This show is excellent.The characters are well cast. All the acting is excellent (there is not a bad actor in it, all are good). The directing, and especially script writing is well done (excellent).The show drags you in so that at the end of the hour of each episode you would crawl naked across poison ivy just to watch the next episode. Although at first it may seem unusual that he talks to you; you will soon grow to love it!Trevor Eve -the main actor-, has done a fantastic job! See and enjoyed it.

Now 14 years old,"Waking the dead" continues to reign supreme in what has become a very overcrowded field - the TV forensic/cop show. It has always had a terrific ensemble cast and despite losing actors of the quality of Miss Claire Goose and Miss Holly Aird around the halfway mark it has maintained its momentum in a way few long - running TV series have managed. It benefits greatly from a superb double- act from the leads,Miss Sue Johnston and Mr Trevor Eve as the forensic psychologist and the boss cop,ostensibly a chalk and cheese combination,but one in which each one complements the other although they often violently disagree. As Peter Boyd Mr Eve is passionate and eager to pursue justice sometimes careless of the rules of evidence and procedure in doing so. As Grace Foley,Miss Johnston is more analytical,takes a step back to see the bigger picture and reins Boyd in when he threatens to get out of control. We know nothing of Dr Foley's personal life,but Boyd's is,predictably, disastrous with a son who goes missing from home and,as the series develops,begins to play a big part in his father's professional life,causing him to have more sympathy with disaffected young people than he might otherwise have had. Over the seasons many fine and well - known performers have appeared to much advantage,but the core of the programme remains Boyd's squad of sometimes disparate but always intuitive and dedicated people. The only caveat I have is that sometimes the camera dwells with lipsmacking relish a little too long at the bodies of Boyd's clients,particularly in the later episodes.Apart from that,"Waking the dead" is ,for me,a completely positive experience and still the one to beat for the many similar shows that have followed it.

A highly regarded series from our friends at BBC. Good reviews, good numbers. And it tries very, very hard. A better written 'Cold Case' (CBS, USA, 2003 - present), each plot is developed over two hour-long episodes. And though it falls into the police procedure genre, the characters don't spout passages from text books, ala CSI (in its various incarnations) and Criminal Minds.On the plus side, the more leisurely pace allows for greater character complexity and nuanced plots. On the down side, this doesn't actually happen. I find myself wishing that things would simply move along. And further on the down side, I either dislike, as with Trevor Eve's Superintendent Peter Boyd, am ambivalent, as with Sue Johnston's Dr. Grace Foley, or simply uninterested in the regular cast.It's one of those shows that I feel I should like. And feel a bit guilty that I don't. Intelligence abounds, or at least seems to. Edgy, quick to anger CID Boyd should fill a gap in our television pantheon of detectives. I find myself merely grateful that I will probably never face such a man in an unscripted life. Dr. Foley plays the voice of reason. She brings a calm, analytical mind to the proceedings but is too evidently there as a foil to Boyd.I cast, then, a dissenting vote. 5 out of 10.

I would like to preface this by saying sorry if this has been discussed before. I would love to buy the DVDs of this show, but can't find them anywhere. Does anyone know if there are plans to make them? Know where I can get them? I'm located in the US, so I would need the US version of compatibility. Any help would be appreciated. Some of the last few years on BBCA it seems like they drop so much of the show so that commercials could be worked in that the dialog is choppy. In other words they will refer to something that we don't see. Would love to buy the DVD but can't find it. I especially would like the series of shows that culminated in Mel's death.