William Phelps (
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FACE TIME: “We don’t have Edgar Allan Poe heads in a closet,” an imprisoned killer told M. William Phelps (inset) on his ID show “Dark Minds.” The killer said Kevin Bacon’s new series “The Following” doesn’t cut it. (
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The new Kevin Bacon serial killer drama “The Following” may be a blossoming hit for Fox, but one real-life serial killer thinks it’s a comedy.
Raven, an imprisoned serial killer who appears each week on the Investigation Discovery series “Dark Minds,” is not a TV critic by nature. But when it comes to a subject he knows, he has strong opinions
“He just started laughing,” says show host M. William Phelps after asking Raven what he thought about the generally well-reviewed Fox series starring Bacon.
“They just can’t seem to ever get it right in Hollywood when it comes to what really makes us tick,” the real-life killer replied.
Raven (his identity is hidden on the show and his voice electronically altered) has basic cable in his maximum-security prison cell, Phelps says, and decided to watch the show after seeing all the promos leading up to its debut last week.
“We would never kill in that manner,” he told Phelps, who keeps tape recordings of all his conversations with the show’s “expert” commentator.
“We don’t have Edgar Allan Poe heads in a closet. Real serial killers create a legend. They don’t latch onto Edgar Allan Poe,” Raven said.
“And the last thing they would do is engage the police.”
The serial killer was so disappointed with “The Following” that he turned off the drama 40 minutes into its one-hour airtime.
“It looked like a cartoon to him,” says Phelps.
After the success of “Dexter” on Showtime, serial killers are hot properties on TV these days.
“The Following” is only one of the new dramas that features a serial killer (played by James Purefoy) as one of the main characters. BBC America has just given a second-season order to “Ripper Street,” a Victorian drama set in London during the time of the notorious Jack the Ripper. On March 18, “Bates Motel,” a prequel to “Psycho” concentrating on Norman Bates’ wonder years, premieres on A&E.
Raven, who is serving a life sentence, is not going anywhere, and will be able to tune in.
“Us real serial killers have a hard time keeping up with the Hollywood version of ourselves,” he told Phelps.
“Dark Minds” begins its second season Feb. 27 at 10 p.m. on ID.