Waking the Dead along with Inspector Morse, New Tricks, Agatha Christie's Poirot and Touch of Frost is one of my favourite detective dramas. Why? It is superbly shot, with the dark photography and brooding scenery. True, there have been some truly disturbing and perhaps graphic moments throughout the series. But with the quality of how it is made, acted and written, that is so easily forgiven. The scripting is intelligent and sensitive, and the episode ideas are outstanding. The acting is absolutely fabulous, with Trevor Eve absolutely phenomenal as Boyd, and Holly Aird and Sue Johnston providing terrific support. There is nothing funny really in Waking the Dead, but while it is a little bleak once or twice, others were very moving. One scene worth of mention was Boyd standing over his dead son in the morgue, I was weeping buckets in that particular scene, it was just as moving as the finale of Inspector Morse and anyone familiar with that will know how heart-rending that was. And the tight direction ensures plenty of tense moments, and I can't count the number of times I've got goosebumps from watching this. All in all, a superb series, look out for it. 9.5/10 Bethany Cox
Review of Waking the Dead
