It was sanitised, sexless, and more doilies thanDeadwood.
Of late however, period crime TV has evolved into something nastier.
Twinsets, dastardly heirs and moustachioed Belgians are out, muckiness, dismemberment and gratuitous nudity are in.
The message was clear: sex, death, and smut are whatRipper Streetis selling.
Yet, its difficult to deny that both kinds of period drama scratch very different itches.
Part of the reason were attracted to on-screen and on-page atrocity is because it thrills yet reassures.
Death and the darker sides of life arent the sole reserve of the new historical crime dramas of course.
Is it a simple case of copycat productions?
Make one gory period detective show, and a legion follow behind.
The explanation doesnt only lie at the feet of crime drama, but pans genres.
All of which begs the question of what comes next?
Whatever it is, its unlikely to be more prudish.
Heres one so-bad-its-probably-already in-development scenario: Marple and Poirot rebooted Nolan-style; grittier, darker, and sexier.
