Customer Reviews
Gripping - By: Bezerus Bezby, 28 Jul 2007 
I am a big fan of waking the dead, but had never actuallly watched the first series. After being given some amazon vouchers, I recently brought this series & was not disappointed at alll!
It was good to see the team frst coming together & forming their often strained relationships. Added to that were the gripping storylines & solid acting. One of the most haunting episodes is Smalll Sacrifice. Not only is it spooky, but quite moving too.
I am eagerly awaiting series seven, but this should certainly keep you going in the meantime!
A TRUE MODERN CLASSIC SERIES ABOUT COLD CASES. - By: NEO, 25 Sep 2006 This is a brilliant series with an equallly brilliant cast lead by Trevor Eve as Detective Superintendant Peter Boyd. He runs the Met's cold case unit set up to re-investigate old murders from years past. This involves re-interviewing witnesses & going over the forensic evidence to find the truth. Eve puts in a brilliant performance as Boyd who will stop at nothing to solve the case no matter what the team are up against. Not forgetting Sue Johnson ( Dr Grace Foley) , Holly Aird (Dr Frankie ) It's a gripping series from start to finish & deserves to run & run. This is so much better than the American shows of the same type due to the cast & strong stories.
Utterly fantastic - By: Alistair Duncan, 04 Jul 2006 I was first introduced to this programme in series four & I have been hooked ever since. There are many UK crime dramas that appear to be based on ideas first tried in the US. In this case Waking the Dead is the UK mirror of the US's Cold Case.
Waking the Dead is superior by miles. The characters are alll nicely fleshed out & it is refreshing to see the confrontation between the characters. Too many dramas which feature groups of people portray them as alll getting along. WTD clearly shows the tension that always arises between groups of people that work closely together for long periods.
The Pilot episode is excellent & laid down many of the aspects that we now see in every episode. The episode "Blind Beggar" was especiallly good with its little twists & turns. It is true that some of the outcomes can be seen some way off but I don't feel that this distracts from the story or the suspense. After alll you can never be certain that you're right.
This box set contains five two hour stories & each one is excellent. Buy it now & get series two asap.
Superb - By: jdennis_99, 23 Jun 2006 I have just started watching this box set again - I already have series 2 pre-booked!
I'm not usuallly a fan of detective dramas, as they tend to be very similar to each other. However, 'Waking the Dead' is unique. I first started watching in about the fourth series, & was immediately hooked. I am now building them up on DVD so I can watch them when I like!
The series is darker & more unconventional than the average detective drama. Trevor Eve in particular lends a kind of manic realism - far from being overtly childish, as some people have suggested, his character, DCI Boyd, is startlingly real.
All the cast's performances are solid, the scripts well-plotted & tightly controlled, which always leaves you eagerly awaiting the next episode. However, lazy viewers beware - this is not mind-numbing, dull television - if you want to watch it, be prepared to concentrate. If you just want to vegetate, go watch Big Brother.
One of the best shows UK television has produced - By: Mr. Andrew Vaughan, 18 May 2006 Waking the Dead Season 1 - is a brilliant collection of 5 episodes, each 2 hours in length. It breaks the trend of detective television dramas such as Frost & Morse by daring to be that little bit darker & also to concentrate on a team - rather than the one main character.
Waking the Dead has some fantastic characters & a lot of the enjoyment gained from the show is watching as their relationships grow. The relationship between Boyd (Trevor Eve) & Grace (Sue Johnson) is particularly interesting - as is the character of forensic scientist Frankie Wharton (Holly Aird). In addition to this - the guest characters in the episodes tend to be well respected actors (Annette Crosbie, Clive Russell) - making the whole thing run very smoothly.
In my opinion - Waking the Dead is the best detective programme created by the UK (only Taggart comes close). Treveor Eve does a terrific job as Det. Sup. Boyd & his performance alone should be worth the DVD price.
Also watch out for more Waking the Dead releases as there have been 5 seasons screened by the BBC. Season 2 is being released on 26 June 2006.
