This opening episode was 45th in the charts with 8.57 million viewers.
Broadcast Magazine dismissed this first edition as "Murkily photographed, with unprepossessing and too-old leads".
Co-writer Andrew Montgomery revealed that the performances of the actors helped generate ideas and rewrites for how the series should develop, with the character of Rudy Lorimer initially uncertain in his mind.
In The Stage (21st October 1993) Montgomery said: "Lorimer is a wonderful character but was quite difficult for us to write initially. He is rather Maxwellian in ways - a Czech with rather dodgy dealings who ends up running a film studio. As soon as we saw how James [Faulkner] was playing it, we immediately knew how to write it, and it worked a treat."
In The Stage (21st October 1993) Montgomery said: "Lorimer is a wonderful character but was quite difficult for us to write initially. He is rather Maxwellian in ways - a Czech with rather dodgy dealings who ends up running a film studio. As soon as we saw how James [Faulkner] was playing it, we immediately knew how to write it, and it worked a treat."