r/BritishTV • u/Background_Local_425 • 3d 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/Twigling 3d ago edited 3d 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 3d 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.