Silent Witness

The stories and characters are well developed. The theme music reminds me of something you would hear at a seance. I have to fast forward through it.

This show is a favourite of mine. I'm rarely bored watching it, but anyone thinking it's realistic must be high as a kite.

It has good pace and throws enough red herrings in the mix to keep me (usually) unsure as to who did what and how it will all pan out.

However, you do have to swallow the idea of a forensic team that could easily be confused with a posse of rogue policemen. These people don't just do forensic science and make occasional court appearances. They barge past detectives to interrogate witnesses (the detectives never seem to mind this) and chase and tackle suspects. They have guns held to their heads every so often. They get out there and meet all the players, sometimes even date them. Some of them do it all tottering around in high heels. It's utterly ridiculous but the success of the show testifies to its dependable entertainment value. Enjoy with a large grain of salt.

Not only a good program - except for some things like the pathologists questioning witnesses and such - but also a great history lesson if one is able to binge from the beginning. Suddenly mobile phones start showing up, computers appear, the screens of said computers go from huge monsters to slimmer ones, and so on. Well spent time if you are interested in such! Sadly the later years has seen a more American touch, but still way better than what is released over there.

Amanda Burton's Professor Sam Ryan is a clever, highly-intelligent and sometimes intimidating coroner and professor at London University. Her professional qualifications set her apart from other coroners in the area, and so she is regularly called upon to assist the police at homocide crime scenes and in subsequent autopsies. In the style of a murder-cop show starring someone besides a cop, Professor Ryan manages to solve all of the cases herself, only occasionally calling on the aid of one of the actual police officers. This series is very often intense and graphic during some of the autopsy scenes, but it is consistently well-written and well-acted. Very little of Sam Ryan's private life leaks into the series, and the series' primary focus on the murder in question is somewhat unusual to this genre. When a glimpse of Professor Ryan's personal life is revealed to the audience, it leaves them curious for more. Silent Witness is a very well-written show and I highly recommend it when it next appears in reruns!

I always enjoy this show for the following reasons: It gives a wonderful insight, if simplified, into the world of forensic pathology, an area in which I would love to work.

Each new case is original, well constructed and thoughtfully presented. They remain topical, without the feeling of an after-school special relating to current affairs.

Unlike shoddy American drama, the focus is on the storyline and character development. The reason that dialogue is not snappy and constant is because it would turn the characters into one of the "Friends" brigade - where cheap laughs are more important than the integrity of the character.

The show is challenging - plots and subplots intertwine cleverly, meaning it's not a "background" show, but one which is completely consuming for the viewer.

The honest make-up/autopsy scenes. These just fit, without being sensationalist, and add to the realistic feeling of the show.