The State Within 

After a plane explodes over Washington D.C. panic begins to envelop the British embassy, and its ambassador to the U.S. Mark Brydon finds himself caught up in a potentially damaging diplomatic incident.

Stars:

Jason Isaacs, Ben Daniels, Eva Birthistle

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 8 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Jason Isaacs	...	Mark Brydon 6 episodes, 2006
Ben Daniels	...	Nicholas Brocklehurst 6 episodes, 2006
Eva Birthistle	...	Jane Lavery 6 episodes, 2006
Neil Pearson	...	Phil Lonsdale 6 episodes, 2006
Genevieve O'Reilly	...	Caroline Hanley 6 episodes, 2006
Sharon Gless	...	Lynne Warner 6 episodes, 2006
Noam Jenkins	...	Christopher Styles 6 episodes, 2006
Ted Whittall	...	Gordon Adair 6 episodes, 2006
Christopher Bolton	...	Vinny Swain 6 episodes, 2006
Nigel Bennett	...	Charles Macintyre 6 episodes, 2006
Marnie McPhail	...	George Blake 6 episodes, 2006
Alex Jennings	...	James Sinclair 6 episodes, 2006
Aaron Abrams	...	Matthew Weiss 6 episodes, 2006
Emma Campbell	...	Sally Davis 5 episodes, 2006
Rahnuma Panthaky	...	Nasreen Qureshi 5 episodes, 2006
Briony Glassco	...	Jennifer 5 episodes, 2006
Louca Tassone	...	Azzam Sinclair 5 episodes, 2006
Roman Podhora	...	Vernon 4 episodes, 2006
Michael Rhoades	...	Gary Pritchard 4 episodes, 2006
Lennie James	...	Luke Gardner 4 episodes, 2006
Ron Lea	...	Carl Garcia 4 episodes, 2006
Patrick Garrow	...	Brad Godovsky 4 episodes, 2006
David Eisner	...	Sam Levinson 4 episodes, 2006
Vijay Mehta	...	Hassan Khan 3 episodes, 2006
Peter Snider	...	Macintyre's Lawyer 3 episodes, 2006
Anita Carey	...	Mrs. Gardner 3 episodes, 2006
Rory O'Shea	...	Anchor 2 / ... 3 episodes, 2006
Wayne Downer	...	Tim 3 episodes, 2006
Todd Sandomirsky	...	Terry Bennett / ... 3 episodes, 2006
Peter James Haworth	...	General Lane 3 episodes, 2006
David Huband	...	Warden Slake 3 episodes, 2006
Joe Pingue	...	Al Rivero 3 episodes, 2006
Kevin Louis	...	Airport Security / ... 2 episodes, 2006
Jonathan Whittaker	...	Anthony Hanley 2 episodes, 2006
Paulino Nunes	...	Eshan Borisvitch 2 episodes, 2006
Cory Atkins	...	Glen Laroche 2 episodes, 2006
J.C. Kenny	...	Jeb Starkey 2 episodes, 2006
Glen Grant	...	Boston Customs Officer 2 episodes, 2006
Daniela Lama	...	Saida Sinclair 2 episodes, 2006
Barry Flatman	...	Governor Karpinski 2 episodes, 2006
Arlene Duncan	...	Female FBI agent 2 episodes, 2006

Storyline

Ambassador to Washington is the pinnacle of success in the Foreign Office and the position is offered to only the brightest and the best. But Ambassador Mark Brydon finds his skills tested to the limits when, following a major diplomatic incident, he is thrust into a web of tangled relationships and conflicting interests. In a world of high stakes, where manipulation of information means ultimate power, the question is: who can he trust?

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Plot Keywords:

tv mini series | ambassador | terrorist | terrorism | suicide bombing | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller | War

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Details

Official Sites:

BBC [UK]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 November 2006 (UK)

Also Known As:

Conspiración

Filming Locations:

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

360 min (6 parts) 59 min (6 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Mark returns to the Embassy with Sinclair's little boy, and takes the boy to the room where he can stay, you can hear European Blackbirds (Turdus merula) and Great and Blue Tits (Parus major and caeruleus) singing from outside - these birds and their singing don't exist in Washington D. C. - but they exist in Great Britain.

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Quotes

Sir Mark Brydon: You're a duplicitous bastard.
Nicholas Brocklehurst: It's my job.

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Connections

Referenced in Séries express: Episode #2.36 (2009)

User Reviews

Rousing, Topical Thriller!

Going into this six-part series, I have to admit that my interest at first was mostly prurient, thanks to a couple of well-placed clips on YouTube (and I'll let you guess which ones.) Rare is the occasion that my partner and I will put up with an entire series over the span of two nights, but we got so involved that we actually did it: Parts 1-3 one night; 4-6 on the following evening.

And was it worth it! From the moment a British jetliner on the way back to London explodes over Washington, DC, THE STATE WITHIN literally grabs you by the throat and won't stop shaking you until the final episode.

Now, fans of series like 24, CSI and THE UNIT should take note here: this is way out of the comfort zone of the 'casual' viewer. To their credit, writers Lizzie Mickery and Daniel Percival are not about to spoon-feed you one single detail, so mentally you'd better be 'on your toes' at all times and keeping up with all the espionage, double-dealing and a large and exceptional cast, because this train's not stopping to wait for anybody. Plus the kinetic directing styles of Michael Offer in the first three episodes and writer Percival taking the helm for the remainder, ensure that it stays moving and engaging, even when there's not a lot of things blowing up or people getting dispatched in the nastiest ways possible.

The ensemble cast, led in an unusually heroic turn by Jason Isaacs is great, as everyone brings something to the table. If you are familiar with British and Canadian television, a few faces will definitely be familiar to you, especially FOREVER KNIGHT'S Nigel Bennett playing one of his most hissable brand of baddies, and Lennie James in a surprisingly sympathetic role as a death-row inmate. Ben Daniels and Noam Jenkins are standouts as two men who are essentially on opposite sides of the same coin (and so much more.)

And definitely worth noting is Sharon Gless' performance as the steely Secretary of Defense who seems to be pulling all the strings and manipulating all the players in this nightmarish scenario, but wait! No one and nothing is as it seems in this piece, and though it feels like the first two episodes kind of leave you swinging in the wind, your patience will be richly rewarded as by Part Three, the pieces begin to fall into place. And if the story threads of WMD's, covert military operations, backroom deals and cold-blooded murder sounds a little too familiar, you better believe that it's intentional.

In fact, it's a mark of Mickery and Percival's creative skills, that when I started watching the news shortly after finishing Part 6, I felt like I was still watching the movie!

I recommend THE STATE WITHIN with extreme bias on my part. I love "thinking man's thrillers", and this is one of the best I've seen in a long time. American writers and producers should watch this and learn something....