Edge of Darkness - TV review

Screening on ABC2 from tonight is a BBC classic drama from another generation that sounds a warning about the future of our planet  . . .

Considering its age, you might expect Edge of Darkness to be just another lack-lustre TV artefact regurgitated to indulge nostalgic baby boomers. But you would be wrong. The secret at the heart of this gothic political thriller is as urgently relevant now as it was when first aired in 1985.

Troy Kennedy Martin (The Italian Job 1969) felt compelled to write this saga, alarmed at the direction Western democracies were taking in the early 1980s. Oozing with critical ambivalence, the script was unlikely to find favour with television’s mandarins in the iron embrace of Thatcherite Britain.

The Falklands War was just concluded, the Soviet adventure in Afganistan was brewing up the Cold War and Reagan’s United States was toying with SciFi weapons in the Star Wars program. Somehow, Kennedy Martin convinced the BBC to assemble a talented production crew and dazzling cast to create this masterpiece.

The story starts conventionally enough. Policemen Ronald Craven (Bob Peck) is shattered when his daughter Emma (Joanne Whally) dies bleeding in his arms. When he discovers the killer is an IRA gunman and Emma’s body is radioactive, his mood shifts from despair to a steely determination to uncover the truth. His investigations implicate the Establishment and multinational corporations allied in a conspiracy that threatens life itself.

A panoply of superb British character actors (Ian McNeice, Charles Kay, Hugh Fraser) apply Shakespearean gravitas to drive the mystery ever deeper. Plan ahead and have refreshments close at hand. There’s no getting up once an episode is running.

The length and complexity of the series will not suit all viewers. This is no light entertainment for an alpha-wave session with pizza and beer in front of the idiot box. This is a six-by-50-minute intensive exercise in high-tension drama – an intellectually challenging puzzle that requires cerebral stamina. It is certainly emotionally draining. Some might consider it self-indulgent headache material. But you can't please everyone.

Director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale 2006) marshals the stylistic elements of film noir to transform the script into a chilling montage. Surreal images abound. Sinister trains clank through gloomy wet industrial nights. A survival capsule stocked with Harrods’ finest wares glitters in the bowels of a dank cavern. Jedburgh (Joe Don Baker) clasps heavy-metal bars flashing white with critical mass in the grandmaster villain’s face; "That's the problem with plutonium. It's limited in its application. But as a vehicle for regaining one's self-respect, it's got a lot going for it." All the while, the soundtrack throbs a backbeat omen, the genius of Eric Clapton.

The plot matures into exquisite intricacy, alluding to arcane religious orders perpetually locked in mortal battle – Good versus Evil. It is clear that Satan’s soldiers march among us. Ultimately, we are left pondering the consequences of abusing our planet and the apocalyptic predictions of James Lovelock’s Gaia Hypothesis. As Jedburgh confides, "I believe the Earth Goddess will defend herself against all danger."  That danger is . . . you and me.

As we grapple with the implications of climate shift, widespread species extinctions and population pressure – be warned. You ignore the message at the heart of Edge of Darkness at your peril.