The Uninvited (TV series)

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The Uninvited
TheUninvitedITV.jpg
Episode 1 Title Card
Created byLeslie Grantham
Written by Peter Bowker
Directed byNorman Stone
Starring Douglas Hodge
Leslie Grantham
Lia Williams
Sylvestra Le Touzel
David Allister
Ian Brimble
Caroline Lee-Johnson
Gillian Barge
Eamon Boland
Composer Martin Kiszko
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes4 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersArchie Tait
Leslie Grantham
ProducerRuth Boswell
CinematographyDoug Hallows
EditorColin Goudie
Running time50 minutes
Production companies Zenith Entertainment
Anglia Television
Original release
Network ITV
Release25 September (1997-09-25) 
16 October 1997 (1997-10-16)

The Uninvited is a British television science fiction mystery thriller mini-series, created by Leslie Grantham and written by Peter Bowker, first broadcast on ITV between 25 September and 16 October 1997. [1] The series was co-produced by Zenith Entertainment and Anglia Television.

Contents

Production

The series was filmed in and around Norwich, with scenes filmed at the University of East Anglia, Norwich Magistrate's Court and the offices of the Eastern Daily Press in Norwich city centre. [2] The series was novelised by Paul Cornell and published by Virgin Books. ( ISBN   0-7535-0220-8). Cornell, a huge fan of the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who (who at that point had written several licensed novels based on the programme), cheekily included a cameo appearance at the end from Doctor Who character Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, although the character is unnamed in the book.

A soundtrack album accompanying the series, with music composed by Martin Kiszko, was released on 6 October 1997 via Ocean Deep Records. [3] The complete series was first released on VHS on 26 January 2000, [4] followed by a DVD release on 28 July 2003. [5] The DVD combines the four fifty-minute episodes into two feature-length episodes of 100 minutes each. [6]

Plot

Steve Blake (Douglas Hodge), a photographer and former journalist, witnesses the head of British Nuclear Power, James Wilson (David Allister) killed in a horrific car crash. However, the next day, Wilson turns up alive and well. Blake discovers a connection to the village of Sweethope, which collapsed into the sea following a chemical explosion. The population of the village was reportedly saved by two police officers, John Ferguson (Ian Brimble) and Philip Gates (Leslie Grantham). Blake is suspicious when he discovers a prominent number of the survivors have all gone on to obtain positions of power within the British establishment. [7]

Cast

Episodes

No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
11"Chapter One"Norman StonePeter Bowker25 September 1997 (1997-09-25)
Photographer Steve Blake witnesses a fatal car crash but is surprised to find the victim alive and well the next day. Investigating further, he finds several similar cases, and uncovers the village of Sweethorpe, which fell into the sea five years earlier, with no loss of life.
22"Chapter Two"Norman StonePeter Bowker2 October 1997 (1997-10-02)
Blake, investigating the highly successful careers of the Sweethorpe survivors, gets a job at a software plant owned by another Sweethope survivor but is soon uncovered. Melissa Gates falls foul of the local M.P.
33"Chapter Three"Norman StonePeter Bowker9 October 1997 (1997-10-09)
Melissa survives the car crash, but Blake worries that she might have been renewed like the Sweethorpe victims. They decide to reveal their theory of alien invasion on national television.
44"Chapter Four"Norman StonePeter Bowker16 October 1997 (1997-10-16)
Blake is denounced as a terrorist responsible for the explosion at Sizewell power station, and goes on the run with Melissa.

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