The programming in the US is poor to be polite. So, we, as viewers look elsewhere. One of my favorite places is the BBC. Now on BBCAmerica there is an excellant show called "Waking the Dead". It is intelligently written, tense and the actors are wonderful. All of them. I had known, just a little about Trevor Eve(Detective Superintendent Peter Boyd) before, but I had never seen anything of Sue Johnston, Holly Aird, Clair Goose, or Will Johnson's work. It's a shame, because I can see they are all wonderful actors and actresses. Trevor Eve plays the head of the Cold Case Squad that investigates unsolved murders. I don't know if it's by plan or not, but Eve presents the character of Boyd as an arrogant, egotistical, yet an intelligent man with boyish charm. Boyd is also haunted by the disappearance of his 16 year old son. There was a fight and the son disappeared. Boyd doesn't know if the boy is dead or alive. This affects his job. Sue Johnston is Dr. Grace Foley, the profiler of the team. I didn't know anything about her. She presents Foley as a caring, intelligent woman. She is perceptive. She and Boyd have been friends for a long time and understands his pathos. When on a tyraid, Foley is the only one who will face Boyd down and make him back down. Holly Aird is Dr. Frankie Wharton. She is the forensic specialist and is anal about crime scenes. She even goes as far as requiring masks for the entire team when entering a crime scene. She is intelligent and will also face down Boyd if necessary. Clair Goose is Detective Constable Mel Silver. She is a fresh, eager detective who wants to be taken seriously. She is fasctidious in collecting evidence and tries to cover all bases. She also dislikes Boyd's patronizing attitudes as he often thinks, because of her young age that she can't do the job. She usually gets around it by forcing her way through his perceptions and doing what she knows is right anyway. Wil Johnson plays Detective Sargeant Spencer Jordon. He is an intelligent man who comes from the streets of London. All he's ever wanted to do is be a policeman. He is methodical and as he relaxes into his role, he is letting his imagination help him think about the crimes they come across.
I recommend this program to all who would like to watch an intelligent, well made, tense and action/mystery/cop show. I wish some American actors would watch abit of British tv to seen how it's done. Don't get me wrong. We have some great actors here, but other than some primetime actors such as David Schwimmer, very few know what it's like or have the ability to get their teeth into something worthwhile.
