Edge of Darkness

Infobox Television
show_name = Edge of Darkness


genre = Drama
Thriller
Science fiction
writer = Troy Kennedy Martin
director = Martin Campbell
starring = Bob Peck
Joanne Whalley
Joe Don Baker
Charles Kay
Ian McNeice
composer = Michael Kamen
Eric Clapton
country = UK
language = English
num_episodes = 6
producer = Michael Wearing
cinematography = Andrew Dunn
camera = Single-camera
runtime = c. 50 minute episodes
network = BBC2
picture_format = Film PAL (576i)
audio_format = Stereophonic sound
first_aired = 4 November 1985
last_aired = 9 December 1985
website = http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/ilove/tv/edge/
imdb_id = 0090424
tv_com_id = 14004

"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.

Writer Troy Kennedy Martin was greatly influenced by the political climate of the time – particularly the Thatcher administration, perceived by many on the left as reactionary, and the aura of secrecy surrounding the nuclear industry – and 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.

First broadcast on BBC2, "Edge of Darkness" it was met with such widespread critical acclaim that within weeks it had 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. The series' director, Martin Campbell is filming a remake for release in 2009, starring Mel Gibson.

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.;Two: Into The ShadowsAs 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 radioactive material, 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.;Three: Burden Of ProofThe 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).;Four: BreakthroughMcCroon 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.;Five: NorthmoorCraven 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.;Six: FusionCraven 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.

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. [BBC, 1983 : [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgbbRnL1XzE&feature=related the death of 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.

Principal credits

Cast

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.cite video | title = Broadcasting Press Guild Awards 1986 | medium = Edge of Darkness DVD Special Feature | publisher = BBC Worldwide | location = London ] 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. [imdb name|id=0669629|name=Bob Peck]

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. [imdb name|id=0000695|name=Joanne Whalley]

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 he agreed to take the part at lower than his usual fee.Pixley, "Get It While It's Hot", p. 56.] 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). [imdb name|id=0000833|name=Joe Don Baker]

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). [imdb name|id=0443016|name=Charles Kay]

"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), "" (1995) and "Frank Herbert's Dune" (2000) as well as regular roles in "Doc Martin" (2004 - present) and "Rome" (2005 - 2007). [imdb name|id=0573862|name=Ian McNiece]

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.

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). [imdb name|id=0448392|name=Troy Kennedy Martin]

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). [imdb name|id=0132709|name=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). [imdb name|id=0915725|name=Michael Wearing]

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. [cite web |url = http://www.waltpatterson.org/moreaboutwaltpatterson.pdf |title = More about Walt Patterson |accessdate = 2007-04-05 |last = Patterson |first = Walt |authorlink = Walt Patterson |year = 2006 |format = PDF |work = Walt Patterson on Energy ] 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.Pixley, "Get It While It's Hot", p. 55.]

Music

The musical score was provided by Eric Clapton and Michael Kamen. As a guitarist, singer and composer, Eric Clapton had come to fame as a member of rock supergroup Cream. He was approached to provide the score by producer Michael Wearing.Vanezis, "Magnox: The Secrets of Edge of Darkness".] Shortly afterwards, when Michael Kamen brought Clapton to a screening of "Brazil" (1985), which he, Kamen, had scored, Eric suggested a collaboration between the two on "Edge of Darkness". [cite web |url = http://fabulousbakers.tripod.com/edge/interview01.html |title = Interview: Michael Kamen |accessdate = 2007-04-07 |work = Northmoor ] 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), "" (1991) and "X-Men" (2000). He died in 2003. [imdb name|id=004383|name=Michael Kamen]

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.

Eric Clapton and Michael Kamen performed the movie's main theme with the National Philharmonic Orchestra during the 24 Nights period in 1990 and 1991.

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.Kennedy Martin, "Introduction".] 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. 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”.

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.Pixley, "Get It While It's Hot", p. 52.] The script was given to head of BBC Drama, Jonathan Powell, who encouraged Kennedy Martin to continue its development.Pixley, "Get It While It's Hot", p. 53.] The script would go though many changes and revisions before reaching its final form.

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. 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. 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.

The other major influence was the Gaia hypothesis, that the Earth is a single living system that self-regulates 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.

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”. [Cooke, "British Television Drama: A History", p. 64] "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”.Lavender, "Edge of Darkness (Troy Kennedy Martin)", p. 104.] 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. [Lavender, "Edge of Darkness (Troy Kennedy Martin)", p. 112.] 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. 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. 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.

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”. [Pixley, "Get It While It's Hot", p. 54.] The budget was set at £2 million, of which £400,000 came from an American co-producer, Lionheart Television International. 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. [Pixley, "Get It While It's Hot", p. 54 - 55.] 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”, a view echoed by Michael Wearing who felt that it was “likely not to come off as an effect”. 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. [Lavender, "Edge of Darkness (Troy Kennedy Martin)", p. 113.]

Shooting on "Edge of Darkness" began on 9 July 1984 and ran for five months until 5 December 1984.Pixley, "Into The Shadows", p. 50.] 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, the headquarters of Systime Computers {now the O2 building} where Craven hacks into the MI5 computer 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 formulatedInglis, "Citizenship and the Media", p. 55.] ) 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). [Pixley, "Into The Shadows", "passim"] 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. 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” [cite video | title = Bob Peck interviewed on Breakfast Time | medium = Edge of Darkness DVD Special Feature | publisher = BBC Worldwide | location = London ] 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”.

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.Pixley, "Into The Shadows", p. 51.] The serial averaged an audience of 4 million viewers over its run.Cooke, "British Television Drama: A History", p. 147.] 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. “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”. [cite news | first = Celia | last = Brayfield | title = Television: Thrilling promising pedigree | work = The Times | publisher = News Corp. | date = 1985-11-05 ] Ruth Baumgarten, in "The Listener", praised the serial as “a grandiosely ambitious and compelling piece of fiction”.Pixley, "Into The Shadows", p. 51.] 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”. [cite video | title = Did You See..? | medium = Edge of Darkness DVD Special Feature | publisher = BBC Worldwide | location = London ] 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” [cite news | first = Byron | last = Rogers | title = TV Review: They've got you surrounded | work = The Sunday Times | publisher = News Corp. | date = 1985-11-10 ] but later felt he was “beginning to find "Edge of Darkness" slightly irritating” [cite news | first = Byron | last = Rogers | title = TV Review: The camera digs it's claws in | work = The Sunday Times | publisher = News Corp. | date = 1985-12-01 ] and decried the final episode as “an insult to its considerable following”. [cite news | first = Byron | last = Rogers | title = TV Review: Beasts at the last supper | work = The Sunday Times | publisher = News Corp. | date = 1985-12-15 ]

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.Pixley, "Into The Shadows", p. 52.] 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. It was a move that paid off – "Edge of Darkness" doubled its audience on BBC1 to 8 million viewers.

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. [Kibble-White, "Let's All Hide In The Linen Cupboard".] "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)). [Lavender, "Edge of Darkness (Troy Kennedy Martin)", p. 107.]

"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”. [Lavender, "Edge of Darkness (Troy Kennedy Martin)", p. 103 - 104.] 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”. [Lavender, "Edge of Darkness (Troy Kennedy Martin)", p. 103.] 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”. 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”, [Cooke, "British Television Drama: A History", p. 148.] 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”. [Cubitt, "Edge of Darkness: eco-terrorism and the public sphere", p. 79.] The television historian Andrew Pixley has described the series as “possibly the finest BBC drama ever made” and “one of the few television programmes where every element can be said to have worked to complete effect”. [Pixley, "Into The Shadows", p. 53.]

"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, [cite web |url = http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/tv/100/list/list.php |title = The BFI TV 100: 1-100 |accessdate = 2007-04-06 |year = 2000 |work = British Film Institute ] the BFI describing it as “a gripping, innovative six-part drama which fully deserves its cult status and many awards.”. [cite web |url = http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/tv/100/list/prog.php?id=15 |title = 15: Edge of Darkness |accessdate = 2007-04-06 |last = Taylor |first = Veronica |work = British Film Institute ] "Radio Times" television editor Alison Graham listed it as one of the forty greatest television programmes ever made in 2003. [cite web |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3184529.stm |title = Soaps join TV classics list |accessdate = 2007-04-06 |date = 2003-08-27|work = BBC News ] It was one of only seven dramas listed in "Broadcast" magazine's list of the fifty most influential television programmes, published in July 2004. [cite web |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3919275.stm |title = TV shows make 'influential' list |accessdate = 2007-04-06 |date = 2004-07-23|work = BBC News ] In March 2007, "Edge of Darkness" was placed third in Channel 4's list of the Greatest TV Dramas. [cite web |url = http://www.thestage.co.uk/tvtoday/2007/03/the_50_greatest_tv_dramas.php | title = The 50 greatest TV dramas | accessdate = 2007-05-01 | last = Mathewman | first = Scott | date = 2007-03-07 | work = The Stage ] Also on Channel 4, Darius Jedburgh was listed eighty-fourth in their list of the One Hundred Greatest TV Characters in 2001. [cite web |url = http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/tv_characters/results.html |title = The One Hundred... Greatest TV Characters |accessdate = 2007-04-06 |work = Channel 4 ]

Awards

"Edge of Darkness" received eleven nominations and won six awards at the 1986 BAFTA Awards: [cite web |url = http://www.bafta.org/site/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/import/TV_and_%20Craft_Winners_1980-1989.pdf |title = Television and Craft Awards Winners and Nominations 1980-1989 |accessdate = 2007-04-06 |format = PDF |work = BAFTA |pages = p. 19-23 ]
*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 (Ardan 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:
*Won: Best Actor (Bob Peck) (joint winner with Ben Kingsley for "Silas Marner").
*Nominated: Best Actor (Joe Don Baker).
*Won: Best Drama Series.

Other media

"Edge of Darkness" was released on VHS videotape by the BBC in 1987.Pixley, "Into the Shadows", p. 53.] There was also a release from CBS/Fox Video in North America at the same time. The soundtrack was also released as an album entitled "Edge of Darkness".

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. [cite book | last = Kennedy Martin | first = Troy | authorlink = Troy Kennedy Martin | title = Edge of Darkness | year = 1990 | publisher = Faber and Faber | location = London | isbn = 0-571-14193-3 ]

The serial was re-issued on VHS in 1998 by Revelation Films who also issued the serial on DVD in 1999. 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. ["Edge of Darkness" (DVD), BBC Worldwide, 2003.] A region-1 (US/Canada) DVD release was announced for early 2008 but has yet to appear.

ee also

* "Edge of Darkness", the soundtrack album for the series, by Eric Clapton and Michael Kamen.

Notes

References

*cite book
last = Cooke
first = Lez
title = British Television Drama: A History
year = 2003
location = London
publisher = British Film Institute
id = ISBN 0-85170-884-6
*cite book
last = Cubitt
first = Sean
title = EcoMedia
year = 2005
location = Amsterdam
publisher = Rodopi
id = ISBN 90-420-1885-2
pages = 79-98
chapter = Edge of Darkness: eco-terrorism and the public sphere
*cite book
last = Fulton
first = Roger
title = The Encyclopedia of TV Science Fiction
edition = 3rd Edition
year = 1997
publisher = Boxtree
location = London
id = ISBN 0-7522-1150-1
*cite book
last = Kennedy Martin
first = Troy
authorlink = Troy Kennedy Martin
title = Edge of Darkness
year = 1989
publisher = Faber and Faber
location = London
isbn = 0-571-14193-3
chapter = Introduction
chapterurl = http://fabulousbakers.tripod.com/edge/intro.html
accessdate = 2007-04-03
*cite web
url = http://www.offthetelly.co.uk/features/nuclear.htm
title = Let's All Hide In The Linen Cupboard
accessdate = 2007-04-03
last = Kibble-White
first = Jack
year = 2001
month = September
work = Off The Telly
*cite book
last = Lavender
first = Andrew
editor = Brandt, George W.
title = British Television Drama in the 1980s
year = 1993
publisher = Cambridge University Press
location = Cambridge, England
isbn = 0521427231
pages = p. 103-118
chapter = Edge of Darkness (Troy Kennedy Martin)
*cite book
last = Inglis
first = Fred
editor = Fleming et al.
title = Formations: 20th Century Media Studies
year = 2000
publisher = Manchester University Press
location = Manchester, England
isbn = 0719058465
pages = p. 45-57
chapter = Citizenship and the Media
*cite journal
last = Pixley
first = Andrew
year = 2003
month = June
title = Get It While It's Hot: Flashback – Edge of Darkness (Part One)
journal = TV Zone
issue = 163
pages = p. 52–57
issn = 0957-3844
*cite journal
last = Pixley
first = Andrew
year = 2003
month = July
title = Into The Shadows: Flashback – Edge of Darkness (Part Two)
journal = TV Zone
issue = 164
pages = p. 48–53
issn = 0957-3844
*cite video
people = Vanezis, Paul (Producer & Director)
year = 2003
title = Magnox: The Secrets of Edge of Darkness
medium = Edge of Darkness DVD Special Feature
publisher = BBC Worldwide
location = London
*cite video
people = Wearing, Michael (Producer); Campbell, Martin (Director) & Kennedy Martin, Troy (Writer)
year = 1985
title = Edge of Darkness
medium = Television programme
publisher = BBC
location = London

External links

*bbc.co.uk|id=cult/ilove/tv/edge|title="Edge of Darkness"
*imdb title|id=0090424|title=Edge of Darkness
* [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/473217/index.html "Edge of Darkness"] at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
* [http://media2.bournemouth.ac.uk/documents/pdfs/scriptwriting/npf9tkmartin.pdf Interview with Troy Kennedy Martin] (circa 2004)