Waking the Dead (TV series)

Last updated

Waking the Dead
Waking the Dead.jpg
Genre Crime drama
Created byBarbara Machin
Starring
ComposerJoe Campbell
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series9
No. of episodes92 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersAlexei de Keyser
Patrick Spence
Susan Hogg
Anne Pivcevic
ProducerColin Wratten
CinematographyMike Spragg
EditorAdam Trotman
Running time60 minutes
Production companyBBC Drama Group
Original release
Network BBC One
Release4 September 2000 (2000-09-04) 
11 April 2011 (2011-04-11)
Related
The Body Farm

Waking the Dead is a British television police procedural crime drama series, produced by the BBC, that centres on a fictional London-based cold case unit composed of CID police officers, a psychological profiler and a forensic scientist. A pilot episode aired in September 2000, and a total of nine series followed. Each story is split into two hour-long episodes, shown on consecutive nights on BBC One. A third series episode won an International Emmy Award in 2004. The programme was also shown on BBC America in the United States, though these screenings are edited to allow for advertising breaks, as well as UKTV in Australia and New Zealand and ABC1 in Australia. A total of 46 stories aired across the nine series. The show aired its final episode on 11 April 2011. A spin-off from the series, titled The Body Farm , revolving around forensic scientist Eve Lockhart (Tara Fitzgerald), was announced by the BBC in January 2011 and ran for just one series.

Contents

In 2018, a five-part radio prequel to the series, The Unforgiven, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4, with Sue Johnston, Claire Goose, Wil Johnson and Holly Aird reprising their roles. All five episodes were written by series creator Barbara Machin. Anthony Howell replaced Trevor Eve in the role of Peter Boyd. [1]

Plot

Overview

The programme follows the work of a special police team that investigates cold cases, which usually concern murders that took place a number of years in the past, and were never solved. The team, composed of head officer Detective Superintendent Peter Boyd (Trevor Eve), psychological profiler Grace Foley (Sue Johnston), Detective Inspector Spencer Jordan (Wil Johnson), as well as a number of other supporting characters, uses evidence which has recently come to light, as well as contemporary technology to examine former evidence.

Initially, Boyd, Grace and Spence were accompanied by junior DC Mel Silver (Claire Goose), and stern forensic scientist Frankie Wharton (Holly Aird), however both left after the end of the fourth series. Felix Gibson (Esther Hall) and Stella Goodman (Félicité du Jeu) replaced them in the fifth series, before Eve Lockhart (Tara Fitzgerald) replaced Felix from the sixth series onwards. Katarina Howard (Stacey Roca) replaced Stella in series eight, while Sarah Cavendish (Eva Birthistle) replaced Katarina in series nine. Although the plotlines generally centre around the case, other storylines have been incorporated across the years, including Boyd's anger management issues and his being re-united with his son, Grace suffering from cancer, Spencer being shot at the hands of one of his former colleagues, and Mel's death, which creates a chain of events lasting across two series.

The show also addressed sensitive issues such as fanaticism within different religions, international organised crime, child abuse within the Catholic church, war crimes in Bosnia, forced child labour, torture, homophobia and racism. The BBC issued disclaimers twice on the show when it touched upon issues sensitive to the Labour government of the time (once about banking frauds within the City of London establishment and once about the involvement of the UK in the Iraq war). Some of the issues were dealt with through the conflicting views of Peter Boyd (a white middle-class liberal) and Spencer Jordan (a black working-class conservative).

The Body Farm , a spin-off revolving around forensic scientist Eve Lockhart (Tara Fitzgerald), produced by Trevor Eve and made by his production company Projector, was commissioned by the BBC. However, after poor ratings and reviews, it was cancelled after one series.

Cast

Main cast

Recurring cast

Characters

Police

Doctors

Episodes

Reception

The first series secured strong ratings, with "Burn Out" receiving 8.4 million viewers and a 38% audience share. [4] Persistently high ratings meant the programme was recommissioned each year for either the summer or winter schedule. The sixth series began with strong ratings, with "Wren Boys" achieving 9.2M viewers and a 35.2% audience share. [5] The second part dropped to 8.6M, but still gained a 33% audience share. [6] Following the successful transmission of the third series and an International Emmy Award nomination for "Special Relationship" written by Stephen Davis and directed by David Thacker, a further two series were commissioned with the number of stories expanded from four to six. [7] Waking the Dead won an International Emmy Award the following year for "Breaking Glass", written by Stephen Davis and directed by Maurice Phillips, and "Multistorey", written by Ed Whitmore and directed by Bob Bierman. [8]

Home media

All nine series have been released on DVD in the United Kingdom via 2 Entertain Ltd, under the BBC DVD banner. All nine series are also available in a complete boxset. Series one to seven have been released by BBC Video in the United States, while all nine series have been released in Australia via Roadshow.

DVD nameRelease dates
Region 1Region 2Region 4
Series One24 October 200612 September 20052 March 2006
Series Two16 October 200726 June 20061 April 2010
Series Three20 January 200925 September 20061 June 2010
Series Four19 January 201029 January 20074 August 2010
Series Five18 January 2011 [9] 10 September 20075 October 2010
Series Six17 January 2012 [10] 19 May 20082 December 2010
Series Seven15 January 2013 [11] 3 May 20103 February 2011
Series Eight17 September 201312 July 20103 May 2011
Series Nine20 May 20142 May 20113 June 2012
Series One-Nine2 May 2011

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Crime Traveller</i> 1997 British TV series or programme

Crime Traveller is a 1997 British television science fiction detective series produced by Carnival Films for the BBC. It was based on the premise of using time travel for the purpose of solving crimes.

<i>Silent Witness</i> British crime drama television series

Silent Witness is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC that focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in 1996, the series was created by Nigel McCrery, a former murder squad detective based in Nottingham. Twenty-seven series of Silent Witness have been broadcast since 1996, with series 27 airing in January/February 2024.

Halifax f.p. is an Australian television crime series produced by Nine Network from 1994 to 2002. The series stars Rebecca Gibney as Doctor Jane Halifax, a forensic psychiatrist (f.p.) investigating cases involving the mental state of suspects or victims. The series is set in Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lauren Lee Smith</span> Canadian actress (born 1980)

Lauren Lee Smith is a Canadian actress. She is known for her television roles, including Emma DeLauro in the syndicated science fiction drama Mutant X, Riley Adams in the CBS forensics drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, police Sergeant Michelle McCluskey in the CTV fantasy drama The Listener and Frankie Drake in the CBC detective series Frankie Drake Mysteries.

<i>CSI: NY</i> 2004 American police procedural drama television series

CSI: NY is an American police procedural television series that ran on CBS from September 22, 2004, to February 22, 2013, for a total of nine seasons and 197 original episodes. The show follows the investigative team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers identified as "Crime Scene Investigators" as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths, as well as other crimes. The series is an indirect spin-off from the veteran series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and a direct spin-off from CSI: Miami, during an episode in which several of the CSI: NY characters made their first appearances. It is the third series in the CSI franchise.

<i>The Inspector Lynley Mysteries</i> British television crime drama series (2001–2008)

The Inspector Lynley Mysteries is a British crime drama television series that aired on BBC One from 12 March 2001 to 1 June 2008, consisting of six series and 24 episodes. The protagonist, Detective Inspector Thomas "Tommy" Lynley, 8th Earl of Asherton, who is assigned to Scotland Yard, finds himself paired with Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers. In addition to the tensions involved in solving murder cases, the series is built on clashes of personality, gender and class: Lynley is a polished man and a peer of the realm, and Havers is an untidy woman from a working-class background.

<i>No Hiding Place</i> British TV drama series (1959–1967)

No Hiding Place is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967.

<i>The Enigma Files</i> 1980 British TV police procedural series

The Enigma Files is a British television police procedural that ran for one series of fifteen episodes in 1980.

<i>Dalziel and Pascoe</i> (TV series) British TV detective series

Dalziel and Pascoe is a British television crime drama based on the mystery novels of the same name, written by Reginald Hill. The series was first broadcast on 16 March 1996, with Warren Clarke being cast as Dalziel and Colin Buchanan being cast as Pascoe. The series is primarily set in the fictional town of Wetherton in Yorkshire, and "follows the work of two detectives who are thrown together as partners. Complete opposites. Different backgrounds, different beliefs, different styles. They get on each other's nerves. They are continually embarrassed by each other. But their differences make them a stunningly brilliant crime-solving team."

Imogen Holly Aird is an English television actress. She was born in Aldershot, Hampshire.

<i>Law & Order: UK</i> British police procedural television series

Law & Order: UK is a British police procedural and legal television programme broadcast from 2009 to 2014 on ITV, adapted from the American series Law & Order. Financed by the production companies Kudos Film and Television, Wolf Films, and Universal Television, the series originally starred Bradley Walsh, Freema Agyeman, Jamie Bamber, Ben Daniels, Harriet Walter and Bill Paterson. Dominic Rowan, Georgia Taylor, Paul Nicholls, Ben Bailey Smith, Sharon Small, Peter Davison and Paterson Joseph joined the cast in later series. This is the first American drama television series to be adapted for British television, while the episodes are adapted from scripts and episodes of the parent series.

Kiss of Death, previously titled Breathless and Blood Rush, is a British crime investigation television film, written by Barbara Machin, author of the British television crime drama series Waking the Dead, that aired on BBC on 26 May 2008.

<i>The Body Farm</i> (TV series) Television series

The Body Farm is a British police procedural crime drama television series for the BBC network from 13 September until 18 October 2011, which is a spin-off from the cold case police procedural drama Waking the Dead, and was commissioned following the series' closure. The series focuses on the work of Dr. Eve Lockhart, who originally appeared in Waking the Dead from 2007 to 2011. On 30 January 2012, the BBC confirmed that the show would not be returning for a second series.

<i>Scott & Bailey</i> British television drama series

Scott & Bailey is a British police procedural series that debuted on ITV on 29 May 2011 and concluded on 27 April 2016. The series stars Suranne Jones, Lesley Sharp, Amelia Bullmore, Nicholas Gleaves, Danny Miller and Pippa Haywood. The show, mainly written by Sally Wainwright, revolves around the personal and professional lives of detectives Janet Scott and Rachel Bailey. Both characters are members of the Syndicate Nine Major Incident Team (MIT) of the fictional Manchester Metropolitan Police.

<i>Death in Paradise</i> (TV series) Crime drama television series

Death in Paradise is a crime comedy drama television series created by Robert Thorogood, starring Ben Miller, Kris Marshall, Ardal O'Hanlon, Ralf Little and Don Gilet.

<i>Ripper Street</i> 2012 British mystery drama television series

Ripper Street is a British mystery drama television series set in Whitechapel in the East End of London starring Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn, Adam Rothenberg, and MyAnna Buring. It begins in 1889, six months after the infamous Jack the Ripper murders. The first episode was broadcast on 30 December 2012, during BBC One's Christmas schedule, and was first broadcast in the United States on BBC America on 19 January 2013. Ripper Street returned for a second eight-part series on 28 October 2013.

<i>Shetland</i> (TV series) BBC Scotland crime drama television series, 2013–

Shetland is a Scottish crime drama television series produced by ITV Studios for BBC Scotland. First broadcast on BBC One on 10 March 2013, it is originally based upon the novels of Ann Cleeves and adapted by David Kane. The first seven series starred Douglas Henshall as DI Jimmy Pérez, whilst Ashley Jensen stars as DI Ruth Calder from the eighth series. The cast also includes Alison O'Donnell as DS Alison "Tosh" McIntosh and Steven Robertson as DC Sandy Wilson, as well as Lewis Howden and Anne Kidd. Henshall won the 2016 BAFTA Scotland award for Best Actor and the series received the award for Best TV Drama.

<i>No Offence</i> British television drama, 2015–2018

No Offence is a British television police procedural drama on Channel 4, created by Paul Abbott. It follows a team of detectives from Friday Street police station, a division of the Manchester Metropolitan Police. The series stars Joanna Scanlan as the protagonist, Detective Inspector Viv Deering. The first series focuses on the team's investigation into the serial murders of young girls with Down syndrome. It was renewed for two further runs. The second series of seven episodes began broadcasting on 4 January 2017, and follows the investigation into Manchester crime boss Nora Attah. It was filmed on location in Manchester.

<i>Sister Boniface Mysteries</i> British detective TV series

Sister Boniface Mysteries is a British cosy mystery detective period comedy drama television series, created by Jude Tindall, which is produced by BBC Studios and BritBox. It is a spin-off of Father Brown, as the Sister Boniface character was introduced in "The Bride of Christ" – a 2013 episode of Father Brown. A 10-episode first series premiered on 8 February 2022, on the BritBox streaming service, and released in the UK on the UKTV Drama channel later in 2022. Sister Boniface Mysteries was commissioned for a second series, which began streaming in the US on Britbox on 3 April 2023. Series 3 began streaming on Britbox in the US on 24 April 2024. Filming on Series 4 began in July 2024.

References

  1. "BBC Radio 4 - The Unforgiven". BBC. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  2. "About the Show". BBC. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  3. "Series 6 Episode Guide". BBC. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  4. Digital Spy author (22 June 2001) Feltz return grabs 4m , Digital Spy, retrieved 2007-01-06
  5. Waking the Dead returns to BBC1 with 9.2m , Broadcast Now, retrieved 2007-01-10
  6. Waking the Dead rouses 8.6m , Broadcast Now, retrieved 2007-01-10
  7. Wilkes, Neil (4 November 2003) 'Waking the Dead' gets two new series , Digital Spy, retrieved 2007-01-06
  8. BBC News (23 November 2004) UK sweep up at global Emmy Awards , bbc.co.uk , retrieved 2007-01-06
  9. "Waking the Dead DVD news: Announcement for Waking the Dead - The Complete 5th Season - TVShowsOnDVD.com". Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  10. "Waking the Dead - The Complete 6th Season DVD Information - TVShowsOnDVD.com". Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  11. "Waking the Dead DVD news: Announcement for Waking the Dead - The Complete 7th Season - TVShowsOnDVD.com". Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2016.