"Waking the Dead" is probably my all-time favourite detective - mystery - drama - series. It is so far above its rivals , which include other great series such as "Morse", "Frost" and many others, that it is almost impossible to believe, It is utterly brilliant !
As Detective Superintendent Peter Boyd, Trevor Eve is outstanding; his character lives on the boundary between genius and insanity, he has no interpersonal skills - surely he would be impossible to work for - and yet demands, and receives, the undying loyalty of his team, even if they occasionally have moments of doubt. The original support of Wil Johnson, Claire Goose and Holly Aird could not possible have been bettered - all are superb - and yet the successors to Claire and Holly are so well chosen as to make it a close run thing. Wil Johnson as DS, then DI, Spencer Jordan is what a good DI should be, questioning and challenging his boss every step of the way; sometimes the relationship appears to be at its end and yet mutual respect always wins out.
However, I reserve my highest praise for Sue Johnston whose portrayal of the team's psychologist and profiler, Dr Grace Foley is almost beyond words. Quite simply, she IS the part. Throughout the series, she has an almost love-hate relationship with Boyd; she hates some of his methods, and even violently disagrees with them at times, and yet is in awe of his ability to achieve results when investigating the most heinous of dead cases. Sue Johnston IS Grace Foley, constantly pointing the team in the right direction through gentle prods and nudges; hers is one of the truly great television performances, even if it is often overlooked due to the more showy roles of the lead detectives.
I keep watching the repeats because they're so good. Even when I know the story lines, all of the characters and even the repartee between them, they are just so terrific. The stories are so believable, the acting so good and the writing and direction so 'spot on'. One scene that is etched on my mind is when Boyd and Silver leave a closed pub which Silver went in to because she needed the toilet, only to be greeted by men with guns, Claire Goose renders the immortal line, as they leave speedily, "I still need the bloody toilet", which was so ordinary and real - it's priceless and wonderful. Such gems occur rarely in most series but are commonplace in this glorious exhibition of the BBC at it's very, very best, a time that now seems to be long passed.
For series after series, the casting, writing and direction could not have been bettered. "Waking the Dead" is so much more than 10 out of 10, but, sadly, 10 is the highest mark I can award it, so 10 it has to be. In a different world, it would be 11 or 12 - it's that good.
As Detective Superintendent Peter Boyd, Trevor Eve is outstanding; his character lives on the boundary between genius and insanity, he has no interpersonal skills - surely he would be impossible to work for - and yet demands, and receives, the undying loyalty of his team, even if they occasionally have moments of doubt. The original support of Wil Johnson, Claire Goose and Holly Aird could not possible have been bettered - all are superb - and yet the successors to Claire and Holly are so well chosen as to make it a close run thing. Wil Johnson as DS, then DI, Spencer Jordan is what a good DI should be, questioning and challenging his boss every step of the way; sometimes the relationship appears to be at its end and yet mutual respect always wins out.
However, I reserve my highest praise for Sue Johnston whose portrayal of the team's psychologist and profiler, Dr Grace Foley is almost beyond words. Quite simply, she IS the part. Throughout the series, she has an almost love-hate relationship with Boyd; she hates some of his methods, and even violently disagrees with them at times, and yet is in awe of his ability to achieve results when investigating the most heinous of dead cases. Sue Johnston IS Grace Foley, constantly pointing the team in the right direction through gentle prods and nudges; hers is one of the truly great television performances, even if it is often overlooked due to the more showy roles of the lead detectives.
I keep watching the repeats because they're so good. Even when I know the story lines, all of the characters and even the repartee between them, they are just so terrific. The stories are so believable, the acting so good and the writing and direction so 'spot on'. One scene that is etched on my mind is when Boyd and Silver leave a closed pub which Silver went in to because she needed the toilet, only to be greeted by men with guns, Claire Goose renders the immortal line, as they leave speedily, "I still need the bloody toilet", which was so ordinary and real - it's priceless and wonderful. Such gems occur rarely in most series but are commonplace in this glorious exhibition of the BBC at it's very, very best, a time that now seems to be long passed.
For series after series, the casting, writing and direction could not have been bettered. "Waking the Dead" is so much more than 10 out of 10, but, sadly, 10 is the highest mark I can award it, so 10 it has to be. In a different world, it would be 11 or 12 - it's that good.