This long-running BBC crime drama—combining strong story and character elements together with liberal doses of realistic violence—centers on forensic pathologists who help crack complicated murder investigations. Dr. Thomas Chamberlain (Richard Lintern, new this season) runs a team of top-notch investigators, including Drs. Jack Hodgson (David Caves) and longtime lead scientist Nikki Alexander (Emilia Fox). These morgue rats usually take all the credit for solving the case, whether bloody and new or buried and old, while the crimes are invariably lurid—involving sexual violence, dead babies, strippers, serial killers, and so on. The show has been criticized for being too gruesome, but it's the gritty details that make these mini-movie thrillers so absorbing, while the long-form two-part format allows for greater exploration of personalities and procedures. Silent Witness has the sheen of larger-budget BBC productions, and some have referred to it as the British CSI (or vice versa), although it has been little seen in the U.S. Compiling all five two-part episodes from the 2014 17th season, this set marks the show's North American video debut (along with the simultaneous release of 1996's season one). Perhaps not for the squeamish, but likely to appeal to those who like gripping mysteries, this is recommended. (T. Fry)
Silent Witness: The Complete Season Seventeen
BBC, 2 discs, 512 min., not rated, DVD: $34.98 March 9, 2015
Silent Witness: The Complete Season Seventeen
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: