Harry Cunningham, series 6
EVERYONE! LAURENCE FOX WAS IN AN EPISODE OF ULTIMATE FORCE AND I HAD SOMEHOW MISSED THIS!
I totally need to watch that show again.
Ahem. And now we move on to Silent Witness.
Harry Cunningham was introduced in series 6 of Silent Witness, along with Leo Dalton (Sam Ryan had been there from the beginning). Harry wasn’t quite a pathologist, or possibly was a newly-minted one. I don’t really understand medical hierarchies, especially not as represented in this show.
(note: until Sam Ryan left, the show was set in a university - somehow the people all moved to…not a university - look, this is Silent Witness, they don’t really explain things, but on the plus side, they do have excellent character development)
Also, the theme tune was slightly different in the earlier series, and it is bugging me like you wouldn’t believe.
BUT, we’re not here to talk about that. We’re here to talk about the lovely Harry Cunningham.
In series 6 we find out the following: Harry’s father was 60 when he was born, and died when he was 12. He committed suicide. He was an eminent surgeon.
Harry finds it difficult, at the start, to strike a balance between being emotionally distant and empathising with relatives of the bodies. He never quite manages the distance that Leo and Sam have, and his empathy is one of the reasons I like him so much.
Now I’m actually sitting down to write this entry, I’m finding it difficult to say exactly why Harry is basically my favourite male character in anything ever. I think this might be because I really started watching SW in series 11/12, so some of the stuff I want to refer to hasn’t happened yet.
Part of it is that Harry isn’t much of an alpha male. He’s never had a problem with women being in charge (and his adoration of Sam is occasionally remarked upon by other characters - I hadn’t realised how much he idolised her until I started this rewatch), or admitting they might know more than he does about something (Nikki and her facial reconstruction). Admittedly he butts heads with Leo a couple of times, but usually it needs someone else to do the stirring first.
Part of it is that he listens to people, he tries his best to help them, he always treats relatives of the deceased with dignity and respect, and I just - I love that. He’s not selfish, he’s always trying to do better and fix his mistakes, he’s thoughtful… and he’s clever and handsome and played by Tom Ward; ngl, that helps.
And none of the main characters in Silent Witness quite function in the world, if that makes sense (which is why I am looking forward to series 8 and Nikki, because I love her). I mean, in s6, the following themes are also introduced (I don’t think any of them were supposed to become long-running Facts about the Life of Harry Cunningham, but there you go):
Harry sleeps with a woman; this is a bad idea.
Harry gets taken advantage of by people he knows (to be fair, this happens with the other characters as well)
Harry is occasionally pimped out to be nice and sensitive because he is handsome and girls like him.
Harry is generally the person to go to if you want a sympathetic response from someone who actually listens. Leo is the person to go to if you want a fight.
Basically, they try to have lives outside of work (with varying degrees of success; Harry is terrible at it), and it’s much less depressing than when the same thing is tried on Spooks.
The screencaps don’t necessarily match the quotes; I was going to do that, but I didn’t like the way some of the caps turned out. Also some episodes have extra notes, because I didn’t work out it was a good idea until halfway through.
The Fall Out
(Sam) “What happened in there?”
(Harry) “Nothing.”
“Was it because it was a child?”
“No. It was because one of those guys winked at me. Wouldn’t mind normally, but in the middle of a post mortem…”
“I was actually being serious, Harry.”
“Sorry.”
“Because if you have a problem, we need to sort it out.”
“I don’t have a problem.”
“It’s just, most people do, the first time they do an autopsy on a child. You can ask Leo.”
(Harry’s mum) “Had a bad day?”
(Harry) “Not really.”
“It was the same with your father.”
“I’m nothing like my father, mum . Not really. [pause] For a start, I’m not going to wait until I’m 60 to have kids. It’s too old.”
“Kid. One child. It’s just you.”
“How would you have felt if I’d have … died before Dad? It’s not right, is it? A child going before its parents?”
“No. No, it’s not.”
“Were you involved with the autopsy on a seven year old…”
“Girl.”
“That must have been difficult.”
“No. it’s just a job.”
(Sam) “You had a talk with the father, Paul Preston, the other day?”
(Harry) “Yeah, that’s right. I wish I hadn’t.”
“Why?”
“I think he saw me as some priest-like figure.”
(Harry) “Are personal questions your speciality?”
(Sam) “Sorry, I didn’t mean it to be personal. I just like knowing.”
(Leo) “What’s your excuse?”
(Harry) “Father was a doctor. Surgeon. So, going into medicine was taken as a given.”
“A pathologist? Why not a surgeon, like him? That’s more glamorous. Nice private list.”
“No, he was in a league of his own. I couldn’t have followed him.”
“I’m surprised he didn’t try and guide you in that direction.”
“He wasn’t around when I was making those career decisions, he died when I was twelve.”
“That must have been tough.”
“Yeah, it was.”
(this is Harry & Leo but I can’t remember who said what)
“That guy, Paul Preston. Losing your partner and your daughter, I don’t know how you’d cope with that.”
“Well, human beings are very resilient.”
“I’m not sure if they’re that resilient.”
(SPOILER: three seasons later, the writers do this to Leo)
(think this is Harry and Sam, ack, why didn’t I write this down?)
“I think I just got something monumentally wrong.”
“Is this still to do with that little girl?”
“Her father came to see me and I… did nothing.”
“What could you have done?”
“I’m not sure.”
“So where’s the mistake?”
“There must have been something. Something I could have said.”
“There probably was. Don’t worry about it. Next time, you’ll do it differently.”
(Leo) “How’s the studying?”
(Harry) “Hell. Still trying to get my head round this fine line I’m supposed to tread. Involved, not quite, detached, not quite. Don’t think I’ll ever get it.”
“I don’t think anyone ever gets it.”
“Just seems a bit crazy.”
“It is. What did you expect?”
“Sanity. That’s what I expected. Scientific sanity.”
“Well, you’d better change career, then.”
Kith and Kill
“Well, that was a waste of time. Someone couldn’t tell the difference between a skeleton and a sheep.”
(Sam) “That the triple murder?”
(Harry) “When are we starting?”
“That’s a very confident ‘we’.”
“Is that alright? I need experience on gunshot wounds.”
(Leo) “So now you’re saying it’s suspicious? Why didn’t you say that in the first place?”
(Harry) “I didn’t want to look like a prat.”
“You’re supposed to look like a prat. You’re supposed to be the one who asks the awkward questions.”
Tell No Tales
(Harry) “Leo, have you got a second?”
(Leo) “What’s up?”
“Can you work this out? I can’t read her writing. Any of it. The whole file’s a mess.”
“What’s it worth?”
“What do you want?”
“An assistant. For this lecture I’ve got to give.”
“Oh, no.”
“Suit yourself.”
“[pause] No public speaking. And no stripping.”
“There’ll be a lot of disappointed students.”
A girl (student) Harry vaguely knows dies; he comes into the mortuary when the PM is going on and backs straight out and tells Sam. She tells him to stay away so they can’t be criticised. He looks a bit stunned by it all.
(NB this is not the last time Harry will be suspected of sleeping with a girl who turns up murdered)
“Where’s Harry? He scuttled out of the cutting room like a frightened rabbit.”
“He was in the student’s bar last night with Natalie Morgan.”
“This gets better and better.”
He gets questioned by the police about where he was etc
(Harry) “You know I was with Natalie in the bar, don’t you?”
(Leo) “Mmhm. You weren’t topping her up, were you?”
“No. everyone else was. Including Edgley. What a mess.”
“I’m afraid it’s just another example of your life being taken over by your work. We’re not supposed to go out and enjoy ourselves. Student life is over, lover boy.”
“What’s your involvement in this, Harry?”
“They talk to me. Because I look like a student. But I’m not, and…their trust in me is limited.”
(can’t remember if this is Harry/Leo or Harry/Sam; am useless)
“So there was no negligence on their part?”
“No. I suppose I was too quick to condemn them. It was the lousy notes.”
“Work interfering with playtime?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, we’ve all been there. At least you’re not totally in the mire. You did manage to get a shovel and dig yourself out.”
“Do better next time.”
“That’s it.”
Closed Ranks
Harry gets stuck looking after Leo’s daughter. Who is awesome.
(Cassie) “I like Clive Barker as well. Have you read any of his?”
(Harry) “No.”
“You’ve lived a sheltered life, haven’t you?”
“I’ve read Dracula. Now, if you want a good read, that’s seriously scary stuff.”
“Read it. Twice. The Coppola film was crap. I much prefer the Hammer films.”
“…”
“You know an autopsy? What’s that like? Is it different to a post mortem?”
Leo turns up to pick up his terrifying child.
(Leo) “Have you been good?”
(Harry) “I tried.”
And then - I had forgotten this - the Elliebitch turns up! Shit. And they go outside to talk.
“Sorry about this. I’m not important enough to have my own office.”
She’s come to tell him that his mate (who she was married to) has died, and she wants him to do the PM. And I get a chance to tell the Elliebitch to fuck off, which is always welcome.
“You know people will talk, if they find out I’m here.”
“I don’t care.”
And then there is kissing. This is going to end well, clearly. And they shag.
And once again there is a very brief shirtless shot of his back. This is getting frutstrating, you know.
It turns out that her husband was injecting some sort of painkiller.
Harry does a lot of leaning on doorways, I have noticed. I could do a picspam entirely of him leaning in doorways.
And he talks to Elliebitch about telling her husband’s GP, and she’s all ‘why would you need to do that?’ which is utterly disingenuous, and then he’s like ‘you knew he was taking the drugs, didn’t you?’, and she admits it (ish), and he’s got one of her prescriptions (NB she is a pediatrician), so she has to admit that she prescribed it, and thus begins the long history of people taking advantage of Harry Cunningham. It is impressive how consistent the characterisation stays, really: good, honest, diligent, hot, pimped out when necessary, gets taken advantage of.
She wants him to get rid of the prescription. Right now I can’t actually remember what it happens. I also can’t tell if I want him to keep hold of it and give it to the police (or whoever) because it’s Elliebitch. I don’t think so, but it’s probably a contributing factor.
(Elliebitch) “It could mean the end of my career.”
(Harry) “Or mine.”
Oh, he gives her the prescription (NO!).
(Elliebitch) “I’m sorry I got you involved.”
(Harry) “So am I.”
(Harry) “Did you -“
(Elliebitch) “Did I sleep with you because…”
“Yeah.”
“I didn’t even know he had the prescription on him.”
“[pause] Take care of yourself, Steph.”
Also, have a couple of pics of Harry actually working:
I am impressed that I have finished off the icky body shot with a Harry/Leo shot. I don't remember doing this one, but well done me.
Anyway, join me later this week for series 7, where - typically - the level of detail will have increased, and will undoubtedly continue to do so through all the series *sigh*.
I totally need to watch that show again.
Ahem. And now we move on to Silent Witness.
Harry Cunningham was introduced in series 6 of Silent Witness, along with Leo Dalton (Sam Ryan had been there from the beginning). Harry wasn’t quite a pathologist, or possibly was a newly-minted one. I don’t really understand medical hierarchies, especially not as represented in this show.
(note: until Sam Ryan left, the show was set in a university - somehow the people all moved to…not a university - look, this is Silent Witness, they don’t really explain things, but on the plus side, they do have excellent character development)
Also, the theme tune was slightly different in the earlier series, and it is bugging me like you wouldn’t believe.
BUT, we’re not here to talk about that. We’re here to talk about the lovely Harry Cunningham.
In series 6 we find out the following: Harry’s father was 60 when he was born, and died when he was 12. He committed suicide. He was an eminent surgeon.
Harry finds it difficult, at the start, to strike a balance between being emotionally distant and empathising with relatives of the bodies. He never quite manages the distance that Leo and Sam have, and his empathy is one of the reasons I like him so much.
Now I’m actually sitting down to write this entry, I’m finding it difficult to say exactly why Harry is basically my favourite male character in anything ever. I think this might be because I really started watching SW in series 11/12, so some of the stuff I want to refer to hasn’t happened yet.
Part of it is that Harry isn’t much of an alpha male. He’s never had a problem with women being in charge (and his adoration of Sam is occasionally remarked upon by other characters - I hadn’t realised how much he idolised her until I started this rewatch), or admitting they might know more than he does about something (Nikki and her facial reconstruction). Admittedly he butts heads with Leo a couple of times, but usually it needs someone else to do the stirring first.
Part of it is that he listens to people, he tries his best to help them, he always treats relatives of the deceased with dignity and respect, and I just - I love that. He’s not selfish, he’s always trying to do better and fix his mistakes, he’s thoughtful… and he’s clever and handsome and played by Tom Ward; ngl, that helps.
And none of the main characters in Silent Witness quite function in the world, if that makes sense (which is why I am looking forward to series 8 and Nikki, because I love her). I mean, in s6, the following themes are also introduced (I don’t think any of them were supposed to become long-running Facts about the Life of Harry Cunningham, but there you go):
Harry sleeps with a woman; this is a bad idea.
Harry gets taken advantage of by people he knows (to be fair, this happens with the other characters as well)
Harry is occasionally pimped out to be nice and sensitive because he is handsome and girls like him.
Harry is generally the person to go to if you want a sympathetic response from someone who actually listens. Leo is the person to go to if you want a fight.
Basically, they try to have lives outside of work (with varying degrees of success; Harry is terrible at it), and it’s much less depressing than when the same thing is tried on Spooks.
The screencaps don’t necessarily match the quotes; I was going to do that, but I didn’t like the way some of the caps turned out. Also some episodes have extra notes, because I didn’t work out it was a good idea until halfway through.
The Fall Out
(Sam) “What happened in there?”
(Harry) “Nothing.”
“Was it because it was a child?”
“No. It was because one of those guys winked at me. Wouldn’t mind normally, but in the middle of a post mortem…”
“I was actually being serious, Harry.”
“Sorry.”
“Because if you have a problem, we need to sort it out.”
“I don’t have a problem.”
“It’s just, most people do, the first time they do an autopsy on a child. You can ask Leo.”
(Harry’s mum) “Had a bad day?”
(Harry) “Not really.”
“It was the same with your father.”
“I’m nothing like my father, mum . Not really. [pause] For a start, I’m not going to wait until I’m 60 to have kids. It’s too old.”
“Kid. One child. It’s just you.”
“How would you have felt if I’d have … died before Dad? It’s not right, is it? A child going before its parents?”
“No. No, it’s not.”
“Were you involved with the autopsy on a seven year old…”
“Girl.”
“That must have been difficult.”
“No. it’s just a job.”
(Sam) “You had a talk with the father, Paul Preston, the other day?”
(Harry) “Yeah, that’s right. I wish I hadn’t.”
“Why?”
“I think he saw me as some priest-like figure.”
(Harry) “Are personal questions your speciality?”
(Sam) “Sorry, I didn’t mean it to be personal. I just like knowing.”
(Leo) “What’s your excuse?”
(Harry) “Father was a doctor. Surgeon. So, going into medicine was taken as a given.”
“A pathologist? Why not a surgeon, like him? That’s more glamorous. Nice private list.”
“No, he was in a league of his own. I couldn’t have followed him.”
“I’m surprised he didn’t try and guide you in that direction.”
“He wasn’t around when I was making those career decisions, he died when I was twelve.”
“That must have been tough.”
“Yeah, it was.”
(this is Harry & Leo but I can’t remember who said what)
“That guy, Paul Preston. Losing your partner and your daughter, I don’t know how you’d cope with that.”
“Well, human beings are very resilient.”
“I’m not sure if they’re that resilient.”
(SPOILER: three seasons later, the writers do this to Leo)
(think this is Harry and Sam, ack, why didn’t I write this down?)
“I think I just got something monumentally wrong.”
“Is this still to do with that little girl?”
“Her father came to see me and I… did nothing.”
“What could you have done?”
“I’m not sure.”
“So where’s the mistake?”
“There must have been something. Something I could have said.”
“There probably was. Don’t worry about it. Next time, you’ll do it differently.”
(Leo) “How’s the studying?”
(Harry) “Hell. Still trying to get my head round this fine line I’m supposed to tread. Involved, not quite, detached, not quite. Don’t think I’ll ever get it.”
“I don’t think anyone ever gets it.”
“Just seems a bit crazy.”
“It is. What did you expect?”
“Sanity. That’s what I expected. Scientific sanity.”
“Well, you’d better change career, then.”
Kith and Kill
“Well, that was a waste of time. Someone couldn’t tell the difference between a skeleton and a sheep.”
(Sam) “That the triple murder?”
(Harry) “When are we starting?”
“That’s a very confident ‘we’.”
“Is that alright? I need experience on gunshot wounds.”
(Leo) “So now you’re saying it’s suspicious? Why didn’t you say that in the first place?”
(Harry) “I didn’t want to look like a prat.”
“You’re supposed to look like a prat. You’re supposed to be the one who asks the awkward questions.”
Tell No Tales
(Harry) “Leo, have you got a second?”
(Leo) “What’s up?”
“Can you work this out? I can’t read her writing. Any of it. The whole file’s a mess.”
“What’s it worth?”
“What do you want?”
“An assistant. For this lecture I’ve got to give.”
“Oh, no.”
“Suit yourself.”
“[pause] No public speaking. And no stripping.”
“There’ll be a lot of disappointed students.”
A girl (student) Harry vaguely knows dies; he comes into the mortuary when the PM is going on and backs straight out and tells Sam. She tells him to stay away so they can’t be criticised. He looks a bit stunned by it all.
(NB this is not the last time Harry will be suspected of sleeping with a girl who turns up murdered)
“Where’s Harry? He scuttled out of the cutting room like a frightened rabbit.”
“He was in the student’s bar last night with Natalie Morgan.”
“This gets better and better.”
He gets questioned by the police about where he was etc
(Harry) “You know I was with Natalie in the bar, don’t you?”
(Leo) “Mmhm. You weren’t topping her up, were you?”
“No. everyone else was. Including Edgley. What a mess.”
“I’m afraid it’s just another example of your life being taken over by your work. We’re not supposed to go out and enjoy ourselves. Student life is over, lover boy.”
“What’s your involvement in this, Harry?”
“They talk to me. Because I look like a student. But I’m not, and…their trust in me is limited.”
(can’t remember if this is Harry/Leo or Harry/Sam; am useless)
“So there was no negligence on their part?”
“No. I suppose I was too quick to condemn them. It was the lousy notes.”
“Work interfering with playtime?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, we’ve all been there. At least you’re not totally in the mire. You did manage to get a shovel and dig yourself out.”
“Do better next time.”
“That’s it.”
Closed Ranks
Harry gets stuck looking after Leo’s daughter. Who is awesome.
(Cassie) “I like Clive Barker as well. Have you read any of his?”
(Harry) “No.”
“You’ve lived a sheltered life, haven’t you?”
“I’ve read Dracula. Now, if you want a good read, that’s seriously scary stuff.”
“Read it. Twice. The Coppola film was crap. I much prefer the Hammer films.”
“…”
“You know an autopsy? What’s that like? Is it different to a post mortem?”
Leo turns up to pick up his terrifying child.
(Leo) “Have you been good?”
(Harry) “I tried.”
And then - I had forgotten this - the Elliebitch turns up! Shit. And they go outside to talk.
“Sorry about this. I’m not important enough to have my own office.”
She’s come to tell him that his mate (who she was married to) has died, and she wants him to do the PM. And I get a chance to tell the Elliebitch to fuck off, which is always welcome.
“You know people will talk, if they find out I’m here.”
“I don’t care.”
And then there is kissing. This is going to end well, clearly. And they shag.
And once again there is a very brief shirtless shot of his back. This is getting frutstrating, you know.
It turns out that her husband was injecting some sort of painkiller.
Harry does a lot of leaning on doorways, I have noticed. I could do a picspam entirely of him leaning in doorways.
And he talks to Elliebitch about telling her husband’s GP, and she’s all ‘why would you need to do that?’ which is utterly disingenuous, and then he’s like ‘you knew he was taking the drugs, didn’t you?’, and she admits it (ish), and he’s got one of her prescriptions (NB she is a pediatrician), so she has to admit that she prescribed it, and thus begins the long history of people taking advantage of Harry Cunningham. It is impressive how consistent the characterisation stays, really: good, honest, diligent, hot, pimped out when necessary, gets taken advantage of.
She wants him to get rid of the prescription. Right now I can’t actually remember what it happens. I also can’t tell if I want him to keep hold of it and give it to the police (or whoever) because it’s Elliebitch. I don’t think so, but it’s probably a contributing factor.
(Elliebitch) “It could mean the end of my career.”
(Harry) “Or mine.”
Oh, he gives her the prescription (NO!).
(Elliebitch) “I’m sorry I got you involved.”
(Harry) “So am I.”
(Harry) “Did you -“
(Elliebitch) “Did I sleep with you because…”
“Yeah.”
“I didn’t even know he had the prescription on him.”
“[pause] Take care of yourself, Steph.”
Also, have a couple of pics of Harry actually working:
I am impressed that I have finished off the icky body shot with a Harry/Leo shot. I don't remember doing this one, but well done me.
Anyway, join me later this week for series 7, where - typically - the level of detail will have increased, and will undoubtedly continue to do so through all the series *sigh*.