# Ultraviolet (1998)

> A clandestine British government unit hunts vampires with scientific rigor after a detective's partner is turned.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/215

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 6
- Episode runtime: 50 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: science fiction, horror, thriller
- Created by: Joe Ahearne
- Network: Channel 4
- Cast: Jack Davenport, Susannah Harker, Idris Elba, Philip Quast, Colette Brown, Fiona Dolman, Thomas Lockyer, Sean Cernow
- TMDB rating: 7.8/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0169501/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: paranoid, gritty, tense, clinical, dread-filled

## Synopsis

Ultraviolet (1998) is a British science fiction horror miniseries created by Joe Ahearne for Channel 4. Jack Davenport plays DS Michael Colefield, a detective who joins a clandestine government unit after his partner is turned into a vampire. Susannah Harker plays Dr Angela March, the unit's scientist, and Idris Elba plays Vaughan Rice, a hunter whose methods are as cold as his targets. The engine of the story is the unit's effort to track and destroy Code Fives, the vampires its members call leeches, while keeping the secret from a public that has no idea how deeply the undead have woven themselves into daily life. Each of the six 50-minute episodes builds tension through investigation, surveillance, and clinical reasoning, with the mythology grounded in the rule that vampires cannot appear on video or audio recordings. The production has a realistic, procedural texture and an atmosphere of paranoia and dread, closer to a conspiracy thriller than a gothic romance. Fans of Spooks and Dark Angel will find resonance in its blend of state secrecy, sharp-edged action, and genre fright. As a single-season limited run, it offers a contained, tightly plotted experience with a grounded tone and a dark, unsentimental view of power and survival.

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