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Something of a surprise in Channel 4’s 1998 autumn
schedules was this tense and gripping look at vampires in modern day
London. Rapidly advancing technology and the Cold War and left the risk of
mass human destruction still very much a possibility. Faced with their own
existence being put in jeopardy, the vampires had decided to get
themselves organised and do something about this threat to their all-important
food source. In response, an organisation with roots almost as old as the
vampires themselves, had been set up, with secret government recognition,
to fight the suddenly increased menace.
Viewers were introduced to the two very different sides
in the war through Police detective Michael Colefield. He is drawn into
investigating Jack Beresford’s disappearance because, apart from being
his best friend, Jack was set to marry Kirsty, a woman about whom he
himself has very strong feelings. His investigation brings him into
contact with the good and the bad of both sides before he is forced to
make a choice that will change his life. His situation becomes even less
clear when he is forced to contact Frances, an old friend, for
information, and it is clear she still has strong feelings for him. His
attempts to distance himself from both women in his life, for their own
safety, prove fruitless, and the growing menace draws all three further
into danger as the series progresses.
This smooth, well-made drama made the most of London
locations and some beautiful photography. The word "vampire" was
never once used, which helped the series gain credit. They were usually
referred to either by inference, or directly by name. Idris Alba's
ex-military character, the dry and dangerous Vaughn Rice, refers to them
as leeches. The dark and sinister mood of the series was greatly enhanced
by an engagingly grim soundtrack, which heightened the tension superbly.
Four months after its first broadcast, the series received a screening on
Sky One, but this programme’s debut was, for once, on network
television. Unfortunately, a second series has never been commissioned.
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Habeas
Corpus
When Police informant Pollard is murdered in a busy
shopping arcade and his contact, Detective Jack Beresford, mysteriously
disappears on the eve of his wedding, Michael begins his search for some
answers. Jack is found to have had an unusually healthy bank balance, and an
involvement with some very sinister people who only seem to appear at night.
His absence and Michael’s involvement attracts the attention of a powerful
organisation which operates out of a high-tech base above Cannon Street
station in London, and with full government blessing. They make Michael
aware of just what it is they are fighting, and how big a threat their enemy
represents to humanity’s future. Upon meeting Jack for the last time, Mike
must make his choice and fight for one side or the other.
Jack Beresford Stephen Moyer
Pollard Ronnie Letham
Carter Marc Bolton
DS Paul Ferman John Ashton
Sue Lara J West
Nurse Blondell Taylor
Street Artist Daniel Moynihan
Computer Operator Colin Kerrigan
Pathologist Ian Crowe
In
Nomine Patris
The reclusive, wayward son of a wealthy public figure
has a brush with a maddened biker during daylight hours and suffers hideous,
and permanent, damage to his body. Michael and the team begin to close in on
the financial backing behind his wealth as he pulls the plug on his City
investments and tempts his market dealer, Danni, who is facing a mid-life
crisis, into joining him in his night life. Michael also faces the very
necessary task of having to shed elements of his personal life, including
Kirsty, to keep anyone from harm because of his new connections.
Danni Jane Slavin
Gideon Trevor Bowen
Lester Christopher Villiers
Neil Neil Maskell
Sal Julie Smith
Nurse at Home Victoria Byrne
Bank Official Simon Cowell-Parker
Squash Player Dean Lepley
Margaret Angela Wyndham Lewis
Sub
Judice
Marion Wainwright, a barrister, is attacked in an
under-ground car park, but passes out, only to come to and find her
assailants dead at her feet. It appears her husband, who committed suicide
some years ago, is still keeping an eye on her, as his colleagues conduct a
sinister cross-fertilisation experiment with the sperm samples Marion is
using in an attempt to become pregnant. While Kirsty resorts to contacting a
journalist, Jacob, to help her find Mike, Frances tracks him down at his new
flat, and is interested in knowing more about his new career.
Marion Wainwright Emer Gillespie
Jacob Thomas Lockyer
Marion's Husband Simon Donald
Embryologist Richard Rees
Clinic Manager Charlotte Attenborough
Pregnancy Counsellor Martha Cope
GP Stephanie Fayerman
Mrs Seabrook Anni Domingo
DS Leigh Michael Hadley
Marion's Junior David Shelley
First Mugger Michael Price
Second Mugger Jimmy Gallagher
Angie's Daughter Elizabeth Earl
Mea
Culpa
At a Roman Catholic school a pupil stabs his teacher, a
priest, to death, and several other pupils seem to be light sensitive. While
Michael is finding his working relation-ship with Rice becoming increasingly
uncomfortable, given Rice's unorthodox methods, he uncovers a paedophile
with ultraviolet-induced skin problems. The man is carrying a Code
V-engineered strain of Meningitis and, unable to keep his tendencies
confined, has infected several of the boys at the school. Kirsty loses touch
with Jacob while he is trying to trace Michael. He finds his investigations
have not gone unnoticed, and he is contacted by the very people Michael is
trying to protect Kirsty from. Now the danger to her is closer than ever.
Jacob Thomas Lockyer
Colin Rupert Procter
Gary Robert Stuart
Father Downey Eamon Boland
Oliver Jeremy Gilley
Angie's Daughter Elizabeth Earl
Gary's Mother Jane Wheldon
Sports Teacher Jonathan Magnanti
Orderly Dennis Banks
Alter Boy George Cook
Boy Sam Bardens
Vampire Boy Andrew Wilkes
Terra
Incognita
A Brazilian man steps off a plane bleeding from visible
bites to his neck, and Vaughan and Michael learn that the plane was also
carrying caskets. While Michael is being diverted by a wild goose chase,
Angie is the key to a scheme that hopes to see her husband, a notable blood
disorder specialist, returned to "life", but it's Rice who ends up
trapped in a disused warehouse with four caskets on timed release and with
only desperate minutes to come up with a plan. It seems as if his time has
finally run out. Angie and Pearse interview the occupant of the fifth
casket, John, an ambassador with a message. Michael's torment over Kirsty
hasn't ended with his moving out of her life, as a hastily arranged meeting
in a wine bar proves. Would he be able to do his job if she really has
joined the opposition?
John Corin Redgrave
Aguinaldo Clarence Allen
Maria Ellen Thomas
Maria's Contact Rob Jarvis
Custom's Official Tom Knight
Nurse Abigail Hayes
Stewardess Dee Sadler
Pilot David John Pope
Cell Guard Mark Hill
Jacob Thomas Lockyer
Persona
Non Grata
Kirsty has fled to seek protection from Jacob, little
realising what he has become until she stumbles across him feeding. His
edited explanation to her about the war he and his kind are involved in
gains her sympathy, but it is the news that Michael killed Jack that really
jolts her into taking sides. Frances, always helping Michael out by using
her own government connections, now takes a more active role as she refuses
to help him any further without knowing the full story, which, of course, he
cannot reveal. She undertakes some investigations of her own, discovers the
true identity of the mysterious "John", bumps into Rice and March,
and finds herself undergoing questioning in the team's headquarters.
Michael, fearing for Kirsty's life now that Jacob has revealed he is holding
her captive, secretly "liberates" a casket from the vault and
arranges an exchange meeting. Planning a Nuclear Winter during which they
will gain complete control of mankind, Jacob's bosses want Robert March
returned to them. But, as Frances undergoes her own shattering initiation
into the team at John's execution, conflicting loyalties and a surprise
return from the grave test old friendships to the limit. Kirsty is the last
to discover the full truth behind recent events while Michael must make his
own final choice about his confused loyalties. Life will never be the same
again for any of them.
John / Paul Hoyle Corin Redgrave
Jacob Thomas Lockyer
Jack Stephen Moyer
Newspaper Editor Tom Cotcher
Laird Helen Anderson
Security Guard Simon Harris
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