ThePhantomofStarkid This show is described as being about cold cases, yet within the first 20 minutes, they are dealing with a current crime. The acting is good, however, the script is atrocious. More than once I found myself screaming at the screen at the sheer incompetence and disregard for both common sense and basic police policy. If I could have given it zero stars I would have. As it is I was only able to get through the Pilot (Episodes 1 and 2) and Half of Episode 3. Utterly atrocious. If you are looking for a British show about cold cases I would recommend New Tricks as it boasts a great cast as well as amazing dialogue and interesting cases.

Paul Evans If there was a show that ended before its time it was Waking the Dead.The series focuses on a team of detectives that investigate cold cases. A few changes in personnel over the years, but the linchpin all the way through remained Detective Superintendent Peter Boyd, the charismatic, irascible but intelligent head of the unit. Two other constants, Boyd's second in command DI Spencer Jordan, and Criminal profiler Doctor Grace Foley, both at times struggled on occasion to cope with Boyd's methods and temperament, Grace more so.The series ran from 2000 to 2011, it gave us nine wonderful Series. It managed to stay relevant, intelligent and thought provoking throughout, criticised at times for being overly complicated, stories such as Walking on Water and Subterraneans drew criticism for being too hard to follow.High points included Cold Fusion, Yahrzeit and Shadowplay, too many others to name, but these three are among the best, superbly written, always wonderfully acted, with lots of twists and turns.Everyone is exceptional throughout the series, it showcased just how good an actor Trevor Eve is. You literally see Boyd develop and change as a character as the series progresses, you see that Mel and Luke have a huge impact on his character.Some very memorable performances from guest stars throughout, Genevieve O'Reilly's performance in Harbinger, Harriet Walter's in Every breath you take, and Paul Freeman's in Straw Dog are a few highlights.A series very similar to Silent Witness, it always surprised me that they ended this when they did, it had 2 more series I would have thought. The final series is outstanding, they truly did go out on a high. Eve Lockhart had proved an effective character that she was given a spin off show 'The Body Farm,' which only ran for one series and never fully reached its potential.Waking the Dead remains one of the best. 2018's radio dramas proved there was still interest in this show, needs bringing back.

kayaker36 This show is making the rounds now on a local Public Broadcasting channel, as a lead-in for the more exciting--and more violent--MI-5 (original title: **Spooks**).There is some good acting here, led by Trevor Eve, fifty-something veteran of British television and films (I just saw him in the 2007 version of "David Copperfield"). His is a face with mileage on it that evidently has never had the services of a cosmetic surgeon. Sue Johnson, an actress also not in her first youth, does creditable work as well, as a psychological profiler. She is a sort of human lie detector. The guest parts are also surprisingly well acted.The problems begin with a low budget, particularly by our American standards. This is evidenced by a preponderance of indoor scenes giving the whole production a static, stagey quality. Key events in the plot must be recounted by one or another cast member because they cannot be depicted--additional sets or actors would cost--a clumsy way to tell a story. The scripts are "loose". Scenes ramble on when they should be cut off. The spoken dialogue often differs in minor ways from the closed captioning, which implies that there is a much greater degree of ad libbing than would be found in a normal, scripted program. I think the writers often don't know how to fill the extended running time of the series. It is presented here as two, fifty-minute episodes with no commercial interruptions.The plots will start with an interesting, novel premise, then become hard to follow or just plain preposterous. The science is always absorbing, however and the continuing theme--a search for truth--inspiring.

Pradip Shah I came across some DVDs of earlier seasons. After watching a few episodes It got me thinking about the writers/directors of the series and the way they developed their characters. What were they thinking? What I fail to understand is how did an insensitive, perpetually angry Boyd ever get promoted to be a detective superintendent. At no instance has it been shown that he possesses any special deductive skills nor any radical ideas which led to solving a case. In an organization like law enforcement agency working as a team is very critical. Not jumping to conclusions and especially loosing your cool at the slightest provocation I would consider as prerequisites. Boyd fails on both these accounts.I am not much familiar with the actual British practice of law enforcement. May be Boyd IS a typical police officer one would encounter in real life. Thank god I don't live in that country.Although the whole concept and selection of story line has been good for the serial the character of Boyd is contra indicated.The people who may be concerned with the character development would do well to not mix up - assign - Hindu names to Parsi characters -specifically Sharma and Chaudhary in one episode. They better get hire 1st generation immigrant from India - one who is still maintaining contacts with the old country - as a consultant. The British may not realize this but the ex-pats will.