To change the way it looks (removing the red, etc) you'd have to modify the HTMPL file for the list form you were looking at. There are lines of code in there that set different CSS class values based on conditions such as SLA Violation and Special Handling for the Affected User. I yanked the Special Handling portion so that blue/yellow/red always denoted SLA and never special handling since there is already that horn icon for SH. You could rip out more if it suited your needs.
The only reason I could see the web service not picking it up anymore is if you were logging in with an account that had some kind of restriction on it via data partitions or functional access that disallowed Viewing the ticket once it breached.