The Body Farm

I read the other reviews and agree with some of the negative comments (i.e. They aren't letting you get to know the characters; the voice over in beginning and end of the series; and wrapping things up in under an hour.

After binging "Waking the Dead" (fantastic series BTW) I liked the two part episodes because you begin to understand and feel for the characters, therefore becoming super involved in the story. Unfortunately that's where "The Body Farm" failed.

Good attempt and wish they could've gone one more season to try and make it work :(

I have seen this series twice now (on DVD and recently on ABC1 in Australia) and am still not sure about it. The plots are good and the main characters potentially interesting, but somehow it fails to grab me. I agree with other reviewers that the monologues at start and end are a real turnoff, if the chief scientist really feels like that then she is in the wrong business - she is far too philosophical to be 'scientific' in her research. On the subject of 'research' why bother to set their base in a 'body farm' when the work they allegedly do there is completely ignored. My understanding of 'body farms' - at least the FBI one - is that they study rates and levels of decomposition (under different circumstances - heat, moisture, body fat level etc) to allow some parameters to be applied to 'fresh' cases. Part from Oggie communing with one of the corpses propped up against a tree the farm 'product' gets little attention. Most of what they do is basic crime scene investigation (DNA, bugs etc) which has been seen so often before in CSI, Bones...... If this series wants a niche it needs a handle - and it hasn't got one based on this first series. Surprisingly, with Trevor Eve as executive producer, it lacks the bite which was the mark of 'Waking The Dead'. Perhaps he should act in his own show as he was the essential pivot in 'WTD'. A second series? - would be good if they fixed the problems but perhaps the problems in Series One (and viewer disappointment) will prevent it. A good idea poorly executed.

With the cold case squad disbanded, Doctor Eve Lockhart takes up a new role, continuing the work on her body farm.

For me, Waking the dead is one of, if not the best of The Detective shows, it's now a good few years since it ended, and it still packs a punch, time has been kind to it, I always thought this would be an extension of that great show, it isn't.

It's decent, and definitely worth a look, but it's just a bit off, Eve feels like a whole new character, in Waking the dead, she was quirky, the outsider, here she's very much part of the main crowd, Oggy fulfils the quirky role, she's just lost something, not that I'm taking away anything from Tara Fitzgerald, her acting as always is spot on.

Episode four is particularly good, it does stand out, some of the others unfortunately, are just uninteresting.

I didn't particularly like Hale, he's no Peter Boyd, nor should he be, but Allen just didn't feel right in the part, he's a much better villain. Wunmi Mosaku was wasted here, her character was a little blank.

It doesn't surprise me that it only lasted a single series, it could, and should have been so much better.

6/10.

I eagerly awaited this spin off from Waking the Dead but was sadly disappointed. It nearly succeeds and hopefully they will commission a second series to right the wrongs as it is a very good idea and the cast are excellent. They should ditch the voice over at beginning and end - they made little sense and were just annoying. They should move the street hunt for the criminal a little further back and make us care about the characters by giving them considerably more flesh on the bone. I watched 6 episodes and I couldn't tell you the name of Eve's number 2. Or indeed if he is number 2 - he could be her boss for all we know.

Concentrate on the Body farm more - the 5th episode really picked up with good forensics on the burned body - the stories are good but seemed rushed - perhaps an hour is not enough if they were to let us into the lives and interactions of the Body Farmers.

I expected more from this BBC production. The acting was wooden and with so many off-point moments. A deaf character who needs to lip read, yet looking down or away when being spoken to, still fully grasping the dialogue. Fantastical leaps in forensic deduction with no supporting evidence. The scientists must be psychic as none of the evidence links up. So many stereotypes, the maverick policeman, the mad scientist off his meds and experimenting on himself, the feisty, femanist female scientist. Seriously. All in a backdrop of a dirty, run-down farmhouse turned laboratory/body farm. None of the scientific findings would be valid due to cross-contamination from the dirt and people living and eating in the labs. Truly toe-curlingly bad.