'The Real Serpent' is a strange, and morally confused, programme. Charles Sobhraj is almost certainly a serial murderer, one who has served time in prison for only some of his crimes, and also a vain publicity hound who has alternatively confessed to his guilt and protested his innocence. In this series, he agrees to be investigated and interviewed by some retired detectives, who review the evidence (which is mostly well-known; the story was only recently dramatised on television) and then basically tell Sobhraj that they've concluded he's guilty and is an awful human being to boot. In fact, they don't convince, as their technique is basically to talk over Sobhraj while accusing him of attempting to dominate the conversation! One can argue that the weight of proof means Sobhraj does not deserve fair treatment; but by the same token, why put him on TV (where he clearly wants to be) at all? The real story of the killings is terrible and compelling; but wheeling Sobhraj out to insult him adds no further insight.
