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The Best Episodes of Waking the Dead

Every episode of Waking the Dead ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Waking the Dead!

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A detective team apply new techniques to old crimes as they solve cold cases.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Waking the Dead Season 1 Episode 5 - A Simple Sacrifice (1)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #1 - A Simple Sacrifice (1)

    S1:E5

    Boyd and the team decide to reopen the 25 year old case of Annie Keel, a woman who was tried and convicted of a double homicide solely based upon her own confession. Boyd doubts the validity of the conviction, and decides to dig deeper to possibly discover what really happened. Why did Annie confess? Did she really commit murder, or was she covering for someone else?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Simon Mirren

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  2. Waking the Dead Season 1 Episode 6 - A Simple Sacrifice (2)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #2 - A Simple Sacrifice (2)

    S1:E6

    Boyd and the team continue their investigation of the Annie Keel case, and try to locate her son who was present during the murders.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Simon Mirren

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  3. Waking the Dead Season 1 Episode 7 - Every Breath You Take (1)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #3 - Every Breath You Take (1)

    S1:E7

    When the corpse of a well-known police woman who went missing a year earlier is found floating in the Thames, Boyd and his team of investigators try to track down who murdered her and her unborn child.

    Director:Gary Love
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Waking the Dead Season 1 Episode 8 - Every Breath You Take (2)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #4 - Every Breath You Take (2)

    S1:E8

    Grace is not convinced that the stalker who confessed to the murder is truly guilty. But who really killed the police officer? Was it possibly the stalker, her ex-husband, or the married father of her unborn baby?

    Director:Gary Love
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Waking the Dead Season 2 Episode 4 - Deathwatch (2)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #5 - Deathwatch (2)

    S2:E4

    The postliminary inquiries into Harry Newman's past and the identities of the possible twelve murder victims uncover a connection to the infamous trial and execution of a well known gangster.

    Director:Maurice Phillips
    Writer:Stephen Davis

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  6. Waking the Dead Season 2 Episode 5 - Special Relationship (1)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #6 - Special Relationship (1)

    S2:E5

    Boyd and his team struggle to find the truth behind the murder of a prominent Home Office adviser, when a petty criminal is acquitted of the crime. Once a prominent feminist activist, victim Katherine Reed had attacked the establishment at every opportunity, only to later switch sides. Boyd's progress on the case is hampered not only by a Home Office audit, which means the team will be shadowed throughout, but also by the fact that the original investigation was conducted by one of his old flames.

    Director:David Thacker
    Writer:Stephen Davis

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Waking the Dead

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  7. Waking the Dead Season 2 Episode 7 - Thin Air (1)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #7 - Thin Air (1)

    S2:E7

    Twelve years after Joanna Gold famously disappeared in broad daylight on Hampstead Heath, the dress she was wearing is found in a lock-up. The team begin the hunt for her killer.

    Director:Edward Bennett
    Writer:Ed Whitmore

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  8. Waking the Dead Season 2 Episode 8 - Thin Air (2)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #8 - Thin Air (2)

    S2:E8

    While under pressure to discover the truth behind the murder of young Joanna, DCI Boyd (Trevor Eve) slips up and makes possibly some irreversible mistakes. Joanna's killer begins stalking her sister.

    Director:Edward Bennett
    Writer:Ed Whitmore

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  9. Waking the Dead Season 3 Episode 1 - Multistorey (1)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #9 - Multistorey (1)

    S3:E1

    A man accused of opening fire on a crowd from a multi storey car park, and killing a policeman, is claiming his innocence. Boyd's colleagues question his loyalties when he seems unwilling to re-investigate. As DC Mel Silver digs deeper, she discovers some disturbing truths about her boss.

    Director:Robert Bierman
    Writer:Ed Whitmore

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  10. Waking the Dead Season 3 Episode 4 - Walking on Water (2)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #10 - Walking on Water (2)

    S3:E4

    Following the murder of Mark Lovell's cousin, the team establish that Mark has a watertight alibi, and the search for the real murderer narrows down to the remaining family members. Their investigation into the two remaining family members is further complicated by the discovery of drug dealing and involvement in the witness protection scheme.

    Director:David Thacker
    Writer:Stephen Davis

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  11. Waking the Dead Season 3 Episode 6 - Breaking Glass (2)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #11 - Breaking Glass (2)

    S3:E6

    ln their attempts to prevent another murder, the team desperately tries to establish the identity of the care home paedophile who is also being hunted down by two of his victims..

    Director:Andy Hay
    Writer:Simon Mirren

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  12. Waking the Dead Season 3 Episode 7 - Final Cut (1)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #12 - Final Cut (1)

    S3:E7

    A mummified body sends the Cold Case Squad back to the sixties and to a Notting Hill house which had been featured in a film as the location for a murderous fight between gangsters. Renovation works at the house in the present day reveal more bodies behind the walls. The film starts to appear not so fictional after all. Things get even more complicated when Spencer tells Boyd that he and his family lived there when the events took place.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Stephen Davis

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  13. Waking the Dead Season 3 Episode 8 - Final Cut (2)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #13 - Final Cut (2)

    S3:E8

    The gangster responsible for the bodies behind the walls in the Notting Hill house is still active and the unearthing of past events provokes more murders and an international turf war. Spencer's family history is the key to unravelling the mystery.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Stephen Davis

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  14. Waking the Dead Season 4 Episode 1 - In Sight of the Lord (1)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #14 - In Sight of the Lord (1)

    S4:E1

    In 1948, post-war Britain, an ex-soldier has been found dead with his skull nailed to the floor. Now this case has been re-opened due to media attention and pressure created by his grandson.

    Director:Andy Hay
    Writer:Tony McHale

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  15. Waking the Dead Season 4 Episode 2 - In Sight of the Lord (2)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #15 - In Sight of the Lord (2)

    S4:E2

    Is the Second World War the linking factor? The team must find the next possible victim but no-one knows where he is.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Waking the Dead Season 4 Episode 3 - False Flag (1)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #16 - False Flag (1)

    S4:E3

    As a garage is demolished in contemporary London, demolition work is halted at the sight of a skeleton sitting in the driver’s seat. An unexploded bomb is found under the car which is soon linked to an Irish terrorist cell from the late 1970s.

    Director:Suri Krishnamma
    Writers:Stephen Davis, Tony McHale

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  17. Waking the Dead Season 4 Episode 4 - False Flag (2)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #17 - False Flag (2)

    S4:E4

    While the security services begin using underhand methods, a former army officer promises Boyd explosive new evidence—but their meeting is destined never to happen.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Stephen Davis

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  18. Waking the Dead Season 4 Episode 5 - Fugue States (1)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #18 - Fugue States (1)

    S4:E5

    Two five-year-old twins are taken from their home in Notting Hill Carnival and a nationwide search is launched, but they are not found. Thirteen years later, one of the twins, Jason, is admitted to hospital after a traffic accident. The hunt now begins to establish where his sister, Cindy might be and if she is still alive.

    Director:Andy Hay
    Writers:Stephen Davis, Ed Whitmore

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  19. Waking the Dead Season 4 Episode 6 - Fugue States (2)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #19 - Fugue States (2)

    S4:E6

    After shooting an unarmed man in the raid on the nursery, Mel is suspended from the case pending an inquiry. Grace and Boyd, meanwhile, have more questions for Roper—but the doctor's in no position to answer them.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Waking the Dead Season 4 Episode 7 - Anger Management (1)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #20 - Anger Management (1)

    S4:E7

    After Sam is released from prison, a man is murdered in the hostel where he stays. Soon he is a suspect. But it looks as though Sam was in fact the intended victim. On the surface Sam appears to be a devoted family man, but he has a hidden past which the team can only speculate about.

    Director:Andy Hay
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Waking the Dead Season 4 Episode 8 - Anger Management (2)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #21 - Anger Management (2)

    S4:E8

    When the gun stolen from Frankie is used in another murder, the Squad suspect the victim's gopher. It is revealed the first murder could have been a case of mistaken identity. Frankie and Grace begin to get creeped out by the effects of Boyd's Anger Management!

    Director:Andy Hay
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Waking the Dead Season 4 Episode 9 - The Hardest Word (1)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #22 - The Hardest Word (1)

    S4:E9

    A sadomasochistic serial killer is at large. The killings are brutal and the victims are found with the word 'Sorry' carved in their backs.

    Director:Andy Hay
    Writers:Doug Milburn, Ed Whitmore

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  23. Waking the Dead Season 4 Episode 10 - The Hardest Word (2)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #23 - The Hardest Word (2)

    S4:E10

    When the killer strikes at the heart of the team, the investigation takes a new track and the motive for the murders takes on a very different meaning.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Waking the Dead Season 4 Episode 11 - Shadowplay (1)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #24 - Shadowplay (1)

    S4:E11

    A young woman who has psychiatric problems has killed her family through an arson attack on her family home. She claims she was incited to do this by a mysterious figure known only as 'The Shepherd'.

    Director:Andy Hay
    Writer:Ed Whitmore

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  25. Waking the Dead Season 4 Episode 12 - Shadowplay (2)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #25 - Shadowplay (2)

    S4:E12

    Boyd and the team continue to investigate the arson case and the other two other possible crime connections to 'The Shepherd'. Will the team discover this person's true identity or will it all turn out to be a part of the imagination of a mentally ill woman?

    Director:Andy Hay
    Writer:Ed Whitmore

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Best Episodes Summary

"A Simple Sacrifice (1)" is the best rated episode of "Waking the Dead". It scored 8/10 based on 1 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Simon Mirren, it aired on 7/2/2001. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "A Simple Sacrifice (2)".