Strange (TV series)

Infobox Television
show_name = Strange


caption = "Strange" title card
genre = Horror Thriller
runtime = 60 mins
creator = Andrew Marshall
executive_producer = Andrew Marshall
starring = Richard Coyle
Samantha Janus
Ian Richardson
William Tomlin
Andrew-Lee Potts
Timmy Lang
country = United Kingdom
network = BBC One
first_aired = 9 March2002 (pilot)
31 May 2003
last_aired = 5 July 2003
num_episodes = 7
website = http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/strange/
imdb_id = 0312209
tv_com_id = 9470

"Strange" is a British television drama series, produced by the independent production company Big Bear Productions for the BBC, which aired on BBC One. It consists of a single one-hour pilot episode screened in March 2002, followed by a series of six one-hour episodes broadcast in the summer of 2003. The paranormal storyline involved a priest's mission to destroy demons.

Plot

The series follows former priest John Strange (Richard Coyle), dismissed from the clergy under mysterious circumstances. He was implicated in a number of gruesome murders, murders that he says were done by demons. Now he seeks those responsible and to clear his name. To help him in his hunt for demons, John has Toby (Andrew-Lee Potts), a technological expert who is in charge of the equipment John uses to sense the presence of demons, and Kevin (Timmy Lang). Kevin, who has Down's syndrome, which appears to enable him to sense the presence of demons and is often an early warning that something supernatural is about to happen in the area. Jude (Samantha Janus), a former scientist who works as a nurse, is interested because she found out that her partner Rich was a demon. With Rich dead, her main concern is that the son they had together, Joey (William Tomlin), could also be a demon. With her own agenda for uncovering the truth, Jude joins forces with John Strange. John's mission also involves Canon Black (Ian Richardson), who seems intent on denying any acknowledgement of dark forces in his diocese.

Production

All seven episodes of the series were written by Andrew Marshall, a scriptwriter primarily known for his comedy work. It was directed by Joe Ahearne, who had previously been responsible for both writing and directing the World Productions vampire serial "Ultraviolet" for Channel 4.

The six episodes were shot on location and at Ealing Studios, and filming concluded on 23 December 2002. Filming was split into two blocks; the first (made up of episodes 1, 2 and 5) was directed by Aherne and the second by Simon Massey, who had previously worked on "Ballykissangel". Marshall wrote the first regular episode as an introduction to the characters and the scenario, despite having already done so for the pilot. He attributed this to the BBC's policy of not repeating pilots; he had to introduce new viewers who may not have seen the pilot.cite news|last= Simpson|first= M. J.|title= Strange Tale|work= SFX|date= Christmas 2002|publisher= Future Publishing|page= 14]

Broadcast and reception

Broadcast on Saturday nights, the series was hampered by frequent timeslot changes, the long gap between the pilot and the series and the BBC's decision not to repeat the pilot before the series aired. The viewing figures were low, and a second series was not commissioned. However, to mark five years since the original broadcast, creator Andrew Marshall wrote an additional [http://www.geocities.com/strangenet/ramset.html short story entitled 'Ramset.']

In the United States, "Strange" has been broadcast by the cable television network Showtime, on one of its specialist subsidiary channels. The UK Sci-Fi Channel screened all seven episodes of "Strange" in both 2006 and 2007.

References

ee also

*The X-Files
*afterlife

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/strange/ "Strange"] at bbc.co.uk
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0313652/ "Strange" (2002 pilot)] at the Internet Movie Database.
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0312209/ "Strange" (2003 series)] at the Internet Movie Database.