Why so much hype?

Good movie but grossly overrated

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

One of the best-ever mini-series produced by the BBC, "Edge Of Darkness" is an enthralling and thought-provoking contemporary thriller series which starts off explosively with the shocking murder of the daughter of Police Inspector Craven (Bob Peck) right in front of him in the pouring rain and then follows him in an ever deeper and murkier search for the truth behind her death. The title could refer to a number of themes in the series, but principally must relate to Craven's own proximity to madness and death as he combats his grief to peel away the layers of bureaucracy at police and governmental level as he reveals a conspiracy to cover up a break-in at a nuclear power-station by a group of committed young eco-warriors, of whom his daughter was one. Indeed she was the sole survivor of the expedition as the rest of her group were callously drowned by the plant-controllers seeking to avoid the unwelcome publicity of the revelation of a potentially catastrophic incident at the plant.The darkness of course also refers to the darker recesses of government departments and the intelligence services, in particular their collusion with the multi-million pound (and dollar) energy industry with whom they seem to have a not altogether healthy relationship. As the body-count mounts up, Craven strikes up some unusual alliances as he delves deeper for the truth, in particular hitching up with a renegade ex-CIA operative, played by Joe Don Baker, a bluff Texan with a penchant for golf. Eventually to learn the truth they must retrace his daughter's footsteps and break into the Northmoor site where they discover the full extent of the whitewash just in time to disrupt a pro-nuclear power seminar at Gleneagles where a new major contract is planned between commerce and government.Over 6 tense, gripping episodes, we track Craven in his driven but still dogmatic quest. A widower, his daughter was all he lived for and after her death, he exists only to get justice for her, only to run into the sinister and covert operations of our so-called betters. Peck is superb in the main part, his "Everyman" appearance and down-to-earth demeanour immediately engaging the viewer's interest and sympathy. Baker rampages through his part to the extent that he almost parodies the image of the big-mouthed Yank. Nevertheless even he finds some scruples as he dishes out a cold revenge to the big bosses before going out in a blaze of glory in the end. With every part, no matter how small, tellingly played and a forensic directorial style pushing the story forward all the time, it's no surprise it won so many awards at the time and got a big-budget Hollywood remake by the same director many years later. Eric Clapton's doleful blues guitar also makes for a suitably bleak backdrop, as does the Willie Nelson song "Time Of The Preacher".I really appreciated getting the chance to see this high-quality drama which still stands up today.

I'm on record here as someone who believes that TeeVee fiction is a net negative in our lives. The ugliness of the marketplace in general, the specific requirement to sell, sell, sell. The fickle commitment the home appliance brings are probably all more restricting than the constraints of the device in framing, etc. At any rate, I've been actively without a TeeVee my entire adult life and better off.Part of the commitment is a commitment to long form. You just don't get that in TeeVee, can't. While short form has its attractions, I'm in it for depth, and that takes time. But I have to admit that I have now had two experiences that turn that on its head. One is the original "Singing Detective," which I not only celebrate, but put it on my list of "fours," as essential viewing. Not quite up to that standard, but quite a bit more valuable than most theater films is this, "Edge of Darkness." It is special.The long form in this case is the six hours that this medium allows, time for developments that we just don't get in the theater, depth that punches through a barrier I forgot was there. You can read others about the story, the acting and so on. All that is good. Particularly novel is the ghost of the daughter; the outer wrapper is a standard detective story with our hero doggedly trying to solve her murder. Police ineptitude, kindly but wrongheaded police chief, dreary northern England.But the victim appears and the dialog by itself, the post-murder interaction between detective and victim, and the complexities of their relationship is pure genius. My usual comment would focus on how this "folds" the usual stance where the detective is our avatar in the story, with us discovering things beside him. But he knows far more than we do; the ways we discover this are unsettling and engaging. Who are we in this? We seem at times to be her. A strange and sexually flavored reversal.But I think there is more that makes this work, and it may be that we will never see these conditions again. I thank the DVD extras for this.The writer, director and production crew were all talented, but the circumstance was the thing.Charles Dickens believed deeply in characters and was adept at making key elements of the environment into characters as well. He understood his characters so well that he would trust them to produce an engaging story. He literally would not know where the story was going when he sent off the early chapters to the magazine for publication! I think this commitment, this freedom of narrative, is what made his stories so engaging. He discovered only a moment before we did what weaves his agents produced.This production was committed to without more than an idea. It began filming before the rest of the story emerged. The original story drivers as it turned out became submerged as part of the complex, shifting environment. We move from internal psychodrama, to police procedural, detective story, a bit of spy thriller, a couple different political sermons... The shifts are huge but nothing of the prior narrative is abandoned. This was all done consciously if the interviews are to be believed, but it was managed in the context of a self-telling story. There is that Dickensian trust, that risk of committing the narrative to those within it.The last two episodes are unsatisfactory by themselves. By that time we needed some action: guns and flooded caves and all that. The James Bond influence is obvious. The actual science is profoundly wrong. The political stance (noble and valid it its time) is trite now. But no matter. By that time we are invested too deeply to notice.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

Saw this when it first came out back in the 80s & was very pleased to see it is being re-aired in Australia. IMO this has to be amongst if not the finest drama ever produced for TV .. or the big screen. Riveting from the opening scene to the last. Unlike many shows from that era this one hasn't dated and there's no comparison to the Mel Gibson travesty. Unlike most (all?) of today's television, this is a show that requires your undivided attention - it has more twists and turns than a DNA helix. And the haunting music just has to be experienced. The first scenes even predict the rise of the Greens as a political force.

While you could make a good argument that TV doesn't have much to offer as a medium, this mini series stands as a blazing example to the contrary.I doubt if this story would of worked as a movie. The suspense is slowly built per episode. Nothing blatant. Lots inferred. Brilliant writing. Superb acting. Haunting. Funny. Disturbing. The story is probably as relevant now (2005) as it was back in '85.The music score alone makes it worth adding to your DVD collection. Michael Karmen and Eric Clapton work magic on the score. (A poor copy following in Lethal Weapon 3).When it's over your heart won't sing; you probably won't have a smile on your face. Maybe a tear on the cheek? However, you'll be glad you watched it and rave about it later. It's a moving, gripping piece of work.