The Deep (TV serial)

The Deep
GenreDrama
Written bySimon Donald
Directed byJim O'Hanlon
Colm McCarthy
StarringMinnie Driver
James Nesbitt
Goran Visnjic
ComposerSamuel Sim
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes5
Production
Executive producerGreg Brenman
ProducerWill Gould
Running time57 minutes
Production companyTiger Aspect Productions for BBC Wales
Original release
NetworkBBC One
Release3 August (2010-08-03) –
31 August 2010 (2010-08-31)

The Deep is a British television drama serial produced by Tiger Aspect Productions for BBC Wales. Written by Simon Donald, The Deep stars Minnie Driver, James Nesbitt, and Goran Visnjic as members of the crew of a research submarine, who encounter disaster thousands of feet underwater in the Arctic Circle.

The drama was filmed over 12 weeks in and around coastal communities near Glasgow, Scotland, including Dumbarton, Ardrossan and Irvine. The five episode miniseries was broadcast in August 2010.

Synopsis

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A group of oceanographers seek a new source of biofuel in the deepest canyons of the Lomonosov Ridge. A disaster strikes their submarine, stranding them thousands of feet underwater. The group must now deal with clashing personalities and finding a way to the surface.[1]

Cast

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Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date Viewers
(millions)
1"To the Furthest Place"Jim O'HanlonSimon Donald3 August 2010 (2010-08-03)5.62[3]
A group of scientists begin their mission aboard the submarine Orpheus to discover a renewable source of energy in the Arctic Ocean. They're nervous, however, since the last vessel, Hermes, disappeared with all aboard – including the wife of Orpheus member Clem – under mysterious conditions while on the identical mission. Suspicions are raised even further when a salvage worker joins the group.[2]
2"Into the Belly of the Beast"Jim O'HanlonSimon Donald10 August 2010 (2010-08-10)[5]5.03[6]
The crew begins quarreling over their mission and the numerous crises they're facing. It appears a crew member was killed by the salvage worker, while two others are trapped and running out of air and the Orpheus is without power or navigation. The remaining crew decide to board a massive, mysterious vessel that appears to have come to their rescue. Once there they find nothing except for a ghost ship of dead and mysteriously burned bodies. Unfortunately, they're also not alone.[4]
3"Ghosts of the Deep"Jim O'HanlonSimon Donald17 August 2010 (2010-08-17)[8]4.28[6]
The Orpheus crew has been trapped on a Russian submarine named "Volos". With the submarine's nuclear reactor reaching dangerous temperatures, someone has to deactivate it. However, the person to shut it off will be exposed to lethal radiation. Meanwhile, Clem is determined to discover what part the submarine played in his wife's death.[7]
4"Everything Put Together Falls Apart"Jim O'HanlonSimon Donald24 August 2010 (2010-08-24)[10]3.20[11]
The Orpheus has been repaired, the captain orders the crew to find more samples of the rare bio-fuel that they discovered, before the group rises up to the surface. However, the Russian captain commands his men to kill the crew.[9]
5"The Last Breath"Jim O'HanlonSimon Donald31 August 2010 (2010-08-31)4.27[13]
The crew members of the Orpheus try to find a way of transporting the rare bio-fuel to the surface. However, the captain of the Volos submarine is eager to stop them.[12]

Production

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Commissioning of The Deep was announced by the BBC in July 2009.[14] The BBC announced the involvement of stars Minnie Driver, James Nesbitt and Goran Visnjic, and the start of production at the BBC's Dumbarton studios, in December 2009.[1] The shoot ran for 12 weeks, concluding in March 2010.[15] Submarine sets both physical and computer generated were designed by Production Designer Simon Bowles. Location filming also occurred in Ardrossan and the harbour at Irvine.[16][17] Prosthetic make-up artist Linda A. Morton researched the sorts of injuries sustained by the characters by visiting a hospital burns unit, and referring to photographs of radiation burns.[18]

Broadcast

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The Deep was broadcast weekly on BBC One and simulcast on BBC HD from 3[19] to 31 August 2010. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts held a public screening of the first episode on 19 July 2010. It was followed by a question-and-answer session with Nesbitt and some of the production staff.[20] In Brazil, the series premiered on the channel +Globosat on Thursday, 16 August 2012, at 21 hours.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b BBC Press Office (17 December 2009). "James Nesbitt, Minnie Driver and Goran Visnjic star in new BBC One drama serial, The Deep". Press release. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  2. ^ "Episode 1 Information". BBC.
  3. ^ "Weekly Top Programmes Overview". BARB.
  4. ^ "Episode 2 Information". BBC.
  5. ^ BBC Press Office (22 July 2010). "Network TV BBC Week 32: Tuesday 10 August 2010". Press release. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  6. ^ a b "Weekly top 30 programmes on TV sets (July 1998 – Sept 2018) | BARB".
  7. ^ "Episode 3 Information". BBC.
  8. ^ BBC Press Office (30 July 2010). "Network TV BBC Week 33: Tuesday 17 August 2010". Press release. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  9. ^ "Episode 4 Information". BBC.
  10. ^ BBC Press Office (5 August 2010). "Network TV BBC Week 34: Tuesday 24 August 2010". Press release. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  11. ^ "'Big Brother 11' finale captivates 4m". Digital Spy. 25 August 2010.
  12. ^ "Episode 5 Information". BBC.
  13. ^ "BARB ratings 30 August – 5 September 2010". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  14. ^ BBC Press Office (14 July 2009). "BBC commissions over 20 hours of original authored drama". Press release. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
  15. ^ Armytage, Marcus (7 March 2010). "James Nesbitt relishing Riverside Theatre’s big day at the Cheltenham Festival". The Sunday Telegraph (Telegraph Media Group): p. 12 (Sport supplement).
  16. ^ Nisbet, Craig (28 January 2010). "TV stars in town". Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald (Ayrshire Weekly Press). Retrieved 21 May 2010.
  17. ^ Staff (21 January 2010). "Stars film at harbour". Irvine Times (Ayrshire Weekly Press). Retrieved 21 May 2010
  18. ^ Mallon, Maggie (21 March 2010). "When make-up gets ugly". The Sunday Times (Times Newspapers): pp. 15–16.
  19. ^ BBC Press Office (22 July 2010). "Network TV BBC Week 31: Tuesday 3 August 2010". Press release. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  20. ^ "18:30 TV Preview: The Deep plus Q+A". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 12 July 2010. Archived on 12 July 2010.
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