If you like real life crime dramas, like I do, you will
enjoy this one. The Widower is a three- part miniseries that
airs over 3 Sundays on PBS. It tells the story of how
Malcolm John Webster killed two of his wives beginning in
1994 and was finally caught and put on trial in 2011; then
he was sentenced to life imprisonment. Malcolm Webster
(Reece Shearsmith) is very scary as the nurse who charms his
victims. After marrying them, he kills them when they
he feels that they start telling him what to do something
that he doesn't want to do. The first installment kept me
on the edge of my seat, just watching how methodically and
coldly he killed his first wife, Claire.
I will keep watching until the end because although
Shearsmith isn't as charming and handsome as the real
Malcolm Webster, he does an amazing job of making us wonder
if he really loved his wives or not, and then the next
minute we watch as he kills them and fakes sadness and
remorse over their deaths. The most chilling fact of all is
that this tragedy actually happened, and the families of the
victims will always miss them. I give this miniseries 4
out of 5 stars. If you missed the first part you can
go to the PBS website and get caught up -- it is worth
watching!
MORE INFORMATION:
About the Series
The Widower is the 3-part true story of Malcolm
Webster — an infamous wife-killer who marries, and then
attempts to kill, a succession of woman to mask his debts
and cash in on their life insurance policies. Webster, a
nurse by profession, is on the surface, a perfect gentleman.
Well-spoken, personable and oozing with charm, he marries
first wife, Claire Morris, in 1993. However, a year after
her dream wedding, Claire is dead — the apparent victim of a
tragic road accident. What no one knows at the time is that
Webster has spent the entire marriage plying his
unsuspecting wife with sedatives. He aims to keep her in a
constant state of fatigue and drowsiness to prevent her from
questioning his wild spending habits or mounting debts.
But with his debtors closing in on him, he decides to
silence his wife once and for all by killing her in a
staged car accident that will pay him a life insurance
policy that will resolve his financial difficulties.
About the Episodes
Part 1 (Premiered Sunday, October
4, 2015)
When Claire Morris (Sheridan Smith) confronts her new
husband, Malcolm Webster (Reece Shearsmith) over his wild
spending, he tries to control her with sedatives. Afraid
he’ll soon be caught, he silences her once and for all.
Three years on, he has a new bride … and history appears to
be repeating itself.
Part 2 (Premieres Sunday, October 11,
2015)
After two failed attempts on Felicity’s (Kate Fleetwood)
life, Malcolm (Reece Shearsmith) returns to Scotland and
reinvents himself — this time as a perfect boyfriend to
Simone (Archie Panjabi). However, DS Henry (John Hannah) is
hot on his heels and will stop at nothing to prevent the
next murder.
Part 3 (Premieres Sunday, October 18,
2015)
As Malcolm (Reece Shearsmith) continues to evade capture and
plots to bigamously marry Simone (Archie Panjabi), DS Henry
(John Hannah) is being thwarted at every step of his
investigation. Time is running out when he stumbles across a
legal ruling that could ultimately lead to Malcolm’s
downfall.
The Widower was
produced by ITV Studios Global Entertainment.
The opinions in these articles are those of the writer and do not
necessarily reflect the opinions of The TV MegaSite or its other volunteers.
We need more episode guide recap writers, article
writers, MS FrontPage and Web Expression users, graphics designers, and more, so
please email us
if you can help out! More volunteers always
needed! Thanks!
Back to the Main Reviews Page
Page updated 10/7/15
Back to the Main Primetime TV Page
