Silent Witness

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BeautifulTrauma said:
I finally watched the first episode, and thought it was a lot better than previous series. Probably up there with some of the best episodes we've had in years since series' 16-19.

The only thing I will never understand is Velvy, he's obviously some sort of very delayed replacement for Holly and Zach who worked as Lab Tech's in the Lyell years ago but he just doesn't fit. He behaves like a work experience student, not an experienced member of staff and like an annoying child that needs to go play somewhere else as proven by Nikki int he first episode. And the guy in charge has nowhere near the hold on the show or charisma Leo or Thomas had. I would be happy for them to get rid of everyone except Nikki and start again with the cast. And the one way Jack stays is if they break up and Clarissa comes back.
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Agree re: how Gabriel doesn't have the same hold as Leo or Thomas.

I think they should've appointed Nikki as Head of the Lyell after Thomas' death. Yes, she's the central character and lead pathologist, but if Gabriel can now apparently be Dean of a university centre (judging by this week's episodes) AND Head of the Lyell then I'm sure Nikki could double job. After all, she's a... *checks notes* ... detective, negotiator, social worker, activist, diplomat and so much more, depending on the case of the week too 😂.

The other problem the show had after Thomas and Clarissa left was that they took too long to settle on the replacement cast. First they bring in Adam, who gets offed within a few episodes. Simone then comes in, only to leave after a series and a half. After that, we got Velvy and Gabriel. It's harder for those two then, because if we as the audience had two prior new characters swiftly taken away from us, why should we warm up to them and care so quickly?
 
I just don’t believe that Peter Cherry the lecturer would have committed suicide because he realised a student of his had killed two people, and seemingly it suggests it was his fault because he thought an essay they wrote was brilliant.
 
I watched the second episode of the series last night....and it's still really struggling in terms of plot line. So many holes! Again, the void left by Clarissa and a strong male lead is huge. Do we really care if Velvy is homeless and Gabriel wants to fight? The addition of Cara isn't great, she doesn't add anything to any plot.

Jack and his mouth injury was driving me mad, whoever wrote that needs to be fired! And Nikki spends half her time trying to fight him off while he's groping her. Why can't we get back to the days of ten series' ago?!!
 
I do still watch it but find it’s when I’ve got literally nothing else to do and I’m scrolling my phone while it’s on. I also found this week’s a bit slow going, it’s not the same without Clarissa and a few of the others.
 
I’m 23 minutes into this weeks episode (after trying to get into it yesterday and not being able to) and I can’t stand Velvy and his bloody over-pronounced arguments about cosmetic surgery. I can’t believe what a shadow of a great show this is now, previously you didn’t care about the plot holes because the cast was really good. Now we have Gabriel, Velvy, Cara and Action Man Jack without Clarissa and it shows how the cast make the show, because these are all totally ruining what was once a brilliant programme.
 
Last week Nikki saying she can’t discuss a case or theorise over what has happened to the deceased. She can only look at their body and present the evidence she finds there. This week she’s round doing DNA samples and chatting away about the potential deceased and who could have killed them.

They then take a DNA sample for the purposes of eliminating the boy, yet decide to check it against the records for his ‘mother’ for absolutely no legitimate reason, thus confirming that they’re doing what they want with it not using it for the purposes it was given.

Velvy gives a sermon on people having plastic surgery when he has run away from his wife, children, responsibilities and religion.

Have they tried to bring in guest actors like John Hannah and John Thompson to detract from the plot holes? I think I’m done with it sadly.
 
Mark81 said:
I actually like Velvy, I think he is an interesting character who isn't very well represented in TV. That said I'd be interested to know if the writers are from a similar background as he just doesn't seem full rounded and his story fleshed out.
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I think my problem is I’m comparing him to characters like Zach and Holly (who was played by an extremely talented actress!), who seemed to know their place in the Lyell was to support Harry/Nikki and they didn’t leave the lab. The writers don’t seem to know what Velvy is, he behaves like a work experience student usually tagged to one of them in each episode when he’s meant to be a central character. I’m just not understanding him at all or what his purpose is in the team.

The plot holes are ridiculous, I guess you do have to have a huge suspension of reality when you watch shows like this but what Nikki and Jack do each episode is beyond ridiculous! I miss the humour of Clarissa and Max, the likeability and demons of Leo and the straightness and always playing by the book despite his personal life of Thomas. We haven’t seen any sort of character development on the three new ones which makes me think they’ll most likely leave soon.
 
BeautifulTrauma said:
I think my problem is I’m comparing him to characters like Zach and Holly (who was played by an extremely talented actress!), who seemed to know their place in the Lyell was to support Harry/Nikki and they didn’t leave the lab. The writers don’t seem to know what Velvy is, he behaves like a work experience student usually tagged to one of them in each episode when he’s meant to be a central character. I’m just not understanding him at all or what his purpose is in the team.

The plot holes are ridiculous, I guess you do have to have a huge suspension of reality when you watch shows like this but what Nikki and Jack do each episode is beyond ridiculous! I miss the humour of Clarissa and Max, the likeability and demons of Leo and the straightness and always playing by the book despite his personal life of Thomas. We haven’t seen any sort of character development on the three new ones which makes me think they’ll most likely leave soon.
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Yeah I completely agree he is poorly written, and since clarissa left it just hasn't been the same.
 
The average ratings have been declining for a few years now, from 8.47 million across Series 23 (the last for Clarissa and Thomas) to 6.36 million across Series 26 (last year's one).

However, I doubt the Beeb are going to can a show that's still hitting over 6 million (or approaching that if the average ratings for this series come in just below).

SW has hit similar figures around the 6m mark before, notably from 2005-2008 and in 2012, both times down from averages of 7-9 million across the preceding series. Ergo, I don't think they'll be too worried as yet, but given the writing and current status, it could be edging towards a time when execs might think of wrapping it up in a few years.
 
meredgrave said:
The average ratings have been declining for a few years now, from 8.47 million across Series 23 (the last for Clarissa and Thomas) to 6.36 million across Series 26 (last year's one).

However, I doubt the Beeb are going to can a show that's still hitting over 6 million (or approaching that if the average ratings for this series come in just below).

SW has hit similar figures around the 6m mark before, notably from 2005-2008 and in 2012, both times down from averages of 7-9 million across the preceding series. Ergo, I don't think they'll be too worried as yet, but given the writing and current status, it could be edging towards a time when execs might think of wrapping it up in a few years.
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Its also popular abroad so makes money that way
 
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