Waking the Dead: Series 6, Episode 5 – “The Fall: Part 1” (2007)

 

Another murder mystery – if PC appears on Sherlock anytime soon, I think he’ll have the complete boxed set.  Waking the Dead was a long-running crime procedural about a British cold case division.  Pretty standard fare from what I can tell, nothing too exceptional.  PC guest-stars in this two-part story.

 

In “The Fall,” the bodies of a financier and a journalist are discovered, locked together in a less-than-PG manner.  They were shot, one through the other, back in the ‘90s.  There’s a mysterious set of numbers that potentially ties them to another murder.  More significantly, the whole thing may have its roots in a shadowy religious sect that comes complete with self-flagellation and whispers of conspiracy.

 

One card in the deck of possible killers is Lucien Calvin, played by PC.  He knew the financier back in the day; after doing jail time for fraud-related money mischief, however, Lucien has declared himself a new man.  He now peddles psychoanalysis to bankers and views money as the root of all evil.

 

Also, he’s either totally crazy or pretending to be for reasons unknown.  He’s familiar with Dr. Foley, the team’s criminal profiler, and he in fact gives every appearance of having an unhealthy obsession with her.  Dr. Foley thinks he’s playing them somehow, but isn’t sure why yet.  I don’t know if he’s too obvious to be the murderer, or if he actually did it.  PC does a nice job, although the part is more than a little overwritten for my taste.

 

In the episode’s flashback scenes, I couldn’t figure out where I’d seen the actor playing the murdered financier.  Well, turns out he’s Nigel Whitmey, who’s popped up here and there in small roles.  Most memorable for me, though, was his brief turn as “man who gets his head plungered by a Dalek” in series 1 of Who.

 

Accent Watch

 

With PC, it can be hard to tell the difference between light Scottish and middling RP.  I’m leaning towards Scottish here, but I reserve the right to change it tomorrow if part 2 sways me.

 

Recommend?

 

In General – Not necessarily.  It’s a little CSI for me.  Nothing wrong with it, just nothing special.

 

PC-wise – Possibly, depending on how it shakes up.  Whether Lucien is crazy or just faking, PC is committing 100%.  Those eyes, they be crazy eyes.

 

Warnings

 

Violence, sexual content, drug references, and lots of face time given to corpses from the ‘90s.