MEN OF HONOUR FACING A 'LAST RESORT'

US submarine fugitives make a stand at the LAST RESORT. Images: ABC TV/SONY.

Looking set to combine the claustrophobic edge of your seat drama of CRIMSON TIDE, as well as shades of Nevile Shute's classic Nuclear War novel ON THE BEACH and probably a little bit of LOST's lush island visuals thrown in, the upcoming submersive drama THE LAST RESORT, created by THE SHIELD's Shawn Ryan and Karl Gajdusek, promises much in its premiere series ambitions, starting on the UK's SKY ONE HD channel at the end of the month (30th October).

Trailer: Last Resort ABC Trailer (HD) - YouTube

On the bridge of the Colorado, Robert Patrick and Andre Braugher face a nuclear catastrophe.

Finally getting away from lots of supporting roles on film and TV, though staying within the realm of  normally playing stern or gruff military men or authority figures which I've always known him for, experienced character actor Andre Braugher gets a chance to take series centre lead as Captain Marcus Chaplin, captain of the US nuclear submarine Colorado, who questions a vital order from his superiors to fire nuclear missiles on Pakistan. Its a decisive action against his superiors that soon leads him and his loyal crew into becoming pursued fugitives from their homeland. Arriving and commandeering a NATO listening station far out in an undesignated spot in the Pacific Ocean, the shows conspiracy thriller roots are explored as the crew try to find out what has lead them to this scenario. Other sub-plots and story directions ripe for exploration include the Captain and his command crew overcoming internal dissent, trying to get along with the island's already fractious established natives, and taking on a dangerous drug cartel.

Islanders and command staff mix in the opening episode. But will they get along?

Executive produced and directed by top New Zealand action director, and helmer of two of the best modern James Bond films- GoldenEye and Casino Royale, Martin Campbell will surely add style and gloss to the opening pilot episode, whilst a solid supporting cast includes Bruce Davison, DOLLHOUSE's Dichen Lachman and THE UNIT's always great Robert Patrick. It's been a long time since there's been a series like this on the small screen, surely a bold and expensive gamble by ABC TV, and as a huge fan of the edge of your seat submarine thriller sub genre I'm eagerly looking forward to seeing how this format crossing series will pan out. Currently getting respectable ratings in its US timeslot, lets hope that LAST RESORT gets a chance to show future episodes rise to the surface rather than dive, dive, dive down the Nielsens.

CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION! 'BLAKE'S 7' RETURNS?

Freedom fighters assemble! Avon (Paul Darrow), Blake (Gareth Thomas) and Villa (Michael Keating) in the original version of Terry Nation's BLAKE'S 7. Image: BBC.

With a sudden resurgence of life-almost like being rescued from a state of cardiac arrest!-Terry Nation's classic space adventure series, and one of my all-time favourites: BLAKE'S 7, looks set to thrive once more in the realms of book publishing and audio adventures (and, in a fine creative choice, bringing back the original cast to voice their iconic roles) from those clever people at the UK's BIG FINISH company. There's even a TELOS PUBLISHING B7 merchandise guide book out charting everything ever produced for the four-year running series, and beyond, that looks very intriguing. The only thing missing now is an actual return of the series to the airwaves, either as a continuance of some kind or a re-imagining.

And it seems that there is now fresh hopes on the horizon for the latter, as news comes in States-side that top James Bond movie director Martin Campbell, no stranger to British TV action adventure with his pre-Bond stint on THE PROFESSIONALS series, as well as the acclaimed BBC drama EDGE OF DARKNESS, in association with B7 enterprises holder Andrew Sewell, HEROES writer Joe Pokaski and the US GEORGEVILLE TELEVISION company are now trying to launch an all-new vision of the series that could be bigger than anything attempted before. Additionally, if someone of the caliber of acclaimed rising star director Nicolas Winding Refn, who made the brilliant cult movie hit DRIVE, regards B7's format, a show which he loved watching as a kid, as being pretty cool, then, with verbal support like that, the show might well have a good shot at returning...

With the UK showing no interest in a new series, either continuance or re-imaging, with no one like writing power player Russell T. Davies over here to plead for the shows defence (as he successfully did in getting DOCTOR WHO back in the good books with the BBC-and look how well that all turned out), plus SKY choosing the new SINBAD series over the chance to do sci-fi, this new attempt is now the very best chance the series has to make a deserved comeback, and I say, To Hell with Blighty! 

I wish Campbell and the team the very best of luck in getting it all off the ground. If ever a show had such an exciting aforementioned format that would work in the States, this is it, with the opportunity to the kind of big budget space heroics, alongside the kind of deeper adult sci-fi drama, that made the modern re-imagining of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA such a success with audiences and critics a few years back. Oh, and if there's a chance for a few cameos from the original British stars, too, then so much the better...

The Liberator returns in the new BIG FINISH audio adventures.

More news as and when, but here's some recent links to the original BLAKE'S 7 in its current book and audio life:

News in Time and Space: Blake’s 7 Cast Reunited

Servalan Returns To Blake’s 7 | SFX

Exclusive Preview: Blake's 7 - The Forgotten [Chapters 1 - 3] - Movie Reviews | Movie News | Sci Fi | Horror | Fantasy

Blake’s 7 Audio Reunion | SFX

MELTDOWN! "EDGE OF DARKNESS" RETURNS...

On the brink of sanity. Ronald Craven (Bob Peck) remembers his late daughter in EDGE OF DARKNESS. Images: BBC.

Rightly regarded as one of the seminal drama presentations of the BBC, launched from it's original transmission in November 1985, Troy Kennedy Martin’s eco/political thriller/ mystery character drama EDGE OF DARKNESS (now showing on the UK’s VIRGIN TV ON DEMAND viewing service) continues to live up to it's superb reputation as a true and flawless masterpiece of television, not just within the circles of television production of the UK but anywhere in the world, with a superbly structured and emotionally resonant six part script, crisp dialogue and memorably carved characters, alongside a fine cast of actors- most notably from a bitterly determined and weary, haunted eyed Bob Peck as Detective Ronald Craven, a very young and responsible Joanne Whalley as his daughter Emma- unexpectedly and savagely murdered in front of her father in what at first appears to be a terrifying revenge attack from one of his past criminal enemies- and the bulky and powerful presence of Joe Don Baker, taking a major pay cut to work on what he knew would be a powerful production, as Darius Jedburgh, a gung-ho, loose cannon CIA agent and friend of Craven’s who, in a memorable love/hate partnership of cynicism and professionalism, investigate the true reason for Emma’s death, on a journey sending them deep into the corrupting heart of UK and American politics- a “special relationship” of business power never more complex and life-threatening- and to the core of a dangerous “hot cell” within a damaged nuclear storage facility…

The new eco warriors: Craven with CIA rogue Darius Jedburgh (Joe Don Baker).

Alongside this top level acting trio bringing to life an outstanding and worthy tale (which even has hints of sci-fi in its mix) of our very worst fears for planet Earth’s future, there’s also a fine cadre of supporting players portraying friend and foe, including Zoe Wanamaker, John Woodvine, Charles Kay and Ian McNeice – a true cream dream of the Thespian crop.

Having taken Kennedy nearly five years to write, originally titled Magnox (after a type of now obsolete nuclear reactor), EDGE OF DARKNESS’s role as a modern morality play remains as relevant and prophesying as ever, perhaps even more so, and going beyond its original Margaret Thatcher era with its still scary and disturbing social and geo-political messages. But, at its heart, it’s a personal and powerful study of grief, isolation and the almost loss of sanity experienced by Craven with the murder of his daughter (the author would use real-life experiences from the then recent death of his mother, his divorce from his wife and separation from his daughter as focal points in the script-writing process). In all areas of this fine-tuned storytelling, the series is backed up with evocative, sometimes nightmarish cinematography from top notch talent Andrew Wearing and gritty, sometimes fiercely assured direction from then rising star Martin Campbell, at home in both character, atmosphere and action environs, and who’d soon after completing the series go on to become a most wanted movie director of modern blockbusters like JAMES BOND (helming two of its best films: GOLDENEYE and CASINO ROYALE) and the Antonio Banderas starring ZORRO adventures. It would also be fair to say that everyone involved in this production would go onto bigger and equally ambitious productions on the strength of EDGE’s quality, especially series music composer, Michael Kamen (sadly passed in 2003), who provided the memorable and bittersweet main theme alongside legendary guitarist Eric Clapton.

Craven with daughter Emma (Joanne Whalley), a young woman with dark secrets...

So good that once it was shown on BBC 2- to later award-winning acclaim and strong audiences- the BBC immediately put it on it's premiere, bigger audience BBC 1 channel as well (so as to capitalise on its deserved success), the eventually made and revised modern US movie version of EDGE, starring Mel Gibson, appearing in 2010, and once more directed by Campbell, failed to capture the originality, drama and success of its original initiator, and proved to be a well made but overall disappointment: no doubt suffering from a major case of having too many behind-the-scenes cooks spoiling the creative broth. The loss of planned lead co-star Robert De Niro probably didn't help, either. So, just get all that out of your mindset as you immerse yourself in the dark and tragic canvas that is the original BBC drama: a fine and moving testament to the acting legacy of the late Bob Peck, who died in 1999 at the far too young age of 54.

Craven discovers the terrible truth about the Northmoor facility...

And at night, as you peek out of your windows from an interrupted sleep, watch out for those un-marked freight trains and their cargo's as they travel slowly along the railway lines to their unknown destinations. After watching EDGE, I guarantee you'll never look at them in the same way again!

EDGE OF DARKNESS is available on DVD from 2ENTERTAIN.