# Edge of Darkness (1985)

> A grieving police inspector investigates his daughter's murder and uncovers the murky world of British nuclear policy.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/12921

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 6
- Episode runtime: 53 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama, thriller
- Created by: Troy Kennedy Martin
- Network: BBC Two
- Cast: Bob Peck, Joe Don Baker, Charles Kay, Joanne Whalley, John Woodvine, Jack Watson, David Fleeshman, Bill Stewart
- TMDB rating: 8.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090424/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: bleak, paranoid, austere, tense, melancholic

## What critics say

Acclaimed as a gripping, politically charged thriller whose conspiracy plot about British nuclear policy and a grieving father's quest for answers holds up as a tense, adult drama.

## Synopsis

Edge of Darkness (1985) is a British television crime thriller miniseries created by Troy Kennedy Martin for BBC Two. Bob Peck plays Ronald Craven, a Yorkshire police inspector whose daughter Emma (Joanne Whalley) is gunned down in front of him, and Joe Don Baker plays the American Darius Jedburgh, a shadowy figure who becomes entangled in the investigation. Charles Kay appears as the enigmatic government man Pendleton, who suggests the killing may have been aimed at the wrong person. Across six hour-long episodes, the engine of the story is a grieving father's relentless pursuit of answers, pushing through police stonewalling and official silence as each step reveals a deeper web of corruption. The series moves steadily from a domestic tragedy into a conspiracy about nuclear policy, building dread through hushed meetings, locked doors and bureaucratic evasions. Its tone is bleak, paranoid and austere, with a sustained sense of moral unease. Fans of Three Days of the Condor and The Parallax View will find resonance in its patient conspiracy plotting, while viewers of British political drama will recognise its grounded, hard-edged realism.

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- [State of Play (2003)](https://ember.film/tv/3844)
- [The Game (2014)](https://ember.film/tv/55075)
- [The Final Cut (1995)](https://ember.film/tv/66668)
- [In the Dark (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/63434)
- [Harry's Game (1982)](https://ember.film/tv/12623)
- [Archangel (2005)](https://ember.film/tv/27937)
- [Enemy's Enemy (1990)](https://ember.film/tv/46504)

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