Silent Witness (TV Series) Matters of Life and Death: Part 2 (2021) User Reviews

Some nice bits, but overall this was naff.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 5/10 · 6 October 2021]

Ok, so everything that can possibly go wrong, goes horribly wrong, Jack and Simone are under severe pressure.

Ok, I wanted to enjoy it, I badly wanted to enjoy it, Part one was a decent watch, I applauded the acting, and some of the themes, it pains me to say it, but it does fall apart a little here. The issue for me here is believability, I really did struggle to conceive some of the events here, you really do need to allow your brain to switch into fantasy mode.

It doesn't suffer with the same issues as last week, I actually thought the acting here was very good, loved both David Caves and the glorious Sian Phillips. The issue here though was the story, it was just all over the place, it wasn't cohesive, structured or believable, sadly it was a bit of a mess.

Some good shots, it looks impressive, flood scenes galore, incredibly well produced, I'll give it that.

I thought this series sadly ended with a dud, the twenty fifth anniversary next year, they really do need to get their act together, revisit some classics like Shadows, Prodigal son and Bloodlines, that's where the show needs to be.

Even for a die hard fan like me, this was poor, 5/10.

Continuity

[itnash · 6/10 · 6 October 2021]

Without giving anything away:- Nicky wouldn't- even drunk !!!!!!

During the flood, how did the body get moved, by the 'finder' from where it was? Unbelievable, and how did they get it to where it was found? Must have used the same route the taxi found through, that the police and army couldn't.

Dear me

[jjennings99 · 5/10 · 6 October 2021]

It was a ridiculous 2 partner. At least I guessed the murderer way before even the 1st episode ended. My next guess is Nikki will become pregnant with Ollie's baby and then what will she and Jack do.oh the drama !

Dreadful

[BigChris777 · 16 October 2021]

Nikki wouldn't. Sleeping with the creepy controlling student, with her history?

Where were all the care home staff? Just the manager and one clearly unstable nurse?

Residents with dementia coming and going at will? And in bad weather? No.

Nothing coming of Jack's dad getting beaten up?

Army can't get through but a taxi can? Phones don't work because mats blown down but they do in the morning?

Awful stuff.

4 in a row

[lalison · 2/10 · 17 October 2021]

This is the first time I can recall SW having four really bad episodes in a row. I very much hope next season improves. We don't need topical story lines so much as good, somewhat believable story lines.

The lowest point yet

[chris-83359 · 3/10 · 27 October 2021]

I have seen every episode of this. Sometimes twice over as it got really good when Leo / Harry and Nikki were in their pomp. Even bits with Jack and Clarissa were well written and Thomas grew on me.

Then how did we get here.

This set of episodes, in fact the last 4 episodes have been appalling.

Where do I start? The acting was atrocious, VIth form standard, maybe first year at uni at a push. The well known actors were better such as Dame Sian Phillips, although Pauline McLynn seemed to be phoning it in a bit. The young actors, those where this might be their 3rd or 4th thing were terrible. Last episode and this.

Plot: Utterly laughable. Watch it, I dare you and tell me one thread, one tiny strand of the plot that made sense. Walking elderly residents, some in their 90s out into "The worst storm in decades" because of an impending flood and then back again. Lightning was everywhere and yet one of the elderly patient was wearing a metal crown! Asking for it!

Lets go with Nikki, good solid dependable Nikki. Now Michael Crompton, who wrote this tosh has done 14 of these double episodes, so 28 in all. And yet you would think he didn't know Nikki at all. Hadn't watched an episode, passed off a teenage relative's wet dream as his own work. No way in a million years would Nikki allow herself to be manipulated by a callow student, ending up at a stupid halloween party and then to bed with said callow youth.

Continuing the massive plot holes and inconsistencies.... So Nikki has been up early, worked a full day, gone out on the lash and ended up in bed with a student at 1 or 2 am at the student's falt, then somehow, during the "Worst storm in decades" without so much as a blink of an eye is in the relief / rescue sports hall the following day where it is still lashing down and the roads are impassible, so Nikki gets from Uni where she had been drinking, to student's flat, to Sports hall / rescue centre, to Middle of nowhere Nursing home to Scene where the Nurse's body is found, I make that about 40 hours of solid rain and 40 hours without sleep and Nikki is as fresh as a daisy and goes where the army fear to tread..

Finally the Brother who had the farm, was constantly angry, angry at his sister, massively so, so much so that he had a shotgun to his chin and was only stopped from committing suicide by the arrival of the new, awful, forensic trainee. Then suddenly a few days later he's as happy as Larry at his Dad's funeral holding his Sister's hand. For starters, he would have to undergo psychiatric assessment and probable hospitalization for the attempted suicide with a (one presumes) legally held shotgun. That's how Dunblane and Hungerford happen, letting shotgun owners with suicidal tendencies wander around.

It pain's me to say it but I almost feel like suing the BBC and demanding my evening back. 24 series. Much of which has been consistantly the best thing on TV.

Reduced to this badly acted, awfully written mess. Yes, mess. It's a mess from start to finish. Every single point is nonsense. If you know Silent Witness you will spend 2 hours with your head in your hands saying, on repeat "They just wouldn't do that" or "Why are they doing that, it doesn't make sense"

The coup de grace is Nikki with her legs in the air one minute drunk in some weirdo's bed and then, bright as a daisy next minute in some distant rescue centre in entirely different clothes all whilst the worst storm in decades is raging.

Please get better writers and better actors or put this once brilliant show out of it's misery.

Wrong

[pelle-sveden · 2/10 · 3 February 2022]

This is going to be a short one.... Dr Nikki Alexander would never ever go to a juvenile party with students! Drinking games...really?!..... she would never ever go to bed with a student. She has far too much integrity and professionalism for that.! This is wrong on so many levels....and stupid!

On life support

[gallusNumpty · 12 October 2021]

It"s been many years since Silent Witness stopped being an intelligent medical drama, and turned into an implausible, badly-scripted soapy mess. This series was no exception, and the post-credits teaser suggests they're desperate to reclaim some viewers.

Oh no, just no

[rm-89666 · 2/10 · 6 October 2021]

This series is really going downhill fast. So the basic story about a death in a care home seems plausible, but then add Nicki sh*gging one of her students which will end her career, a care home walking elderly infirm patients across a field in a howling gale to avoid a flood when the building was on high ground anyway, Simone fixing up Jack with a blind-date that again ended in bed, and where is the credibility?

This series used to be good, solid and patronising sometimes but believable. This is definitely now a case of jumping the shark as it seems bereft of ideas and supposes us interested in the private lives of the protagonists.

One matter of relief - nothing happened after the cringeworthy karaoke of the previous episode..

Murder mystery? No, soap opera

[deronadams · 3/10 · 10 October 2021]

And not a very good one at that.

The writing isn't what it used to be for this show, which is a shame, as it was once better than the average soap opera.

The writers do not seem to know who the characters are, and don't seem to care. They think that character inconsistencies and plot holes can be covered up by LOUD background music/sound effects, but, alas! They cannot.

Very disappointing

[abigailw-56431 · 1/10 · 6 October 2021]

This year's series is definitely below the standard we're used to. Acting was good as usual but the scripts and implausible storylines stretched the actors to their limits. The final stormy care home centred story was absolutely incredible in a bad way. I don't think a single aspect was viable. From Jack struggling with getting a bit wet in a storm, to a 55year old lady care home manager somehow moving a 12stone body from an attic to a flooded field, and Jack being suspected of murder all a load of rubbish!!

Who wrote this???

[sunny_wells · 2/10 · 25 September 2022]

First of all... Nikki would NEVER get involved with a student! She's got way too many high standards to do that! That's just stupid! And who is in charge at the Lyle now?? Or are we just not hiring a director?

This whole season it feels as if it has just been thrown together with little to no thought to an actual decent plot or sub plot. Where has Matt been?? Literally barely a mention of him the entire season! And then FINALLY this unspoken sexual tension with Jack and Nikki.. and you guys chose to have her hook up with a guy Half her age?? Seriously?? Way to make her look like a cliche mrs Robinson!! People love this show because of characters like Nikki! Because she's highly intelligent, clever and ambitious! You have just disappointed all of us!

Oh how the mighty have fallen

[gzvmkpxpxz · 2/10 · 12 October 2021]

This was once a good series. Rarely great, but usually good. The last series has been generally mediocre but the last episode is some of the worst TV drama I've seen in a long time. Virtually every plot line was deeply flawed and lacked any credibility. The acting was ok but you can only do so much with a truly awful script.

What happened Silent Witness

[stetoye · 1/10 · 6 October 2021]

I think I know the answer to that question, when you hire Script writers that have worked on rubbish like Hollyoaks, you're standards are going to drop. I was in absolute shock at how crap this season has been. Awful awful stuff... BBC have seriously dropped their standards when ITV are still producing quality like Endeavour and Vera. So very disappointing.

This is not a detective story. It's a soap.

[twackers · 1/10 · 2 December 2021]

It is badly written and the the filming isn't good. The story is like a soap and the detective plot isn't good. It is superficial. You know who is the murderer from the first time the murderer appears. So there hasn't has to be any effort in finding out the murderer. So most of the time the characters are battleling their self caused stupid problems. I mostly liked the acting in SW but this season I hate it. " We were lovers" decided it.

Hopefully the producers gave this a post mortem

[andrewpugh607 · 1/10 · 4 November 2021]

Silent Witness used to be the best crime drama on the telly. Gripping plot lines, sometimes a bit far fetched but always immersive. Characters you could root for. Great dynamics between the leads.

Now, not so much. The writing and even the acting this series has been so sub par. The plots generally making little, if no sense. And then this last episode. No real plot at all, people just running round in a thunderstorm, really boring unfortunately. Come on BBC, get some mojo back please.

WTH did I just watch?

[alexandercl-99575 · 2/10 · 18 February 2023]

How did a well established criminal investigative series turn into a second-rate soap opera? Instead of pathology-based investigative story lines we've morphed into the doctor in bed looking like Cinderella. If that's a the future of Silent Witness then I seriously believe it's past time to pull the plug. Quit while you're ahead would have been the recommended path at the end of season 23. Aside from the fact the series has become so nauseatingly woke, and the story lines are so far detached from the original format, it no longer comes close to maintaining the viewers attention. Either return to the quality programming we once enjoyed or lower the curtain.

Script, Direction and Story Structure lacking cohesion

[desmondpacassidy · 4/10 · 18 October 2021]

Just like so many other series (mainly USA ones for that matter) the producers seem to employ either understudies or students to handle some episodes. The acting from even the main characters was suspect to put it mildly. Notwithstanding, the technical aspects like camera work, musical editing and scene selections are top notch.

They really do need to have an objective review process on stories before the cameras even begin to roll. A tad disappointed...

An all-time lowest but there is hope...

[retina_scan · 4/10 · 28 February 2022]

Not sure what happened to this show, I'd be curious to find out backstage politics in the studio because there must be some reasons why this season was a real car crash. First it starts with only with Nikki and Jack, then they are joined by a third guy, very promising, who is then killed off in the next story, then they add a new colleague in such a poorly written episode that it was clear they were ticking boxes in their Equality & Diversity policies. Then this utter mess of an storyline, full of unrealistic plot developments and inconsistent characterisation (yes, the Nikki thing). Making Nikki and Jack a couple is naff and the writers have never been that great with long-term backstories, the case of the week was always their strength.

I'm very excited to see Amanda Burton onscreen though and I see that the next season is a six-parter, which is what I always wanted them to do. I thought they would do that for the 20th anniversary, it seems like they're doing it for the 25th. Could it be that it is a way for them to wrap up? Maybe it is time indeed....