And just look at the crap they've fed us since then
'Well I've got two words for you - STFU'

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.

I think that's a little unfair; Happy Valley, Dickensian, The Night Manager, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell all spring to mind as first rate dramas.
I'm the clever one; you're the potato one.

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.

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?)

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.

Conway: the entire series is available on Netflix (here in Canada, anyway-hope the same holds true for your locale) - enjoy.
canuckteach

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Right.
Because heterosexual people are
SOOOOO prejudiced
against everywhere.
[honestly, I couldn't roll my eyes anymore if I tried.]
__
Just another sheep boy, duck call, swan song, idiot son of Donkey Kong

Verily I say unto theethe series has always been more about the aftermath of violence rather than violence itself for gratuitous reasons. Its not as if Boyd and co ever got personally involved in fights and shoot-outs in every single episode.

I'm simply saying less is more. Gratuitous violence is usually a cover for a lack of imagination. In this series alone we've had two child abuse plots and the obligatory Islamic extremism (with the usual lefty sentiments that the state is the real bad guy.) So WTD is obviously on its last legs. Tonight, we shall see.

I don't wanna be rude or anyhing but if u choose to watch show entitled "waking the dead" n the show is in fact about cadavers u don't expect unicorns and rainbows flyin 'round the screen, right?
greetings

"It's become unwatchable due to the utterly repulsive violence and almost pointlessly sick plotlines."
Can't say I've picked up on that at all. Is it really any sicker or more repulsive than any other television serial out there? Could you point me to an episode from this current series which makes you feel that way? Because, though it's as dark as ever and has always been bleaker than a lot of other series, I've never thought it was to a wholly unbelievable level. It certainly doesn't revel in its gore like, say, a Zack Snyder film would.
" beep the average viewer, that guy needs to die." - David Simon

I think every episode has been unbelievably good, I defy anyone not to enjoy, the show has had violence in it throughout, I loved Wire in the Blood that had major violence in it, not a sign of fatigue i think just a sign of the times.

It's become unwatchable due to the utterly repulsive violence and almost pointlessly sick plotlines. Always the sign of increasing desperation and fatigue.

I am sad to see it go, as grudginly as i am to admit it I agree with you series 8 was poor by the series standards, ive loved the first two eps of this series, back to form it seems, I disagree strongly about Eve, the character is great much better then the previous, and she is a strong (very) actress. It is still better then Law and Order UK, Taggart, currently Midsomer and every similar programme on, maybe exception of last series of Silent Witness, come on Beeb reconsider please. You think a drama about a bug farm will be any more cheerful, that I seriously doubt.