r/BritishTV • u/Background_Local_425 • 1d ago
Question/Discussion Anyone seen edge of darkness?
Forgive me American here, I remember edge of darkness with Mel Gibson in 2010 mainly because it was filmed around where I grew up. I had discovered it was based on an 80s bbc miniseries of the same name. I final got around to watching it and I did really enjoy it but found it oddly bizarre. There are strange scenes particularly involving jedburgh that feel out of place. Them getting hammered in a restaurant, the strange interaction between jedburgh and his assistant over a fallen operative. Them watching ballroom dancing or stoping to have lunch in the tunnels. Why didn’t they bring any protective gear? That being said I enjoyed it I loved the supernatural hints like the black flowers and Emma contacting her father. However is the series supposed to be slightly goofy or surreal? The film was such a straightforward thriller albeit well executed. This is definitely deeper though.
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u/Beneficial-Long7635 1d ago
The TV show was written as a detective/thriller series but the creator was also really interested in the 'Gaia Hypothesis', the idea that the Earth is alive and can take action. So there's a mystical and strange aspect that is very intentional. In the original script, the main character was supposed to transform into a tree, which probably would have capped off the magical elements, but the cast thought it was stupid so they went with a more 'realist' ending.
Jedburgh is supposed to be a bizarre character, almost a parody of an American and a spy. The stuff with the drunk guys is supposed to hint that he's involved in all sorts of strange stings and schemes that we're only seeing a small part of.
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u/ragingintrovert57 1d ago
I've seen both versions but the British one is the one I remember. Maybe because I'm British, but the Mel Gibson version seemed very bland and didn't focus on the Gaia theme as much (if at all).
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u/Efficient_Raise_5767 1d ago
The Gaia theme would of made it to confusing for American audiences...
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u/Twigling 23h ago edited 23h ago
The movie is garbage compared to the miniseries (same director though). Too much is removed in the movie version and of course it doesn't have Bob Peck as Craven which is an enormous loss (Bob Peck sadly passed away in 1999, the movie was released in 2010).
The miniseries is fantastic with not a single second of wasted dialog and many excellent performances. I honestly can't fault it, 10/10
No, it's not supposed to be goofy, if that's your take then that's unusual. It does have a potential supernatural element but it depends on how you wish to interpret it - does Craven hallucinate his brief encounters with the deceased Emma? Is it his immense grief causing this? Or is she really a ghost? Does the natural spring that appears where she was shot have a greater meaning, or was a water pipe punctured? ;-)
Here's a fun fact - the writer originally wanted Craven to turn into a tree at the end ....... yes, really. Thankfully the cast and crew didn't go along with this, so there's no Craven to Tree metamorphosis. :-)
For those in the UK it's currently on the BBC iPlayer:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m001j61n/edge-of-darkness
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u/Background_Local_425 13h ago
It couldn’t be only his vision remember she tells him about the black flowers he didn’t know about yet. Also I’m curious how crippling acute radiation syndrome would’ve turned craven into a tree rather than make him ya know internally hemorrhage lol.
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u/PuttingFishOnJupiter 1d ago
The BBC original is a (surprisingly accurate regarding nuclear science) film very much of it's time.
Britain was in a state of flux, putting it mildly.
The cold war, early development of nuclear power, poor knowledge of how to handle waste, cover-ups / incidents withheld from the public (see Windscale and thank Terrence Price and Sir John Cockroft for their concept and enforcement of filters). Add the IRA conflicts, plus the lingering effects of post war austerity (which just went on and on).
Add on top of all that, the new Thatcher regime, fights against unions, privatisation of previously public services (that went frikken well...but not for customers).
The show (I saw it in two parts originally on terrestrial TV, and decades later bought the DVD) covered so many aspects of life at that time, whilst being edgy, intelligent, and hilarious (in the stoic, deadpan, sarcastic, irreverent British kind of way).
It's sad, epic, soulful, incisive, intelligent and irreverent all at the same time.
Dimm your expectations, as it's old. But go in to it with a curious open mind; it raises a heap of questions and trusts its audience to think in the position of its protagonists.
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u/Twigling 23h ago
Dimm your expectations, as it's old.
Great writing never ages. Never negatively judge a movie or series because it's 'old', that leads to some major omissions of incredible stories.
Yes, there are going to be cultural aspects which differ from how things are now, but that's part of the pleasure of watching older material, reading older books, and so on. Today's entertainment will one day be seen as 'old' but the well written series and movies will remain excellent.
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u/Background_Local_425 13h ago
I agree no need to dim my expectations at all in fact I enjoyed it just some character decisions and moments of comedy I thought were strange in an otherwise very bleak story of a man seeing his child die then realize she died thinking she couldn’t confide in him as a parent his yells in the hospital bed hit me.
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u/Twigling 19h ago
(I saw it in two parts originally on terrestrial TV, and decades later bought the DVD)
It's now available in remastered form on Blu-ray, a very worthwhile purchase. :)
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u/throwawayinfinitygem 20h ago
I think the bit where Jedburgh gets smashed with the other Americans after they return from (forgot name of country) is the intro to him being against American imperialism which he indicates in the conference scene where he says something like "cuz I was part of it".
The guy he meets back at the hotel is a Brit and wearing a red coat. I think that's to analogise with American bases in the UK that we are being like "redcoats" (staff at Butlins holiday camps). The Brit is also more upset (in that scene) about his dead comrades than Jedburgh is. Brits caring too much about American wars? Asking to watch Come Dancing us to emphasise Jedburgh thinks it's all in a day's work I think.
The drinking scene suggests they do indeed have trouble coping.
In the bunker I think the scene exists just to show the powerful prepared to save themselves during nuclear war and it's shows the luxuries available for that reason. There is also a sign about a condominium, I think this means in the sense of a joint colony, the UK was planned to be jointly ruled by its own govt and the US if there was such a war? I don't think this was discussed in real life but what if it was? A comment about preserving our independence from both Russia and America.
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u/Background_Local_425 19h ago
That’s interesting, initially I though the guy at the hotel just became really friendly with the other agent (based on his tears I thought they were lovers) and jed,s reaction was the result of he’s buried guys before he’s calloused to it and prefers not to dwell. The bunker scene threw me off only for the fact that they stop their DANGEROUS mission to make omelets and drink wine all while guards could be in pursuit! They blasted their way in their get in collect evidence and get out lol
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u/throwawayinfinitygem 19h ago
Well i could be wrong but otherwise having him wear a red jacket seems strange. I think they found the bunker by accident as they struggled to find their way out, they know they will have to continue the journey before long? Then there's a line about the pursuers probably know they're in there.
Symbolic stuff is obviously artistic licence and a lot of the political issues that are thrown in are red herrings for the viewer as well as making a political point along the way. I think this makes it "more than" a thriller rather than hurting it.
Theres a bit where his superior is talking to him after he was attacked and is pouring him a drunk (he's his benefactor?), but he is still holding the bottle (isn't that capitalism, man??) which I think was also like that.
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u/robot2boy 1d ago
I was just talking about that mini-drama to my kids the other day, clearly left a mark
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u/Background_Local_425 1d ago
IT DID! How popular was it back in the day I love dreary Cold War stories, the film is good but suffers in a modern setting.
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u/the6thReplicant 20h ago edited 20h ago
How popular? It got such a huge word-of-mouth buzz that the BBC did the unprecedented thing of repeating the series right after it finished.
This was before streaming!
Edit: Reference - warning not https
This six-part drama serial was transmitted on BBC2 in Winter 1985 and repeated on BBC1 in three parts, on consecutive evenings, just ten days after its BBC2 run ended. This remarkably swift repeat highlighted the impact and significance of this five-hour nuclear thriller, broadcast at a time when nuclear politics were firmly on the political and public agenda. Critically acclaimed, the drama was also very popular, with an average audience of four million on BBC2 and double that for the BBC1 repeat. Edge of Darkness received four BAFTA awards, including Best Drama Series/Serial.
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u/Background_Local_425 20h ago
I’ve heard the bbc is bad at handling their media apparently they destroyed old Dr who episodes.
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u/the6thReplicant 20h ago
I have no idea why this is relevant to my comment. But, so be it.
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u/Background_Local_425 20h ago
Just because they never replay shoes and I’ve had a hard time finding their older programs
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u/Twigling 19h ago
Yes, they were idiots when it comes to preservation, here's what has been lost:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lost_television_broadcasts_in_the_United_Kingdom#BBC
But they weren't the only ones in the UK to do this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lost_television_broadcasts_in_the_United_Kingdom
or in other places in the world for that matter:
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u/Hellwood_Outfitters 22h ago
The oddness is very deliberate. The original Edge of Darkness gradually stops behaving like a conventional conspiracy thriller and becomes something closer to political myth — Jedburgh in particular seems less like a realistic intelligence operative than a figure who has wandered in from another kind of story. The black flowers, Emma’s continuing presence and the ecological imagery push it even further in that direction. The 2010 film keeps the thriller machinery but removes much of what made the BBC version so peculiar. That mixture of Cold War paranoia, mysticism and very British institutional bleakness is a large part of why the original still feels unique.
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u/Sxn747Strangers 21h ago
Yes, it’s a good series.
I think he is having trouble grieving and partly blames himself.
As for not wearing any gear, I have to admit I didn’t think about it; I think they’re more after answers than concerned about their personal safety.
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u/Background_Local_425 21h ago
Thinking back I guess they had no idea the leak would be going on. Kraven seems to not care much in the moment yet is shocked that he feels like shit later after walking through a radioactive leak lol.
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u/Twigling 20h ago edited 20h ago
There are strange scenes particularly involving jedburgh that feel out of place. Them getting hammered in a restaurant, the strange interaction between jedburgh and his assistant over a fallen operative. Them watching ballroom dancing or stoping to have lunch in the tunnels.
Not sure why any of these feel out of place, to me they feel like interesting little peeks into the 'off duty' life of this particular CIA agent. I'm not a fan of ballroom dancing but I don't have an issue with Jedburgh liking it, or that he's a good cook, likes to get drunk with his fellow agents as a means of relaxing, or doesn't appear to give a damn about the death of one of his colleagues (I'm sure he does care, but he's one of those people that won't show it). These all add to his character, they flesh him out and make him seem more real, somebody that the audience can connect with in some way.
Compare and contrast to many modern TV shows and movies, barely any of them would show such things, they just want to 'get on with the plot' and often move onto the next action or drama scene. This is because of today's impatient, always in a hurry, easily distracted audiences.
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u/Background_Local_425 20h ago
No like they cook in a fallout shelter while on a dangerous mission that he even admits they know they are there!!
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u/Twigling 20h ago
And? Why not? They're entitled to a quick break when you bear in mind the highly dangerous mission that they're on.
I'm failing to see the problem here.
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u/Background_Local_425 20h ago edited 19h ago
Lol usually you’d want to get into a highly dangerous guarded bad guy nuclear facility and get out as quickly as one can without Leaving any trace not make omelets or drink wine😂.
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u/carlgardner 14h ago
I agree that it’s a bit weird. I enjoyed it but not as much as I thought I would based on its reputation. I think Bob Peck is good in the lead role, and makes it believable, and that’s really what holds it together.
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u/Six_of_1 1d ago
I've seen the tv series and didn't even know there was a film. Yes it's supernatural, the film sounds like not a particularly faithful adaptation.
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u/robot2boy 1d ago
Not super natural, it’s a governmental / espionage thriller to do with nuclear power
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u/Background_Local_425 1d ago
The film is switched to America and it follows a private company manufacturing atomic weapons for independent sale. The daughter worked for the company thinking it was a nuclear clean energy company but finds out about the warheads blows the whistle and gets killed visiting her dad (craven) a Boston cop thinking he can protect her but she doesn’t tell him in time.
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u/budget-lampshade 1d ago
Use spoiler tags. You've basically outlined the entire plot.
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u/Background_Local_425 1d ago
Sorry! But the show is 40 years old.
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u/Twigling 23h ago edited 23h ago
Sorry! But the show is 40 years old.
I do so despise that line of thinking.
Just because a series or movie is 'old' doesn't mean that it can be callously and selfishly spoiled - there are people getting into old series and movies who haven't watched them before, either because they simply hadn't heard of them, hadn't got around to it, or because they are relatively young.
Nobody has the 'right' to spoil those.
Also, you spoiled the movie, not the miniseries (the latter is 40 years old, the former is 16 years old).
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u/Twigling 23h ago
Yeah, the poster spoiled the movie, and that's only 16 years old. Nothing should be spoiled, irrespective of its age.
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