User Reviews

An excellent episode of 'SW'! And about time. Recently there have been one too many patchy episodes. But fortunately it is normally worth the wait for another episode with 'SW', as it eventually - sooner or later - picks up and offers viewers a better episode. And this time too, the wait was worth it.

An interesting story, with good casting, a perfect script, and a superb ending. The story was believable, the actors spoke a script that sounded like real humans, and the characters pertained to who they were. A pleasant change to some recent eps that have the characters sound like completely different people to those we know so well; and sometimes even - ROFL - sounding like strange androids of some sort!.

The two halves of the drama flowed well together, the scene-setting was bang on, and the camerawork fitted in nicely. A good sense of cohesion to the production.

And . . . At last! After over a quarter of a century, we finally get to see the chief actor from the 'McCallum' pathology drama meet his counterparts from 'Silent Witness'. (. . . You'll have to remember the forensics dramas of 1990s' TV to get the point - wink-wink!)

I watched both 'McCallum' and 'SW' back in the day. And rewatched 'McC' during the depressing time of COVID lockdown. At that point I was looking for something to make me feel TV was still worth watching, and this 'classic' series seemed to offer what most modern TV show don't: dependable enjoyability. And . . . The rewatch in 2020 was everything I was hoping for. I was delighted when I enjoyed 'McC' as much then as in my initial viewing of years before.

So it was great to see John Hannah again, playing a different pathologist in this 2024 ep of a TV forensics drama.

John Hannah was great in the role. He balances the character well, staying on the edge of who he is, giving nothing away, until he needs to. And the regular actors from 'SW' matched him in equally good quality performances.

The blend between the characters is nicely done. As is the careful use of flashbacks, from present to past and back again. And the well-written episode made all the difference to the outcome of the production.

As for the episodic plot: the psychopath was so well written as a role, and so well acted, that I felt intensely angry at his actions within the story. His abusive manipulation of his young son, and the long-term effect on his two children, had me incensed. Now THAT'S believability! True suspension of disbelief is difficult to find in TV dramas. And this episode offered it in droves.

Everything blended. Good TV all round.

In all honesty the drama could have been played out to 4 or so episodes. It would have felt better paced, if it had been drawn out. As it was, the now-standard 'SW' duo of episodes didn't give the story the time to tell the tale to its best effect. It all felt a bit squashed into the two halves of the story. So it would have been great to see this particular story extended.

But, as it was, it was a good turnout from the canon of 'SW' episodes.

It was great to see John Hannah in a serious role, and he was beyond brilliant. You often see him pseudo comedic roles, but this showed his true acting capability.

I'm not sure how Silent Witness can improve on that this year. This was one that really hit the spot for me.

I did knows that Charles had Calvin Dunn somewhere as I didn't see a dog and why leave the spoon in it, brilliant.

Leo Staar played a great psychopath, and it was not a surprise that his son was involved as he alluded to the clear difference between Mia and her brother.

The whole storyline was brilliant, but typical Nikki (Emilia Fox) was going to be the in jeopardy at the end.