Silent Witness (TV Series) Familiar Faces - Part 2 (2023) User Reviews

Sadly it's not getting any better.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 5/10 · 12 January 2023]

Jack and Nikki continue to investigate what happened in that lorry.

It was pretty poor, I still think that something is really not right this series, something is definitely missing, it's as if they've taken their eye of the ball when it comes to writing any sort of structured plot, and instead opted for clichés and soap opera style storytelling.

They had something with this storyline, on paper it's good, and there were some decent elements, I liked the twists and turns, but it fell over its own feet as it tried to do too much. Shadowy figure in the background, and suspect escaping in car, both were ocerdone to the point that it became laughable.

Gabriel was a little more interesting here, that moral dilemma he had to make, that at least have him something to do, up until now he's just felt like he's there to make the numbers up.

I thought Nadine Marshall really stood out, even if DI Torres operated without any regard for the health and safety manual, I thought she stood head and shoulders above.

A few days ago I happened to watch two stories, Shadows and The Prodigal, I know both are highly regarded, classics so to speak, when you compare Familiar Faces to them, it's just not good enough.

Unless the writers manage to give us something next week, I fear this once great show could be coming to an end, and that would be crying shame, the two episodes I mentioned prove what this show was once capable of.

This very disappointing series limps on, please let next week's be better.

5/10.

What Happened?

[rm-89666 · 2/10 · 11 January 2023]

I would say that they all lost the plot but that suggests there was one to start with. So many conflicts, errors, poor acting , etc.

The characters are all cliched, poor dialogue, absurd storylines and emotions, what more can I say. All the main characters appear to require extreme diversity in the literal meaning of the word - is this intentional or a desperate play for relevance which has long since gone? And why do they do all the investigating while the police await their beack and call?

10 years ago this was a series worth watching but it has jumped the shark too many times. Please stop...

That's Me Done

[barbaraehiggins · 2/10 · 19 January 2023]

Last week's story was poor but, foolishly, I decided to give it one more chance and watched this week's in one sitting. I'm not particularly picky or difficult to please, in fact I know I'm the target audience for this sort of programme, but this was downright risible. The plot was weak, the acting poor and there were obvious signs that money was saved in its production wherever possible. It left me feeling annoyed at being fed such lazy rubbish by the BBC, who used to be such top rate programme makers, and at myself for watching although I knew the format was about 15 series past its natural lifespan.

I'd rather watch old episodes of Morse than this.

Why?

[vryum · 4/10 · 30 July 2023]

I hoped the first episodes of this new season, Season 26, were outliers. Despite having been increasingly put-off over the last several seasons, I guess I did not want to see it as a trend. Or see myself as desperate to watch this stuff.

The headline for the review I just read, "What Happened?" could not be more apt - unless one was to be downright nasty.

I found the attraction of Silent Witness to be not just the effort at rigorous science, but also the efforts to show the importance of rigorous ethics. Romance, inter-department politics, broader politics, drama, suspense, and, yes, diversity, were always involved but they were not used as gimmicks nor were they typically embellished by gimmicks - I think what another reviewer referred to as cliches and soap opera style storytelling. What another reviewer called "lazy rubbish".

I live in the US and stopped watching most American / Hollywood television and movie productions years ago. I have noticed over the last few years that too many of the British, and French and even Scandinavian productions have taken to cheap and lazy production efforts: whether it is writing, plots, themes, dialogue. After all, there is always Lifetime or Hallmark which I consider only marginally worse than the US MSM network shows..

I do not agree that it must be past its natural lifespan. Exercise rigor in writing - please.

It is disappointing.

Lousy choreography of chases

[jblupilot · 3/10 · 2 April 2024]

Wow, the show is taking a serious turn for the worst. A cop that does stupid crap like watching everyone else give chase while she goes alone to get locked in a freezer? She failed to give chase to a kid several times. What is she, out of shape? Is the actress and noble to run? Then there's a scene where she is conveniently tacked to stop from getting to a kid with kidney failure!!! Really?

Jacks momentary glimpses at other characters are annoying. Give him lines rather than sidelong glances! When the show first started, it was about evidence based on the dead person. Now the show has forensic scientists acting as detectives. It has progressed more and more that way as the seasons went forward. Bring the show back in line with its origins.