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Ejecting the final DVD of The Wire season 5 and knowing there was no more, I sunk in a heap on the sofa wondering where to turn next. It was a friend of mine who had read a review of a new show that had just screened in the UK and suggested I get my hands on The Red Riding Trilogy.

For the past five years I have immersed myself in everything this golden age of television has had to offer; Al Swearengen, Toby Zeigler, Joan Holloway, Tony Soprano have been my staple diet replacing books, film and theatre.

Nothing could quite prepare me for The Red Riding Trilogy, which takes you into one of the bleakest and pitiless worlds imaginable. Based on the novels by David Peace, Red Riding takes you to the north of England and follows the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper.

Broken up into three movie-length episodes (set in 1974, 1980 and 1983) and directed by three different filmmakers it supersedes George Orwell’s 1984 with a world so corrupt it is almost Shakespearian. This is not another walk in the park Midsomer Murders Saturday night with the ABC – this is Titus Adronicus cum Richard III with all its power, passion and blood – and there’s barely a flash of redemption. The four-and-half hour series is relentless and one of the most powerful television experiences I’ve had. But be warned, it’s so psychological and so crazed that when you emerge from it you need to go back and watch it again. This is all-consuming television at its very best.

The details: The Red Riding Trilogy directed by Julian Jarrold (1974), James Marsh (1980), directed by Anand Tucker (1983); written by Tony Grisoni and adapted from the novels by David Peace. Produced by Channel 4 and Studio Canal and released in Australia by Madman Entertainment. It’s available at the ABC Shop online.