Waking the Dead

Trevor Eveheads the cast in this gritty yet popular BBC1 series as Detective Superindent Boyd, an arrogant but effective leader of the Cold Case Squad, which investigates old, unsolved murder cases. Using modern methods and new technology that may not have been available during the original investigation the team aim to uncover lost information. Helped by forensic profiler Dr Grace Foley, (Sue Johnston) Detective Sergeant Mel Silver, (Claire Goose) Detective Inspector Spence Jordan, (Will Johnston) and assisted by their able forensics scientist Dr Frankie Wharton (Holly Aird) the cold case squad dig into the past, resurface, reconstruct, and discover the secrets that time had buried.

We very much enjoyed the characters Grace, Mel, Spence, Frankie and Felix. However, Peter Boyd, their boss, is a pain. He constantly yells and berates his staff. We tried to stay with the show - we're in season 6 - but we're done with Boyd and his tantrums. In to something else.

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.

I've been watching the series on BBC America. Turned it on part-way through an episode and haven't turned away yet. It is exceptionally well-written and well-acted and positively disturbing. Love it. I was especially impressed with the most recent episode, "Into Thin Air." Actually taped it and sent it to my sister the mystery buff, who doesn't have cable. She passed it on to our parents (who don't have cable, either). Mom wants to see more. If anyone from the BBC is reading this, PLEASE SEND MORE!

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.