It was the time of the preacher... (Edge Of Darkness - The Complete Series (DVD))

Member Name: hogsflesh

Product:	Edge Of Darkness - The Complete Series (DVD)
Date:	21/10/03 (521 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The single greatest, TV drama series of, all time - watch it now

Disadvantages: Some of the extras, aren't all that great, but that's not, what I bought it for

So the BBC has finally got around to releasing the greatest drama series it ever made on DVD. Splendid. Actually, it was released on DVD a couple of years back, but whoever was responsible for that should be shot, as there had been no attempt to restore the quality, there were no extras at all, and, most unforgivably, disk one ended slap-bang in the middle of one of the episodes. This DVD puts all that right, but be careful not to buy the wrong one (the bad version is, for some reason, considerably more expensive than this version.)

Edge of Darkness was first broadcast in 1986, a gritty post-watershed paranoid conspiracy thriller/murder mystery in six hour-long episodes. It was hugely popular and won enormous critical acclaim, picking up several BAFTAs. Everything about it speaks of a quality that is now, sadly, long gone from British TV.

It's the story of Ronnie Craven (Bob Peck), a Yorkshire detective. His daughter, Emma (a very young Joanne Whalley) is gunned down at the start of the story. As he investigates the murder, Craven gradually comes to realise that Emma was involved with an ecological terrorist organisation called Gaia, and that they were investigating a local nuclear plant. He gets drawn into a shadowy world of espionage, discovering government complicity in all manner of dark doings. He falls in with flamboyant CIA agent Darius Jedburgh (Joe Don Baker), and their investigations inevitably take them into very dangerous territory.

The cast is rounded out with various evil corporate bosses, cops, spooks and informers. Best by far are Pendleton and Harcourt (Charles Kay and Ian McNeice), a couple of espionage troubleshooters whose loyalties and motives are far from clear, a marvellous double act who neatly manipulate everyone else until the end. The series is a great mix of human drama, suspense, police procedural and gritty thriller. There are some excellent action sequences in the later episodes, and episode five has the
single greatest cliff-hanger in history. It's not all action, though - the best scene in the entire series has Jedburgh and Craven sitting at a table, drinking whisky and singing a Willie Nelson song together.

There are occasional supernatural intrusions, which work well for the most part, although the last episode seemingly randomly introduces a weird strain of apocalyptic environmentalism that doesn't quite sit comfortably with the rest of the series. Apart from that one fault, though, this is a masterpiece that everyone should see at least once. The direction (by Martin Campbell, who went onto direct Goldeneye) is perfect, very cinematic in feel (the series was shot on film). The script, by Troy Kennedy Martin, who created Z-Cars (and wrote Kelly's Heroes!) is exceptional, and the series deservedly won the BAFTA for best series. It also won awards for Eric Clapton and Michael Kamen's moody incidental music and for Bob Peck's performance as Craven. The acting is brilliant throughout, even down to the smallest parts, but it's inevitably Peck and Joe Don Baker who dominate. Peck is incredible as the lynch pin that holds the entire series together, misery etched in every line of his face, but with a wry sense of humour that stops the whole thing getting too depressing. Baker as the jovial but deadly CIA man is absolutely perfect, convincing both as a clown and as a hard-boiled Vietnam vet who would shoot you as soon as look at you.

The DVD has cleaned up the picture quality of the series (it still looks a bit grainy in places, but I think that's an essential part of its gritty 80s ambience). That was the main reason for me buying it, as the version I have on video has been watched a few too many times (and also has advert breaks and a horrible UK Gold logo in the top right corner). It's great to be able to see it as it should be seen.

The extras weren't really a consideration when I bought it. They&
#39;re vaguely interesting, but I doubt I'll be watching any of them over and over again. There's a discussion of the show on 'Did You See', an old BBC show where Z-list nonentities talked about that week's programmes. It's kind of funny in a pretentious way, the best bit being the dreadfully 80s set and clothes, but a bit unnecessary really. I don't recognise any of the people in it, either. There's a few snippets of Bob Peck being interviewed by Frank Bough and an unidentified woman on Breakfast Time, plugging the series. That's fun, as Peck seems to be a terribly nervous interviewee, and watching craggy old professional Bough deal with that brought a smile to my face.

Then there's a similar clip from Pebble Mill at One in which they announce some awards, Edge of Darkness winning best series and Peck best actor. There's a brief interview with Peck again, and also the producer (who does most of the talking). Again, more interesting for the decor and hairstyles than because it tells us anything about the series. Finally there's a piece about the BAFTAs. Brief clips of the awards ceremony are shown, which include brief chats with Peck and Joe Don Baker. Then Joan Bakewell goes to chat to Peck in his dressing room at the National Theatre, and the piece concludes with a brief 'making of' piece. I've no idea what this was for, presumably it was a segment on some kind of arts magazine show?

The single most interesting extra feature is 'Magnox: The Secrets of Edge of Darkness', a half-hour documentary about the show made for the DVD. Producer Michael Wearing and writer Troy Kennedy Martin both discuss the series extensively, along with various actors and others. There's yet more old footage of Bob Peck discussing the series (the actor sadly died in 1999, a great loss). This time he's in a pub, and seems a bit more relaxed than usual. No Joe Don Baker, sadly. Martin is probably th
e most interesting, as he discusses where he got the ideas for the series, how it evolved during shooting, and the notorious original scripted ending that had Craven turning into a tree. No commentaries, sadly, although perhaps the series is too long for that.

The other few extras don't impress. There's a alternative edit of the final minute of the last episode, although I can't see any difference between this version and the one that was broadcast. There's that eternally useless DVD feature, the picture gallery, containing roughly 40 pictures from the series - pretty but irrelevant. And then there's the option to play the soundtrack - I can't actually get that to work. The soundtrack perfectly complements what you see on screen, but I don't think it would be anything special in isolation.

Extras or not, though, this is a truly inspired series that has never been bettered (not that anyone seems to be seriously trying anymore). Some of it's main themes - government and big business interests, impotent parliamentary sub-committees, alleged illegal weapons programs involving mysterious civilian deaths - seem shockingly relevant to modern events. And it can be picked up on Amazon or Play for about £12. If you only buy one TV series on DVD, make it this one.

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