Resort to Murder

Last updated

Resort to Murder
Genre Crime drama
Created by Tony McHale
Directed byBruce MacDonald
Starring Ben Chaplin
Steven Waddington
Kelly Hunter
Peter Firth
John Stahl
Sean Gilder
David Daker
Brett Fancy
ComposerBill Connor
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes5 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers Johan Eliasch
Michael Wearing
ProducerBarry Hanson
CinematographyGraham Frake
EditorAngus Newton
Running time50 minutes
Production companyLondon Film Productions
Original release
Network BBC1
Release27 July (1995-07-27) –
24 August 1995 (1995-08-24)

Resort to Murder is a five-part British television crime drama series, written and created by Tony McHale, [1] first broadcast on BBC1 on 27 July 1995. [2] The series, directed by Bruce MacDonald, follows Joshua Penny (Ben Chaplin), a post-graduate student whose mother, Harriet, is herself murdered after having been the sole eyewitness to another murder. The series is set in and around Brighton.

Contents

Resort to Murder was first commissioned as an eight-part series in 1991 under the working title of Brighton Boy, and took over two years for writer Tony McHale to complete. In 1993, then-head of drama at the BBC, Charles Denton, green-lighted the series and awarded it a £4.5 million budget. The series was filmed over the course of 17 weeks from September to December 1993. Several members of the cast were hand-picked by McHale. After shooting completed, producer Barry Hanson arranged a viewing of all eight episodes for executive producer Michael Wearing, and both concluded following the viewing that "the series just didn't work." Then controller of BBC1, Alan Yentob, was later invited to a viewing of a director's cut of the first three episodes, heavily reworked by Wearing and Hanson. Yentob reportedly told them "he did not want such rubbish on his channel". [3]

Director Bruce MacDonald was then sacked from the project by Yentob, and the series was re-worked into five episodes, with writer McHale heavily involved in the editing process. More than eighteen months after completion, the series was finally listed for transmission on 27 July 1995, with episodes airing at 10pm on Thursdays. The series has never been released on VHS or DVD, although a soundtrack to the series was released via Debonair Records on 7 August 1995. [4]

Cast

Episodes

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date Viewers
(millions)
11"Episode 1"Bruce MacDonaldTony McHale27 July 1995 (1995-07-27)N/A
Under the derelict West Pier at Brighton, a young woman's body is found. Joshua Penny, a post-graduate student, returns home to track down the killer of his mother, a witness to the first murder. His only clue is a tattoo of a snake and dagger on the murderer's arm. [6]
22"Episode 2"Bruce MacDonaldTony McHale3 August 1995 (1995-08-03)N/A
Joshua's investigations into his mother's murder continue. [7]
33"Episode 3"Bruce MacDonaldTony McHale10 August 1995 (1995-08-10)N/A
While in search of his mother's murderer, Joshua finds himself dragged into the world of Camden's Goth clubs. His father stands accused of the murder and time is getting short. Who is the mysterious tattooed man? [8]
44"Episode 4"Bruce MacDonaldTony McHale17 August 1995 (1995-08-17)N/A
A sinister ventriloquist, an unscrupulous fisherman and a philandering tutor are all implicated in Harriet Penny's murder, but the identity of the Tattooed Man still remains a mystery. [9]
55"Episode 5"Bruce MacDonaldTony McHale24 August 1995 (1995-08-24)N/A
As the number of suspects diminishes, Joshua and Lucy discover the identity of the Tattooed Man. But will they survive? [10]

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References

  1. ↑ "Tony-McHale". London Screenwriters' Festival.
  2. ↑ "Resort to Murder Part One (1995)". Archived from the original on 24 July 2017.
  3. ↑ "Television to murder for". 26 July 1995.
  4. ↑ "Resort to Murder". 7 August 1995 – via Amazon.
  5. ↑ "Brett Fancy Resort to Murder". www.brettfancy.com.
  6. ↑ "Resort to Murder - BBC One London - 27 July 1995 - BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
  7. ↑ "Resort to Murder - BBC One London - 3 August 1995 - BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
  8. ↑ "Resort to Murder - BBC One London - 10 August 1995 - BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
  9. ↑ "Resort to Murder - BBC One London - 17 August 1995 - BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
  10. ↑ "Resort to Murder - BBC One London - 24 August 1995 - BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
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