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{{Use British English|date=March 2013}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox television
{{Infobox television
| show_name = The Last Enemy
| image = The Last Enemy TV poster.png
| caption = DVD Cover
| image = The Last Enemy TV poster.png
⚫
| genre = [[Dramatic programming|Drama]]<br />[[Thriller (genre)|Thriller]]<br />[[Social science fiction|Science fiction]]<br />[[Adventure film|Adventure]]<br />[[Mystery (fiction)|Mystery]]
| caption = TV poster
⚫
| writer = Peter Berry
⚫
| genre = [[Dramatic programming|Drama]]<br />[[Thriller (genre)|Thriller]]<br />[[Social science fiction|Science fiction]]<br />[[Adventure film|Adventure]]<br />[[Mystery (fiction)|Mystery]]
⚫
| producer = Gub Neal, [[Rebecca Eaton]] (for WGBH)
| picture_format = [[PAL]]
| director = [[Iain B. MacDonald]]
⚫
| writer = Peter Berry
⚫
| starring = [[Benedict Cumberbatch]]<br />[[Anamaria Marinca]]<br />[[Max Beesley]]<br />[[Robert Carlyle]]<br />[[Eva Birthistle]]<br />[[Geraldine James]]<br />[[Chipo Chung]]<br />Tom Fisher<br />[[James Lance]]<br />San Shella<br />[[David Harewood]]<br />[[Christopher Fulford]]<br />[[Paul Higgins (actor)|Paul Higgins]]<br />[[Nick Sidi]]
⚫
| producer = Gub Neal, [[Rebecca Eaton]] (for WGBH)
| director = [[Iain B. MacDonald]]
| composer = [[Magnus Fiennes]]
⚫
| country = United Kingdom
⚫
| starring = [[Benedict Cumberbatch]]<br />[[Anamaria Marinca]]<br />[[Max Beesley]]<br />[[Robert Carlyle]]<br />[[Eva Birthistle]]<br />[[Geraldine James]]<br />[[Chipo Chung]]<br />Tom Fisher<br />[[James Lance]]<br />San Shella<br />[[David Harewood]]<br />[[Christopher Fulford]]<br />[[Paul Higgins (actor)|Paul Higgins]]<br />[[Nick Sidi]]
⚫
| language = English
| composer = [[Magnus Fiennes]]
⚫
| company = [[BOX TV Limited]]<br />[[WGBH-TV|WGBH Boston]]
⚫
| country = United Kingdom
⚫
| language = English
⚫
| company = [[BOX TV Limited]]<br />[[WGBH-TV|WGBH Boston]]
| executive_producer = Patrick Irwin<br />Justin Thomson-Glover<br />Adrian Bate
| executive_producer = Patrick Irwin<br />Justin Thomson-Glover<br />Adrian Bate
| location = London, UK; Bucharest, Romania
| location = London, UK; Bucharest, Romania
| camera = John Hembrough
| camera = John Hembrough
| runtime = 85 minutes (Episode 1); 60 minutes (Episodes 2–5)
| runtime = 85 minutes (Episode 1); 60 minutes (Episodes 2–5)
| network = [[BBC One]]
| network = [[BBC One]]
| first_aired = 17 February 2008
| first_aired = {{start date|2008|2|17|df=y}}
| last_aired = 16 March 2008
| last_aired = {{end date|2008|3|16|df=y}}
| num_series = 1
| num_series = 1
| num_episodes = 5
| num_episodes = 5
| website = http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/lastenemy/
}}
}}


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==Plot==
==Plot==
Set in a recognisable, near-future London beset by terrorism and [[illegal immigration]], ''The Last Enemy'' features the introduction of "TIA" ([[Total Information Awareness]]), a centralised [[database]] that can be used to track and monitor anybody, effectively by putting all available government and corporate&nbsp;– i.e. credit card and bank activity, phone use, internet use, purchases, rentals, etc.&nbsp;– information in one place.
Set in a recognisable dystopian near-future London, ''The Last Enemy'' features the introduction of "TIA" ([[Total Information Awareness]]), a centralised [[database]] that can be used to track and monitor anybody, by putting all government and corporate&nbsp;– i.e. credit card and bank activity, phone use, internet use, purchases, rentals, etc.&nbsp;– information in one place.


The story deals with a political cover-up centred on a sanctioned but secret medical experiment run amok with key members of the government trying desperately to hide all evidence of their experimental batch of vaccine that seems to be causing a deadly [[virus]]. The complex story unspools to reveal the moral, social and privacy concerns of this hypothetical TIA system in a post-[[7 July 2005 London bombings|7/7]] world, including such control mechanisms familiar to both real life and science fiction as retinal scans, fingerprint identification and ubiquitous camera and cellphone surveillance footage.
The story deals with a political cover-up of a sanctioned but secret medical experiment run amok with key members of the government trying desperately to hide all evidence of their experimental batch of vaccine that seems to be causing a deadly [[virus]]. The complex story unspools to reveal the moral, social and privacy concerns of this hypothetical TIA system in a post-[[7 July 2005 London bombings|7/7]] world, including such control mechanisms familiar to both real life and science fiction as retinal scans, fingerprint identification and ubiquitous camera and mobile phone surveillance footage.


The story is told through the eyes of a mathematical genius, Stephen Ezard, who is portrayed as a recluse showing some signs of [[obsessive-compulsive disorder]]. But the shy genius overcomes his own inhibitions to burrow into a highly compromised British government using his brilliance and their TIA system only to find himself ultimately trapped by the people he most trusts, and to learn he is a pawn in manipulative Security State machinations which take the people he most loves from him and compromise him forever.
The story is told through the eyes of a mathematical genius, Stephen Ezard, who is portrayed as a recluse showing some signs of [[obsessive-compulsive disorder]]. The shy genius overcomes his inhibitions to burrow into a highly compromised British government using his brilliance and their TIA system only to find himself ultimately trapped by the people he most trusts and to learn he is a pawn in manipulative Security State machinations which take the people he most loves from him and compromise him forever.

==Cast==
* [[Benedict Cumberbatch]] as Stephen Ezard
* [[Anamaria Marinca]] as Yasir Anwar
* [[Max Beesley]] as Michael Ezard
* [[Robert Carlyle]] as David Russell
* [[Eva Birthistle]] as Eleanor Brooke
* [[Geraldine James]] as Barbara Turney
* [[David Harewood]] as Patrick Nye
* [[Christopher Fulford]] as George Gibbon
* [[Alina Serban]] as Nadir Al-Fulani
* [[Paul Higgins (actor)|Paul Higgins]] as Professor Lawrence Cooper
* [[Nicholas Sidi]] as Professor John Moreton
* [[David Calder (actor)|David Calder]] as Lord Cawston
* [[James Lance]] as Bryan Holland
* [[San Shella]] as Andrew Wilcox
* [[Nikki Amuka-Bird]] as Susan Ross


==Viewing figures==
==Viewing figures==
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
|-
|-
! Episode number
! Episode number
Line 45: Line 59:
! Season viewer average
! Season viewer average
|-
|-
| 1 || 17 February 2008 || style="background:#EEDC82;" | '''4.2m<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/feb/18/tvratings.television | title=TV ratings – February&nbsp;18: Kingdom reigns over The Last Enemy | newspaper=The Guardian | location=London | first=Leigh | last=Holmwood | date=18 February 2008 | accessdate=25 May 2010}}</ref>''' || '''18%''' || style="background:#addfad;" rowspan="5" | '''2.7m'''
| 1 || 17 February 2008 || style="background:#EEDC82;" | 4.2m<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/feb/18/tvratings.television | title=TV ratings – February&nbsp;18: Kingdom reigns over The Last Enemy | newspaper=The Guardian | location=London | first=Leigh | last=Holmwood | date=18 February 2008 | accessdate=25 May 2010}}</ref> || 18% || style="background:#addfad;" rowspan="5" | 2.7m
|-
|-
| 2 || 24 February 2008 || style="background:#EEDC82;" | '''2.5m<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/feb/25/tvratings.television | title=TV ratings – February&nbsp;24: To see you nice, say Brucie's 6.5 million | newspaper=The Guardian | location=London | first=Leigh | last=Holmwood | date=25 February 2008 | accessdate=25 May 2010}}</ref>''' || '''10%'''
| 2 || 24 February 2008 || style="background:#EEDC82;" | 2.5m<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/feb/25/tvratings.television | title=TV ratings – February&nbsp;24: To see you nice, say Brucie's 6.5 million | newspaper=The Guardian | location=London | first=Leigh | last=Holmwood | date=25 February 2008 | accessdate=25 May 2010}}</ref> || 10%
|-
|-
| 3 || 2 March 2008 || style="background:#EEDC82;" | '''2.3m<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/mar/03/tvratings.television | title=TV ratings – March&nbsp;2: Lewis beats BBC enemy | newspaper=The Guardian | location=London | first=Maria | last=Esposito | date=3 March 2008 | accessdate=25 May 2010}}</ref>''' || '''9.4%'''
| 3 || 2 March 2008 || style="background:#EEDC82;" | 2.3m<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/mar/03/tvratings.television | title=TV ratings – March&nbsp;2: Lewis beats BBC enemy | newspaper=The Guardian | location=London | first=Maria | last=Esposito | date=3 March 2008 | accessdate=25 May 2010}}</ref> || 9.4%
|-
|-
| 4 || 9 March 2008 || style="background:#EEDC82;" | '''2.5m<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/mar/10/tvratings.television | title=TV ratings – March&nbsp;9: ITV1 hits 9.6m Sunday peak | newspaper=The Guardian | location=London | first=Leigh | last=Holmwood | date=10 March 2008 | accessdate=25 May 2010}}</ref>''' || '''10%'''
| 4 || 9 March 2008 || style="background:#EEDC82;" | 2.5m<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/mar/10/tvratings.television | title=TV ratings – March&nbsp;9: ITV1 hits 9.6m Sunday peak | newspaper=The Guardian | location=London | first=Leigh | last=Holmwood | date=10 March 2008 | accessdate=25 May 2010}}</ref> || 10%
|-
|-
| 5 || 16 March 2008 || style="background:#EEDC82;" | '''2m<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/mar/17/tvratings.television | title=TV ratings – March&nbsp;16: Dancing on Ice final wins for ITV | newspaper=The Guardian | location=London | first=Leigh | last=Holmwood | date=17 March 2008 | accessdate=25 May 2010}}</ref>''' || '''8%'''
| 5 || 16 March 2008 || style="background:#EEDC82;" | 2m<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/mar/17/tvratings.television | title=TV ratings – March&nbsp;16: Dancing on Ice final wins for ITV | newspaper=The Guardian | location=London | first=Leigh | last=Holmwood | date=17 March 2008 | accessdate=25 May 2010}}</ref> || 8%
|-
|-
|}
|}
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==Distribution==
==Distribution==


* ''The Last Enemy'' aired in the United States on [[PBS]] stations on ''[[Masterpiece (TV series)|Masterpiece Contemporary]]''.
* ''The Last Enemy'' aired in the United States on ''[[Masterpiece (TV series)|Masterpiece Contemporary]]'' on [[PBS]] from 5 October 2008 to 2 November 2008.
* In [[Australia]], ''The Last Enemy'' TV series commenced airing on free-to-air-TV on [[ABC1]] (the national public television channel) from 8:30pm on 19 July 2009<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/guide/netw/200907/programs/ZY9129A001D19072009T203000.htm | title=ABC1 TV Guide Program Information | publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref> and concluded on 16 August 2009.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/guide/netw/200908/programs/ZY9129A005D16082009T203500.htm | title=ABC1 TV Guide Program Information | publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref>
* In [[Australia]], ''The Last Enemy'' TV series commenced airing on free-to-air-TV on [[ABC1]] (the national public television channel) from 8:30pm on 19 July 2009<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/guide/netw/200907/programs/ZY9129A001D19072009T203000.htm | title=ABC1 TV Guide Program Information | publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref> and concluded on 16 August 2009.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/guide/netw/200908/programs/ZY9129A005D16082009T203500.htm | title=ABC1 TV Guide Program Information | publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref>
* ''The Last Enemy'' aired on [[TVOntario|TVO]] in Ontario, Canada from 9:00 pm on 1–29 April 2009
* ''The Last Enemy'' aired on [[TVOntario|TVO]] in Ontario, Canada from 9:00 pm on 1–29 April 2009
* ''The Last Enemy'' aired weekly in Denmark on [[DR1]] from 10:45 pm on 26 January 2012.
* ''The Last Enemy'' aired weekly in Denmark on [[DR1]] from 10:45 pm on 26 January 2012.
* ''The Last Enemy'' is available on Amazon Prime Video and on YouTube.
* ''The Last Enemy'' is available on Amazon Prime Video and on YouTube. As of 2020, it is available on the [[STV Player]] in Scotland. In January 2023, it was made available on [[ITVX]] and [[Britbox]] in the UK.


==References==
==References==
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==External links==
==External links==
* {{BBC programme}}
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/lastenemy/welcome.shtml ''The Last Enemy''] at [[BBC|the BBC]]
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/lastenemy/welcome.shtml ''The Last Enemy''] at [[BBC|the BBC]]
*{{IMDb title|0966151|The Last Enemy}}
*{{IMDb title|0966151|The Last Enemy}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Enemy, The}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Enemy (TV series), The}}
[[Category:BBC Television programmes]]
[[Category:BBC One original programming]]
[[Category:2008 British television programme debuts]]
[[Category:2008 British television series debuts]]
[[Category:2008 British television programme endings]]
[[Category:2008 British television series endings]]
[[Category:Television shows set in London]]
[[Category:Television shows set in London]]
[[Category:2000s British drama television series]]
[[Category:2000s British drama television series]]
[[Category:Television series by WGBH]]
[[Category:Television series by WGBH]]
[[Category:PBS network shows]]
[[Category:PBS original programming]]

Latest revision as of 20:39, 24 September 2024

The Last Enemy
DVD Cover
GenreDrama
Thriller
Science fiction
Adventure
Mystery
Written byPeter Berry
Directed byIain B. MacDonald
StarringBenedict Cumberbatch
Anamaria Marinca
Max Beesley
Robert Carlyle
Eva Birthistle
Geraldine James
Chipo Chung
Tom Fisher
James Lance
San Shella
David Harewood
Christopher Fulford
Paul Higgins
Nick Sidi
ComposerMagnus Fiennes
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes5
Production
Executive producersPatrick Irwin
Justin Thomson-Glover
Adrian Bate
ProducersGub Neal, Rebecca Eaton (for WGBH)
Production locationsLondon, UK; Bucharest, Romania
Camera setupJohn Hembrough
Running time85 minutes (Episode 1); 60 minutes (Episodes 2–5)
Production companiesBOX TV Limited
WGBH Boston
Original release
NetworkBBC One
Release17 February (2008-02-17) –
16 March 2008 (2008-03-16)

The Last Enemy is a five-part BBC television drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch and featuring Robert Carlyle and Max Beesley. It first aired on 17 February 2008.

Plot

[edit]

Set in a recognisable dystopian near-future London, The Last Enemy features the introduction of "TIA" (Total Information Awareness), a centralised database that can be used to track and monitor anybody, by putting all government and corporate – i.e. credit card and bank activity, phone use, internet use, purchases, rentals, etc. – information in one place.

The story deals with a political cover-up of a sanctioned but secret medical experiment run amok with key members of the government trying desperately to hide all evidence of their experimental batch of vaccine that seems to be causing a deadly virus. The complex story unspools to reveal the moral, social and privacy concerns of this hypothetical TIA system in a post-7/7 world, including such control mechanisms familiar to both real life and science fiction as retinal scans, fingerprint identification and ubiquitous camera and mobile phone surveillance footage.

The story is told through the eyes of a mathematical genius, Stephen Ezard, who is portrayed as a recluse showing some signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder. The shy genius overcomes his inhibitions to burrow into a highly compromised British government using his brilliance and their TIA system only to find himself ultimately trapped by the people he most trusts and to learn he is a pawn in manipulative Security State machinations which take the people he most loves from him and compromise him forever.

Cast

[edit]

Viewing figures

[edit]
Episode number Original airing Total viewers Audience share (average) Season viewer average
1 17 February 2008 4.2m[1] 18% 2.7m
2 24 February 2008 2.5m[2] 10%
3 2 March 2008 2.3m[3] 9.4%
4 9 March 2008 2.5m[4] 10%
5 16 March 2008 2m[5] 8%

Distribution

[edit]
  • The Last Enemy aired in the United States on Masterpiece Contemporary on PBS from 5 October 2008 to 2 November 2008.
  • In Australia, The Last Enemy TV series commenced airing on free-to-air-TV on ABC1 (the national public television channel) from 8:30pm on 19 July 2009[6] and concluded on 16 August 2009.[7]
  • The Last Enemy aired on TVO in Ontario, Canada from 9:00 pm on 1–29 April 2009
  • The Last Enemy aired weekly in Denmark on DR1 from 10:45 pm on 26 January 2012.
  • The Last Enemy is available on Amazon Prime Video and on YouTube. As of 2020, it is available on the STV Player in Scotland. In January 2023, it was made available on ITVX and Britbox in the UK.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Holmwood, Leigh (18 February 2008). "TV ratings – February 18: Kingdom reigns over The Last Enemy". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  2. ^ Holmwood, Leigh (25 February 2008). "TV ratings – February 24: To see you nice, say Brucie's 6.5 million". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  3. ^ Esposito, Maria (3 March 2008). "TV ratings – March 2: Lewis beats BBC enemy". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  4. ^ Holmwood, Leigh (10 March 2008). "TV ratings – March 9: ITV1 hits 9.6m Sunday peak". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  5. ^ Holmwood, Leigh (17 March 2008). "TV ratings – March 16: Dancing on Ice final wins for ITV". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  6. ^ "ABC1 TV Guide Program Information". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  7. ^ "ABC1 TV Guide Program Information". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
[edit]
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