to the last spatter of blood and brains on the wall. The corpses are so well done you wouldn't know they were dummies. The only thing missing is the smell.
Last night the case was of a couple murdered in their bedroom. Somebody had taken a lot of trouble recreating a blown-apart head.
The effect is pure splatter movie, the cameras linger on - and revisit - the gruesome sights to the point of voyeurism. The contestants seemed less shocked than awed. "This looks very, very violent," one said with what sounded awfully like glee.
To be fair, the players have been picked from professions - paramedic, firefighter and, in an interesting twist, a former gang member - which makes them likely to be hardened to gory scenes.
Proceedings are presided over by a veteran homicide cop, Tommy Le Noir - a name so wonderfully appropriate it's absurd. He continually stresses that this show is educational. It's letting the amateurs see how hard the job really is. And the winning team's prize is a suitably sombre donation to a crime victim charity.
However, among the blood and brains, the dynamic is much the same as any other reality show - there's the egos and dolts, the tensions, and the laughs as they try to copy all those hard-ass cops on TV.
Adam took the honours as the one you love to hate, with his sexism and petulance when his pet theories went down the gurgler. Former gangster Tank awarded himself the title of class clown: "Once again it is confirmed, I am absolutely stupid."
But you can't escape the fact that this is a show wallowing in real-life violence, to the point of taking the players to shoot blood-filled watermelons to simulate what happens when a human head is shot with a high-powered rifle at close range. Even the players were shocked at that one.
If this is the sort of thing that floats your boat, the bad news is that TV2 played this first of 10 episodes as a one-off.
But if it rates well, the channel will no doubt be looking to get away with more Murder.
