Edge of Darkness (BBC, 1985) is a conspiracy thriller, a psychological drama, and a mythic tale of the death and regeneration of the planet. Written by Troy Kennedy Martin, directed by Martin Campbell, and produced by Michael Wearing, it marks one of the points of a British television drama, which was both popular in its generic appeal and groundbreaking in its narrative style. Broadcast at a time of high paranoia about the secret state, the hazards of nuclear energy and nuclear weapons proliferation, Edge of Darkness start Bob Peck as Craven, a CID detective investigating the death of his environmental activist daughter, played by Joanne Whalley. His search for the truth leads him into a murky world of conspiracy involving the nuclear industry and the CIA (Joe Don baker in a bravura performance as the CIA agent Darius Jedburgh). John Caughie's insightful study of the series situates it in the political context of the 1980s and in the context of British television drama in transition. He traces Edge of Darkness's exploration of the pathology of grief, developing notions of paranoia, myth and magical thinking to highlight the ways in which Troy Kennedy Martin takes the political thriller beyond politics. The book includes an Afterword by the screenwriter, Troy Kennedy Martin. John Caughie is Professor of Film and Television Studies at the University of Glasgow. he is the author of Television Drama: Realism, Modernism and British Culture (2000), a member of the Editorial Board of Screen and General Editor, with Charlotte Brunsdon, of the Oxford Television Studies series.

The film director or `auteur' has been central in film theory and criticism over the past thirty years. Theories of Authorship documents the major stages in the debate about film authorship, and introduces recent writing on film to suggest important ways in which the debate might be reconsidered.

The film director or auteur' has been central in film theory and criticism over the past thirty years. Theories of Authorship documents the major stages in the debate about film authorship, and introduces recent writing on film to suggest important ways in which the debate might be reconsidered.

The popularity of cinema and cinema-going in Scotland was exceptional. By 1929 Glasgow had 127 cinemas, and by 1939 it claimed more cinema seats per capita than any other city in the world. Focusing on the social experience of cinema and cinema-going, this collection of essays provides a detailed context for the history of early cinema in Scotland, from its inception in 1896 until the arrival of sound in the early 1930s. Tracing the movement from travelling fairground shows to the establishment of permanent cinemas in major cities and small towns across the country, the book examines the attempts to establish a sustainable feature film production sector and the significance of an imaginary version of Scotland in international cinema. With case studies of key productions like Rob Roy (1911), early cinema in small towns like Bo'ness, Lerwick and Oban, as well as of the employment patterns in Scottish cinemas, the collection also includes the most complete account of Scottish-themed films produced in Scotland, England, Europe and the USA from 1896 to 1927.

Examines the history of early cinema in Scotland from its inception in 1896 until the 1930sThe popularity of cinema and cinema-going in Scotland was exceptional. By 1929 Glasgow had 127 cinemas, and by 1939 it claimed more cinema seats per capita than any other city in the world. Focusing on the social experience of cinema and cinema-going, this collection of essays provides a detailed context for the history of early cinema in Scotland, from its inception in 1896 until the arrival of sound in the early 1930s. Tracing the movement from travelling fairground shows to the establishment of permanent cinemas in major cities and small towns across the country, the book examines the attempts to establish a sustainable feature film production sector and the significance of an imaginary version of Scotland in international cinema.With case studies of key productions like 'Rob Roy' (1911), early cinema in small towns like Bo'ness, Lerwick and Oban, as well as of the employment patterns in Scottish cinemas, the collection also includes the most complete account of Scottish-themed films produced in Scotland, England, Europe and the USA from 1896 to 1927.Key FeaturesExplores cinema-going in cities and towns across Scotland, large and smallEngages with international debates on the social history of cinemaIncludes a filmography of Scottish-themed films produced in Scotland, England, Europe and the USA from 1896 to 1927

An account of British television drama from its origins in live studio drama in the pre-war and immediate post-war years, through the Golden Age of the single play of the 1960s and 1970s, to its convergence with an emerging British art cinema in the 1990s. It relates the development of television drama to movements which were going on within the culture. In particular, it is concerned with a series of arguments and debates about politics and form which centred around issues of immediacy and naturalism, realism and modernism in public culture. The book addresses contemporary television in the form of the television film and the classic serial, and raises new questions about such issues as adaptation and acting. The importance of the book lies in its attempt to place television drama at the centre of late-20th-century British culture and to relate the criticism of television drama to a wider history of aesthetic debates and arguments.

Television Drama offers an account of British television drama from its origins in live drama in the 1930s and 1940s, through the Golden Age of the 1960s and 1970s with writers like David Mercer and Dennis Potter and directors like Ken Loach, and its convergence with a British art cinema in the 1990s in films like My Beautiful Laundrette. It also considers the development of series like Boys from the Blackstuff and 'classic serials' like The Jewel in the Crown, Pride and Prejudice and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.