7.8 /10 1 Votes
7.7/10 TV Created by Nigel McCrery Composer(s) Sheridan Tongue First episode date 21 February 1996 Networks BBC, BBC One | 7.8/10 IMDb Genre Crime drama Theme music composer John Harle Country of origin United Kingdom Program creator Nigel McCrery | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Starring Amanda BurtonWilliam GaminaraTom WardEmilia FoxDavid CavesLiz CarrRichard Lintern Cast Emilia Fox, Liz Carr, David Caves, Richard Lintern, Tom Ward |
Silent witness new series trailer bbc one
Silent Witness is a British television crime drama 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. He later went on to create the hit series New Tricks, with writer Roy Mitchell. Since 1996, twenty series of the programme have been broadcast. Amanda Burton originally starred as primary character Dr. Sam Ryan, before leaving the show during the eighth series. Since, the series has featured more of an ensemble cast, currently consisting of Emilia Fox, David Caves, Liz Carr and Richard Lintern. 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, and BBC America in the United States. Twenty years after its inception, Silent Witness continues to achieve good audience ratings; with the last series drawing in an average of nine million viewers.
Contents
- Silent witness new series trailer bbc one
- Silent witness series 19 trailer bbc one
- Background
- Overview
- Main characters
- Other characters
- Police
- Novels
- References
Silent witness series 19 trailer bbc one
Background
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 originally followed the activities of pathologist Sam Ryan, played by Amanda Burton. However, Burton's character departed early in the eighth series. There had been a succession of regular supporting characters, changing almost every series, but Dr. Leo Dalton (William Gaminara) and Dr. Harry Cunningham (Tom Ward), who were introduced in the sixth series, remained in the series and continued as lead characters following Ryan's departure, with Dalton replacing her as professor. A new character, Dr Nikki Alexander (Emilia Fox), was introduced to the team in the eighth series. 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 had "worked in forensic pathology in Johannesburg for six months" and is Home Office certified to practise. She is of such assistance that she overcomes Leo's reluctance and, with Harry's support, is offered and accepts a position on the team. During the fifteenth series, Dr. Cunningham leaves to accept a position in New York City. Subsequently, he is replaced by forensics expert Jack Hodgson (David Caves), and his assistant Clarissa Mullery (Liz Carr). During the sixteenth series, Dr. Dalton is killed in an explosion. At the start of the seventeenth series, his replacement, Dr. Thomas Chamberlain (Richard Lintern), is introduced to the team.
Although the show focuses heavily on areas of pathology, the police also have a heavy presence in each case. During latter 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 (four two-part stories), increased to ten episodes (five two-part stories) from the tenth series onwards. In 1998, 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 series airs in Norway under the name "Tause vitner" on the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation NRK and in Sweden on TV4 under the name "Tyst vittne". Both the Norwegian and Swedish titles are direct translations. The show is also broadcast in the Netherlands by public broadcaster KRO, Belgium on VRT channel Canvas and in Finland on the Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle using the name "Hiljainen todistaja", which is also a direct translation of the original title. The theme music featured in the series 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 BAFTA nominated composer Sheridan Tongue.
In August 2012, the series came under criticism for being "unduly gruesome". Controversy was specifically found in the fifteenth series episode, Redhill, written by Ed Whitmore. According to complaints, the episode was "too violent". The BBC responded with the following; "As programme makers we take our responsibility to the audience extremely seriously and try to make sure we strike the right balance between compelling drama without being unnecessarily graphic. Towards the end of the first episode, we had established that DI Bridges and Officer Kessler had previously worked together and that he was the one very much in control. The final scene was not an attempt to gratuitously shock the audience; it was rooted in character and research, showing just what DI Bridges was prepared to do for her colleague for the sake of her family, as well as the brutality that Kessler was capable of. 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. Silent Witness is now in its fifteenth series, and we believe the general tone and content is widely recognised by its regular audience. It’s fair to say the show is known for tackling challenging stories and exploring adult themes and we don’t feel the content of these episodes would have gone beyond viewers' expectations. As well as scheduling the series after the watershed, we made sure the content was widely publicised and gave a warning before both episodes."
Overview
– Character is currently starring in the twentieth series
Main characters
Other characters
Police
Novels
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 (Amanda Burton) and Trevor Stewart (William Armstrong), as well as former main character Superintendent Tom Adams (John McGlynn), 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.