Edge Of Darkness - The Complete Series [1985] [DVD]

Time has not been desperately kind to this classic from the days when the BBC was not afraid of political controversy and was able to commission serious drama for an audience whose attention span could run for fifty minutes a time over six weeks. It is ironic that the thing that made it so compelling at the time - its cutting edge, up-to-the-moment topicality - now lends it a slight air of antiquity. Having said that, this thriller (and the term is used accurately here) has a cast that could have graced any Academy Awards Ceremony (Bob Peck, Joanne Whalley, Jo Don Baker, Tim McInnery and a cast of other actors who have since become familiar BBC stalwarts) and their skills are utilised to the full by the slow-burn, screw-turning script of Troy Kennedy-Martin, brilliantly interpreted and paced by director Martin Campbell and underpinned by Kamens' and Clapton's haunting, iconic soundtrack.

The action is often deliberately slow-paced, but the shocking start hooks you in to events and watching the jigsaw pieces fit slowly into place to join past, present and future is compulsive. Bob Peck's performance is spellbinding, Joanne Whalley is captivating and Jo Don Baker's larger than life Texan, Jedburg, steals every scene. This series contends with "The Forsythe Saga" and "I, Claudius" as the best drama the BBC ever produced; it undoubtedly remains the best thriller. At last we have edge-of-the-seat, must-watch TV converted (third time lucky) into must-own DVD.

Bob Pecks gripping performance in Edge of Darkness has stayed in my mind ever since it was first broadcast. I have always been transfixed and absorbed by this powerful story. From the pen of Troy Kennedy Martin, the genius direction of Martin Campbell, the Cinematographic magic of Andrew Dunn and the haunting inevitability depicted in the music score by Michael Kamen and Eric Clapton. I watched the repeats and now bought the DVD set. This set new standards for stylish and gritty British Drama. How terribly sad that Bob Peck is no longer with us. With equally brilliant performances from all cast including Jo Don Baker, Charles Kay, John Woodvine and Zoe Wanamaker, It will be watched time and again in years to come and still have the same impact.

Ludicrously, this is the third time Edge of Darkness has been released on DVD. The first release was, as many reviews here noted, a complete joke - one of the worst DVD transfers ever. The second was fractionally better, with improved sound and picture quality and some extras, including an enlightening Troy Kennedy Martin essay which (if I'm remembering this right) first saw the light as the introduction to the long-since-deleted Faber edition of the screenplay. It's fantastic that the BBC has finally put out an unedited, decently mastered version, but it leaves those of us who shelled out £PRICE for the previous versions in a bit of a quandary: to buy again, or not? On a broader note, perhaps this is evidence that the Beeb is starting to rethink its barbaric practice of licensing out classic archive material to companies for whom quality of finished product is very much not a priority. About bloody time.

I only saw the fifth part when it was first screened in 1985 (where Craven & Jedburgh entered the Northmoor mine) and I sat on the edge of my seat the whole time. I'm delighted that THIS DVD version has been done PROPERLY and the sound & video quality are well up to standard.

For those who don't know about this political mini-series, the plot concerns a police detective who is drawn into a web of political mire by the murder of his daughter Emma who was a member of an anti-nuclear lobby (GAIA) and stumbles on the clandestine manufacture and storage of weapons-grade plutonium in an abandoned mine in Northmoor, and has to endure the subsequent political "fall-out" that results.

I only have one small criticsm: and that is that to begin with, the viewer feels very much an intruder into a very private death and subsequent period of grief. But stick with it, because underneath the plot simmers menacingly for a long time (rather like milk heating up in a saucepan on the stove) and then suddenly boils up... and does so with a-vengeance! As I hinted at earlier, the section where Craven & Jedburgh enter the mine and locate the plutonium is just gripping! And the music provided by Eric Clapton & Michael Kamen (now sadly passed away) very much enhances the sinister atmosphere.

There are some worthwhile extras on the two DVDs which have been adequately covered in other reviews. The six episodes have been transcribed just as they were broadcast - complete with beginning & ending titles.

If you like political thrillers, just buy this - you won't regret it! I'd give it more than five stars, but that's all we're allowed in an Amazon review!!

Edge of Darkness is a magnificent thriller. Directed by Martin Campbell,always thoroughly reliable,this complex but engrossing story is a must for lovers of the genre. Set within an atmosphere of menace, a brooding Bob Peck steals the series as he tries to find out who is behind the killing of his beloved daughter. Here he finds himself dealing with a range of personalities who one can never be quite sure about.Superb performances by a strong supporting cast; Joe Don Baker, Joanne Whalley, Charles Kay, Jack Watson, Hugh Fraser and John Woodvine et al add to the sublety and pleasure of the series.
This is a production very much of it's time. A brilliant, taut script, atmospheric locations, no political correctness with often ruinous equality issues and a complete absence of gratuitous foul language, sex and violence. Don't miss it!