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The Worst Episodes of Waking the Dead

Every episode of Waking the Dead ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst 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 Worst Episode
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    Waking the Dead Season 7 Episode 10 - Wounds (2)
    6.6/10(139 votes)

    #1 - Wounds (2)

    S7:E10

    The team find out that a body discovered in a disused tunnel is that of salesman Chris Dearden, who went missing in 1996. He was on a self-empowerment weekend with his colleagues when he died. Could one of them be responsible?

    Director:Sam Miller
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Waking the Dead Season 6 Episode 3 - Deus Ex Machina (1)
    6.7/10(165 votes)

    #2 - Deus Ex Machina (1)

    S6:E3

    MI6 asks Boyd to reopen the case of the killing of an Iraqi dissident.Meanwhile, a man running for election as President of the Sudan announces he is going on hunger strike to protest at Britain's refusal to return the skull of a 19th century leader.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Waking the Dead Season 6 Episode 4 - Deus Ex Machina (2)
    6.7/10(152 votes)

    #3 - Deus Ex Machina (2)

    S6:E4

    Boyd finds a connection between the recent murder of an Iraqi and the local ruler's skull taken from the Sudan by British troops more than a hundred years before.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Waking the Dead Season 7 Episode 9 - Wounds (1)
    6.7/10(141 votes)

    #4 - Wounds (1)

    S7:E9

    The team find out that a body discovered in a disused tunnel is that of salesman Chris Dearden, who went missing in 1996. He was on a self-empowerment weekend with his colleagues when he died. Could one of them be responsible?

    Director:Sam Miller
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Waking the Dead Season 7 Episode 5 - Duty and Honour (1)
    7.2/10(150 votes)

    #5 - Duty and Honour (1)

    S7:E5

    The accidental excavation of a human hand leads the cold case squad to the cover-up of a major incident.

    Director:Robert Bierman
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Waking the Dead Season 8 Episode 6 - Substitute (2)
    7.2/10(152 votes)

    #6 - Substitute (2)

    S8:E6

    Eve's trust in her boyfriend proves unfounded as he turns out to be worst then even Boyd expected. Fortunately she is able to escape from the location where she is being held, but Stefan isn't going to let her go that easily.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Edward Bennett

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  7. Waking the Dead Season 1 Episode 1 - Burn Out (1)
    7.3/10(285 votes)

    #7 - Burn Out (1)

    S1:E1

    A young woman, Marina sets fire to an abandoned car in a street and takes photographs of it as it burns. Boyd walks by and tackles her to the ground, attempting to shield her from the possible explosion. He later learns that Marina's father died in a car accident a few years earlier in that spot, and Marina refuses to accept that his death was an accident. Although not officially a cold case, Boyd is intrigued and reluctantly agrees to investigate. Frankie runs forensic tests on Marina's father's car and proves that he was still alive after the crash and could have escaped. The answers they uncover may mean that the danger to Marina is much greater than any of them had suspected.

    Director:Edward Bennett
    Writer:Peter Jukes

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  8. Waking the Dead Season 5 Episode 1 - Towers of Silence (1)
    7.3/10(175 votes)

    #8 - Towers of Silence (1)

    S5:E1

    A mummified body is discovered in a disused airliner that has been parked in the desert for 6 years. There are indications of a link to an armed robbery at Heathrow Airport six years earlier, and a murder at around the same time. Our team gains two new members. DS Andrea Stephenson takes over for DS Mel Silver, and the new mad scientist is Dr Felix Gibson.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Waking the Dead Season 6 Episode 10 - Double Bind (2)
    7.3/10(149 votes)

    #9 - Double Bind (2)

    S6:E10

    The case becomes more complicated as Boyd discovers that alterative practises may have contributed to Daniel's instability.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Waking the Dead Season 3 Episode 3 - Walking on Water (1)
    7.4/10(214 votes)

    #10 - Walking on Water (1)

    S3:E3

    When a convicted killer is cleared at appeal for the murder of his adoptive father ten years previously, Boyd is not convinced that the man is innocent. But the only way to find out is to track down the rest of the family - and with a big inheritance at stake, both parties appear to have a lot to hide..

    Director:David Thacker
    Writer:Stephen Davis

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  11. Waking the Dead Season 3 Episode 5 - Breaking Glass (1)
    7.4/10(173 votes)

    #11 - Breaking Glass (1)

    S3:E5

    A recovered memory therapist alerts the CCS to a care home regime of sexual abuse of young boys and a suspected murder. Her client who revealed all this in a therapy session goes missing and the team strongly suspect he has gone on the hunt for the man who abused him and murdered his friend.

    Director:Andy Hay
    Writer:Simon Mirren

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  12. Waking the Dead Season 5 Episode 2 - Towers of Silence (2)
    7.4/10(153 votes)

    #12 - Towers of Silence (2)

    S5:E2

    Spencer goes undercover as a prison inmate to investigate the possible reasons for the murders from the man convicted of committing the crimes. To Spence's dismay, the man (who is too scared to say anything about what happened) commits suicide before he can be coerced into revealing who the real killer is.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Waking the Dead Season 6 Episode 9 - Double Bind (1)
    7.4/10(158 votes)

    #13 - Double Bind (1)

    S6:E9

    A psychiatric patient, imprisoned for the murder of his parents as a teenager escapes and reveals the location of an unknown corpse.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Waking the Dead Season 7 Episode 6 - Duty and Honour (2)
    7.4/10(136 votes)

    #14 - Duty and Honour (2)

    S7:E6

    An Iraqi woman proves the key to the unlocking of the case.

    Director:Robert Bierman
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Waking the Dead Season 8 Episode 5 - Substitute (1)
    7.4/10(153 votes)

    #15 - Substitute (1)

    S8:E5

    When Eve's new boyfriend Stefan is being vague about his past she puts her skills to use and uncovers something she rather wouldn't have. Unsure about the next step she turns to Boyd for advice, initially he promises support. But once the facts become clearer Boyd and Eve want to follow a different path.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Edward Bennett

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  16. Waking the Dead Season 1 Episode 2 - Burn Out (2)
    7.5/10(230 votes)

    #16 - Burn Out (2)

    S1:E2

    Boyd has Marinas uncle, Mike Coleman and her mother Gwen brought in for questioning while Frankie searches the house. The team find the items that were recovered from the car nine years ago and suspect that Perry Coleman was being blackmailed by Rod Brogan, a friend of Perry's. Boyd has the body exhumed and the DNA results surprise everyone.

    Director:Edward Bennett
    Writer:Peter Jukes

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  17. Waking the Dead Season 1 Episode 3 - The Blind Beggar (1)
    7.5/10(242 votes)

    #17 - The Blind Beggar (1)

    S1:E3

    Workmen are burrowing in the crypt of a Catholic church when they come across the skeletal remains of a young man buried in concrete. The squad sets about trying to pinpoint the identity of the body, which was buried with the accoutrements of certain Catholic rituals. Even more oddly, there is a message in Braille buried with the corpse, which tums out to be a passage from one of St Paul's letters to the Corinthians The team suspects that the body was never meant to be discovered.

    Director:Robert Knights
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Waking the Dead Season 1 Episode 4 - The Blind Beggar (2)
    7.5/10(223 votes)

    #18 - The Blind Beggar (2)

    S1:E4

    The hunt continues for the murderer. The team uncovers some long hidden family secrets while questioning the community & congregation. Also Frankie discovers a possible biological connection between the former parish priest, Father Stuart, and the first victim.

    Director:Robert Knights
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Waking the Dead Season 3 Episode 4 - Walking on Water (2)
    7.5/10(186 votes)

    #19 - 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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  20. Waking the Dead Season 3 Episode 8 - Final Cut (2)
    7.5/10(167 votes)

    #20 - 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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  21. Waking the Dead Season 5 Episode 3 - Black Run (1)
    7.5/10(171 votes)

    #21 - Black Run (1)

    S5:E3

    Under the impression that he may receive a confession, Boyd accepts the invite for a visit to the prison from former police officer Eddie Vine, who is serving a life sentence for murdering his friend and former fellow officer, Tom Pallisser.

    Director:Ben Bolt
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Waking the Dead Season 1 Episode 5 - A Simple Sacrifice (1)
    7.6/10(215 votes)

    #22 - 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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  23. Waking the Dead Season 2 Episode 5 - Special Relationship (1)
    7.6/10(193 votes)

    #23 - 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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  24. Waking the Dead Season 3 Episode 7 - Final Cut (1)
    7.6/10(197 votes)

    #24 - 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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  25. Waking the Dead Season 6 Episode 1 - Wren Boys (1)
    7.6/10(192 votes)

    #25 - Wren Boys (1)

    S6:E1

    The team re-investigates the death of a teenage boy who was found on a building site some years ago, drowned in concrete. Part of a human ear is found in his stomach, linking him to the dumping of another seriously injured teenager in a hospital at around the same time. The ground on which the dead teenager was found belongs to a Catholic abbey which is soon to be dissolved, and the abbey owns a shrine which might contain evidence and has to be dismantled - a task which falls to the unwilling Stella Goodman.Meanwhile, new forensic scientist Dr Eve Lockhart makes her mark on the case.

    Director:Tim Fywell
    Writer:Unknown

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Worst Episodes Summary

"Wounds (2)" is the worst rated episode of "Waking the Dead". It scored 6.6/10 based on 139 votes. Directed by Sam Miller and written by Unknown, it aired on 5/13/2008. This episode scored 0.1 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Deus Ex Machina (1)".