Silent Witness on BBC began series 17 on Thursday night, with episode 1 earning some positive and some negative reviews.
Isabel Mohan of the Daily Telegraph believes the show still works, writing that “in the era of the boxset, there are plenty of trendier, more glamorous crime dramas to gorge on, but Silent Witness is beloved by viewers who prefer to consume their thrillers the old-fashioned way.”
She added: “ The plot’s twists and turns were perfectly watchable and the cliffhanger was suitably suspenseful. There’s an obvious formula, but it just about still works.”
Ellen Jones of the Daily Independent didn’t agree.
She wrote “Who on Earth actually watches it? This deathly dull forensics drama has been going since 1996, (Emilia Fox took over from Amanda Burton as the lead in 2004) and it still hasn’t developed any watchable assets.”
The script is “consistently one of the clunkiest on television, and exemplified in this episode by Nikki and Jack’s crime scene banter, an attempt so pathetically wooden it makes CSI look like Pinter,” she added.
Watch episode 1 for yourself to see what you think, and catch episode 2 on January 9.
