Wow, this is a REALLY bad movie!

Sadly Over-hyped

Excellent adaptation.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

This show is making the rounds now on a local Public Broadcasting channel, as a lead-in for the more exciting--and more violent--MI-5 (original title: **Spooks**).There is some good acting here, led by Trevor Eve, fifty-something veteran of British television and films (I just saw him in the 2007 version of "David Copperfield"). His is a face with mileage on it that evidently has never had the services of a cosmetic surgeon. Sue Johnson, an actress also not in her first youth, does creditable work as well, as a psychological profiler. She is a sort of human lie detector. The guest parts are also surprisingly well acted.The problems begin with a low budget, particularly by our American standards. This is evidenced by a preponderance of indoor scenes giving the whole production a static, stagey quality. Key events in the plot must be recounted by one or another cast member because they cannot be depicted--additional sets or actors would cost--a clumsy way to tell a story. The scripts are "loose". Scenes ramble on when they should be cut off. The spoken dialogue often differs in minor ways from the closed captioning, which implies that there is a much greater degree of ad libbing than would be found in a normal, scripted program. I think the writers often don't know how to fill the extended running time of the series. It is presented here as two, fifty-minute episodes with no commercial interruptions.The plots will start with an interesting, novel premise, then become hard to follow or just plain preposterous. The science is always absorbing, however and the continuing theme--a search for truth--inspiring.

Yet more proof, if any was needed, that the Brits do police procedurals better than the Yanks. Three-dimensional characters, claustrophobic sets and great ensemble acting seem like a pretty good place to start; and not talking down to your audience helps too.Trevor Eve is excellent as the principled, irascible head of a cold-case team made up of diverse personalities; and the 2 x 1-hour format lets the cases unfold with a bit more leisure than the 60-minute special, while also allowing for the compulsory cliffhanger in the middle.A minor criticism of the show is their use of the "talking over each other" gimmick, where everybody bursts into voice at the same time. At first it seemed like a kind of cinema-verité thing but, like the quick-cut filming in NYPD Blue, it becomes intrusive when you notice it happening. I also wish they'd develop the Spence character a bit more - he's been there since the beginning, but I still don't feel like I know him very well.But they're minor flaws and, given the choice between this and one of the myriad CSI shows, I know which one I'd choose.

I would like to preface this by saying sorry if this has been discussed before. I would love to buy the DVDs of this show, but can't find them anywhere. Does anyone know if there are plans to make them? Know where I can get them? I'm located in the US, so I would need the US version of compatibility. Any help would be appreciated. Some of the last few years on BBCA it seems like they drop so much of the show so that commercials could be worked in that the dialog is choppy. In other words they will refer to something that we don't see. Would love to buy the DVD but can't find it. I especially would like the series of shows that culminated in Mel's death.

Waking the Dead "Every Breath You Take" The body of a police woman who has been missing for a year is found floating in the Thames... This is well acted except the script has got more holes than an episode of the Simpsons... starting with the forensics arguing about needing mouth masks on to prevent contamination, whilst none have hair nets on...and ending with the hi-tech surveillance team with no foot backup to actually arrest the suspect, not once, but twice. This is well acted except the script has got more holes than an episode of the Simpsons... starting with the forensics arguing about needing mouth masks on to prevent contamination, whilst none have hair nets on...and ending with the hi-tech surveillance team with no foot backup to actually arrest the suspect, not once, but twice.