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The
Cold Case Squad is a crack team of specialists set up by the
Metropolitan Police with the specific brief of reopening the
files on unsolved cases. They re-examine the evidence and
requestion witnesses. If anyone can track down a killer, years
after a murder, they can...
The
second series of Waking the Dead contains another four
unsolved murders for Boyd and his team.
In
Life Sentence a psychotic killer, Thomas Rice, who
is now behind bars is the key to an investigation when a victim
who survived his killing spree years ago is harassed by a
copycat assailant. Boyd and his team are forced to enlist
the help of Rice as they look again at the killer's past crimes
to see who else could have known the killer's tactics. As
the case unfolds Boyd comes to rely more and more on Rice's
assistance to trap the copycat assailant.
This
episode is interesting as it examines what one of Rice's previous
kidnap victims did in order to stay alive. This is something
that she had put behind her until the copycat kidnapper decides
to start abducting women again using codes and techniques
that the original killer used and are were never made public.
Deathwatch:
After an old man dies in a home, a priest finds a written
confession. The note admits to twelve separate murders that
are linked to the hanging of an East End gangster. The investigation
take the Cold Case team into the murky underworld of London's
gangland crime families. However, things take an unexpected
turn when it is discovered that the old man didn't die of
natural causes - he was murdered. This episode starts with
a flash back to the hanging of a young man for a crime that
he professed his innocence too. If he'd have admitted to the
killing the chances are he'd have gotten away with life imprisonment.
Why then did he proclaim his innocent all the way to the gallows?
I
also had a nit-pick for this episode that I really didn't
understand. When Grace is attacked the last thing she does
before fainting is call Frankie. So why is it that in the
next scene Frankie arrives to be met by a police officer outside
the house and then another one inside looking after Grace.
It could be that Frankie rang the police immediately and then
left for Grace's house, but the policewoman that meets Frankie
looks like she's been there for hours - no one seems to be
looking after Grace.
This
episode also sees Warren Mitchell guest star as the older
version of the executioner. While his role is small, he really
pulls out all the stops and delivers a moving performance
to give us a believable character.
Special
Relationship: When a petty burglar is acquitted of murdering
a prominent Home Office Advisor, Boyd's team is sent in to
investigate. They soon discover that the corridors of Whitehall
are shrouded in secrecy. The victim is Katherine Reed, who
had once been a prominent feminist activist who attacked the
establishment at every opportunity. Boyd's progress on the
case is hampered by a suspiciously coincidental Home Office
audit, which shadows the team as they go about their investigation.
To add to Boyd's problems, he discovers that the original
investigation was conducted by an old love interest.
This
episode is the weakest of the four stories. It's not that
it's bad, just not as engaging as the other tales - in fact,
to be quite honest, this story could have been told in one
hour long episode without seeming rushed.
Thin
Air: Twelve years after Joanna Gold famously disappeared
in broad daylight on Hampstead Heath, the dress she was wearing
is found in a lockup. The team begin the hunt for her killer.
Under pressure to discover the truth behind the disappearance
of Joanna in 1989, Boyd makes a number of stupid mistakes.
Personally,
I found this episode to be the most enjoyable. There are so
many red herrings here that it's almost impossible to work
out what has really happened to Joanna. Is she dead? Is she
still alive? There are clues and hints to suggest both. It's
only really in the last scene that everything falls into place.
Boyd
acts like a fool in this episode. It could be that he's flattered
by the advances of an 18 year old girl, or that he is panicking
under the pressure because he is expected to come up with
results, but would he really do the things he did towards
the end of this episode?
The
only real complaint I had was the way that the introduction
of a black suspect was handled. When Spence meets up with
one of his old school friends it's pretty obvious that he
is the mysterious suspect. What
are the chances of that? It was almost as thought the writers
thought: "Oh! We have another black character! Great
a chance to do some 'Yo! Brother' scenes".
It
was also good to see some of the team out of office hours
- this episode starts with Boyd and Spence playing squash.
There
are no extras in this collection.
If
you've already bought Series
One of Waking the Dead, then you'll
want to own this to add to your collection. And even if you've
never seen an episode before, it's relatively easy to pick
things up as you go along.
Another
fantastic collection.
Nick
Smithson
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