Nicola Stephenson
Tales From The Lodge is a fresh take on the portmanteau horror-comedy genre. An isolated lodge somewhere in England. Five old university pals, now nudging 40, gather for a weekend to scatter the ashes of their friend, Jonesy, who drowned himself in the lake three years earlier. They settle in for a fun evening, entertaining each other with stories of murders, ghosts, zombies and possessions, but as day turns to night, the gang become aware of another horror story unfolding around them - And this one is real.
The series follows John Porter, a former British Special Forces soldier, who is drafted back into service by Section 20, a fictional branch of the Secret Intelligence Service.
Superstorm is a three-part British docudrama miniseries written and directed by Julian Simpson, about a group of scientists that try to divert and weaken hurricanes using cloud seeding. Superstorm originally aired on BBC One for a period of three weeks, totaling three 59 minute episodes, from 15 April 2007 to 29 April 2007. Each episode was followed by a half-hour documentary on BBC Two on extreme weather monitoring and forecasting, called The Science of Superstorms. The series was also aired on the Discovery Channel in the U.S. and Canada during the summer of 2007. Superstorm is a co-production of BBC Worldwide, Discovery Channel and ProSieben, in association with M6 and NHK. Ailsa Orr and Michael Mosley, who made also Supervolcano, are the executive producers for BBC, while Jack E. Smith is the executive producer for Discovery Channel. The miniseries was released on DVD in the United Kingdom on 2 July 2007.
Waterloo Road is a UK television drama series the first broadcast was in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 9 March 2006. Originally set in a troubled comprehensive school in Rochdale, England, the location of the show was moved to the former Greenock Academy in Greenock, Scotland in 2012. The series focuses on the lives of the school's teachers and students, and confronts social issues such as extramarital affairs, abortion, divorce, child abuse, and suicide. Waterloo Road is produced by Shed Productions, the company responsible for Bad Girls and Footballers' Wives.
The Chase is a BBC drama series that first aired on 16 July 2006. The Chase centred around a family run veterinary practice. It was co-written by Gaynor Faye, the daughter of the show's creator, Kay Mellor. Much filming for the series was carried out in and around Otley, West Yorkshire; the series is set in the fictional town of "Oxley".
Charity walkers raising funds for cancer research by crossing the Sahara Desert argue and squabble over their relationships in the past. However when one of their number gets lost each walker begins to put their life in perspective and make decisions on where their real priorities lie.
Dead Man Weds is a 6-part comedy series shown on ITV on British TV in January and early February 2005. The series was written by Dave Spikey who played the part of Jerry St Clair in Phoenix Nights. It was produced for ITV by the independent producers Red Production Company. There are two lead parts, one being Dave Spikey and the other being Johnny Vegas. The series is based on the fictional newspaper, The Fogburrow Advertiser. New editor, Gordon Garden, is determined to shake up the small rural newspaper office. Acting editor and all-round lazy slob Lewis Donat is furious at Gordon's appointment, convinced that the job should be his. Lewis's school of journalism involves going on a break as soon as he gets in, stealing stories from old piles of newspapers and getting the rest of the news from Joan at the cake shop, Cake That. The show's title was inspired by a headline from the Bolton Evening News. The series was filmed in Castleton in Derbyshire. The theme music, also used as incidental music and stings throughout the series, was a version of the Jonathan King composition "It's Good News Week", a 1965 hit for Hedgehoppers Anonymous.
Northern Lights is a 2006 comedy-drama. It is a spin-off of the 2004 Christmas special Christmas Lights. A sequel, City Lights, was broadcast in 2007. Also a Christmas special, Clash of the Santas, was broadcast in December 2008. It featured Colin and Howie taking a trip to Lithuania to represent the United Kingdom in a Santa convention. The main problem with this is that miserable Howie is picked as Santa, while true Christmas believer Colin is relegated to the role of cheerleading elf.
Offbeat sword-and-sandals comedy-adventure about three unlikely heroines (Doon Mackichan, Fiona Allen and Sally Phillips) who set out to thwart a Roman invasion and save Celtic Britain in their own unique and outrageous style.
Robson Green and Mark Benton co-star in Christmas Lights, a one-off comedy drama for ITV1 centred on two lifelong friends who have always competed with each other. The festive season brings on new challenges and takes their rivalry to extremes resulting in the two friends forgetting what Christmas is really about. Can anything bring them to their senses?
How much do you know about the person working next to you? From the outside, life at Mackintosh Textiles appears to run smoothly, but in a community with so many secrets to hide, things are far from straightforward. In six powerful, self-contained dramas, everyday life is fractured by tumultuous marriages, snatched passions, disappearing husbands and gang harassment.
Drama series about life on the wards of Holby City Hospital, following the highs and lows of the staff and patients.
Out of the Blue is a British police drama television series, set and filmed in Sheffield. It was first aired by the BBC over two series in 1995 and 1996. It was described by series script editor Claire Elliot as "contemporary, gritty, urban reality". Shot on film, its tight script, fast-paced direction and strong cast made for powerful and compulsive viewing. The program gained great reviews but low ratings. Viewers at the time seemed uncomfortable with the hand-held camera work and bleak Yorkshire backdrop. This was no 'Heartbeat', but instead Brazen Gate Police Station was an over-stretched service dealing with the dregs of society. More of an ensemble piece than a star vehicle because writers Bill Gallagher and Peter Bowker were more interested in character development over plot. However the series did not shy away from strong topics including male rape and euthanasia. John Hannah, fresh from the success of Four Weddings and a Funeral, was the most well known face in the show and his character DS Frankie Driscoll was regarded as a tough thief taker who finds his career threatened when he suffers a mild stroke in which battle to hid from his fellow officers. The light relief came from the excellent Neil Dudgeon who as DC Marty Brazil became more and more angry as each week passed as his disillusionment set in. In the second season David Morrissey came in for Hannah before Out of the Blue ended its run.
Nice Day at the Office is a British sitcom starring Timothy Spall, John Sessions and David Haig as put-upon and frustrated employees of a large company.
Ken Russell's rather loose adaptation of the last part of D.H. Lawrence's "The Rainbow" sees impulsive young Ursula coming of age in pastoral England around the time of the Boer War. At school, she is introduced to lovemaking by a bisexual physical education instructress. While experiencing disillusionment in her first career attempt (teaching), she has an affair with a young Army officer, who wants to marry her. Unable to accept a future of domesticity, she breaks with him, and eventually leaves home in search of her destiny.
