Silent Witness


Silent Witness is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC, which focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in 1996, the series was created by Nigel McCrery, a former murder squad detective based in Nottingham. Twenty-three series of Silent Witness have been broadcast since 1996. Amanda Burton starred as primary character Dr. Sam Ryan before leaving the show during the eighth series. Since her departure the series has featured an ensemble cast, which consisted of Emilia Fox, David Caves, Liz Carr and Richard Lintern until the end of series 23, when Carr and Lintern both departed. The programme is broadcast in more than 235 territories, including ABC in Australia, Showcase and the Knowledge Network in Canada, KRO in the Netherlands, TV One and Prime in New Zealand, BBC First in South Africa and BBC America in the United States. Silent Witness continues to achieve good audience ratings in the UK. In 2011, for example, Series 14 attracted an average audience of nine million viewers.

Background

The main character in the original series was based on Professor Helen Whitwell, a forensic pathologist based in Sheffield, whom McCrery had known while serving as a police officer. The programme followed the activities of pathologist Sam Ryan, played by Amanda Burton, until she departed early in the eighth series.
There was a succession of regular supporting characters, changing almost every series, but Dr Leo Dalton and Dr Harry Cunningham, who were introduced in the sixth series, continued as lead characters following Ryan's departure, with Dalton replacing her as professor.
A new character, Dr Nikki Alexander, was introduced in mid-series eight. While working as a forensic anthropologist, she appropriates facilities and software in the pathology department to analyse an Iron Age find, with the belated, bemused and begrudging approval of Dalton. Dr Alexander is able to assist in a set of cases being investigated by the team, as it turns out she has "worked in forensic pathology in Johannesburg for six months" and is certified by the Home Office to practise. She eventually overcomes Leo's reluctance and, with Harry's support, is offered and accepts a position on the team.
Before the sixteenth series begins Harry has left to accept a position in New York City. He is succeeded by forensics expert Jack Hodgson and his assistant Clarissa Mullery. At the climax of the sixteenth series Leo is killed in an explosion. His replacement, Dr Thomas Chamberlain, is introduced at the start of the seventeenth series.
Although the show focuses heavily on areas of pathology, the police also have a presence in each case. During later series of the show detectives and investigators tend to differ from episode to episode, with guest artists appearing in these roles. However, during the early years of the show several characters appeared regularly to investigate each case.
The first three series were set in Cambridge. This changed to London from the start of the fourth series, following Sam as she took up an academic position.
Each series is typically made up of a series of two-part stories. The first nine series typically featured eight episodes, increased to ten episodes from the tenth series onwards.
In 1998 the writer John Milne received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for the second series episode "Blood, Sweat and Tears". In the United States the series airs during 'Mystery Monday' on BBC America.
The theme music from series 2 onwards is entitled Silencium and is performed by John Harle. The arrangement, for chamber orchestra and soprano saxophone solo, was first performed as part of the Canterbury Festival on 22 October 2011. The vocal section is performed by Sarah Leonard.
The incidental music used in the series is written by the BAFTA-nominated composer Sheridan Tongue.
The series has been heavily criticised for its violent and sadistic content. There were 632 complaints made about the fifteenth-series episode Redhill, written by Ed Whitmore, first broadcast in April 2012. Brutal scenes at the end of the first episode depicted a sadistic sexual and murderous attack. The BBC was censured by the editorial committee of the BBC Trust, who said in their report:
The BBC had responded to the initial criticism of the episode by saying that it took its responsibility to its audience "extremely seriously" and always tried to "strike the right balance between compelling drama without being unnecessarily graphic". It said that "The final scene was not an attempt to gratuitously shock the audience;... We acknowledge that certain scenes may have been challenging, but we filmed and presented them in such a way as to make sure that although as a viewer the implication was there, it was never actually shown."
The show has also been criticised for its general quality. Reviewing the first episode of series 21, Michael Hogan asked in the UK's Daily Telegraph how it had become the world’s longest running crime drama, writing: "In place of convincing dialogue or emotion, they instead exchanged meaningful stares" and "The leading pair were so wooden, they made the bodies on the autopsy slab look lively."

Episodes

Characters

Overview

Main

During the early years of the show, series creator McCrery wrote and published a number of tie-in novels relating to the series, following Sam Ryan and Trevor Stewart, as well as former main character Superintendent Tom Adams, and brand new character DS Stanley Sharman, with Burton generally appearing on the front cover of each novel. The fifth novel, due to be published in 2003, was placed on indefinite hold, and has never been released.
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