IMDb > "Edge of Darkness" (1985)

"Edge of Darkness" (1985) More at IMDbPro »TV mini-series

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Overview

User Rating:
9.0/10   1,172 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 13% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Contact:
View company contact information for Edge of Darkness on IMDbPro.
Seasons:
1 full episode list
Release Date:
4 August 1986 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Thriller more
Plot:
The mysterious death of his activist daughter, leads her straight-laced father, an Inspector of the local police force... more
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
7 wins & 5 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(55 articles)
If Nolan Doesn't Direct 'Batman 3' Who Would You Like to See Take Over?
 (From Rope Of Silicon. 17 November 2009, 4:14 PM, PST)
New On DVD This Week
 (From The Flickcast. 3 November 2009, 3:35 PM, PST)
User Comments:
Television drama's finest five hours. more (41 total)

Cast

 (Series Cast Summary - 19 of 22)
Bob Peck ... Ronald Craven (6 episodes, 1985)
Joe Don Baker ... Darius Jedburgh (6 episodes, 1985)
Charles Kay ... Pendleton (6 episodes, 1985)

Ian McNeice ... Harcourt (5 episodes, 1985)

Joanne Whalley ... Emma Craven (5 episodes, 1985)
Hugh Fraser ... Bennett (4 episodes, 1985)
John Woodvine ... Ross (4 episodes, 1985)
Jack Watson ... James Godbolt (4 episodes, 1985)
Allan Cuthbertson ... Chilwell (4 episodes, 1985)
Kenneth Nelson ... Grogan (3 episodes, 1985)
David Fleeshman ... Jones (3 episodes, 1985)
Zoë Wanamaker ... Clemmy / ... (3 episodes, 1985)
Bill Stewart ... Dingle (3 episodes, 1985)
T.R. Bowen ... Childs (3 episodes, 1985)
Imogen Staley ... Young Emma (3 episodes, 1985)
Paul Humpoletz ... Elham (2 episodes, 1985)
Sarah Martin ... Polly Pelham (2 episodes, 1985)
Paul Williamson ... Bewes (2 episodes, 1985)

Tim McInnerny ... Terry Shields (2 episodes, 1985)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
317 min (6 parts) | Australia:307 min | Brazil:270 min (video version)
Country:
UK
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Filming Locations:
Gleneagles, Perth and Kinross, Scotland, UK more
Company:
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Joe Don Baker's character Jedburgh is the same as the code name of a WWII sabotage group that worked with the French underground to parachute agents behind enemy lines. The code name was taken from a Scotish town. His character's name is therefore suggestive of the sort of part he will play in the drama. more
Quotes:
Emma Craven: Millions of years ago when the Earth was cold, it looked like life on the planet would cease to exist. But black flowers began to grow, multiplying across the landscape until the entire surface was covered in blooms. Slowly, the blackness of the flowers sucked in the heat of the sun and life began to evolve again. That is the power of Gaia. The planet will protect itself. If man is the enemy, it will destroy him. more
Movie Connections:
Remade as Edge of Darkness (2010) more
Soundtrack:
Edge of Darkness more

FAQ

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
28 out of 31 people found the following comment useful.
Television drama's finest five hours., 7 July 2003
Author: Mike Knell (mpk@lspace.org) from London, UK

Produced at the height of the nuclear paranoia and economic gloom that drove the Britain of Margaret Thatcher and the USA of Ronald Reagan, Troy Kennedy Martin's landmark drama broke new ground and handled uncomfortable subjects with sometimes unsettling depth and accuracy.

The late Bob Peck, in one of television's greatest performances, is Ronald Craven, a Yorkshire detective whose daughter Emma (Joanne Whalley) is gunned down outside their house in what is initially assumed to be a revenge attack related to Craven's former, and shadowy, intelligence past in Northern Ireland. The plot unwinds from here and slowly reveals a grand, all-encompassing conspiracy extending to the very highest levels as Craven investigates the circumstances of, and the motives behind, his daughter's death.

Peck plays Craven with a subtle emotional intensity rarely seen on television, the deadpan delivery of a man in the depths of grief contrasted by the emotions which his eyes always betray. A supporting cast of renegade CIA agents (Joe Don Baker giving the performance he was born for as brash Texan Darias Jedburgh), amiable but slightly sinister civil servants who never quite make it clear who they're working for (Charles Kay and Ian McNeice as Pendleton and Harcourt), environmental activists, trade-unionists, police and self-serving politicians make for a plot that twists and turns unpredictably as Craven's grief-powered explorations lead him ever deeper into the shadows, until the final, devastating, unexpected dénouement in the last episode that almost leaves more questions in the mind of the viewer than it answers.

This is British television drama at its best. Making it in the first place was a brave decision for the BBC, and it hasn't been bettered since. The plot sometimes seems slow at times, but there's always something relevant happening on screen. I do not recommend starting watching half-way through, as you will end up with an incomplete understanding of both the message of the story and the convoluted plot. Take the phone off the hook for five hours and enjoy. It is superb in all aspects from writing to casting to production, and exercises the mind in a way that few dramas do.

Incidentally - the original DVD release received poor reviews, but the 2003 re-release on a BBC DVD is excellent and includes some worthwhile extras as well as the complete uncut series.

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Message Boards

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Elephant and Castle LCShackley
U.S. DVD Release? Selebii
Trailer for EDGE OF DARKNESS starring Mel Gibson TheFilmBloggerdotcom
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Spielberg loved it? stuart-mccormack
Where is Craven's house? mark-3107
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