Silent Witness Series 12 Episodes 11 & 12 - Finding Rachel

The Silent Witness team are in Zambia for the last story of the series and they pulled it off rather well.

Nikki is contacted by an old school friend, Peter Ellis, who runs a mining business in Zambia, after the daughter of one of his work colleague’s went missing and her bones where found. With the only pathologist away, the team are drafted in to try and establish what had happened to Rachel, the missing girl.

As soon as they arrive, they encounter bandits and robbed of a few of their personal affects. They meet everyone who knew Rachel, who was a doctor at a Christian mission. Nobody seems to know what happened to her but they all look shifty! And when Nikki establish that the bones found where not Rachel’s, the plot thickens.

After Harry saves a young journalist friend of Rachel’s, after he is run down, things look all the more suspicious. But the lad dies, whilst he is recovering – later we find out he was injected with heroin.

As Rachel’s dad is getting all the more desperate, another one of Rachel’s friends, the daughter of the people who run the mission, turns up dead, although this is found out to be an accident. The girl had earlier used Rachel’s credit card to book an hotel room and everyone thought that Rachel was alive, so imagine their surprise!

Later, as Leo is tracing Rachel’s last job – testing water for signs of disease, Harry and Nikki spot that their clothes have been sold on. They question the villagers and eventually they are led to their last known whereabouts – the scene of Rachel’s death.

Uranium was discovered by the mining company and Peter had tried to hush it up, as the Zambian government wouldn’t allow it to be mined. But when a spillage of uranium found its way into the local water supply, people contracted a host of diseases and many women had lost their babies.

Rachel was investigating this and when she found that the water was contaminated with uranium, she tries to tell her Dad but when Peter found out, he had some of his men chase her. Although he didn’t mean for her to be killed, she had injured herself and hid in a tip. Rachel had bled to death. She had also told her journalist friend about the ‘conspiracy’ and his killing was ordered by Peter Dodgy bastard!

It was a fine closing episode to the series. It was nice for the team to go somewhere else for a change, away from the drab streets of London. It’s another well written episode that everyone involved should take credit for. Here’s waiting for series 13, next year!

8/10

Silent Witness Series 12 Episodes 9 & 10 - The Lost Child

It wasn’t quite another raid on religion this week but we did have a Christian, who was embroiled in a pedo case though! Before anyone takes offence, he didn’t do it!

A young lad is found dead, clogging up a drainage pipe, by his headmaster. The lad had befriended another boy, who was now missing. Evidence is found that the boy was sexually abused and the men in the frame are the missing boy’s ‘uncle’ and their landlord – a convicted ‘dirty bastard’.

The headmaster of the school also happens to be Nikki’s former teacher and we get a nice back-story for the pretty pathologist. Apparently she ran away from school, unhappy at everything and the teacher, Noel Hopkins, retrieved her and was her ‘mentor’.

Meanwhile Harry and Leo are on a ‘Berracane hunt’, after the drowned lad was found with the chemical in his body. So it’s a case of ‘find the chemical, find the boy’, simple then, isn’t it!

The net to catch the nonce is widened and after the revelation that Hopkins is acquainted with the landlord, the weird Christian (the dead boy’s stepfather) and the fact he had a phone call from the uncle, put him in the frame. Oh and the uncle is found dead after being hit by a train, when he was on his way to meet Hopkins. He’s that badly disfigured – he’s mistaken for the missing boy.

Nikki doesn’t believe that Hopkins is behind it but that doesn’t stop her questioning herself when Hopkins gives her some home truths. Is she ‘The Lost Child’ this story is about? As the police learn that it was the uncle that was killed, they have to let Hopkins go. But that doesn’t stop a hate mob, drawing graffiti on his property and firebombing his house. Comparisons with this can be made to real life events, when innocent people are attacked, like the Paediatrician, who was attacked by a group of toothless simpletons who believed that he was a Paedophile!

Anyway I digress, we learn that the missing boy isn’t missing after all. The ‘uncle’ and the ‘boy’ are the same person. It’s clear that the landlord made him pose as a 12-year old boy, in order to lure young lads to the pair’s ‘secret hiding place’. Unfortunately, the only evidence is photos of the landlord and the man ‘at it’. But landlord will get is comeuppance as he has Berracane poisoning and not long to live. Sweet justice, wouldn’t you say?

It was another well written episode, Emile Fox (Nikki) and especially guest star Reece Dindsdale (Hopkins) were superb, at acting this harrowing story out.

8/10

Next Time: It’s the last story of the series and the BBC has decided to splash out on a trip abroad. Is it Las Vegas? No, it isn’t - it’s in Africa, which is a shame – those CSI chumps need a good kick up the arse!

Silent Witness Series 12 Episodes 7 & 8 - Judgement

Silent Witness continues their ethnic tour of Great Britain and this week’s (un)lucky contestants are the Hasidic Jewish community. Personally, I’m not sure what they are trying to tell us but if it gives us a little bit of an insight into other cultures (discounting the murders of course!), then it can’t be a bad thing.

After a Jewish man is found dead, the man’s family don’t want the team to do a full post mortem. Harry is annoyed and instead does a ‘dry’ post mortem – which, by the title, involves not cutting him up. The Jewish community believe that this is the handy work of a group of Polish builders, who by birth, have a vendetta against Jews.

It turns out he has been murdered and despite the family’s reservations, Harry goes ahead with a full post mortem. Some mobile phone footage of the attack, is later found on one of the Polish builders and the net seems to closing in.

Back at the office and Leo is on the case of a young girl, who was found dead after a drug-fuelled party. The owner of the house is under suspicion but is the girl’s sister hiding something? Oh and another thing – Everyone involved in this particular case are Australian. How many more of the world’s races do they need to collect before the end of the series?

Harry is getting on the nerves of the Jewish community and the feeling seems mutual. And after another man, who seemed to know something about the crime, is found dead, things can only get more heated. After the first murdered man’s brother is arrested for the murder of the second man, Harry believes he has him bang to rights – the DNA evidence proves that. But it seems Harry is mistaken and the Jewish community is in uproar - as is the investigating officer, who makes sure Harry is suspended from the case.

Leo, who is now getting cosy with his ‘lover’ from the other week, is still waist-deep in dodgy Aussies. It turns out that the murdered girl’s boyfriend supplied her with drugs and when she was discovered – it was thought she was dead. She wasn’t and was taken outside, on the cold balcony. Which is not where you want to be in a drug-fuelled coma. The girl’s sister was involved but she tried to save her life but it was in vain. This was a nice side story that didn’t get in the way of the main event and that’s something which this programme does so well.

Meanwhile, it looks bleak for Harry but when Nikki shows him fresh copies of the DNA, they come to the conclusion that the arrested man had another brother – who did it. The said brother was exiled from the community, after he was suffering from a mental illness. His father, the Rabbi, had no contact with him and the fella, obviously felt a bit peeved. He had taken a job on the Polish building site and when he saw his brother, he tried to speak to him. But as the chat got a little more heated, the Polish workers got involved and kicked him to death. Sadly the lad had to get involved and after a later confrontation with the other man, he killed him as well by pushing him into the path of an oncoming van.

It was a rather sombre end and it seems that the lad will be locked up in an institution. But its good news all round for Leo, as he moves in with his woman. Will it last? Possibly but I got the feeling that the writers were perhaps showing that Leo was more obsessed with his work than he should be. Will he change?

It perhaps wasn’t the best story of the series but considering how high the bar as been set, its no disgrace. I just hope that they would find more inspiration away from the many communities that London holds! A word too for the music in this story – loud at times but very good nevertheless! As in any television production, music is very important in setting the scene and the BBC do that better than anyone. It’s just a shame they tend to pay 5 million a year to ignorant, stupid berks!

7/10

Next Time: Evangelical Christians are next up on the Silent Witness stage of ‘Ethnic Murder Mysteries’. Wonder how many complaints the BBC will get?

Silent Witness Series 12 Episodes 5 & 6 - Terror

After delving into the world of inner-city crime and last week’s story about Russian gangsters, this week the Silent Witness team encounter Islamic terrorists and police shootings. Whether or not they intend to offend anyone, I don’t know! But fair play to them for not pussyfooting around the said subjects.

After an investigation into a terrorist cell, which ends up in a bugled shooting, which leaves a few people dead – including a police officer, the pathologists get to work. They are under the supervision of a tough anti-terrorist cop, DI Tranfield (Shaun Dooley) who is wary that the threat isn’t over.

Harry is charged with identifying a woman who was brought back by two men to the suspected terrorists flat. Which is a bit difficult considering half of her face as been blown away. Meanwhile Nikki and the DI clash after she suspects that the statements given by the police aren’t what exactly happened. She also tries to talk to one of dead men’s sister, as she is the only one who was left alive. Her lack of English and the fact that she’s been taken under the wing of a Turkish lawyer, slow down the investigation.

We learn that the dead policeman had a grudge against his mate, Rhys, who was in the same unit and who just happened to having an affair with his wife. After Nikki proves that he was in shooting distance of him, during the raid, he is suspended, pending further enquiry and the case looks like it’s sown up. But as Nikki makes her way home, she is ambushed and her laptop (with some of her reports on) is stolen. She gives chase but the mysterious thief pulls a gun on her and it looks like bye, bye Nikki. End of part 1.

Of course it isn’t the end for her! The man makes his escape and leaves Nikki, shaken but not hurt. The investigation continues and Harry learns all about the ‘girl with no face’ – she was an undercover officer who Tranfield knew about but he couldn’t disclose her identity because he believed she had been heavily involved in drug-taking at the flat.

Meanwhile, Rhys tries to prove his innocence. He tracks down Nikki and tells her that he was the man who stole her laptop. He asks her to look at the case again, to prove his innocence. She eventually agrees and after another look at the crime scene and how everyone was positioned, she comes to the conclusion that it was the girl who shot the police officer as well as shooting her brother, accidently.

It seems it’s too late though, as the girl, under instructions from the lawyer, attempts a suicide bombing at a local nightclub. The police get there in time and it was ironically, Rhys was the man who shot her. That isn’t the end of the action though, as back at the mortuary, the team have to clear out as Nikki has been sent a suspect package. Who says being a postman isn’t exciting?

It’s another well written episode. There was little development for the main characters but I thought this was a refreshing change, considering that happens in most episodes. I always get the feeling that at times, the supporting characters lack a lot of depth but on this occasion, it was done well.

8/10

Next Time: Leo tries to educate his team by using the new Wii game – ‘Corpse Control Clarifier’, to help him.

Silent Witness Series 12 Episodes 3 & 4 - Death's Door

This week the team are joined by a student but she’s quickly ‘dispatched’, so it’s all back to normal when part two comes along!

After a woman is murdered, her face cut off and dumped by a roadside, the team try everything to identify her. It’s grizzly stuff but that’s the pull of this programme, it doesn’t hold back!

We learn that the woman is a television personality, who had recently been on more drugs than Amy Winehouse but was in the middle of a comeback - by writing a book. That book was to about a jailed Russian gangster, who became the chief suspect in the case, lead by annoying detective – Barker (played by Neil Dudgeon).

Barker takes a shine to our pretty student (Naomi Bentley – Caroline in ‘Primeval’) and it seems she’s in hot water with her mentor, Harry, after the press get hold of some details about the investigation and she is photographed when she goes with Harry, to the woman’s house.

Meanwhile, Leo is getting on like a ‘house on fire’ with Prof. Janet (Jaye Griffiths, who also appeared in a Silent Witness episode in 2003, as a police officer), who has been attached to the case for her expertise. It isn’t long though, until they are ‘at it’!

As we come to the end of episode one, Nikki is sent to a new crime scene. Unfortunately the victim is our student, who has had her throat cut. It’s a shocking end but it gets more shocking in part two, as we learn that Barker had sex with her, the night she was murdered. Nikki didn’t come to that conclusion until testing the DNA found on her against Harry’s – who had been at her flat just before Barker.

Barker isn’t the one who ‘did it though’ but he was the one who leaked information to the press, in order to get more information from the public, about the murderer. Sadly it leads to her being photographed and she was killed because of her involvement with the case.

Shocked by her death, Harry is a man on a mission and whilst he is being shadowed by a bodyguard, he is summoned by a Russian businessman who gives him information. He says that it was the jailed gangster who ordered the killing and hands him some ‘evidence’ to prove it. He even plants £10,000 in Harry’s bank account, so he can ‘work’ for him!

We learn though, that the gangster is indeed innocent and it was the businessman who ordered the murder of the women. She was writing the book on the jailed man, who co-operated with her but he had connections with the businessman man and he would have been implicated if the book was published. Thing is though, the book was already written and stored on her laptop.

It’s too late for Mr Gangster though, as he dies after an asthma attack, inside a prison van after one of the businessman’s associate’s hands him a duff asthma inhaler.

It’s another interesting and informative episode. That’s the thing with Silent Witness – you always seem to learn stuff off it! Be it medical or law, you always get your fix! There’s a decent supporting cast too, Phil Davis also appears, playing the dead woman’s unscrupulous agent. It should be interesting to see if the relationship between Leo and Janet will continue, I reckon not because I don’t think she’s in next week’s episode! But you never know!

8/10

Next Time: Harry takes a job as a college lecturer – if he as that much of an affect on Students as he did in this story, there’ll be none left!

Silent Witness Series 12 Episodes 1 & 2 - Safe

Often underrated and ignored in favour of similar-styled shows, such as the mind-numbingly tedious CSI, Silent Witness has been going on strong for 12 series now and it really has improved with age!

The show originally featured Amanda Burton’s character Sam Ryan, a forensic pathologist and the show set in Cambridge. The setting eventually moved to London and despite her colleagues constantly changing, only Sam remained the permanent fixture.

However series 6 came about and Leo and Harry (William Gaminara and Tom Ward) joined Sam, who was to leave at the start of series 8. This gave the writers the chance to move the series on from just concentrating on one character and give the series more consistency. Later on in the series, Nikki (Emilia Fox) was to join the team, now headed by Leo and the series has gone from strength to strength ever since.

In this story, after driving home from a social shindig, Leo is stopped by the police and breath-tested. Unfortunately he is just over the limit and he is sentenced to community service - helping a football coach at a local estate. The coach isn’t too happy with this and with the gang culture hanging over the estate, a ‘drunk whitey’ isn’t going to help, is he?

Meanwhile a young girl is found dead at a fun fair. It seems she’s been murdered but the police are baffled. Whilst at the scene, Nikki is ‘picked up’ by a paramedic, which won’t go down well with fans of the Harry-Nikki story, which has been brewing for the last couple of series!

It seems that the murder is gang-related and connected to the estate Leo is on, after some mobile phone footage, displaying the murder, is found. After the person, who stabbed the girl, is gunned down, the murderer is believed to be the girl’s ‘boyfriend’. The lad though, didn’t want to be part of the gang and while he is trying to keep his little brother away from it, he himself was stabbed by the gang and saved by Leo. Instead of keeping away from them, he joined back up to get revenge for the girl’s stabbing.

Later the lad was killed in revenge, by the rival gang. Quite shockingly too! Still the police and pathologists didn’t a clue. Nobody was willing to talk to them but those people expected the police to protect them. It was quite interesting to hear that, how can they protect you, if you don’t tell them anything?

Well that statement was put into context later, as the murdered lad’s younger brother, who had been a runner for the gang, was to tell Leo about the gang and their involvement in events. Leo promised that he wouldn’t let nobody harm him but when the police went blundering in and arrested the gang’s leader, the rest of the gang sought out the young boy and set a dog on him and made sure he was dead by knifing him. It was quite shocking just to hear what they did, I didn’t think they would kill the young lad off to be honest. Sad thing is though, that probably happens for real.

Even though they proved that the dog ravaged the boy and with no knife to prove it, it seems that the CPS doesn’t agree it was murder, so the gang leader is in the clear. That is until Leo, gutted from the young boy’s murder, tries on last thing. The murdered girl was pregnant, when she was raped as part of a ‘gang initiation’. It turns out that the gang leader was the unlucky man – as the girl was 13, so he is charged.

It’s a relief for Leo who had struck up a bond with some of the kids on the estate. Its bad news for Nikki though, as the paramedic turns out to be a racist, WHOOPS!

It’s a rather difficult subject for the writers to write about, what with the current state of social breakdown and gang culture in this country. They managed to pull it off though and write a good story. With it being on the BBC too, they could have gone all PC but despite threatening to, they just managed to stay on centre, just!

8/10

Next Time – Will Nikki be dating Nick Griffin?