Bad Blood (22 Jan. 2006)

Foyle investigates the a mysterious disease affecting local farm animals and looks into the arrest of a pacifist accused of stabbing a war hero.

Director:

Jeremy Silberston

Writer:

Anthony Horowitz (written and created by)

Stars:

Peter Sandys-Clarke, Ben Meyjes, Philip Franks

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Sandys-Clarke	...	Mark Wilcox
Ben Meyjes	...	Simon Higgins
Philip Franks	...	Captain George Halliday
Honeysuckle Weeks	...	Samantha Stewart
Jonah Lotan	...	Joe Farnetti
Michael Kitchen	...	Christopher Foyle
Jay Simpson	...	Sergeant Ian Brooke
Anthony Howell	...	Sergeant Paul Milner
Caroline Martin	...	Edith Ashford
Tom Harper	...	Leonard Cartwright
Roy Marsden	...	Ted Cartwright
Kenneth Colley	...	Brian Jones
Gawn Grainger	...	DCS David Fielding
Tim Delap	...	Martin Ashford
Anthony Flanagan	...	Tom Jenkins

Storyline

August 1942: A truck drops a sheep while driving through farmland. Nearby animals start dying, then a farmer's daughter, and Sam falls ill. Then cows fall sick and mysteriously disappear. Foyle's inquiries lead him to work on biological warfare and the search for a cure for Sam, as her illness looks terminal. Meanwhile, Sgt. Milner investigates the murder of a war hero by a conscientious objector, who happens to be the brother of a past love of his.

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Plot Keywords:

war hero | conscientious objector | pacifist | farm animal | sheep | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | War

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 January 2006 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paddock Productions, Greenlit Productions

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Real-life Christopher Foyle, current owner of the famous Foyle's bookshop in London, makes a cameo appearance in this episode as a bookseller.

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Goofs

The narrative refers to the historical sinking of the SS "Navarino", part of the ill-fated arctic convoy PQ17, on July 5th, 1942. In flashbacks, the (fictional) survivors Tom Jenkins and Leonard Cartwright are shown fighting for their lives clinging to wreckage in heavy seas, at night, with a thunderstorm in the background. In fact, July 5th is close to midsummer, so above the Arctic Circle, there would be light for twenty-four hours of the day; even at midnight, there would at least be a half light. Historical records show that the weather at the time was nearly calm, with occasional overcast. (There may even have been mirages caused by atmospheric inversion.)

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mark Wilcox: Simon?
Simon Higgins: Good morning, Mark.
Mark Wilcox: How are you?
Simon Higgins: Just missed the quack. No change I'm afraid.
Mark Wilcox: But you are going to be all right?
Simon Higgins: Apart from being blind, you mean?
Mark Wilcox: You shouldn't have done it.
Simon Higgins: Oh, it's only temporary, Mark; I'll be fine. What about the new test?
Mark Wilcox: We're going ahead now.
[...]

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Connections

References Saboteur (1942)

User Reviews

A Goof!?

Realising that there are now fewer and fewer viewers who actually lived through the war years in Britain, the accuracy of the scene setting and events is remarkably good. However, in 'Bad Blood'- which we were told was set in 1942 - one of the Anthrax victims (Sam) was cured by using Streptomycin. This wasn't even developed until October 1943 (by Rutgers, in America) and only released for restricted use (i.e. NOT for general hospital use) until the following years. I am also baffled to remember any effort or 'campaign' (apart from the usual wartime shortages), to save light bulbs? Neither can I find a reference to it. However, that is quibbling and generally the programs are excellent, very authentic and almost scarily evocative of living through those days.