Thirteen (TV series)

Last updated

Thirteen
GenreDrama
Created byMarnie Dickens
Written byMarnie Dickens
Directed by
Starring
Opening theme"In Your Dreams" by Dark Dark Dark
Ending theme"In Your Dreams" by Dark Dark Dark
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes5 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerElizabeth Kilgarriff
ProducerHugh Warren
Production locations Bristol, England
Running time60 minutes
Original release
Network
Release28 February (2016-02-28) –
27 March 2016 (2016-03-27)

Thirteen is a British drama serial created and written by Marnie Dickens. The series centres on Ivy Moxam (Jodie Comer), a 26-year-old woman who escapes from the cellar where she has been imprisoned for 13 years, and the impact on her family. [1]

Contents

The first episode was released on BBC Three in the UK on 28 February 2016. It began airing on BBC America in the United States on 23 June 2016. [2] [3] Each episode was broadcast on BBC Two a week after its release, with the first on 6 March 2016. In Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Middle East, the series began airing in the middle of August 2016.

On 27 March 2016, Dickens stated that there would not be a second series of the show as it was intended to be one-off. [4]

Cast

Episodes

No. in
series		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)
1"Episode 1"Vanessa CaswillMarnie Dickens28 February 2016 (2016-02-28)2.4 (BBC Three) [5]
1.26 (BBC Two) [6]

Ivy Moxam, now 26, was abducted at age 13 and has been held in a cellar for the last 13 years. Now, she escapes captivity, and is taken to the police station. She meets her family liaison officer, as well as D.I. Carne and D.S. Merchant, who proceed to interview her. Ivy's family are informed after information leaks to the press, and DNA test results confirm that she is the Moxams' daughter.

Ivy's childhood crush, Tim, has since married, but he delays telling this to Ivy. Overwhelmed by events, Ivy runs from her home, and it is Tim who finds her. Carne tells her that she should 'press play' on her life and start living again, and she decides to write a letter to Tim, as they used to do. Later, D.S. Merchant warns Carne that Ivy is getting attached to him; subsequently, Ivy tells him that she trusts him, and he gives her his business card in case she needs someone to talk to.

The police locate the house of Ivy's kidnapper, but he has used bleach to remove DNA traces of himself or Ivy. The police find a passport photo of Ivy and hair on the kidnapper's bed, from which they deduce that she has lied about not being let out of the cellar. She tells them that he took her out of the house only once. The police identify a face through tracing his bank cards, which lead them to a petrol station where they gain security footage of a man who Ivy confirms as her kidnapper. It is revealed that Henry Stone, the headteacher of Ivy's school (which she should have been attending on the day of her kidnapping), employed Ivy's kidnapper and that the kidnapper has taken a second girl, Phoebe, hostage.
2"Episode 2"Vanessa CaswillMarnie Dickens6 March 2016 (2016-03-06)1.2 (BBC Two) [7]

The kidnapping of a second girl, Phoebe, puts more pressure on Ivy to relive her ordeal. Carne and Merchant find themselves surrounded by a new team from Scotland Yard.

Ivy is soon summoned back to the police station as Merchant comes up against suspicions, and when evidence is produced which suggests that Ivy has lied to the police about being allowed outside, she comes under fierce scrutiny. She reaches out to Tim for support, but suffers a shattering betrayal when she finds out he is married. Ivy is seen to be dragged away at the end of the episode by an unseen person.
3"Episode 3"Vanessa CaswillMarnie Dickens13 March 2016 (2016-03-13)1.11 (BBC Two) [8]
Phoebe's father attacks Ivy and tries to drag her away, screaming at her to tell him where his daughter is. Her family quickly helps her but she falls into a state of shock. Ivy tries to reconnect with her sister, but a mysterious letter that seems to be from Mark White threatens their reconciliation. Carne tries to get Ivy to open up about her captivity, but is forced to take drastic measures when she refuses to cooperate. As doubts about Ivy's story grow, Merchant returns to White's house, and makes a shocking discovery. [9]
4"Episode 4"China Moo-YoungMarnie Dickens20 March 2016 (2016-03-20)1.04 (BBC Two) [10]
Ivy is arrested for perverting the course of justice after the discovery in the cellar of the body of Mark White's half-brother Dylan, who went missing in 2009, revealing more inconsistencies and lies from Ivy. She withdraws completely while being questioned as she realises she has lost Carne's trust. Christina begs the police to allow her to speak to her daughter, and persuades Ivy to reveal the shocking truth behind her disappearance. Ivy reveals Mark White killed his brother, but only Ivy's DNA is found on the sheet Dylan's body was wrapped in. Meanwhile, Mark White contacts Carne and Merchant and will only talk with Ivy.
5"Episode 5"China Moo-YoungMarnie Dickens27 March 2016 (2016-03-27)1.16 (BBC Two) [11]

The Moxam family is plunged into the same horror they faced 13 years previously, leaving Ivy faced with the prospect of risking her own life to save Phoebe while being confronted with the memory of her earlier ordeal. Carne and Merchant try to find a way to ensure her safety, but have underestimated Mark White, putting themselves in danger. Ivy arranges to meet with Mark White under covert police surveillance. She gets scared and in turn finds Mark in a photo booth with Phoebe. He abducts Ivy, leaving the shopping centre with her in an industrial bin. Police see Mark leaving with her in a van. They chase him, but he gets away.

Ivy is later seen tied to a chair with tape on her mouth. Mark gets cross with her and she persuades him to untie her. He shows her the wardrobe which has stuff from their old house, and she sets it up to look like the old one. Mark reports he would be keen to start a family again. He makes Ivy wear a nightgown and a bra that has no underwire. She bathes him and he tries to get her to have sex with him. She then gets his gun and tells him she wants to leave as she now realises how controlling he is. Ivy fires the gun but it is not loaded, and Mark knocks her out.

Later, Mark reveals that he wishes he and Ivy could reunite with their miscarried child and his brother in Heaven. He has set a fire downstairs and smoke comes in under the door as Mark and Ivy lie on the bed. She climbs on top of him to kiss him passionately, but instead bites him and smashes his head against the wall. She then escapes the house just as it explodes, and her parents and the police arrive. [12]

Production

The series was shot on location in Bristol. The finale is set in a house in the Lockleaze suburb of Bristol, featuring the Purdown BT Tower, which is mentioned by name in the show.

The title music is "In Your Dreams" from the album Wild Go by Dark Dark Dark. The final episode features a cover of Royal Blood's "Out of the Black" by Billie Marten.

DVD release and streaming

Thirteen was released on DVD on Region 2 in the United Kingdom and Ireland from 2 Entertain on 18 April 2016, [13] on Region 1 in the United States and Canada via Acorn DVD and BBC DVD on 2 August 2016, [14] and on Region 4 in Australia on 7 September 2016. [15] The series has also been released on DVD in Germany from distribution company Polyband on 27 January 2017. [16]

The series is also available for streaming or purchase via Amazon Video, [17] [18] and was available for streaming on the BBC iPlayer until mid-2020.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Two</span> Television channel operated by the BBC

BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream and popular BBC One.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC One</span> British television channel

BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, primetime drama and entertainment, and live BBC Sport events.

<i>New Tricks</i> British police procedural television series (2003–2015)

New Tricks is a British television police procedural comedy drama, created by Nigel McCrery and Roy Mitchell, produced primarily by Wall to Wall, and broadcast on BBC One. The programme originally began with a pilot episode on 27 March 2003, before a full series was commissioned for 1 April 2004; New Tricks concluded after twelve series on 6 October 2015. The show utilises an ensemble cast, of which Dennis Waterman was the only constant over all twelve series; this cast variously included Alun Armstrong, James Bolam, Amanda Redman, Denis Lawson, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Tamzin Outhwaite, and Larry Lamb.

<i>Coast</i> (TV series) BBC documentary television series

Coast is a BBC documentary series first broadcast on BBC Two television in 2005. It covers various subjects relating to both the natural and social history of the British coastline and also more recently, that of Britain's near neighbours. The seventh series followed a different format from previous series. In 2016, reports from the show were repackaged as Coast: The Great Guide, an eight part series on BBC Two.

<i>Justice</i> (2011 TV series) British TV series or programme

Justice is a British legal drama, starring Robert Pugh and Gillian Kearney, that was broadcast from 4 to 8 April 2011, on BBC One. Pugh stars as Judge Patrick Coburn, the officiate of a community justice centre in his childhood home of Dovefield in Liverpool. Kearney stars as Louise Scanlon, a local investigative journalist who becomes caught up in Coburn's efforts to bring local tearaway Jake Little to justice.

<i>Death in Paradise</i> (TV series) Crime drama television series

Death in Paradise is a British–French crime comedy drama television series created by Robert Thorogood, starring Ben Miller, Kris Marshall, Ardal O'Hanlon and Ralf Little.

<i>Good Cop</i> British police procedural TV series (2012)

Good Cop is a British police procedural television series, written and created by Stephen Butchard, that first broadcast on BBC One on 30 August 2012. The plot centres on an ordinary police constable, John Paul Rocksavage, whose life changes forever when his best friend and colleague, Andy Stockwell, is attacked and killed in a savage ambush.

<i>Life Story</i> (TV series) British TV series or programme

Life Story is a British natural-history television series with Mike Gunton, Rupert Barrington and Tom Hugh-Jones from the BBC Natural History Unit on the production team. The six-part series reveals the challenges faced by individual animals at different stages of their lives and was first broadcast on BBC One in 2014. The series is introduced and narrated by David Attenborough.

<i>The Hunt</i> (2015 TV series) British TV series or programme

The Hunt is a 2015 British nature documentary series made for BBC Television, first shown in the UK on BBC One and BBC One HD on 1 November 2015. The series is narrated by David Attenborough.

Murder is a British television crime drama created and written by Robert Jones. Murder is written in a unique style in which all of the protagonists in each episode engage in monologues to camera, giving their version of what happened on the night, as the investigation proceeds from arrest to court hearing to verdict. Four independent films have been written to date, each starring a number of guest artistes. The first, stand-alone film broadcast on 26 August 2012, with a series of three films following on 3 March 2016. The first film was released on DVD on 11 May 2015 via Acorn Media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jodie Comer</span> English actress (born 1993)

Jodie Comer is an English actress. Born and raised in Liverpool, Comer began her career in an episode of The Royal Today in 2008. She gained recognition for appearing in the series My Mad Fat Diary and Doctor Foster, and earned acclaim for starring in the drama miniseries Thirteen.

<i>The Durrells</i> British comedy-drama series

The Durrells is a British comedy-drama television series loosely based on Gerald Durrell's three autobiographical books about his family's four years (1935–1939) on the Greek island of Corfu. It aired on ITV from 3 April 2016 to 12 May 2019. The series is written by Simon Nye, directed by Steve Barron and Roger Goldby, and produced by Christopher Hall. Lee Durrell, Gerald Durrell's widow and director of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, acted as consultant. The series was partly filmed on location in Corfu, as well as at Ealing Studios and Twickenham Studios in London.

<i>Electric Dreams</i> (2017 TV series) Science fiction anthology television series

Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, or simply Electric Dreams, is a science fiction television anthology series based on the works of Philip K. Dick. The series consists of ten standalone 50-minute episodes based on Dick's work, written by British and American writers. It premiered on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom on 17 September 2017, and in the United States on Amazon Prime Video on 12 January 2018.

The Broker's Man is a BBC British television drama series centred on the work of Jimmy Griffin, an ex-detective who applies his skills as a fraud investigator for an insurance company. Produced by Bentley Productions for BBC One, the series starred Kevin Whately as Griffin and ran for two series from 17 June 1997 to 27 August 1998. The series was filmed in the intermittent years of Whately's portrayal of Inspector Lewis in both Inspector Morse and Lewis. The complete series was released on DVD by Acorn Media UK on 4 February 2008. Each episode was a self-contained 90-minute story.

Katherine Rose Morley is an English actress. She has appeared in The Mill (2013–2014), Thirteen (2016), Last Tango in Halifax (2013–2020), Clink (2019), and The Syndicate (2021).

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 "BBC Three announces cast for Thirteen, original drama series by Marnie Dickens". BBC. 28 July 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  2. ↑ "BBC America to Air Peter Moffat's 'Undercover,' Marnie Dickens' 'Thirteen' in 2016". Variety. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  3. ↑ Hannah J Davies. "Thirteen: the kidnap thriller that's redefining teen drama". the Guardian.
  4. ↑ "Will there be a Thirteen Series two?" . Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  5. ↑ "BBC Three viewing figures revealed: Thirteen most popular, as views rival Sherlock". Vodzilla. 9 April 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  6. ↑ "Weekly top 30 programmes". BARB . Retrieved 3 October 2017.(see "Weekly top 30 programmes", "BBC2 (SD+HD)", "Year: 2016", "Month: March", "Week: 29 Feb-6 Mar")
  7. ↑ "Weekly top 30 programmes". BARB . Retrieved 3 October 2017.(see "Weekly top 30 programmes", "BBC2 (SD+HD)", "Year: 2016", "Month: March", "Week: 7 Mar-13 Mar")
  8. ↑ "Weekly top 30 programmes". BARB . Retrieved 3 October 2017.(see "Weekly top 30 programmes", "BBC2 (SD+HD)", "Year: 2016", "Month: March", "Week: 14 Mar-20 Mar")
  9. ↑ "Thirteen". RadioTimes. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  10. ↑ "Weekly top 30 programmes". BARB . Retrieved 3 October 2017.(see "Weekly top 30 programmes", "BBC2 (SD+HD)", "Year: 2016", "Month: March", "Week: 21 Mar-27 Mar")
  11. ↑ "Weekly top 30 programmes". BARB . Retrieved 3 October 2017.(see "Weekly top 30 programmes", "BBC2 (SD+HD)", "Year: 2016", "Month: April", "Week: 28 Mar-3 Apr")
  12. ↑ "Thirteen". RadioTimes. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  13. ↑ "Thirteen [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk . Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  14. ↑ "Thirteen". Acornonline.com. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  15. ↑ "Thirteen". JB Hi-Fi . Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  16. ↑ "Thirteen - Ein gestohlenes Leben [2 DVDs]". Amazon.de. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  17. ↑ "Thirteen". Amazon. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  18. ↑ "Thirteen". Amazon.co.uk . Retrieved 7 November 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.