Waking The Dead Axed by the BBC
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Gary-161 — 15 years ago(March 29, 2011 11:29 PM)
Is it really any sicker or more repulsive than any other television serial out there?
That's an indictment in itself. As Dragon pointed out, sign of the times. Maybe you can watch several people having their eyes gouged out or someone's kneecap busted in glorious technicolour, but I suddenly had a pressing engagement with a remote control. -
mylesever — 14 years ago(April 11, 2011 04:09 PM)
Personally I'd like to see a whether a crime drama without the violence could even work as well as this show did
Apart from the fact that it makes the viewer cringe, simply saying 'it is bad I don't want to see it, so I won't' is missing the point that the visual display of crime is meant to reflect the viewer's attitudes towards it - it's not cool it's not awesome; it is unnerving and uncomfortable.
To watch a crime drama and not like violence is like watching a sitcom and not liking comedy. Otherwise you may as well sit down with a cup of tea, and enjoy the happy, friendly, tales of adventure in Old Tricks.
Given this is a cold-case based drama, you're not exactly looking at light hearted entertainment from the start of the opening title. -
Gary-161 — 14 years ago(April 12, 2011 12:28 AM)
it's not cool it's not awesome
Of course it is. It's meretricious, comic book stuff. All that caring about the victim waterworks is always inherently hypocritical on these type of shows.
Last night we got another child abuse plot. The fresh ideas just keep coming, don't they? And yet another lovingly rendered torture chamber to fit like a pair of comfy leather slippers. Now, if only the pastor was a religious fanatic with a dirty bomb under his bed and a wife with Munchausen by Proxy lying above it, they would have ticked all the boxes. But at least we got Boyd walking away while an execution by thugs goes on behind him. That's always worth repeating.
Still, at least this particular axe felling will not be accompanied by loud screaming and ketchup flying up the wall to wobbly, psychedelic camera work. Thank heavens for small mercies. -
keith-s-russell — 14 years ago(April 17, 2011 09:38 AM)
I had found the show was beginning to run out of steam, but this last series was excellent with top notch stories. I have noticed that anything written by Ed Whitmore is usually well worth watching.The last story,Waterloo, was brilliant. I am not a great fan of Eve, especially as Boyd, but the stories are what make this series worthwhile.
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drwordsmith — 14 years ago(April 22, 2011 10:16 AM)
Waking the Dead was one of only 3 shows I still really enjoy tuning in for on the bbc - the other 2 being Spooks and Doctor Who.
Both Spooks and WTD had run out of steam for me a little bit in their latter seasons, but this last one of WTD was pretty damn good, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Went out on a high at least.
Making a new signature so that "PersonalCheeses" is happy. xoxo -
reynolds-dale — 13 years ago(January 21, 2013 02:35 PM)
Wow! The homophobia of "diayag" is unhappy and funny, simultaneously. I'm reviewing the show season-by-season and have found it to be one of the most stimulating shows on TV, in America or in UK. Acting, writing, producing. Always unsettling. I hated Boyd losing his son, but admired his standing up to a homophobic dad about his gay son. Bringing reality to fiction is difficult and truly wonderful when realized. This writer's homohatred is revealing. He should work on it and welcome quality story-telling that includes all sorts of peoples. The Serbian-massacre one had me in tears. There's plenty of quality-family storytelling out there and these producers want it broadened to include even those "diayag" hates.
Silly man. -
malcolm-smith — 13 years ago(February 07, 2013 09:20 AM)
Likewise I am struggling through the final series.
The stories are getting increasingly fantastical and their near-psychic detection ability is getting more and more ridiculous by the minute.
I am surprised that this department doesn't solve the kidnapping of Shergar, the whereabouts of Lord Lucan and the identity of the man on the Grassy Knoll in their lunch breaks. -
aussie-ross — 12 years ago(November 10, 2013 01:49 AM)
I realise your post is two years old + but I have been watching "Waking the dead" here in Australia for the last 6 months (two a week)and as you say "Brilliant". Now our local station has decided to axe the show half way through season 6, DVD's might be the answer
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conway3000 — 14 years ago(October 08, 2011 03:38 PM)
I just watched the last season of shows of Waking the Dead. This series is absolutely the best show on TV US or British. I just discovered this past year. I wish they would repeat from the beginning. It is so stupid to let this wonderful series come to an end.
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magnusman60 — 12 years ago(May 12, 2013 02:20 PM)
It was quite good and quite compelling charters.
Not perfect but no show is and this certainly should not have been axed.
But shows these days cost and they get axed in favor of cheap shows like dancing with the stars or bachelor.
Hopefully this trend ends soon and we get actually tv back. -
brooksie1-1 — 10 years ago(October 12, 2015 02:55 PM)
My wife and I just finished watching Waterloo and must say we were saddened to see the series come to an end. Trevor Eve was superb in his strengths but had the flaws to make his character more than uni-dimensional. All the actors carried off their scripts so well, especially Eve in his streams of consciousness and so did Sue Johnson who was a perfect foil to Boyd. Sad to see Sarah Cavendish killed off; we had grown to like her character. A special reuniting the cast would be most welcome even at this date but not likely to happen.
Me (who else could I be?) -
calmeilles — 10 years ago(February 01, 2016 11:11 AM)
Back in January of this year, the controller of drama commissioning at the BBC, Ben Stephenson, warned that some of the corporations longer running dramas could be culled to make way for newer, innovative dramas.
It's hard to disagree that ending Waking The Dead while it was still strong may have been a wise decision.
Such a shame that in the subsequent five years there has been no sign of these promised "innovative" dramas that would be produced as a consequence. -
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jenny-williams1 — 9 years ago(December 04, 2016 09:00 AM)
And - can I add - The Missing. Just finished watching Series 2. Brilliant and gripping! I think there have been lots of excellent British dramas on the BBC in the last few years!
I must say I am enjoying watching old episodes of Waking the Dead on the Drama channel. It's a good way to catch up with older BBC dramas. Only just up to the one where Mel is killed, so plenty more to watch yet! Also enjoying old episodes of Silent Witness too.
Never lie to the dog.
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