Imagine the
American television series, “Bones.” Now remove all humor, quirky characters,
convenient plot twists and escapist entertainment. What you would have
remaining is the long-running British pathology crime series, “Silent Witness.”
Whether you would be happier with this than the mindless American show depends
on how much accuracy you want from your programming, as opposed to
entertainment. “Silent Witness” also has the benefit of TV-movie lengths for
each of the mystery narratives, which allows for more detail and character
development.
The technician-dominated
murder mystery series began in 1996 with a 90-minute two-part episode that
introduced forensic pathologist Dr. Samantha Ryan (Amanda Burton). With a new
position teaching students, there are plenty of opportunities for Ryan to show
her expertise before even solving her first crime involving the suspicious
drowning of a six-year-old girl. This may seem a bleak beginning, but there are
no light episodes in a show all about solving murders by evidence left on the
corpse. Season one includes four film-length narratives. Although they were
split up into two episodes for broadcast, they are edited into one single
90-minute chunk for the DVD release. Season one also includes the mystery of
what seems to be a ritual killing, a death that takes place in police custody,
and the murder of a refugee’s business partner.
Format: Multiple Formats, Box set, Color, NTSC
Season eighteen
in slated for 2015, and the seventeenth season appears to have been released
alongside of the first with hopes of building a new viewership for its return.
Ryan has long since departed, replaced in 2004 with Dr. Nikki Alexander (Emilia
Fox). There are other pathologists who have joined along the way, including
recent additions Jack Hodgson (David
Caves
Entertainment Value:
5.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 8/10
Historical
Significance: 6.5/10
Special Features: 0/10
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