The Last Place on Earth (1985– )

Scott vs. Amundsen. It wasn't meant to be a race, but race it becomes, as the world awaits news of the first to reach the Pole. What follows is a tale of heroism, foolhardiness, ... See full summary »

Stars:

Martin Shaw, Sverre Anker Ousdal, Stephen Moore

Cast

Series cast summary:
Martin Shaw	...	Captain R. F. Scott (7 episodes, 1985)
Sverre Anker Ousdal	...	Roald Amundsen (7 episodes, 1985)
Stephen Moore	...	Dr. 'Bill' Wilson (7 episodes, 1985)
Ståle Bjørnhaug	...	Olav Bjaaland (6 episodes, 1985)
Tom Georgeson	...	P.O. Lashly (6 episodes, 1985)
Hugh Grant	...	Cherry-Garrard (6 episodes, 1985)
Michael Maloney	...	Lt. 'Teddy' Evans (6 episodes, 1985)
Richard Morant	...	Capt. 'Titus' Oates (6 episodes, 1985)
Sylvester McCoy	...	Lt. 'Birdie' Bowers (6 episodes, 1985)
Robin Soans	...	Surgeon Atkinson (6 episodes, 1985)
Tom Gerrard	...	P.O. Keohane (5 episodes, 1985)
Jan Hårstad	...	Helmer Hanssen (5 episodes, 1985)
Erik Hivju	...	Sverre Hassel (5 episodes, 1985)
Ivar Nørve	...	Oscar Wisting (5 episodes, 1985)
Daragh O'Malley	...	P.O. Crean (5 episodes, 1985)
Paul Rothery	...	'Silas' Wright (5 episodes, 1985)
Pat Roach	...	P.O. Evans (5 episodes, 1985)
Susan Wooldridge	...	Kathleen Bruce - Mrs. Scott (4 episodes, 1985)
Jon Eikemo	...	Adolf Lindström (4 episodes, 1985)
Bill Nighy	...	Cecil Meares (4 episodes, 1985)
Sven Nordin	...	Gran (4 episodes, 1985)
Jirí Stanislav	...	Dimitri (4 episodes, 1985)
Hans Ola Sørlie	...	Jorgen Stubberud (4 episodes, 1985)
Max von Sydow	...	Fridtjof Nansen (3 episodes, 1985)
Lawrence Douglas	...	Bernard Day (3 episodes, 1985)
Per Theodor Haugen	...	Leon Amundsen (3 episodes, 1985)
Alexander Knox	...	Sir Clements Markham (3 episodes, 1985)
Toralv Maurstad	...	Hjalmar Johansen (3 episodes, 1985)
Peter Jeffrey	...	Lord Curzon (3 episodes, 1985)
Nils Ole Oftebro	...	Lt. Nilsen (3 episodes, 1985)
Sue Robinson	...	Mrs. Ory Wilson (3 episodes, 1985)
Bjørn Skagestad	...	Kristian Prestrud (3 episodes, 1985)
Robin Summers	...	P.O. Clissold (3 episodes, 1985)
Erik Bye	...	Andreas Beck (2 episodes, 1985)
Cliff Burnett	...	Reg Skelton (2 episodes, 1985)
Brian Dennehy	...	Frederick Cook (2 episodes, 1985)
Julian Fox	...	Lt. Campbell (2 episodes, 1985)
Astrid Folstad	...	Betty (2 episodes, 1985)
Anthony Hyde	...	Dr. Simpson (2 episodes, 1985)
Terry Kingley	...	Griffith Taylor (2 episodes, 1985)
Jane Laurie	...	Hilda Evans (2 episodes, 1985)
Peter Sands	...	Lt. Pennell (2 episodes, 1985)
Nickolas Grace	...	Lord Howard De Walden (2 episodes, 1985)
Richard Todd	...	Mr. Barnes (2 episodes, 1985)
Richard Wilson	...	Scott Keltie (2 episodes, 1985)

Storyline

Scott vs. Amundsen. It wasn't meant to be a race, but race it becomes, as the world awaits news of the first to reach the Pole. What follows is a tale of heroism, foolhardiness, selflessness and self-delusion, in a land where victory must be secondary to survival.

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Plot Keywords:

amundsen | south pole | antarctica | weather | snow | 

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Taglines:

Scott and Amundsen both wanted to be first to the Pole. One of them was. The other became a hero.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Also Known As:

Maailman äärellä

Filming Locations:

Greenland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Central Independent Television, Renegade Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

396 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The song that Olav Bjaaland (Ståle Bjørnhaug) sings when the Norwegian team breaks the "farthest south" record is "Nordmannen", also called "Millom Bakkar og Berg". The lyrics are by the Norwegian poet and linguist, Ivar Aasen (1813-1896), best known for developing the "landsmaal" written language from rural Norwegian dialects. The music is by Ludvig Lindeman (1812-1887).

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Goofs

In the series, Amundsen visits Dr Frederick Cook in Leavenworth Prison shortly after the publication of Scott's journal. In reality, the meeting took place more than a decade later, in 1926, when Cook was serving a sentence for his part in an alleged oil fraud.

User Reviews

Amundsen Still Being Hounded by Scott Myth

Let me start out by agreeing with everyone who has previously written: it is the best drama about polar adventure ever made.

The viewer should be very skeptical about the Scott defenders because it is evident their homework is shallowly researched and based on a very limited interpretation of Scott's polar problem: that bad luck and bad weather caused his downfall.

I've read Huntford's book 3 times, read the weather article and seen the PBS episode where the young scientist tried to resurrect Scott as a noble, if unfortunate hero. Also, Huntford and his fellow professionals have posted excellent rebuttals regarding these spurious claims about Scott and the weather.

The questions that should put an end to the argument is this: who would get you through safely and who exhibited a breadth of polar knowledge sufficient to AVOID the problems of travel in the brutal Antarctic?

If you said Scott, then you probably thought the Charge of the Light Brigade was a wonderful jaunt through Russian cannon fire just to show how noble and brave you were. Above all else, don't let these half-informed reviewers go without a serious look into the counter-points made to their weak arguments.

Still, the series is a breath-taking look at the human struggle to survive and to seek glory and the dreadful price it takes in lives and in the judgment of history.