"Waking the Dead" (2000) TV series 2000-????

Creator:

Barbara Machin

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Release Date:

18 June 2001 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

Det. Supt. Peter Boyd (played by Trevor Eve) is the leader of a multi-discipline police team of detectives and scientists, the Cold Case Squad, which investigates old, unsolved murder cases using modern methods and new technology that may not have been available during the original investigation.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Forensic Evidence | Forensic | Crime Scene | Murder Investigation

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Trevor Eve	...	Detective Superintendent Peter Boyd / ... (82 episodes, 2000-2009)
Sue Johnston	...	Dr. Grace Foley (82 episodes, 2000-2009)
Wil Johnson	...	DI Spencer Jordan / ... (82 episodes, 2000-2009)
Claire Goose	...	DS Amelia 'Mel' Silver / ... (38 episodes, 2000-2004)
Holly Aird	...	Dr. Frankie Wharton (38 episodes, 2000-2004)
Félicité Du Jeu	...	DC Stella Goodman (37 episodes, 2005-2009)
Tara Fitzgerald	...	Dr. Eve Lockhart (32 episodes, 2007-2009)

Runtime:

Germany:100 min | USA:60 min (18 episodes) | 120 min (2 1-hour episodes per story)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:15

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

BBC Drama Group

Trivia:

In the pilot episode Boyd had a wife and baby. However by S1 he is very much single and instead has an elder son, who is missing.

Goofs:

Continuity: In series 5, episode 1, the date on the CCTV camera shows "12 Sept 2005", but the CCTV shots from episode 2 show "15 Jan 2005", even though the plot leads us to believe the two episodes are chronological.

Quotes:

Dr Grace Foley: Shut up, Spence. All you're worrying about is that Boyd's let you down. You put him on a pedestal and he's fallen off.
DS Spencer Jordan: That's rubbish!
Dr Grace Foley: No, it's textbook.

Movie Connections:

Featured in RTS Huw Wheldon Lecture: Wit's End? British Comedy at the Crossroads (2009) (TV)

Intelligent drama

This is a wonderful drama series and I hope there will be much more in the future. Being a fan of CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) but also being a scientist and frustrated with the unrealistic portrayal of scientific procedures in CSI, I'm more impressed by Waking the Dead. Frankie strikes me as a thorough person and very professional, she knows how long it takes to analyse a sample of DNA, and its limitations. All the characters in the Cold Case Unit are totally convincing and fascinating people in themselves, especially Trevor Eve's character Boyd. This series continues to be very satisfying and has depths that are lacking in more superficial "murder mysteries". If only all the cold cases in this country could be sorted out by this lot - it would make life easier for many suffering victims of crime.