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at
Wembley including a sterling debut performance from the unknown Phillip Wright. The production crew arrived to set up locations in the afternoon and worked with the cast through to 11 p.m. The initial script drafts included 49 separate locations. Director David Drury and producer Alan J. Wands worked through the script and, by merging the settings of some scenes, reduced the locations by a third. Drury scheduled time for the actors to rehearse on location, saying, "I'm a great believer in rehearsals to find the characters. I work a specific way, sitting down in 'family groups' with the actors and script and talking about relationships. I go onto the set with just myself and the actors and nobody else, so that they can get to know the space. Only when we are comfortable will I invite the crew in." He did not want to film London as a cliché, so did not include shots of
458:, though the similarity disappeared when the focus on dumpster diving was removed. James Nesbitt was named by Kane and Neame as a potential lead actor early in the planning stages. Neame believed Nesbitt could deliver a "dryer, wryer humour" compared to his other roles. Nesbitt had previously been the subject of a tabloid scandal, and researched investigative journalism with a journalist who "broke one the biggest political scandals of the Thatcher era". As Blake, Reece Dinsdale took the opportunity to play a "baddie" to put a distance between his previous work, such as playing mild-mannered Rick Johnson in two series of
563:, reviewed all three episodes. Part 1 was selected as "Pick of the Day" for 8 May. Graham called the premise "tiresome" but expressed surprise that Raban was a "maverick journalist" instead of a "maverick cop". Reviewing Part 3, Graham described the characters' quirks (Raban's phengophobia, Ross's obsessive-compulsive disorder) as being "grafted on" in order to flesh them out. She concluded with "By the end , you probably won't care who's chasing whom, much less why." In an extended column, Graham presented a faux script draft of "
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accesses a confidential file that she downloaded from
Cosgrave's computer and discovers the name of one of the Iranian cousins, proving Raban's claim of Defence Concern's role in the killings. She arranges a meeting with him and Raban meets with Kerrigan. Raban is forced to flee again when Kerrigan double-crosses him and brings the death squad to kill him. He arrives at the meeting place and finds Ross submerged in a bathtub.
464:. He discovered that he had the part 24 hours before his wife, Zara Turner, found out she had been cast as Carolyn Raban. Ian Puleston-Davies researched his role as newspaper editor Jimmy Kerrigan by asking his sister, a former journalist, about her previous editors. Alan Dale read for his part because Nesbitt is one of his favourite actors.
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and other major landmarks: "I want to give the action a contemporary edge in an environment that was recognisably London without looking film noir." In contrast to other contemporary thrillers that feature the use of hand-held camera, Drury and director of photography Simon
Richards used traditional
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Filming began the week beginning 22 October 2007. To keep production costs down, filming took place at a time of year when the nights began earlier, allowing the cast and crew to work half-days instead of all night. Extras and minor characters were drawn from those attending an NFL game taking place
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wrote, "I have known many investigative journalists, some of whom have written articles which were extremely discomfiting for the powers that be. Yet not one of them has come home to find their wife with a bullet through her forehead. Not one! The art of thriller writing is to keep one foot in the
415:
executive producer Gareth Neame about a former investigative journalist with a fear of daylight who makes a living from raking through celebrity dustbins for scandals to sell to tabloids. During the writing process, Kane happened upon a news item about a group of ex-police, -soldiers and security
386:
Part 2 continues directly from Part 1. Raban finds
Carolyn lying dead in her front doorway. The police arrive and suspect Raban of killing her. As his daughter is taken away to stay with her aunt, Raban flees the scene. He arranges to meet with Kerrigan to tell him what he has discovered. Ross
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In Part 3, Raban revives Ross and they discuss the implications of
Defence Concern's actions. Raban believes that Pugnus Dei is being funded by the Validus Group, an American private equity group and a significant global arms dealer. It is headed by Donald Hagan (played by
547:
surreal, the unthinkable and the horrible, and the other firmly in reality. Skip to one side or another and you’ve lost. I'm afraid that as the wife hit the doormat, I laughed. I shan't watch the last two episodes. I'm afraid the little girl is going to be next."
556:
felt cheated that Raban had overcome his fear of daylight by simply putting on a pair of sunglasses. Echoing Teeman and Eyre's reviews, Venning called it "low on plausibility" but praised the soundtrack and the pacing. Alison Graham, the television editor for
493:; Richards believed that film offered the highest definition for locations that used natural street lighting. Instead of spending part of the budget on a second unit crew, Richards and assistant cameraman Jim Jolliffe filmed establishing shots and
325:
paranoia in the United States. The director David Drury had the predominantly nighttime-set serial filmed in the winter, to maximise the use of darkness and keep down production costs. His inspiration for the look of the serial came from
382:
Pugnus Dei ("God's Fist"). Blake tells Raban to keep out of their business. Raban is amused and remains so as Blake makes a telephone call ordering
Carolyn's death. As Blake leaves, Raban's smile fades and he runs to Carolyn's house.
399:. In the denouement, Raban holds Hagan at gunpoint until he realises Hagan's death is what the death squad wanted all along. After Raban leaves, Blake shoots Hagan, hoping the death of such a high-ranking official will start a new
44:
515:
stretched credibility; "If, as the drama insisted, so many people of a certain group and political persuasion had been killed, a newspaper—many newspapers—would be investigating it." Teeman also expressed dissatisfaction that
403:. Raban, still being tracked by the police, contacts his daughter and asks her to upload the contents of a CD to the Internet. Pugnus Dei's plot is revealed to the public and Raban is reunited with his daughter.
735:
351:) is a former investigative journalist who lost his job when he named a source in a government scandal. The source killed herself and Raban's guilt left him estranged from his wife, Carolyn (played by
359:), at unsociable hours. To earn money, Raban scours dustbins for celebrity scandals, which he sells to his former editor and best friend whom he has known since university, Jimmy Kerrigan (played by
335:
Reaction to the serial was generally positive; critics believed the drama was formulaic and uninspired, but appreciated the direction and acting. Nesbitt received a Best Actor nomination at the 2008
526:
questioned the way exposition was put into a character's mouth, calling it "such a badly disguised way of telegraphing information to the audience it's practically postmodern", but concluded that
366:
In Part 1, Raban discovers that two
Iranian cousins have been murdered. Some investigation links the killings to a policy group called Defence Concern, headed by Daniel Cosgrave (played by
567:" having a conversation with a psychiatrist, where he describes himself as "a one-dimensional character trapped in a needlessly complicated and unbelievable conspiracy thriller".
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during principal photography while there was a break. They sometimes stayed behind after the cast and other crew had wrapped in order to shoot scenes of London nightlife.
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594:, airing on other main channels. Part 2 lost 300,000 viewers but still won the timeslot with 3.5 million viewers and an 18% share. Part 3 drew its timeslot with
355:), and daughter. The guilt manifested itself as phengophobia, a fear of daylight, which Raban seeks to cure by regularly visiting a therapist, Trevor (played by
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as Max Raban, a former investigative journalist who discovers an international conspiracy involving government policy groups and death squads. It co-stars
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370:). Raban believes that Defence Concern had something to do with the killings, and recruits Cosgrave's policy advisor Alice Ross (played by
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viewings, were 4.10 million, 3.74 million, and 3.32 million respectively. Nesbitt was nominated in the Best Actor category at the 2008
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and the War on Terror. The serial was commissioned by ITV1's director of drama Laura Mackie in response to executive chairman
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520:"imput a kind of bigotry into its audience it didn't have", and mocked the portrayal of print journalism. Hermione Eyre of
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Part 1 won the 9 p.m. timeslot, with overnight ratings of 3.8 million viewers and an 18% audience share, beating
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Flood, ITV; Midnight Man, ITV; Shrink Rap, More 4; Clarissa and the King's
Cookbook, BBC4
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The serial was written by David Kane in response to national paranoia in the wake of the
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855:". guardian.co.uk (Guardian News & Media). Retrieved on 9 May 2008.
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Graham, Alison (17–23 May 2008). "Today's
Choices: Midnight Man".
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Graham, Alison (3–9 May 2008). "Today's
Choices: Midnight Man".
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Reviewing Part 1 the day after it aired, Tim Teeman of
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experts who had set up an organisation to target pro-
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as Alice Ross, a policy advisor who helps Raban, and
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Graham, Alison (17–23 May 2008). "Losing the plot".
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Dickson, E. Jane (3–9 May 2008). "Of Muck and Men".
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864:Holmwood, Leigh (16 May 2008). "
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440:Vietnam War
380:death squad
353:Zara Turner
258:22 May 2008
159:of episodes
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78:David Drury
75:Directed by
961:Categories
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614:References
407:Production
262:2008-05-22
252:2008-05-08
167:Production
70:David Kane
67:Written by
51:intertitle
801:The Stage
797:TV review
723:The Times
660:Broadcast
643:Broadcast
553:The Stage
508:The Times
501:Reception
461:The Chase
418:Islamists
393:Alan Dale
148:of series
115:Alan Dale
908:Archived
776:Archived
495:pick-ups
280:for the
215:180 min.
180:Producer
121:Composer
83:Starring
61:Thriller
470:Big Ben
323:Vietnam
260: (
256: –
250: (
245:Release
235:Network
140:English
579:Heroes
207:Single
196:Editor
591:House
248:8 May
57:Genre
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