Edge of Darkness
Genre	Drama Thriller Science fiction
Running time	c. 50 minute episodes
Director(s)	Martin Campbell
Producer(s)	Michael Wearing
Writer(s)	Troy Kennedy Martin
Starring	Bob Peck Joanne Whalley Joe Don Baker Charles Kay Ian McNeice
Music by	Michael Kamen Eric Clapton
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
Original channel	BBC2
Original run	4 November 1985 – 9 December 1985
No. of episodes	6
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Edge of Darkness is a British television drama serial, produced by BBC Television in association with Lionheart Television International and originally broadcast in six fifty-five minute episodes in late 1985. A mixture of crime drama, political thriller, and science fiction, it revolves around the efforts of policeman Ronald Craven (played by Bob Peck) to unravel the truth behind the brutal killing of his daughter Emma (played by Joanne Whalley). Craven's investigations soon lead him into a murky world of Government and corporate cover-ups and nuclear espionage, pitting him against dark forces that threaten the future of life on Earth. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (June 20, 1909 – October 14, 1959) was an Australian film actor, most famous for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films and his flamboyant lifestyle. ... Edge of Darkness is a war film released in 1943. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see Drama (disambiguation). ... The thriller is a broad genre of literature, film, and television. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Martin Campbell (born October 24, 1940, Hastings) is a New Zealand film and television director. ... Michael Wearing is a British television producer, who has spent much of his career working on various drama productions for the BBC. He is best known as the producer of the highly-acclaimed serials Boys from the Blackstuff (1982) and Edge of Darkness (1985), which created for him a reputation... Troy Kennedy Martin (born 1932; sometimes credited as Troy Kennedy-Martin) is a British film and television scripwriter. ... Bob Peck (August 23, 1945 in Leeds, England – April 4, 1999) was an English stage, television and film actor, who came to acting relatively late in life. ... Joanne Whalley (born August 25, 1964 ) ) is a British actress. ... Joe Don Baker (born February 12, 1936) is an American film actor perhaps best known for his role as sheriff Buford Pusser in the American film classic Walking Tall. ... Charles Kay, born Charles Piff (31 August 1930 - ) in Coventry, West Midlands, is an English actor. ... McNeice as Vladimir Harkonnen in the Sci-Fi Channels Dune miniseries Ian McNeice (born October 2, 1950 in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, UK) is an internationally known English television and movie actor. ... Michael Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, song writer, and session musician. ... Eric Patrick Clapton CBE (born 30 March 1945), nicknamed Slowhand, is a Grammy Award winning English guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... is the 343rd day of the year (344th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... British television broadcasting has a range of different broadcasters, broadcasting multiple channels over a variety of distribution media. ... For other uses, see Drama (disambiguation). ... Serials in television and radio are series, often in a weekly prime time slot, that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds in a serial fashion, episode by episode. ... BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which began in 1932. ... This article is about the year. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with mystery_fiction. ... A political drama can describe a play, film or TV program that has a political component, whether reflecting the authors political opinion, or describing a politician or series of political events. ... The thriller is a broad genre of literature, film, and television. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Bob Peck (August 23, 1945 in Leeds, England – April 4, 1999) was an English stage, television and film actor, who came to acting relatively late in life. ... Joanne Whalley (born August 25, 1964 ) ) is a British actress. ...

Writer Troy Kennedy Martin was greatly influenced by the political climate of the time Рparticularly the Thatcher administration, perceived by many as reactionary, and the aura of secrecy surrounding the nuclear industry Рand by the implications of the Gaia hypothesis of environmentalist James Lovelock, crafting a thriller that mingled real world concerns with mythic and the mystical elements. Kennedy Martin's original ending was more fantastic than that eventually used in the finished serial, proposing that Craven would turn into a tree but this was vetoed by other members of the cast and crew. Troy Kennedy Martin (born 1932; sometimes credited as Troy Kennedy-Martin) is a British film and television scripwriter. ... Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (n̩e Roberts; born 13 October 1925) served as British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 until 1990, being the first and to date only woman to hold either post. ... This article is about applications of nuclear fission reactors as power sources. ... For other uses, see Gaia. ... James Lovelock in front of a statue of Gaia in 2000 Dr James Ephraim Lovelock, CH, CBE, FRS (born 26 July 1919) is an independent scientist, author, researcher, environmentalist, and futurologist who lives in Cornwall, in the south west of Great Britain. ...

First broadcast on BBC2, Edge of Darkness was met with widespread critical acclaim and quickly earned a repeat on BBC1. Winner of several prestigious awards, it remains highly regarded to this day, often cited as one of the best and most influential pieces of British television drama ever made. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... BBC One is the primary television channel of the BBC, and the first in the United Kingdom. ...

Plot

One: Compassionate Leave

Yorkshire police officer Ronald Craven (Bob Peck) is returning home with his daughter Emma (Joanne Whalley) having picked her up from a meeting of an environmental organisation at her university campus. On the doorstep of their home Emma is shot dead. The police concentrate their effort on the theory that her murder was a botched attempt on Craven's life by a criminal he had been responsible for convicting. However, as Craven goes through Emma's belongings, he discovers a geiger counter and a gun. He also learns that Emma's body and her possessions are radioactive. Travelling to London to assist with the inquiry, he is contacted by Pendleton (Charles Kay), a polished official “attached to the Prime Minister's office”, who informs him that Emma was known to them as a terrorist and that it was she, not Craven, who was the gunman's target. Look up Yorkshire in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Radioactivity may mean: Look up radioactivity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Charles Kay, born Charles Piff (31 August 1930 - ) in Coventry, West Midlands, is an English actor. ... The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is, in practice, the political leader of the United Kingdom. ... Terrorist redirects here. ...

Two: Into The Shadows

As he continues his investigations, Craven has visions of Emma, and it is never clear whether she is actually appearing to him as a ghost or whether she is a product of his imagination. The fingerprints on the getaway car used by Emma's killer match that of Lowe, a man Craven arrested ten years previously. Meanwhile, Pendleton takes Craven to meet his colleague, Harcourt (Ian McNeice), who informs him that Emma was a member of a subversive anti-nuclear group called GAIA. A team of six GAIA members, led by Emma, had broken into a low level radioactive waste facility at Northmoor; all are now either dead or missing. After Craven makes a televised appeal for information about Emma's killer, he is contacted by CIA agent Darius Jedburgh (Joe Don Baker), an associate of Harcourt and Pendleton. Jedburgh shows Craven the CIA's file on Emma's activities: GAIA had become suspicious of Northmoor when a nearby reservoir had become contaminated with radiation, an occurrence that had also alerted the CIA, leading them to believe Northmoor was illegally storing plutonium. Jedburgh is played as a hard-bitten professional with a wry sense of humour and a passion for ballroom dancing. Along with Harcourt and Pendleton, he is keen to find the source and purpose of the plutonium. For other uses, see Ghost (disambiguation). ... Fingerprints can refer to: Human fingerprints Fingerprints, a Leonard Cohen song. ... McNeice as Vladimir Harkonnen in the Sci-Fi Channels Dune miniseries Ian McNeice (born October 2, 1950 in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, UK) is an internationally known English television and movie actor. ... Low-level waste (LLW) is a term used to describe nuclear waste that does not fit into the categorical definitions for high-level waste (HLW), spent nuclear fuel (SNF), transuranic waste (TRU), or certain byproduct materials known as 11e(2) wastes, such as uranium mill tailings. ... “CIA” redirects here. ... Joe Don Baker (born February 12, 1936) is an American film actor perhaps best known for his role as sheriff Buford Pusser in the American film classic Walking Tall. ... General Name, Symbol, Number plutonium, Pu, 94 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery white Standard atomic weight (244) g·mol−1 Electron configuration [Rn] 5f6 7s2 Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 24, 8, 2 Physical properties Phase solid Density (near r. ...

Three: Burden Of Proof

The police close in on their suspect, Lowe (Roy Heather), who is severely injured in a fall while trying to escape. Dying, he tells Craven he was working with McCroon, a terrorist Craven had had convicted in Northern Ireland. Emma's boyfriend, Terry Shields (Tim McInnerny), tells Craven that she was investigating a hot cell in Northmoor; he is later killed. Craven meets Harcourt and Pendleton at the House of Commons where an inquiry is taking place into the sale of International Irradiated Fuels (IIF) – Northmoor's owners – to the Fusion Corporation of Kansas, owned by Jerry Grogan (Kenneth Nelson). Pendleton tells Craven that he believes Grogan was behind Emma's death. Returning to Yorkshire for Emma's funeral, Craven is refused permission to seek a warrant to enter Northmoor. Returning home, he is observed by McCroon (Sean Caffrey). Roy Heather is an English actor. ... Northern Ireland (Irish: , Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a constituent country of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... Tim McInnerny as Lord Percy Percy in Blackadder II. Tim McInnerny (stress on the penultimate syllable of McInnerny) was born September 18, 1956 and is a British actor. ... A robotic manipulator for a Hot cell A Hot Cell is a heavily shielded room in which radioactive materials can be handled remotely using robotic manipulators (see picture) and viewed through shielded windows. ... Type Lower House Speaker of the House of Commons Leader of the House of Commons Michael Martin, (Non-affiliated) since October 23, 2000 Harriet Harman, QC, (Labour) since June 28, 2007 Shadow Leader of the House of Commons Theresa May, PC, (Conservative) since December 6, 2005 Members 646 Political groups... Kenneth Nelson (born March 24, 1930 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, died October 7, 1993 in London, England of AIDS-related complications) was an American actor. ... Sean Caffrey (born 15 April 1940 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom) is an actor. ...

Four: Breakthrough

McCroon breaks into Craven's house intent on killing him. Craven demands McCroon tell him who he is working for but McCroon is shot by a police marksman before he can say anything. Through a contact of Mac (Struan Roger), a colleague from his time in Northern Ireland, Craven gains access to a terminal connected to the MI5 computer. He checks the MI5 records for GAIA, Northmoor and Emma and learns that McCroon was acting on the orders of Northmoor Security. He also obtains a three-dimensional map of Northmoor from the computer. Craven contacts Jedburgh and asks him to accompany him inside Northmoor. A US Marine marksman. ... MI5 Logo. ...

Five: Northmoor

Craven and Jedburgh penetrate Northmoor and discover the hot cell which has been sealed off following an explosion - a consequence of GAIA's attempted break-in. Jedburgh, under orders from the CIA, enters the hot cell and steals the plutonium. At the House of Commons inquiry, IIF chief executive Robert Bennett (Hugh Fraser) is forced to admit the presence of plutonium at Northmoor and the deaths of the GAIA team. Hugh Fraser is an English actor. ...

Six: Fusion

Craven and Jedburgh escape Northmoor but both are dying from radiation poisoning. Jedburgh makes for the Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland, which is hosting a NATO conference on directed energy weapons. Also present at the conference is Grogan who announces that the British government has approved the purchase of IIF and speaks with cold passion of harnessing the power of the atom to conquer the galaxy. The audience of military and civilian officials applauds but Jedburgh in U.S. uniform takes the dais to denounce nuclear proliferation and a vainglorious crusade amongst the stars. He finishes by bringing together two bars of plutonium he has removed from Northmoor, causing a criticality accident and irradiating himself and the nearby Grogan. Radiation poisoning, also called radiation sickness, is a form of damage to organ tissue due to excessive exposure to ionizing radiation. ... Gleneagles Hotel and grounds. ... This article is about the country. ... This article is about the military alliance. ... A criticality accident (also sometimes referred to as an excursion or power excursion) occurs when a nuclear chain reaction is accidentally allowed to occur in fissile material, such as enriched uranium or plutonium. ...

Emma's ghost appears to Craven and tells him of a time when black flowers grew, warming the Earth and preventing life from becoming extinct. She tells him that the black flowers have returned and will melt the polar icecaps, destroying mankind so that life can continue. Craven goes to dissuade Jedburgh from the next step in his plan, which is to cause a nuclear explosion in Scotland with the rest of the plutonium. He succeeds, though the secret service follow him and kill Jedburgh. Craven, like Jedburgh and Grogan fatally exposed to radiation, wanders into the mountains to die, calling Emma's name. On the mountains, as Emma predicted, the black flowers are growing. For other uses, see Extinction (disambiguation). ...

Principal credits

Cast

Bob Peck as Yorkshire police officer Ronald Craven, investigating what appears to be the accidental killing of his daughter.

Ronald Craven was played by Bob Peck, an actor who was well known in theatre but, at the time he was cast as Craven, had appeared in only minor roles on television. In creating the role of Craven, Peck drew upon his experience gained from the two years he played Macduff in Macbeth for the Royal Shakespeare Company.^[1] Notable roles after Edge of Darkness included On the Black Hill (1987), Slipstream (1989), Natural Lies (1992) and Jurassic Park (1993). He died in 1999.^[2] Image File history File links Eod02. ... Image File history File links Eod02. ... Bob Peck (August 23, 1945 in Leeds, England – April 4, 1999) was an English stage, television and film actor, who came to acting relatively late in life. ... Look up Yorkshire in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Macduff is a fictional character in Shakespeares play Macbeth. ... Macbeth and Banquo meeting the witches on the heath by Théodore Chassériau. ... Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a British theatre company. ... Slipstream is a 1989 adventure/science fiction film starring Bob Peck, Mark Hamill, Bill Paxton, and Kitty Aldridge. ... Jurassic Park is a techno-thriller novel written by Michael Crichton that was published in 1990. ... This article is about the year. ...

Joanne Whalley, who played Emma Craven, began acting during childhood, appearing in the long-running soap opera Coronation Street (1960 - present) in 1976 at the age of 10. She had also appeared in supporting roles in several series including Juliet Bravo (1980 - 1985), Bergerac (1981 - 1991) and Reilly, Ace of Spies (1983). Following Edge of Darkness, Whalley was cast in the equally well regarded BBC television serial The Singing Detective (1986), written by Dennis Potter. Moving to Hollywood, she appeared in such films as Willow (1988), Scandal (1989) and Shattered (1991) as well as television mini-series such as Scarlett (1994) and Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis (2000). During her eight year marriage to the actor Val Kilmer, between 1988 and 1996, she was often credited as Joanne Whalley-Kilmer.^[3] The first TIME cover devoted to soap operas: Dated January 12, 1976, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes of Days of our Lives are featured with the headline Soap Operas: Sex and suffering in the afternoon. A soap opera is an ongoing, episodic work of fiction, usually broadcast on television... Coronation Street is an award-winning British soap opera. ... Juliet Bravo was a British television series which ran between 1980 and 1985. ... Bergerac can refer to either the British television detective show Bergerac, set in Jersey the French commune Bergerac, in the Dordogne département the French dramatist and biographical play of the same name, Cyrano de Bergerac This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that... Sam Neill portraying Sidney Reilly in the television mini-series, Reilly: The Ace of Spies (1983). ... The Singing Detective The Singing Detective was a 1986 BBC television miniseries, written by Dennis Potter and starring Michael Gambon. ... Liber Amoris Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935—7 June 1994) was a controversial British dramatist who is best known for several widely acclaimed television dramas which mixed fantasy and reality, the personal and the social. ... ... Willow is a 1988 fantasy film directed by Ron Howard, based on a story by George Lucas. ... Scandal (1989) is a [[[United Kingdom|British]] drama film, a fictionalised account of the Profumo affair. ... Shattered was a reality television program shown on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom in early 2004. ... This TV miniseries Scarlett was filmed at 53 locations in the United States and abroad. ... Val Edward Kilmer[1] (born December 31, 1959) is an American actor. ...

Cast as Darius Jedburgh was Joe Don Baker, who had been acting since the nineteen-sixties and was known for his roles in Westerns such as Gunsmoke (1955 - 1975) and as the lead in the detective series Eischied (1979 – 1980). The script of Edge of Darkness so impressed him that agreed to take the part at lower than his usual fee.^[4] He was later cast, by Edge of Darkness director Martin Campbell, as CIA agent Jack Wade in the James Bond film Goldeneye (1995), a role he reprised in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997).^[5] This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The cast of radios Gunsmoke: Howard McNear (Doc), William Conrad (Matt), Georgia Ellis (Kitty) and Parley Baer (Chester) Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. ... Jack Wade is a fictional character in Pierce Brosnans first two James Bond films. ... 007 redirects here. ... For other uses, see Goldeneye (disambiguation). ... Tomorrow Never Dies, released in 1997, is the eighteenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as MI6 agent James Bond. ...

Charles Kay, who played Pendleton, was a well established character actor who had appeared in Fall of Eagles (1974), I, Claudius (1976) and The Devil's Crown (1978). He has since acted in many television productions such as Fortunes of War (1989), The Darling Buds of May (1991 - 1993), Jonathan Creek (1997 - 2004) and Midsomer Murders (1997 - present).^[6] Fall Of Eagles is a British television drama made by the BBC in 1974. ... I, Claudius is a novel by Robert Graves, (ISBN 067972477X) first published in 1934, dealing sympathetically with the life of the Roman Emperor Claudius and the history of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty and Roman Empire, from Julius Caesars assassination in 44 BC to Caligulas assassination in 41 AD... Fortunes of War - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Jonathan Creek is a British mystery television series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. ... Midsomer Murders is a popular British television drama series about murders that take place in the fictional English county of Midsomer. ...

Edge of Darkness was an early role for Ian McNeice, who played Harcourt. He went on to act in a wide variety of film and television parts including The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain (1995), Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995) and Dune (2000) as well as regular roles in Doc Martin (2004 - present) and Rome (2005 - 2007).^[7] The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain is a 1995 movie written by Ivor Monger and directed by Christopher Monger. ... Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995) is a movie made as a sequel to Ace Ventura, Pet Detective (1994). ... Frank Herberts Dune was a three-part miniseries based on the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert. ... Doc Martin is a British television comedy drama starring Martin Clunes. ... Rome is a multiple Emmy Award-winning historical drama, produced in Italy for television by the BBC (UK), HBO (USA), and RAI (Italy). ...

Several other familiar faces to British viewers appeared during the course of the episodes, including John Woodvine (as Craven's superior DCS Ross), Tim McInnerny (as Emma's boyfriend Terry Shields), Hugh Fraser (as IIF chief executive Robert Bennett), Zoë Wanamaker (as intelligence agent Clementine) and Brian Croucher (as Northmoor security chief Connors) as well as, playing themselves, television reporters Sue Cook and Kenneth Kendall, weatherman Bill Giles and Labour MP Michael Meacher. John Woodvine in the Doctor Who serial The Armageddon Factor John Woodvine (born 21 July 1929 in Tyne Dock, County Durham) is a British actor who has appeared in over sixty film and television roles. ... Tim McInnerny as Lord Percy Percy in Blackadder II. Tim McInnerny (stress on the penultimate syllable of McInnerny) was born September 18, 1956 and is a British actor. ... Hugh Fraser is an English actor. ... Zoë Wanamaker CBE (born 13 May 1949) is an American-born English actress. ... Brian Croucher is a British actor perhaps best known for his role as Ted Hills, which he played from 1995 to 1997, in the popular soap opera EastEnders. ... Sue Cook is a British journalist and broadcaster. ... Kenneth Kendall (born August 7, 1924) is a British broadcaster and journalist. ... Bill Giles is a British weather forecaster and television presenter. ... The Labour Party is a centre-left or social democratic political party in Britain (see British politics), and one of the United Kingdoms three main political parties. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... Michael Hugh Meacher (born November 4, 1939) is a British Labour party politician, and Member of Parliament (MP) for Oldham West and Royton. ...

Crew

Writer Troy Kennedy Martin was the creator of the long-running BBC police drama Z Cars (1962 - 1978). He also wrote the screenplay for the films The Italian Job (1969) and Kelly's Heroes (1970) and scripts for television series such as Colditz (1972 - 1974), The Sweeney (1975 - 1978) (which was created by his brother Ian Kennedy Martin) and Reilly, Ace of Spies (1983). Following Edge of Darkness, he wrote the screenplays for the films Red Heat (with Walter Hill) (1988) and Bravo Two Zero (1999).^[8] Troy Kennedy Martin (born 1932; sometimes credited as Troy Kennedy-Martin) is a British film and television scripwriter. ... Z-Cars (sometimes written as Z Cars, and always pronounced zed, never zee) was a British television drama series centred around the work of regular beat police officers in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby near Liverpool, in the north-west of England. ... The Italian Job is a British caper film, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley and directed by Peter Collinson. ... Kellys Heroes is an offbeat 1970 war film about a group of enterprising World War II American soldiers from the 35th Infantry Division. ... Colditz is a British television series, made as a co-production between the BBC and Universal Studios and screened between 1972 and 1974. ... The Sweeney is a British television police drama focusing on two crime-fighting members of the Flying Squad, an elite branch of the British police force specialising in armed robbery and violent crime. ... Ian Kennedy Martin (born May 23, 1936) is a British television scriptwriter. ... Red Heat is a 1988 movie in which Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Russian policeman Ivan Danko. ... Walter Hill (born California 1942) is a prominent American film director. ... Bravo Two Zero is a 1999 film based on the British SAS patrol of the same name charged with finding Iraqi Scud missile launchers during the Gulf War. ...

Director Martin Campbell had developed a reputation for handling action thrillers with credits including The Professionals (1977 - 1983), Minder (1979 - 1994) and Shoestring (1979 - 1980). A few years after Edge of Darkness, Campbell moved into feature films, directing the James Bond films Goldeneye (1995) and Casino Royale (2006) as well as The Mask of Zorro (1998), Vertical Limit (2000) and The Legend of Zorro (2005).^[9] Martin Campbell (born October 24, 1940, Hastings) is a New Zealand film and television director. ... From Left : Martin Shaw as Ray Doyle, Gordon Jackson as George Cowley, and Lewis Collins as William Bodie. ... Image:Arthur-Daley-book. ... Shoestring was a BBC television show set in Bristol. ... Casino Royale (2006) is the 21st film in the James Bond series and the first to star Daniel Craig as MI6 agent James Bond. ... The Mask of Zorro (1998) is an American action film directed by Martin Campbell, and stars Antonio Banderas with Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Stuart Wilson. ... Vertical Limit (2000) is an action movie/thriller directed by New Zealander Martin Campbell (GoldenEye, No Escape) starring, among others, Chris ODonnell, Bill Paxton, Robin Tunney and Scott Glenn. ... The Legend of Zorro is a 2005 movie directed by Martin Campbell. ...

Producer Michael Wearing had worked on Play for Today for which he had produced Alan Bleasdale's The Black Stuff (1978) and which he and Bleasdale subsequently spun off into the highly acclaimed Boys from the Blackstuff (1982). He also produced the conspiracy thriller Bird of Prey (1982). Following Edge of Darkness he continued to be one of British television's most high profile and successful producers, appointed Head of Serials at the BBC between 1989 and 1998 where he was responsible for such programmes as Pride and Prejudice (1995), Our Friends in the North (1996) and Dennis Potter's final two plays Karaoke (1996) and Cold Lazarus (1996).^[10] Michael Wearing is a British television producer, who has spent much of his career working on various drama productions for the BBC. He is best known as the producer of the highly-acclaimed serials Boys from the Blackstuff (1982) and Edge of Darkness (1985), which created for him a reputation... The Play for Today logo, seen here in the opening title sequence from 1976. ... Alan Bleasdale (born March 23, 1946 in Liverpool, England, UK) is a British television dramatist, best known for several powerful social drama serials based around the lives of ordinary people. ... Boys from the Blackstuff is a British television drama serial of five episodes, originally transmitted from October 10 to November 7, 1982 on BBC TWO. The serial was written by Liverpudlian playwright Alan Bleasdale, and was a sequel to a television play called The Black Stuff, which he had originally... Bird of Prey is a British television serial produced by the BBC in 1982. ... This article is about the 1995 TV serial. ... The opening titles sequence of Our Friends in the North. ... Karaoke was a television play written by Dennis Potter with the knowledge that he was dying from cancer of the pancreas. ... Cold Lazarus is a television play written by Dennis Potter shortly before his death, and broadcast after it in 1994. ...

Walt Patterson, who acted as series adviser, was a leading commentator on nuclear affairs, best known for his book Nuclear Power (Penguin, 1976 - 1986). Following Edge of Darkness, he acted as specialist adviser to the British House of Commons Select Committee on Environment for their 1986 study, Radioactive Waste. He continues to contribute to the policy debate about energy and environmental issues.^[11] Advice on the policing aspects of the serial was provided by the West Yorkshire Police and former Scotland Yard detective Jack Slipper, famous for his pursuit of the train robber Ronnie Biggs.^[12] Walter C (Walt) Patterson (born November 4, 1936 in Winnipeg, Canada) arrived in the United Kingdom in 1960. ... A Select Committee is a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues originating in the Westminster System of parliamentary democracy. ... West Yorkshire Police is the police force covering West Yorkshire in the United Kingdom. ... New Scotland Yard, London New Scotland Yard, it blowwsssss often referred to simply as Scotland Yard or The Yard, is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service, responsible for policing Greater London (although not the City of London itself). ... Jack Slipper (Born in London, England on April 20, 1924, Died August 24, 2005) was a Detective Chief Superintendent in the Metropolitan Police in London. ... The Great Train Robbery is the name given to a £2. ... Ronnie Biggs (born Ronald Arthur Biggs August 8, 1929 in Londons East End) is an English prisoner who is known for escaping from prison after his minor role in the Great Train Robbery of 1963 and for being on the run for many years. ...

Music

The musical score was provided by Eric Clapton and Michael Kamen. Guitarist Clapton had come to fame as a member of rock supergroup Cream. He was approached to provide the score by producer Michael Wearing.^[13] Shortly afterwards, when Kamen himself brought Clapton to a screening of Brazil (1985), which he had scored, Slowhand asked Kamen if he would collaborate with him on Edge of Darkness.^[14] Kamen became one of Hollywood's most successful film composers, writing the scores for many blockbuster films including the Lethal Weapon series (1987-1998) (with Eric Clapton), the first three Die Hard films (1988, 1990, 1995), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) and X-Men (2000). He died in 2003.^[15] Eric Patrick Clapton CBE (born 30 March 1945), nicknamed Slowhand, is a Grammy Award winning English guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. ... Michael Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, song writer, and session musician. ... In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe music groups comprising members who had already achieved fame or respect in other groups or as individual artists. ... Cream were a classic 1960s British rock band, which consisted of guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the 1988 action film. ... Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was a 1991 film directed by Kevin Reynolds. ... X-Men is a 2000 superhero film, based upon the fictional characters the X-Men. ...

Aside from the Clapton/Kamen soundtrack, Willie Nelson's "The Time of the Preacher", New Model Army's "Christian Militia", and Tom Waits' "16 Shells From A 30.6", feature in the series. "Christian Militia" is on the record player when Terry's body is found. Craven listens to "The Time of the Preacher" when he is in Emma's room in the first episode. It later emerges Jedburgh is familiar with the song and both he and Craven sing it on two occasions, the lyrics being significant. Willie Nelson (born Willie Hugh Nelson, April 30, 1933) is an American entertainer and songwriter, born and raised in Abbott, Texas. ... For the band, see New Model Army (band). ... Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. ...

The score for each episode was largely unique, with six three-minutes-long compositions accompanying the closing titles each of the six episodes. This was a significant departure for a television series and can still be considered a unique achievement. The score appeared as a vinyl album in November 1985, and later as a disc by the BBC Records and Tapes - Sound Products.

Background

Origins

“I am writing this story about a detective who turns into a tree” was what writer Troy Kennedy Martin told his colleagues when asked what he was working on during the early nineteen-eighties.^[16] Kennedy Martin had become frustrated that “at the BBC there was no political dimension to their drama whatsoever” but had chosen to write a political story anyway, not really believing it would ever get made.^[13] The election of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Ronald Reagan as President of the United States had brought about a major shift in the global political landscape and Kennedy Martin was motivated to write out of concern arising from such issues as the Greenham Common protests, the Falklands conflict, unrest among the miners and, arising out of the escalation of the Cold War, the fear that “born-again Christians and Cold War warriors appeared to be running the United States”.^[16] Reagan redirects here. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ... Greenham Common Womens Peace Camp was a peace camp established to protest at nuclear weapon being sited at RAF Greenham Common in Berkshire, England. ... Combatants Argentina United Kingdom Commanders President Leopoldo Galtieri Vice-Admiral Juan Lombardo Brigadier-General Ernesto Crespo Brigade-General Mario Menéndez Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse Rear-Admiral John “Sandy” Woodward Major-General Jeremy Moore Casualties 649 killed 1,068 wounded 11,313 taken prisoner 75 fixed... The miners strike of 1984-5 was a major piece of industrial action affecting the British coal industry. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ...

By 1981, Kennedy Martin had written the first draft of what would eventually become Edge of Darkness – at this stage it was called Magnox (a reference to the Magnox type of nuclear reactor) and was about trade union problems in the nuclear industry.^[17] The script was given to head of BBC Drama, Jonathan Powell, who encouraged Kennedy Martin to continue its development.^[18] The script would go though many changes and revisions before reaching its final form. Schematic diagram of a Magnox nuclear reactor showing gas flow. ... Core of a small nuclear reactor used for research. ... A trade union or labor union is an organization of workers. ... Jonathan Powell (born 1947) is a British television producer and executive. ...

A particular influence was the speech made by President Ronald Reagan on 23 March 1983 announcing the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) which, using ground-based and space-based systems, proposed protecting the United States from attack by nuclear missiles.^[13] One of the supporters of SDI was one-time US presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche, on whom Kennedy Martin based the character of Fusion Corporation of Kansas owner Jerry Grogan.^[16] Kennedy Martin was also influenced by the culture of secrecy surrounding the UK's policy regarding nuclear power in light of the inquiry into the construction of the Sizewell B nuclear power station and the concerns about the safety record of the Sellafield nuclear power plant; this led him to conceive International Irradiated Fuels and its chief executive Robert Bennett.^[16] is the 82nd day of the year (83rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ... The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983[1] to use ground-based and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 kilometers (11 mi) above the hypocenter A nuclear weapon derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions of fusion or fission. ... Lyndon LaRouche at a news conference in Paris in February 2006. ... Sizewell B nuclear power station Sizewell B nuclear power station is the UKs only large pressurised water reactor (PWR) and operated by British Energy. ... The Sellafield facility on the Cumbrian coast, United Kingdom Sellafield is the name of a nuclear site, close to the village and railway station of Seascale, operated by Sellafield Ltd, but owned since 1 April 2005 by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. ...

The other major influence was the Gaia hypothesis, that the Earth is a single living system that self-regulates itself to maintain the optimum conditions for life, formulated by climate scientist James Lovelock and popularised in his 1979 book Gaia: A new look at life on Earth. Kennedy Martin used the name GAIA for the environmental organisation Emma Craven was involved in and drew the notion for the black flowers seen at the serial's conclusion from a passage in Lovelock's book that describes a dark marsh grass that grew on the surface of the Earth trapping heat during a time when the planet was too cold to sustain life.^[13]

Although Kennedy Martin's notion for the serial was influenced by real political events, he had for a long time railed against naturalism in television drama – most notably in a 1964 article for the theatre magazine Encore, titled “Nats Go Home. First Statement of a New Drama for Television”, in which he sought “to free the camera from photographing dialogue, to free the structure from natural time and to exploit the total and absolute objectivity of the television camera”.^[19] Edge of Darkness producer Michael Wearing has noted that “there is a mystical dimension to Troy's imagination. His instincts are visual and non-naturalistic”.^[20] Kennedy Martin, therefore, crafted a serial that on the one hand placed its events squarely within the real, present day world but on the other also placed itself within the realm of the mystical and the mythic.^[21] Realism and authenticity was provided by the appearances of real life television presenter Sue Cook and Labour MP Michael Meacher. There was also use of contemporary stock footage, such as Robin Day's interview with Margaret Thatcher and references to real persons like Michael Heseltine and places such as Sellafield, alongside the references to fictitious characters and places contained in the plot. The mystical dimension is provided by Emma's ghost while the mythic is provided by Craven himself and by Jedburgh and Grogan. Kennedy Martin, influenced by John Darragh's The Real Camelot (Thames and Hudson, 1981) which examined the pagan origins of the Arthurian legend, saw Craven as a modern day Green Man who would confront the threats to the Earth on behalf of Gaia.^[16] Jedburgh was conceived by Kennedy Martin as a Knight of the Marches, one of the Teutonic Knights who defended the borders of Eastern Europe, opposed to Grogan, who Kennedy Martin saw as a descendant of the Knights Templar who, according to legend, had guarded a special wisdom in the Temple of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.^[16] These aspects would reach their apotheosis in the serial's conclusion in which Kennedy Martin envisaged that Craven, having found the plutonium stolen by Jedburgh, would be shot by a sniper and would be transformed into a tree.^[12] Naturalism is a movement in theater, film, and literature that seeks to replicate a believable everyday reality, as opposed to such movements as Romanticism or Surrealism, in which subjects may receive highly symbolic, idealistic, or even supernatural treatment. ... ‹ The template below is being considered for deletion. ... For other uses, see Green Man (disambiguation). ... For the state, see Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights. ... Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current national boundaries: Russia (dark orange), other countries of the former USSR (medium orange),members of the Warsaw pact (light orange), and other former Communist regimes not aligned with Moscow (lightest orange). ... For other uses, see Knights Templar (disambiguation). ... The Dome of the Rock in the center of the Temple Mount, or Mount Moriah The Dome of the Rock (Arabic: , translit. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Sniper (disambiguation). ...

Production

By 1983, Jonathan Powell was keen to put the serial into production and offered the scripts to producer Michael Wearing who was immediately impressed by the scenes in the first episode, “Compassionate Leave”, depicting Craven's reaction to Emma's death, describing them as “the most sustained evocation of individual grief in bereavement that I can remember”.^[22] The budget was set at £2 million, of which £400,000 came from an American co-producer, Lionheart Television International.^[20] Director Martin Campbell came on board shortly afterwards and soon clashed with Troy Kennedy Martin, demanding rewrites, in particular to the notion that Craven had known about Emma's involvement with GAIA right from the start; this was removed at Campbell's behest.^[23] Further clashes over the script occurred between Kennedy Martin and star Bob Peck over the conclusion in which his character would turn into a tree; Peck recalled that “it didn't seem to be working in script terms, it seemed as though we wouldn't be able to make it work for the audience”,^[13] a view echoed by Michael Wearing who felt that it was “likely not to come off as an effect”.^[13] Kennedy Martin capitulated, introducing instead the concept of the black flowers seen in the finished production. However, some elements of Kennedy Martin's original vision persist in the final script: for example, in episode three, “Burden of Proof”, the ghost of Emma urges Craven, as he undergoes a breakdown, to be strong, like a tree.^[24]

Shooting on Edge of Darkness began on 9 July 1984^[4] and ran for five months until 5 December 1984.^[25] Location filming took place in London (including the Barbican Arts Centre, BBC Television Centre and the Hilton International Kensington), Yorkshire (including the headquarters of the West Yorkshire Police in Bradford and at Westwood Cottage, Ilkley for Craven's home), Scotland (including the Gleneagles Hotel, where Jedburgh addresses the NATO conference and also where President Reagan's Reykjavik policy was formulated^[26]) and Wales (including Clogau Gold Mine and Manod, Blaenau Ffestiniog doubling as Northmoor with the hot cell a set constructed at a factory in Penygroes).^[27] Throughout the entire shoot, the production continued to be known as Magnox; the title Dark Forces was briefly considered before the serial was renamed Edge of Darkness in April 1985.^[25] As the shoot progressed it became apparent to the cast and crew that they had a potential hit on their hands; Bob Peck recalled, “I think we knew when we were making it that it was a good piece of work”^[28] while Kennedy Martin told reporters “I haven't had this feeling about something for 20 years. It's wonderful, after all this time, to get something that actually works”.^[25] is the 190th day of the year (191st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... is the 339th day of the year (340th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Barbican Arts Centre and lakeside terrace Interior - concert hall foyer; library and gallery above The Barbican Arts Centre is an arts venue at the eastern edge of the Barbican Estate in the City of London, England. ... BBC Television Centre (sometimes abbreviated TVC or TC) in London is home to much of the BBCs television output and, since 1998, almost all of the corporations national TV and radio news output by BBC News. ... The Hilton Hotel chain is owned by Hilton Hotels Corporation and is based in Beverly Hills, California. ... , A wealthy area in Kensington, that is just south of Kensington High Street. ... For other uses, see Bradford (disambiguation). ... Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in West Yorkshire, in the north of England. ... The Reykjavik Summit was a summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev held in Reykjavik on October 11, 1986. ... This article is about the country. ... The Clogau Gold Mine (sometimes known as the Clogau St Davids Mine) was once the largest and richest mine of all the gold mines in the Dolgellau gold mining area. ... Blaenau Ffestiniog, seen from Moelwyn Bach, showing the large waste heaps that dominate the town. ... Pen-y-Groes (alternatively spelt as Penygroes) is a large village in northwestern Wales. ...

Broadcast and critical reception

Edge of Darkness was promoted on the cover of the listings magazine Radio Times and was broadcast on Monday nights on BBC2 at 9:30pm, beginning 4 November 1985.^[29] The serial averaged an audience of 4 million viewers over its run.^[30] The critical response was generally positive with most commentators concentrating their praise on Peck's performance as Craven and the scale of the programme's political themes.^[20] “A good television thriller is very hard to find but Edge of Darkness promises to be one of the best”, wrote Celia Brayfield in The Times, “The central character is played by Bob Peck, who has the gift of looking tragic and intelligent simultaneously. [...] There was humour to lift the gloom and superb characterisation to flesh out the stock situation”.^[31] Ruth Baumgarten, in The Listener, praised the serial as “a grandiosely ambitious and compelling piece of fiction”.^[29] Speaking on the BBC's review programme Did You See..?, the writer Sarah Dunant said, “this is a very classy piece of television drama, on all levels, I think on the plot level, I think on the level of emotion and I think stylistically [...] it looks absolutely wonderful, it's shot like a feature film”.^[32] Not so impressed was Byron Rogers, television critic of The Sunday Times, who initially hailed the series as one that “stayed in the mind and will stay there long [...] because of its portrayal of human grief”^[33] but later felt he was “beginning to find Edge of Darkness slightly irritating”^[34] and decried the final episode as “an insult to its considerable following”.^[35] Current Radio Times logo Radio Times is the BBCs weekly television and radio programme listings magazine. ... is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... The Times is a national newspaper published daily in the United Kingdom (and the Kingdom of Great Britain before the United Kingdom existed) since 1788 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register. ... The Listener was a weekly magazine established by the BBC under Lord Reith in January 1929. ... Sarah Dunant is the author of many international bestsellers, most recently The Birth of Venus and In the company of the courtesan. ... The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International which is in turn owned by News Corporation. ...

Aware of the critical buzz surrounding the show, BBC1 Controller, Michael Grade, quickly announced that the series would be repeated on BBC1, stating, “I think it will reach a wider audience and it deserves it”, and so Edge of Darkness was duly shown, in double episodes, over three consecutive nights between 19 December and 21 December 1985, the fastest time between original broadcast and repeat in the BBC's history.^[36] These repeats were accompanied by a disclaimer that the GAIA organisation depicted in the programme was not connected with the Gaia publishing company supported by Prince Philip.^[36] It was a move that paid off – Edge of Darkness doubled its audience on BBC1 to 8 million viewers.^[30] Michael Ian Grade CBE (born March 8, 1943) is a British businessman and a distinguished figure in the field of broadcasting. ... is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... “Prince Philip” redirects here. ...

Cultural significance

Edge of Darkness tapped into a cultural zeitgeist of concern about nuclear power and nuclear warfare in the early to mid nineteen-eighties. In 1980, current affairs programme Panorama broadcast “If The Bomb Drops”, a documentary that examined how well prepared Britain was for a nuclear attack; in 1983, The Day After an American TV movie about a nuclear war aired; in 1984, the BBC broadcast On the Eighth Day, a documentary about the effects of a nuclear winter and Threads, a drama about a nuclear attack on Sheffield while 1985 saw the first screening of Peter Watkins' nuclear war television film The War Game, banned on television since 1965.^[37] Edge of Darkness also rode on a wave of preoccupation with the secretive nature of the State in both fact (e.g. This Week’s “Death on the Rock” (1986) about the deaths of three Provisional IRA members in Gibraltar and Secret Society (1987) about undisclosed matters of public interest which led to the sacking of BBC Director General Alasdair Milne) and fiction (e.g. the films Defence of the Realm (1985) and The Whistle Blower (1987) and the television serials A Very British Coup (1988) and Traffik (1989)).^[38] This article is about the German word. ... Panorama is a long-running current affairs documentary series on BBC television, launched on 11 November 1953 and focusing on investigative journalism. ... This article is about the 1983 TV movie about nuclear war. ... Nuclear winter is a hypothetical global climate condition that is predicted to be a possible outcome of a large-scale nuclear war. ... Threads is a 1984 BBC television docudrama depicting the effects of a nuclear war on the United Kingdom and its aftermath. ... For other uses, see Sheffield (disambiguation). ... Peter Watkins (born October 29, 1935) is an English film and (once) television director. ... The War Game is a 1965 television film on nuclear war. ... This Week is one of the American Sunday-morning interview shows. ... Death on the Rock was a controversial and BAFTA award winning episode of Thames Televisions current affairs strand This Week. ... The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) is a paramilitary group which aimed, through the use of violence, to achieve three goals: (i) British withdrawal from Ireland, (ii) the political unification of Ireland through the merger of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland , and (iii) the creation of an all... The Zircon affair was an incident in 1986 that raised many important issues in the British constitution. ... The Director-General is chief executive and editor-in-chief of the BBC. The position is appointed by Board of Governors of the BBC. Sir John Reith (1927-1938) Sir Frederick Ogilvie (1938-1942) Sir Cecil Graves and Robert W. Foot (joint Director-Generals, 1942-1943) Robert W. Foot (1942... Alasdair David Gordon Milne (born 1930) was Director-General of the BBC from July 1982 until a forced resignation, under intense pressure from the Conservative government and a Board of BBC Governors dominated by Conservatives, in January 1987. ... Category: ... A Very British Coup is a 1982 novel by Chris Mullin, and a 1988 British television adaptation of the novel, adapted by Alan Plater and starring Ray McAnally. ... Traffik is a 1989 television miniseries which tells the story of illegal drug trade. ...

Edge of Darkness continues to be well regarded to this day. When it was repeated on BBC2 in 1992, Sean Day-Lewis wrote in The Daily Telegraph, “Edge of Darkness is a masterpiece. It is one of those very rare television creations so rich in form and content that the spectator wishes there was some way of prolonging it indefinitely”.^[39] Andrew Lavender, writing in British Television Drama in the 1980s, has said that Edge of Darkness “captured the spirit of its age but went far beyond the drama of its time. [...] It pushed against expectations attaching to the thriller form, often transcending the limits of the genre”.^[40] Fred Inglis, in his analysis of the serial in Formations: 20th Century Media Studies, takes it “as one of the most remarkable works of art made for British television”.^[26] According to Lez Cooke, in British Television Drama: A History, “In a reactionary climate, when the possibilities for the production of 'social issue' drama were limited, Edge of Darkness proved that, by adapting to changed circumstances and adopting a serialised thriller format, it was still possible to produce ambitious and progressive television drama in Britain in the mid-1980s”,^[41] a view echoed by Sean Cubit in EcoMedia who notes that “the series neatly echoed the chill that descended on radical politics in the Thatcher years in the United Kingdom”.^[42] The television historian Andrew Pixley has described the series as “possibly the finest BBC drama ever made”^[17] and “one of the few television programmes where every element can be said to have worked to complete effect”.^[43] This article concerns the British newspaper. ...

Edge of Darkness was placed fifteenth (fourth position out of the dramas featured on the list) on the British Film Institute's list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes in 2000,^[44] the BFI describing it as “a gripping, innovative six-part drama which fully deserves its cult status and many awards.”.^[45] Radio Times television editor Alison Graham listed it as one of the forty greatest television programmes ever made in 2003.^[46] It was one of only seven dramas listed in Broadcast magazine's list of the fifty most influential television programmes, published in July 2004.^[47] In March 2007, Edge of Darkness was placed third in Channel 4's list of the Greatest TV Dramas.^[48] Also on Channel 4, Darius Jedburgh was listed eighty-fourth in their list of the One Hundred Greatest TV Characters in 2001.^[49] The British Film Institute (BFI) is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to encourage the development of the arts of film, television and the moving image throughout the United Kingdom, to promote their use as a record of contemporary life and manners, to promote education about film, television and... 100 Greatest British Television Programmes was a list compiled in 2000 by the British Film Institute (BFI) chosen by a poll of industry professionals, to determine what were the greatest British television programmes of any genre ever to have been screened. ... Broadcast magazine is the weekly newspaper for the UK TV and Radio industry External links [http://www. ... This article is about the British television station. ... The 100 Greatest is a popular long running British TV strand on Channel 4. ...

Awards

Edge of Darkness received eleven nominations and won six awards at the 1986 BAFTA Awards:^[50] The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a British organization that hosts annual awards shows for film, television, childrens film and television, and interactive media. ...

• Won: Best Drama Series/Serial (Martin Campbell & Michael Wearing)
• Won: Best Actor (Bob Peck).
• Nominated: Best Actor (Joe Don Baker).
• Nominated: Best Actress (Joanne Whalley).
• Won: Best Original Television Music (Eric Clapton & Michael Kamen).
• Won: Best Film Cameraman (Andrew Dunn).
• Won: Best Film Editor (Adrian Fisher, Dan Rae).
• Won: Best Film Sound (Dickie Bird, Rob James, Christopher Swantoni, Tony Quinn).
• Nominated: Best Makeup (Daphne Croker).
• Nominated: Best Graphics (Andy Coward, Linda Sherwood-Page).
• Nominated: Best Design (Graeme Thompson).

At the 1986 Broadcasting Press Guild television critics' awards, Edge of Darkness won two awards:^[1] The Broadcasting Press Guild is a British association of journalists who specialise in writing and broadcasting about television, radio and the media generally. ...

• Won: Best Actor (Bob Peck) (joint winner with Ben Kingsley for Silas Marner).
• Nominated: Best Actor (Joe Don Baker).
• Won: Best Drama Series.

Sir Ben Kingsley, CBE, (born December 31, 1943) is a British actor. ... Silas Marner : The Weaver of Raveloe is a novel by George Eliot (the pen name of Mary Ann Evans) which was first published in 1861. ...

Other media

Edge of Darkness was released on VHS videotape by the BBC in 1987.^[51] There was also a release from CBS/Fox Video in North America at the same time. Troy Kennedy Martin's original script for episode one and the final scripts for episodes two to six of the serial were published by Faber and Faber in 1990; the script book also included an introduction by Kennedy Martin and two appendices – the first giving background to the story and the main characters and the second giving comments on the script by experts on nuclear power and police procedures.^[52] The serial was re-issued on VHS in 1998 by Revelation Films who also issued the serial on DVD in 1999.^[51] In 2003, BBC Worldwide re-issued Edge of Darkness on DVD (encoded for both regions 2 and 4) with several extra features including Magnox: The Secrets of Edge of Darkness, a specially made “making-of” documentary; an isolated soundtrack of Eric Clapton and Michael Kamen's score; a Bob Peck interview from BBC Breakfast Time; a contemporary report on the programme's BAFTA wins and coverage of the programme's wins at the Broadcasting Press Guild awards.^[53] In 2002, Martin Campbell announced that he was planning to adapt Edge of Darkness for the cinema; to date, nothing appears to have come of this.^[54] Bottom view of VHS cassette with magnetic tape exposed Top view of VHS cassette with front casing removed The Video Home System, better known by its abbreviation VHS, is a recording and playing standard. ... Bottom view of VHS videotape cassette with magnetic tape exposed Videotape is a means of recording images and sound onto magnetic tape as opposed to movie film. ... Faber and Faber is a celebrated publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing the poetry of T. S. Eliot. ... DVD (also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is a popular optical disc storage media format. ... BBC Worldwide Limited is the wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in 1995. ... Breakfast Time was British televisions first national breakfast show, beating ITVs Good Morning Britain to the air by two weeks. ...

Notes

BBC Worldwide Limited is the wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in 1995. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ... Walter C (Walt) Patterson (born November 4, 1936 in Winnipeg, Canada) arrived in the United Kingdom in 1960. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 95th day of the year (96th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... April 7 is the 97th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (98th in leap years). ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ... BBC Worldwide Limited is the wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in 1995. ... BBC Worldwide Limited is the wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in 1995. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 96th day of the year (97th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 96th day of the year (97th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 96th day of the year (97th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 96th day of the year (97th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Stage is a weekly British newspaper founded in 1880, available nationally and published on Thursdays. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 121st day of the year (122nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 96th day of the year (97th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 96th day of the year (97th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Troy Kennedy Martin (born 1932; sometimes credited as Troy Kennedy-Martin) is a British film and television scripwriter. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 99th day of the year (100th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The British Film Institute (BFI) is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to encourage the development of the arts of film, television and the moving image throughout the United Kingdom, to promote their use as a record of contemporary life and manners, to promote education about film, television and... For other uses, see Amsterdam (disambiguation). ... Troy Kennedy Martin (born 1932; sometimes credited as Troy Kennedy-Martin) is a British film and television scripwriter. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... TV Zone is a British magazine covering cult television (mostly science fiction and comedy) published every four weeks by Visual Imagination. ... ISSN, or International Standard Serial Number, is the unique eight-digit number applied to a periodical publication including electronic serials. ... TV Zone is a British magazine covering cult television (mostly science fiction and comedy) published every four weeks by Visual Imagination. ... ISSN, or International Standard Serial Number, is the unique eight-digit number applied to a periodical publication including electronic serials. ... BBC Worldwide Limited is the wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in 1995. ...

External links

• Edge of Darkness at bbc.co.uk
• Edge of Darkness at the Internet Movie Database
• Edge of Darkness (Northmoor fansite)
• Edge of Darkness at Action TV
• Edge of Darkness at the British Film Institute's Screenonline