Waking the Dead

The programming in the US is poor to be polite. So, we, as viewers look elsewhere. One of my favorite places is the BBC. Now on BBCAmerica there is an excellant show called "Waking the Dead". It is intelligently written, tense and the actors are wonderful. All of them. I had known, just a little about Trevor Eve(Detective Superintendent Peter Boyd) before, but I had never seen anything of Sue Johnston, Holly Aird, Clair Goose, or Will Johnson's work. It's a shame, because I can see they are all wonderful actors and actresses. Trevor Eve plays the head of the Cold Case Squad that investigates unsolved murders. I don't know if it's by plan or not, but Eve presents the character of Boyd as an arrogant, egotistical, yet an intelligent man with boyish charm. Boyd is also haunted by the disappearance of his 16 year old son. There was a fight and the son disappeared. Boyd doesn't know if the boy is dead or alive. This affects his job. Sue Johnston is Dr. Grace Foley, the profiler of the team. I didn't know anything about her. She presents Foley as a caring, intelligent woman. She is perceptive. She and Boyd have been friends for a long time and understands his pathos. When on a tyraid, Foley is the only one who will face Boyd down and make him back down. Holly Aird is Dr. Frankie Wharton. She is the forensic specialist and is anal about crime scenes. She even goes as far as requiring masks for the entire team when entering a crime scene. She is intelligent and will also face down Boyd if necessary. Clair Goose is Detective Constable Mel Silver. She is a fresh, eager detective who wants to be taken seriously. She is fasctidious in collecting evidence and tries to cover all bases. She also dislikes Boyd's patronizing attitudes as he often thinks, because of her young age that she can't do the job. She usually gets around it by forcing her way through his perceptions and doing what she knows is right anyway. Wil Johnson plays Detective Sargeant Spencer Jordon. He is an intelligent man who comes from the streets of London. All he's ever wanted to do is be a policeman. He is methodical and as he relaxes into his role, he is letting his imagination help him think about the crimes they come across.

I recommend this program to all who would like to watch an intelligent, well made, tense and action/mystery/cop show. I wish some American actors would watch abit of British tv to seen how it's done. Don't get me wrong. We have some great actors here, but other than some primetime actors such as David Schwimmer, very few know what it's like or have the ability to get their teeth into something worthwhile.

I adore this show--the writing is excellent, the cases are intriguing, and the actors are very, very good (especially the lady who place Grace, the far-too patient Psychiatrist profiler of the team.

The one part of the show I can't stand is the way Boyd, the leader of the team treats his people. He talks down to them, berates them, humiliates them, and is a blatant hypocrite. Some of his actions during interviews of suspects are so out of line that in real life, he would have--and should have been fired. In at least one show, he is directly responsible for the deaths of others, due to the way he handles the case (and I am tempted to believe that this occurs--directly or indirectly, more than once).

I'm currently into the 6th season, and if anything, his behavior gets progressively worse, but like abused children forever trying to earn their abusers' love, his team is desperately loyal while at the same time overtly exasperated and upset by the way he treats them. In real life, no one would willingly work for this jerk. None of this dynamic is accidental or incidental, the characters and their interactions are obviously written this way--and the acting by the cast is spot on, not a false note among them--including the actor who plays Boyd. I just can't fathom why the writers would continue to paint this character in such a dreadful light. I find it extremely distracting and perplexing in an otherwise excellent and interesting crime show.

I've grown to hate Boyd so much that I actually stopped watching the show for several months. And that's just sad, because it really is an excellent program with interesting and unique cases that avoid cliché, and characters that avoid stereotype. I keep waiting for Boyd to get a wake-up call and change his ways, but so far, after watching most of the 6 seasons, his behavior gets progressively worse with no improvement in sight. Just be forewarned.

Trevor Eve is is simply excellent,as is all the cast. Together they try and solve cases which have gone "Cold". The direction and script are wonderful,well put together and acted with so much heart. Those who haven't seen it yet,i recommend you do soon.

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.

This is a wonderful drama series and I hope there will be much more in the future. Being a fan of CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) but also being a scientist and frustrated with the unrealistic portrayal of scientific procedures in CSI, I'm more impressed by Waking the Dead. Frankie strikes me as a thorough person and very professional, she knows how long it takes to analyse a sample of DNA, and its limitations. All the characters in the Cold Case Unit are totally convincing and fascinating people in themselves, especially Trevor Eve's character Boyd. This series continues to be very satisfying and has depths that are lacking in more superficial "murder mysteries". If only all the cold cases in this country could be sorted out by this lot - it would make life easier for many suffering victims of crime.