Waking The Dead - Series 4 (DVD)

...specifically about the fourth series. Waking the Dead deals with the concept of 'cold cases', cases which have been dead and going nowhere for a considerable length of time. As with many modern TV detective shows there is a heavy focus upon the forensic side of detective work, but this does not overpower the show. It is a character lead piece, in which the characters profiles are developed through each series.

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...SUPERINTENDANT PETER BOYD-: Boyd is played by the extremely talented Trevor Eve. Boyd's character is not an instantly likable one, more one that develops over time to be extremely believable. He is a man with faults, primarily that he is a workaholic and expects the same degree of everyone else in his team. He is, however, an exceptional boss and cares deeply about every member of his team. In previous episodes it has been revealed that Boyd has ... more

INTRODUCTION

'Waking The Dead' has become somewhat of an institution in my household. When it first aired on the BBC in 2000 I had little/no interest in seeing yet another television police detective show. Having sat through hour after hour of Prime Suspect, Dalziel and Pascoe and the like I simply wasn't that interested. I do not think I am alone in feeling swamped by the vast number of police detective shows around. However, as I started to watch 'Waking the Dead' all those years ago I quickly began to realise this show was significantly different to all the others. Indeed, I enjoyed the series so much that when I saw them coming out on DVD I began to snap them up. My most recent purchase has been series four, which I managed to get from Zavvi for £12.00. Admittedly Zavvi were offering 20% off all DVD box sets, which did make the price a little cheaper, but it retails on the HMV website for a similar sort of price. For the twelve pounds it cost me I can honestly say it was worth every penny.

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BACKGROUND

A small bit of background before talking specifically about the fourth series. Waking the Dead deals with the concept of 'cold cases', cases which have been dead and going nowhere for a considerable length of time. As with many modern TV detective shows there is a heavy focus upon the forensic side of detective work, but this does not overpower the show. It is a character lead piece, in which the characters profiles are developed through each series.

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CHARACTERS

DETECTIVE SUPERINTENDANT PETER BOYD-: Boyd is played by the extremely talented Trevor Eve. Boyd's character is not an instantly likable one, more one that develops over time to be extremely believable. He is a man with faults, primarily that he is a workaholic and expects the same degree of everyone else in his team. He is, however, an exceptional boss and cares deeply about every member of his team. In previous episodes it has been revealed that Boyd has a son who ran away as a teenager and became a drug addict. This affects Boyd in many ways, as he suffers with the guilt of having a child run away. Boyd is often loud and bad mannered. He knows how to push boundaries and often breaks the rules in the search for a solution to a case. He is absolutely devoted to his job.

DR GRACE FOLEY: Dr Foley, played by the multi-talented Sue Johnston. Grace is a forensic profiler and is prominent in her field of psychology. She is hugely experienced as a profiler and acts almost as the centre of the team. She is significantly older than many members of the Cold Case Unit, and has a great deal of respect as a result of this. Grace spends a large amount of time giving psychological insight into the case, sometimes top the annoyance of Boyd who does not always agree with her conclusions.

SPENCER JORDAN: is played by Will Johnson throughout all seven series. He is an integral part of the Cold Case Unit, often seen doing a large part of the background research to the cases. He is noted for his interviewing technique. He is also extremely popular with all the team, occasionally having arguments with Boyd about how a case is being handled. He is shown frequently as not being afraid to voice his own opinions. Spencer is, in my opinion, one of the better rounded characters to be portrayed. He is shown to have a side outside of work, which is often missing from the characterisation of Boyd for example.

MEL SILVER: is played by Claire Goose. Mel only appears in series one to four, and plays a huge part to the team.
She is a complex character, who often does not get as 'involved' with the case as other members of the team. She is a particular friend of Grace and Frankie, as shown through their developing relationships throughout the series. It transpires in series two that Mel is adopted, which she often finds rather hard to handle. I feel these additional characteristics are what make these characters seem so real, and what makes them appeal to a wide audience.

FRANKIE WHARTON: is played by Holly Aird. Frankie is possibly the least rounded character to feature as part of the team. She is the forensic scientist of the team, and is extremely devoted to her job. More often that not, a breakthrough in the case comes from a piece of information extracted by Frankie. Even though the cases they deal with are cold she often finds things that have been overlooked by a previous team. Compared to other members of the team relatively little is known about Frankie, though she is a highly valued member of the team.

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WHAT DO YOU GET ON THE DVD?

This box set of six DVD's by the BBC is extremely sparse on the extras. Indeed, it contains only the six two hour long episodes. However, with a running time of eight hours this is plenty enough for even the most die hard of fans! The episodes were originally shown over two nights, so in the DVD format you get the titles at the end of each hour episode. I actually find this is extremely useful, as I often set out to only watch the first part but end up watching the whole thing! There is the usual DVD menu when the disc loads, with audio options and scene selections, but these are all to be expected. So, what episodes do you get?

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THE EPISODES

Without giving too much of the series away I have tried to sum up each of the episodes featured within series four. However, frequently points arise which are carried over between episodes, so the descriptions are a little brief, as I do not want to spoil anything!

1) In the Sight of the Lord
The opening episode to series four is a hard hitting piece which focussed upon events which occurred during the Second World War. In 1948 there was an extremely famous case of a man being found murdered with a nail driven through his head in a pub in London. This case has remained unsolved, until a second body turns up in the present day, murdered in exactly the same fashion. It is up to Boyd and his team to trace exactly how these two cases are linked, and to ultimately find the killer.

2) False Flag
A sealed garage is found to contain a skeleton from the 1970's. The skeleton happens to be sitting in a car that was owned by a prominent member of parliament. When the team arrive it seems an unexploded bomb is also involved, and all fingers seem to point to the IRA. As Boyd and his team work they are watched by staff from the home office; the case is obviously a lot more complicated that it originally seemed.

3) Fugue States
Two twins went missing from the Notting Hill Carnival in 1990. In the present day the missing boy turns up, but the girl remains missing. The boy can remember nothing of his ordeal, and it remains for the team to piece together exactly why the children were taken, and where the missing girl is. This is a particularly interesting episode as we see Mel try to trace her birth mother, adding additional depth to her character.

4) Anger Management
Possibly the weakest of the series, this episode centres upon contract killings in the 1970's. A gun turns up which has been identified as being used for a number of gruesome murders, but the owner remains elusive. Sadly the plot is simply not strong enough to cover a whole two hours.

5) The Hardest Word
The highlight of the series for me. A number of men are found murdered with the word 'sorry' carved into their backs. The case twists and turns, which makes it very difficult for me to write anything more about the plot, as I would simply give away too much! Rather than a simple murder it seems as though there are links to serious organised crime, which adds another dimension to the story.

6) Shadowplay
The final episode of series four was clearly created to end with a bang. It begins when a young woman sets her house on fire, killing her family. She claims that she was told to kill be a man calling himself 'the shepherd'. However, when more women with psychiatric problems are found to have killed, having spoken to 'the shepherd' the case seems to take a sinister turn. Is the killer a psychologist with advanced knowledge of these women's conditions, or is it something else? This is again a very interesting episode, and one which proves that even a show like 'Waking the Dead' has the ability to shock its audience once in a while!

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, in terms of value for money and hours viewing pleasure this box set can not be beaten. Sometimes the story lines may seem a little grim, but they are all gripping and cleverly thought out. The quality of writing is second to none, as is the acting. I would have liked to see some DVD extras, a short documentary for example. However, I would highly recommend this to any fan of the genre, or indeed anyone who simply wants to watch a gripping meaty drama. 

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