"Wire in the Blood" Prayer of the Bone (2008)

Director:

Declan O'Dwyer

Writers:

Patrick Harbinson (written by)
Val McDermid (characters)

TV Series:

"Wire in the Blood" (2002)

Original Air Date:

7 January 2008 (Season 6, Episode 0)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Tony Hill finds himself in unfamiliar surroundings when he travels to Texas to assist the local district...

Plot Keywords:

Ptsd | Texas | Intrigue | Grave | Dead Children

Cast

Robson Green	...	Dr. Tony Hill
Naima Lett	...	Anita Addison (as Naima Imani Lett)
Brad Hawkins	...	Darius Grady
Merrilee McCommas	...	Julie Rice (as Marrille McCommas)
Dell Johnson	...	Sheriff Phelps
Ryan Rutledge	...	Amare Phelps
Drew Waters	...	Ray Decosio
Nicole Taylor	...	Loren Grady (as Nicole Lin Taylor)
Luke Gatewood	...	Jake Grady
Jenna Craig	...	Lucy Grady
Jennifer Griffin	...	Judge Downing
Julio Cedillo	...	Luis Borgos (as Julio Cesar Cedillo)
Tom Nowicki	...	Lee Burrill
Richard Dillard	...	Wayne Osman
Colin Stinton	...	Radio Announcer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gene Cervenka	...	Police Officer
Gary Teague	...	Prison Gate Guard
Erik Anderson	...	Prison Guard (uncredited)
Pablo D. Flores	...	Prisoner #2 (uncredited)
Simone Lahbib	...	DI Alex Fielding (voice) (uncredited)
Brandon Lilly	...	U.S. Soldier (uncredited)
Kana LiVolsi	...	Detective (uncredited)
Cass Naumann	...	Smoking nun (uncredited)
Carlos Pina	...	Prisoner with Braids (uncredited)

Directed by
Declan O'Dwyer

Writing credits
Patrick Harbinson		(written by)
Val McDermid		(characters)

Produced by
Bill Boyes	....	producer
Sandra Jobling	....	executive producer
Philip Leach	....	executive producer
Eric A. Williams	....	co-producer

Original Music by
The Insects

Cinematography by
Jimmy Lindsey		(director of photography)
Sam McCurdy		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
David Barrett

Production Design by
Paul Avery

Art Direction by
Tina Sherifa Hicks

Set Decoration by
Sally Nicholaou Hamilton		(as Sally Hamilton)

Costume Design by
Leeann Radeka

Makeup Department
Darylin Nagy	....	makeup department head

Production Management
Chris Davey	....	post-production supervisor
Eric A. Williams	....	unit production manager (as Eric Wiliams)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Susan Jasso	....	second assistant director
Karl Liegis	....	floor assistant director
Katie Tull	....	first assistant director (as Kathleen Tull)

Art Department
David Michael Ableman	....	scenic artist (as Michael Abelman)
Jesus Carrera	....	construction coordinator (as Jesus 'Chuy' Carrera)
Chris Clayton	....	set dresser
Debbie Cortez Haber	....	art department coordinator (as Debbie Haber)
Emma Janzen	....	art intern
Shane Patrick	....	leadman
Shane Patrick	....	set dresser
Corissa Smith	....	lead scenic artist
Elysia Van Deusen	....	props
Koen Wooten	....	property master

Sound Department
Thadd Day	....	boom operator
Bonnie Wild	....	assistant dubbing mixer (as Bonnie Curtis)

Special Effects by
Everett Byrom III	....	special effects supervisor
Craig Byrom	....	special effects foreman
Brian Corss	....	special effects assistant

Stunts
Jeff Schwan	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Ian Adrian	....	camera operator
Matt Fliehler	....	lighting technician
Donald R. Howe Jr.	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Chip Huntington	....	grip
Janet Jensen	....	electrician
Matthew McGinn	....	film loader
P.K. Munson	....	"a" camera focus puller
P.K. Munson	....	camera operator: underwater
Van Redin	....	still photographer
John Sheeren	....	additional first assistant camera
Todd Smiley	....	gaffer
Aaron Atom Vyvial	....	grip

Casting Department
Letty Chavarria	....	extras casting coordinator
Sheila Steele	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Nadine Davern	....	wardrobe assistant
Kortney Lawlor	....	costume assistant

Editorial Department
David Fisher	....	assistant editor
Mandy Miller	....	clearance coordinator
Frank Pass	....	colorist
Mandy Miller	....	post-production paperwork (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Mark Crosby	....	driver
Ruth Price	....	transportation coordinator (as Ruth Howard)

Other crew
Lazaro J. Carrera	....	utility
Mary Beth Chambers	....	production assistant (as Mary Beth Meadows)
Tim Cole	....	wrangler: rattlesnake
Bobbi Colorado	....	wrangler: dog
Logan Cooper	....	assistant location manager
Dustin Daniels	....	location scout
Sara Denson	....	production assistant
Vanessa Gaitan	....	production assistant
Gina Grande	....	script supervisor
Samantha Hollingsworth	....	location scout
Vicki V. Johnson	....	key set medic
Paul Knaus	....	location scout
Bill Lanier	....	assistant production coordinator
Jody LeHeup	....	location assistant
Andrea Longan	....	assistant: Mr. Green & Ms. Jobling
Kandis Longan	....	production secretary
Ismael Martinez	....	production assistant
Molly Murray	....	production accountant
Gillian Nesbitt	....	assistant publicist
Shelagh Pymm	....	unit publicist
Daniel Salas-Porras	....	production supervisor
Michael Saleman	....	production attorney
Reneau Skinner	....	first assistant accountant
Steve White	....	location manager

Sound Department
Helen Dickson	....	dubbing assistant
Rikki Hanson	....	sound trainee
Paul Munro	....	boom operator (one episode)
Dave Sloss	....	adr mixer

Special Effects by
Steve Breheney	....	special effects technician

Stunts
Juliette Cheveley	....	stunt performer (2005-) (as Juliet Cheveley)
Tom Delmar	....	stunt coordinator
Andy Smart	....	stunt performer (2005-) (as Andy J. Smart)

Camera and Electrical Department
Roger Tooley	....	Steadicam operator (2005-)

Other crew
Steven Butler	....	cast security
John Cheeseman	....	cast security
Kezz Stone	....	production assistant (2006)
Mark Timmons	....	cast security

Production Companies

• Coastal Productions
• Ingenious Broadcasting (in association with) (as Ingenious Broadcasting 2 LLP)

Distributors

• BBC America (2008) (USA) (TV)
• Independent Television (ITV) (2008) (UK) (TV)
• Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ) (2010) (Ireland) (TV)
• Southern Star (2008-) (worldwide) (all media)
• Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) (2010) (Germany) (TV)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies

Runtime:

UK:87 min | Germany:87 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:M | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Coastal Productions

Quotes:

Anita Addison:I've never slept with an Englishman before.
Dr. Tony Hill:That makes two of us.

Movie Connections:

References The Terminator (1984)

Very good but also cartoonish

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

While watching "Prayer of the Bone" I thought of "No Country for Old Men". This episode is very good but could have been VERY good, on a par with "Space: Above & Beyond" episodes "River of Stars" and "Who Monitors the Birds?" The story takes place in Austin, Texas, which is in the Texas Hill Country. Tony refers to the landscape as "flat," but it is not flat there, and "hot" which it is.

Tony Hill, as a hired expert, is asked to determine if a murder suspect, Grady, was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder when he killed his wife and children. No one questions that Grady killed them, only his motive for doing so.

There are not that many main characters, but they are not well-developed. A woman who belongs to some organization (I couldn't catch the name or its purpose) comes to Tony's motel room twice, uninvited, to rail at him. The defense attorney never seems to act in Grady's defense. The sheriff's character is paper-thin; so is that of his son, with a dollop of weird and hostile that is over-acted, I think. And then the fellow with the pet rattlesnakes is entertaining, but huh? That last died from multiple rattlesnake bites after an enemy sets the snakes loose from their cages by BREAKING the GLASS walls of the cages - surely he could have just lifted the lids??? And the sheriff's officers never said a word about the smashed glass - "Well, a man who keeps snakes should expect to get bitten." That's my take, it's not a quote.

A storyline is introduced involving drug dealers, a lot of money, corruption, and politics, but it's just to move the main story along. But then, what is this? The real murderer's motive is lust for Grady's wife, not money or power? There is some silly editing here and there, compressing some action into a second or two: Tony's rented car bounces in a vaudeville way on an uneven road; the mysterious woman scoots from one area of a prison yard to another. What is the purpose of that? If the story were stronger without the side trips, if the characters were developed a little more, if the silliness were removed, this episode could have been as good as a standalone movie.