Four two-hour episodes of the British mystery TV series, dealing with a cold case squad trying to unravel intricate crimes.

CRITIQUE

Waking The Dead is a BBC series dealing with a cold case squad, and what makes this series different is that the episodes are each almost two hours long without commercials, compared to the 43 minutes or so that similar U.S. series are.  Because of this, the cases are much more intricate and sprawling, and though this has its downside (many episodes do have their slow spots), ultimately the tales are solid enough to work well at this length, and make this a series worth checking out.

This two-disk set contains all four two-part, two-hour episodes from the series’ second season, which originally aired in 2002 (the series has currently gone through six seasons of varying lengths).  The crimes here usually consist of old murders or disappearances, cases that have been opened because of some now crime that has been committed, which also ups the stakes – the criminal is out there and active, and the old crime needs to be solved so that they can prevent him from committing any new ones.

Giving the series a lot of its strength is the cast, which is very strong, headed by Trevor Eve, who plays Detective Superintendent Peter Boyd; he is able aided by his team, including detectives Mel and Spence (Claire Goose and Wil Johnson), profiler Grace (Sue Johnston) and forensics expert Frankie (Holly Aird).  The writers make them all sharp, winning characters, while also not being afraid to have them clash with each other; Boyd in particular has some prickly ego problems at times that serve his character well, though the group also has obvious affection for each other, which gives it all a likeable edge as well.

Because of their lengths, the well-woven episodes have the time to shift POVs, as well as develop a wide range of suspects, which really serves to keep the audience invested; it’s hard to guess until the end who the villain is in most of these stories, that cat-and-mouse feel works well, and when the answers are revealed they turn out to be satisfying ones.  The result is very solid of its type.

THE VIDEO

Waking The Dead is presented in 16:9 enhanced.  The picture quality is generally very good.

THE AUDIO

Waking The Dead is presented in English Dolby Digital Stereo.  Dialogue, music and sound effects come through clear.  There are English subtitles for the hard of hearing.

THE EXTRAS

There are no extras.

FINAL THOUGHT

Good acting, well-conceived cases, and the length of the stories add an interesting element to it all.