P.O.W. (TV series)

Last updated

P.O.W.
Also known as
  • P.O.W
  • POW
GenreWar Drama
Created by Matthew Graham
Matt Jones
Written by Matthew Graham
Matt Jones
Directed byRoger Gartland
John Strickland
Starring
Composer Debbie Wiseman
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
Production location Lithuania
Running time48 Mins (Without Adverts)
Production companies Company Pictures
Company Television
Release
Original network ITV
Original release10 October (2003-10-10) 
14 November 2003 (2003-11-14)
Related
Colditz
Island at War

P.O.W. is a television series consisting of 6 episodes, broadcast on ITV in 2003. The series starred James D'Arcy and Joe Absolom. The drama series is based on true stories[ citation needed ], set in Germany in the year 1940 and follows the character of Jim Caddon as he is captured after his plane crashes during a bombing raid over Normandy. In contrast to previous entries in the World War Two prison escape genre such as The Colditz Story , it concentrated on escape attempts by other ranks rather than officers[ citation needed ]. The title "P.O.W." stands for "prisoner of war".

Contents

A second series has not been commissioned, though ITV followed it with several other World War Two dramas including Colditz and Island at War .

Cast

Episodes

TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
"Episode 1" John Strickland Matthew Graham 10 October 2003 (2003-10-10)
Having been shot down in October 1940, RAF Sgt. Jim Caddon finds himself incarcerated in a German POW camp, Stalag 39. Caddon is a bit of a hot heat and doesn't take well to being imprisoned nor does he like the attitude of the POW's senior officer, Capt. Baladi, who orders him not to attempt to escape. Gradually, Caddon begins to realize that there is method to their madness and helps with the planned escape of Sam Shanklin. The plan is to infest their hut with fleas and hide Shanklin in the mattress when they are taken away for de-lousing. Shanklin dies after the Germans burn the mattresses.
"Episode 2"John StricklandMatthew Graham & Stephen Davis17 October 2003 (2003-10-17)
A new arrival, Harry Freeman, falls under suspicion when his fellow prisoners learn he's a fluent German speaker. Jim Caddon doesn't agree and he and Harry are assigned to go on a recon mission to get information on the area around Stalag XXXIX. When Harry ducks out at the last moment, it looks like Jim may have been wrong and Drew Pritchard takes matters into his own hands. Cricket provides the solution when there's a lack of oxygen for the tunnelers.
"Episode 3"John Strickland Chris Lang 24 October 2003 (2003-10-24)
When one of the men is found murdered, Capt. Attercombe decides to launch his own investigation and keep the death a secret from Kommandant Dreiber. The dead man had recently received a letter from his girlfriend telling him she had married a local police constable. He was deeply humiliated and had threatened several of his fellow prisoners about not telling anyone about the situation. When Robbie Crane confesses to the crime, he is to be turned over to the camp authorities, but Drew Pritchard has a better solution. With the assistance of another man, Crane escapes.
"Episode 4"Roger Gartland Clive Dawson 31 October 2003 (2003-10-31)
When told by Captain Attercombe that he has been taken off the escape list and will not be accompanying those using the tunnel, Jim Caddon decides the time has come to make a break for it. Unexpectedly joined by Larry Boyd, they decide to follow the same route to be used by those who will soon escape through the tunnel. It doesn't take long for the Germans to realize the men have escaped and a Gestapo officer leads the hunt. Caddon is wounded during the escape. He is healed by Hanna, a German woman who has no loyalty to the Nazis. They end up having sex, but Caddon is betrayed the next morning by a Nazi-loyal friend of Hanna. Caddon makes a run for it, running into Boyd. The two are caught by Feltmann of the Gestapo. Feltmann non-fatally shoots Boyd and Caddon strangles him to death with his own shotgun. When Caddon and Boyd realize that their mates will be walking into a trap, they have to decide whether to give themselves up and return to the camp to warn them.
"Episode 5"Roger Gartland Tom Grieves 7 November 2003 (2003-11-07)
The Gestapo has determined that there is a spy in the camp, impersonating one of the downed airmen. They are able to work out that it's one of three recent arrivals, which includes Jim Caddon. The three men are brutally interrogated but none will admit to being the spy. Getting nowhere, the Gestapo officer, Major Stahl, decides to execute prisoners until the man comes forward. This all leads to a very special mission for Jim Caddon.
"Episode 6"Roger GartlandMatthew Graham14 November 2003 (2003-11-14)
When the POWs learn from their radio that there is to be a massive air raid in their area, they decide that it would be the perfect time to use their tunnel for the mass escape. They push to finish the last few yards into the woods but a cave-in seemingly ends their hopes of escape. Until, that is, Drew Pritchard comes up with a brilliant idea. It's also left to Pritchard to steal a travel pass from the Kommandant's office. When he is caught, Commandant Dreiber is prepared to use whatever means necessary to find out what is going on.

Production

The series was filmed in Lithuania and first broadcast on television on 10 October 2003.

Home release

After the series aired it was released on DVD, by Acorn Media UK, containing the following extras: [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Cracker</i> (British TV series) British crime drama set in Manchester, England

Cracker is a British crime drama series produced by Granada Television for ITV, created and principally written by Jimmy McGovern. Set in Manchester, the series follows a criminal psychologist, Dr Edward "Fitz" Fitzgerald, played by Robbie Coltrane, who works with the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to help them solve crimes.

<i>Take the High Road</i> Television series

Take the High Road was a Scottish soap opera produced by Scottish Television, which started in February 1980 as an ITV network daytime programme, and was broadcast until 2003. It was set in the fictional village of Glendarroch, and exteriors were filmed in the real-life village of Luss on the banks of Loch Lomond.

<i>The Champions</i> British television series

The Champions is a British espionage thriller/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure television series. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company, and consists of 30 episodes broadcast in the UK on ITV during 1968–1969. The series was broadcast in the US on NBC, starting in summer 1968.

<i>Bad Girls</i> (TV series) TV series set in a womens prison

Bad Girls is a British television drama series that was broadcast on ITV from 1 June 1999 until 20 December 2006. It was created by Maureen Chadwick and Ann McManus of Shed Productions, who initiated the idea of developing a series primarily focusing on the inmates and staff of the fictional women's prison, Larkhall, located in the South London region. Following the success of previous series Within These Walls and the Australian-imported Prisoner: Cell Block H, both of which screened on ITV, Bad Girls was commissioned by the network and was viewed as a realistic, modern portrayal of life in a women's prison. The series featured a large ensemble cast, including Linda Henry, Claire King, Simone Lahbib, Mandana Jones, Debra Stephenson, Jack Ellis, Alicya Eyo, Helen Fraser, Kika Mirylees, Victoria Alcock, James Gaddas, Victoria Bush, Dannielle Brent and Liz May Brice.

<i>Taggart</i> Scottish television series

Taggart is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries "Killer" from 6 until 20 September 1983, before a full series was commissioned that ran from 2 July 1985 until 7 November 2010. The series revolved around a group of detectives initially in the Maryhill CID of Strathclyde Police, though various storylines were set in other parts of Greater Glasgow and in other areas of Scotland. The team operated out of the fictional John Street police station. Mark McManus, who played the title character Jim Taggart, died in 1994. However, the series continued under the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James D'Arcy</span> English actor

James D'Arcy is an English actor and film director. He is known for his portrayals of Howard Stark's butler, Edwin Jarvis, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe television series Agent Carter and the 2019 film Avengers: Endgame, and murder suspect Lee Ashworth in the second season of the ITV series Broadchurch. D'Arcy also co-starred as Colonel Winnant in Christopher Nolan's war movie Dunkirk (2017).

<i>Murphys Law</i> (British TV series) Television series

Murphy's Law is a BBC television drama, produced by Tiger Aspect Productions for BBC Northern Ireland, starring James Nesbitt as an undercover police officer, Tommy Murphy. There were five series of the drama, shown on BBC One. The first two were composed of individual stories. Series three, four and five were each single stories composed over multiple episodes. Colin Bateman adapted the pilot for a novel.

<i>Vincent</i> (TV series) British television series

Vincent is a British television crime drama series, created and principally written by Stephen Butchard, that first broadcast on ITV on 10 October 2005.

<i>Rebus</i> (TV series) British television detective drama series

Rebus is a British television detective drama series based on the Inspector Rebus novels by the Scottish author Ian Rankin. The series was produced by STV Studios for the ITV network, and four series were broadcast between 26 April 2000 and 7 December 2007. The first series starred John Hannah as DI John Rebus; and was co-produced by Hannah's own production company, Clerkenwell Films. After Hannah quit the series, the role of Rebus was re-cast, with Ken Stott appearing as Rebus in three subsequent series, which were produced in-house by STV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oflag IV-C</span> German prisoner-of-war camp during World War II in Colditz, Saxony

Oflag IV-C, often referred to by its location at Colditz Castle, overlooking Colditz, Saxony, was one of the most noted German Army prisoner-of-war camps for captured enemy officers during World War II; Oflag is a shortening of Offizierslager, meaning "officers' camp".

<i>The Moomins</i> (TV series) Polish stop motion animated TV series

The Moomins is a stop motion animated children's television series based on the Tove Jansson's Moomin series of books which was produced by Se-ma-for and Jupiter Film between 1977 and 1982 for Polish, Austrian and German television. The series was later sold to other countries including the UK. The British version was adapted by Anne Wood at FilmFair for ITV Central and broadcast in the UK. Series 1 was first shown on Monday 24 January 1983 at 4:15 pm and series 2 on Monday 7 January 1985 at 4.15pm on Children's ITV, and series 2 was repeated in 1986. The series was last repeated in its entirety in 1988. It was narrated by British actor Richard Murdoch.

<i>The Story of Tracy Beaker</i> (TV series) British television series

The Story of Tracy Beaker is a British television programme series adapted from the book of the same name by Jacqueline Wilson. It ran on CBBC for five series, from January 2002 to December 2005 and also contained a feature-length episode, Tracy Beaker: The Movie of Me, broadcast in February 2004, as well as a week of interactive episodes for Children in Need. The theme song was written and produced by Brian Harris and Nigel Lowis and performed by Keisha White.

<i>The Bill</i> British police procedural television series

The Bill is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, Woodentop, broadcast in August 1983.

Blue Murder is a British crime drama television series based in Manchester, originally broadcast on ITV from 2003 until 2009, starring Caroline Quentin as DCI Janine Lewis and Ian Kelsey as DI Richard Mayne. Five series of the programme were broadcast over the course of six years. Reruns have aired on ITV3.

<i>The Commander</i> (TV series) British TV series or program

The Commander is a British crime drama, broadcast on ITV1, starring Amanda Burton as the principal character, Commander Clare Blake. The series first broadcast on 16 February 2003, and a total of five series were produced over a five-year-period, with the last episode airing on 12 November 2008.

<i>Colditz</i> (2005 TV series) TV series or program

Colditz is a two-part 2005 television drama miniseries, based on the book Colditz: The Definitive History by Henry Chancellor, and the Channel 4 television series Escape from Colditz. It is not claimed to be historically accurate. It features an ensemble cast headlined by Damian Lewis and Sophia Myles and was directed by Stuart Orme. The screenplay was written by Peter Morgan and Richard Cottan.

<i>Vera</i> (TV series) British crime drama television series

Vera is a British crime drama series based on the Vera Stanhope series of novels written by crime writer Ann Cleeves. It was first broadcast on ITV on 1 May 2011, and to date, twelve series have aired, with the latest concluding on 19 February 2023. The series stars Brenda Blethyn as the principal character, Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope.

<i>In Love and War</i> (1987 film) American TV series or program

In Love and War (1987) is a Vietnam war-based thriller/drama television film starring James Woods and Jane Alexander. It was directed by Paul Aaron. The film is based on the true story of James Stockdale and Sybil Stockdale. James Stockdale, a highest-ranking naval officer, was held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, whilst Sybil Stockdale became a co-founder, and then later served as the national coordinator of the National League of Families, a nonprofit organization that worked on behalf of American Vietnam-era Missing in Action and Prisoner of War Families. The film's screenplay was written by Carol Schreder, who was also one of the film's producers. The screenplay was based on the book In Love and War: The Story of a Family's Ordeal and Sacrifice During the Vietnam Years, which was written by James and Sybil Stockdale themselves.

<i>Bad Girls</i> (series 6) Season of television series

The sixth series of British drama series Bad Girls premiered on 14 April 2004. It consists of twelve episodes. The first four episodes were broadcast on Wednesday nights, with episode five moved to Monday and episodes six to eight broadcast over consecutive nights beginning the following Monday. After a 12-week hiatus, the remaining episodes of the series were screened Monday nights and concluded on 23 August 2004.

The Loch is a six-part British television drama series, created by screenwriter Stephen Brady, that first broadcast on ITV on 11 June 2017. The series follows DS Annie Redford, a small town police officer with the Scottish Highland Police as she investigates the murder of piano teacher Niall Swift, who is found dead at the bottom of a cliff in the picturesque village of Lochnafoy, Loch Ness. When it becomes apparent that part of Swift's brain has been removed, and a human heart belonging to another victim is found close by, Annie's team realise they are searching for a serial killer. In response, Glasgow based major investigation detective DCI Lauren Quigley is brought in to lead the enquiry.

References

  1. "DVD on Amazon.co.uk". Amazon UK. Retrieved 22 March 2012.