Paradox (British TV series)

Paradox is a 2009 British science fiction police drama, starring Tamzin Outhwaite as Detective Inspector Rebecca Flint. Written by Lizzie Mickery and produced by Clerkenwell Films for the BBC, it was filmed and set in Manchester, England.

This article is about the British TV series. For the Georgian-Ukrainian TV series, see Paradox (2014 TV series).

Paradox
GenreSci-fi crime drama
Created byLizzie Mickery
Directed bySimon Cellan Jones
Omar Madha
StarringTamzin Outhwaite
Mark Bonnar
Emun Elliott
Chiké Okonkwo
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes5
Production
Executive producersMurray Ferguson
Patrick Spence
ProducerMarcus Wilson
Production locationsManchester, England
Production companyClerkenwell Films
Release
Original networkBBC One, BBC HD
Picture format16:9 1080i
Audio format5.1 surround sound
Original release24 November (2009-11-24) –
22 December 2009 (2009-12-22)
External links
Website

Flint heads a police team played by Mark Bonnar and Chiké Okonkwo, working with a scientist played by Emun Elliott, as they attempt to prevent disasters foretold by images being sent from the future.

The series aired on BBC One and BBC HD during November and December 2009. It received mostly negative reviews from critics, and it was not renewed for a second season.

Synopsis

Detective Inspector Rebecca Flint (Tamzin Outhwaite), Detective Sergeant Ben Holt (Mark Bonnar) and Detective Constable Callum Gada (Chiké Okonkwo) investigate images being broadcast to an eminent astrophysicist Dr Christian King's (Emun Elliott) laboratory, which appear to show catastrophic events in the future.[1][2]

Production

Murray Ferguson, chief executive of Clerkenwell Films, said that they were looking for something "different from the traditional formula of investigating a crime that has already taken place" and premise for the series, the police having knowledge of future incidents, was developed. Lizzie Mickery (The 39 Steps, The State Within) was chosen to write the series. She said she has "always been interested in the decisions you're not aware you are making". The series was based on the "moral and emotional implications of having the ability to change the future". The series was then commissioned by Ben Stephenson and Jay Hunt for BBC One with executive producers Patrick Spence, for BBC Northern Ireland, and Ferguson. The series was produced by Marcus Wilson and directed by Simon Cellan Jones and Omar Madha.[3] Filming began in Greater Manchester, England in June 2009,[1] with the majority of filming in the Northern Quarter district of the City of Manchester. The Imperial War Museum North is used as the backdrop for Dr King's place of employment, Prometheus Labs.

Filming was completed over 13 weeks and Fergison said: "Each episode is set within a very short time period so the changeable weather caused havoc."[3]

Cancellation

On 25 February 2010, David Bentley of the Coventry Telegraph writing in their Geek Files blog, quoted an unnamed BBC spokesman: "In spite of a great cast and production team, Paradox did not find its audience in the way that we had hoped".[4]

Episodes
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)
1"Episode 1"Simon Cellan JonesLizzie Mickery24 November 2009 (2009-11-24)4.81 million
Astrophysicist Christian King receives multiple ambiguous images ostensibly referencing a looming catastrophe. DI Rebecca Flint is called in to investigate. Can a disaster be averted?
2"Episode 2"Simon Cellan JonesLizzie Mickery1 December 2009 (2009-12-01)2.94 million
Still reeling from events of the previous day, the group attempts to piece together new clues and prevent a tragedy, with DI Flint unaware of potentially devastating personal consequences
3"Episode 3"Simon Cellan JonesLizzie Mickery8 December 2009 (2009-12-08)3.32 million
4"Episode 4"Omar MadhaMark Greig15 December 2009 (2009-12-15)3.12 million
5"Episode 5"Omar MadhaLizzie Mickery22 December 2009 (2009-12-22)3.11 million
The series finale finds a disillusioned Dr. King working with the team to prevent an attack that will have dire consequences for each team member. Consequences of prior failures result in multiple moral dilemmas. Who will live, and who will die?

Reception

The series peaked at 4.81 million viewers for the first episode.

In The Daily Telegraph, James Walton said that despite the "exciting" climactic scenes, "[s]adly, by then the show's complete absence of internal logic (or, if you prefer, its overwhelming silliness) meant that it was beyond help."[5] Comparing with American series FlashForward and ITV1's Collision, Alex Hardy from The Times said that the former "is currently doing a much better job at such space-time contemplation" and that the "'working back from an accident' format unfolded much more deliciously" in the latter.[6] Following the second episode, The Times' Andrew Billen said that although the last 10 minutes were exciting, "[t]he difficulty lay in the 50 minutes of scratchy dialogue, robotic acting and general misery that it took to get there."[7] Jeremy Clay from the Leicester Mercury also liked the climax but said "the rest was utterly daft",[8] the programme tried the patience of The Observer's Phil Hogan[9] and Tom Sutcliffe from The Independent said that "the Prometheus Innovation Satellite Downlink offers a perfect acronym for the state you'd have to be in to take this kind of thing seriously".[10]

References
  1. "Outhwaite to star in sci-fi drama". BBC News Online. 22 May 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  2. "Outhwaite to play cop in new BBC drama". Digital Spy. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  3. "Paradox press pack". BBC Press Office. 16 October 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  4. David Bentley (25 February 2010). "BBC axes sci-fi police drama Paradox". The Coventry Telegraph, The Geek Files blog. Trinity Mirror. Archived from the original on 10 August 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  5. Walton, James (24 November 2009). "Paradox, BBC One, review". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
  6. Hardy, Alex (25 November 2009). "Cast Offs; Paradox". Times Online. London. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
  7. Billen, Andrew (2 December 2009). "Imagine; The Queen; Paradox". Times Online. London. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
  8. Clay, Jeremy (25 November 2009). "TV Review: Paradox". Leicester Mercury. Archived from the original on 28 November 2009. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
  9. Hogan, Phil (29 November 2009). "Paradox, Gavin & Stacey, This World: an Iranian Martyr, Gracie! and Cast Offs". The Observer. London. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
  10. Sutcliffe, Tom (25 November 2009). "Last Night's Television - Paradox, BBC1; Cast Offs, Channel 4". The Independent. London. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
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