Top 10 Waking the Dead episodes
Starting at number 10 and going down to the best of them all.
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- DirectorPhilippa LangdaleStarsTrevor EveSue JohnstonTara FitzgeraldThe bodies of a mother and son are found in a mass grave in Bosnia, but evidence shows the boy was not Bosnian although his mother was.10: fantastic. The flashbacks are not sudden and quick; instead lengthy, and slow, so they can paint a vivid picture and tell the story properly. The sensitive issue of war crimes in Serbia and Bosnia is addressed here, and is tackled well. The final scenes in the interview room are phenomenally well-done, and could reduce you to tears. After a slightly slow start, this episode picks up and becomes excellent.
- DirectorJim O'HanlonStarsTrevor EveSue JohnstonWil JohnsonThirty years after Grace Foley helped send Tony Green to prison for the murder of young men, a copycat tries to force her to recant her stand on the case.9: Sue Johnston on marvellous form as Grace, in a very personal storyline going back to her first murder case. The story is excellent, the acting brilliant, and it all works out very nicely in the end.
- DirectorEdward BennettStarsTrevor EveSue JohnstonHolly AirdA serial rapist/killer currently serving a life sentence may hold the key to solving a copycat murder.8: Very tense and excellent. From the start you know who did it – but did he have a partner in crime? A chilling performance from Samuel West and Susannah Harker on better form than usual makes for a very good episode.
- DirectorRobert Del MaestroStarsTrevor EveSue JohnstonHolly AirdAfter serving half her sentence for the murder of her husband and neighbor's son, new evidence suggests that Annie Keel could be innocent.7: The story is gripping, full of twists and turns, the acting superb (Lynda Bellingham and Harriet Walter in particular), and it is quite harrowing, but beautifully written and filmed. Waking the Dead at its very best; and you won’t see the killer coming either.
This is the best of series 1. - DirectorDan ReedStarsTrevor EveSue JohnstonTara FitzgeraldBoyd reopens a 12 year-old former cold case when the victim, a 30 year old rape and trauma victim who has tried to commit suicide even though no new evidence has surfaced.6: This is a very dark and frightening episode, and the full horror of Gemma’s experience is retold in grainy flashback – from her rape to her ten year old brother’s murder on a lonely road in the middle of nowhere. It’s extremely good, but difficult viewing for the sensitive. Although flashbacks are quite infrequent, it’s still horrific. We have a good idea of who the killers are, but the police have to find them and prove their guilt, making for a very tense part 2. Michelle Dockery excels as Gemma. As ever with Ed Whitmore we have humour however, which makes the episode even better.
- DirectorAndy HayStarsTrevor EveSue JohnstonTara FitzgeraldA disgruntled Boyd is told he is to be promoted to a desk job and if he objects his unorthodox police methods will be exposed. Before he goes he vows to take on the case of several homeless teen-age boys who disappeared,at three monthly intervals,between 1979 and 1982. Dennis Grant,a kindly vicar who provided a shelter for the boys,puts him in touch with Tony Nicholson,the only policeman to show any concern,now a high ranking officer,whose reports at the time mysteriously vanished. Investigations lead to a disused pub where the abducted boys were taken and murdered by a sadist imitating American serial killer Henry Holmes. The gun that killed them was the same one that shot dead disgraced policeman Stanley Heath,another unsolved murder. A contrite Sarah admits to Boyd that she complained about him before going to see Nicholson - about whom she has her suspicions. After she has spied on him talking to an elderly man he captures her at gun-point.5: The mystery is intriguing and very clever in the end – plenty of twists and turns along the way; a very complex plot but told in a comprehensible way. The subject matter is dark – the abduction and sexually stimulated torture of homeless boys in an underground torture chamber – but it is handled well, and there are not too many flashbacks. Everyone is a bit off edge (except Eve, who is here usual self – i.e. totally without a personality!); Sarah’s hiding something, Boyd’s more shouty than usual and Grace even shouts in part 2! Paul McGann takes a turn as a slightly psychopathic, creepy DAC Tony Nicholson with secrets of his own. Prepare for a fantastic two hours! A very calm ending for such a deranged series – but it’s nice to have some humour once in a while.
- DirectorAndy HayStarsTrevor EveSue JohnstonHolly AirdDNA evidence clears a man of the murder of his adopted fisherman stepfather eleven years earlier, but who killed him and who was responsible for the simultaneous disappearance of three female family members?4: This is one of the funniest episodes of WTD, particularly the scenes where Boyd and Grace interview Mark/Maria. The plot is clever and interesting, and fairly original too, and I like the juxtaposition of the humour with more haunting scenes with chilling music. The script is well-written, too.
- DirectorBen BoltStarsTrevor EveSue JohnstonHolly AirdFive-year-old twins Cindy and Jason were abducted in 1988. Sixteen years later, Jason is struck by a car and identified by his DNA after he is admitted to hospital. The hunt now begins to locate Cindy, but Jason cannot recall anything about his life. DS Boyd does not think it is a coincidence when he discovers the driver that struck Jason had crossed paths with the boy shortly before the abduction. Meanwhile, Jason disappears and a police raid in a search for Cindy has tragic results.3: This is a truly fantastic episode of WTD. The storyline is interesting and filled with plenty of twists and turns – and features contributions from the whole team equally, which is good. There is quite a bit of humour here too, and the second part is particularly tense as the case swiftly moves from one course to the next. The excellent subplot about Mel is intriguing (well, both of them – the second becomes apparent at the end of part 1), and adds a poignancy to the episode, as does the deaf couple.
- DirectorTim FywellStarsTrevor EveSue JohnstonTara FitzgeraldWhen a London flat is being rehabbed a bloody Nazi dagger is discovered in the fireplace and the team joins with a Massad agent in a hunt to solve the case.2: Here we have it – one of the strongest and best episodes of WTD, out of all 8 series. The storyline features sensitive issues: Nazis, concentration camps, immigration in WW2, and child murder, but these are dealt with very well with a brilliant script by Declan Croghan, who surpasses himself here. The plot is full of twists and turns, and the solution is very clever. What makes this episode so much better is the fact that what goes on actually happened in the war – the team are actually solving a 60-year-old murder case here. Eileen Atkins is brilliant, as always, here, and Michelle Forbes is also very good, too. Some very humorous moments in part 2, juxtaposed with poignancy. Mel’s mystery is solved here, and her death returns to haunt Boyd and the team. Dame Eileen could reduce you to tears at one point.
- DirectorRobert BiermanStarsTrevor EveSue JohnstonHolly AirdBoyd has to battle his demons when the case against a mass murderer, who killed his close friend, is reopened.1 - THE BEST EPISODE: The plot is complex, and is very, very intriguing – as you begin to realise that the original investigation into the massacre of 14 people at a shopping centre had a lot of holes and unanswered questions. Boyd also does something which he shouldn’t have; and this is witnessed by Mel – which leads her to battle with herself over what action to take. The solution is clever and believable, and ties up all the loose ends (something which WTD fails to do in later years!). Some humour here, too, the flashbacks are not violent, and Sean Pertwee is marvellous as Carl MacKenzie, the convicted killer. Overall, astonishingly good.