Popular British TV Action/Adventure Shows
MI-5, Cracker, and Primeval Offer Action-Adventure Alternative
Mar 18, 2009
The British Broadcasting Service (BBC), which made an international splash with such comedy hits as Faulty Towers and Absolutely Fabulous, and ITV (Independent Television) have quietly been churning out some excellent action adventure programs which are now readily available in the United States through video rental shops and Netflix, and online throughout much of the rest of the world.
MI-5 Tackles British State Security
Now in its 4th season on BBC (and BBC America) this action adventure series follows a core group of British Security Service agents in MI-5 (the British equivalent of the FBI) tasked with assuring national security within the borders of the country. National crisis run the gamut from uncovering and foiling terrorist plots to smoking out moles in their own office. Relationships between characters vary from hot and steamy to icy cold and conspiratorial.
MI-5 does a great job of mixing the personal and the professional and offers well developed seasonal storylines that keep viewers watching and coming back for more. MI-5 episodes and clips can be found online and through Netflix.
Brilliant But Disturbed Criminal Psychologist
In Cracker, Eddie “Fitz” Fitzgerald, played by Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies) is an alcoholic, gambling addicted, womanizing criminal psychologist/profiler (a “cracker”). Though his life and marriage are a wreck, Fitz is a genius at untangling the criminal mind and on occasion the minds of his co-workers. But he always seems a step behind when it comes to understanding the thoughts and intentions of those closest to him, namely his wife and son.
No longer in production, Cracker was produced by Granada Television for ITV and ran in three “series” (seasons) from 1993 to 1995. Two specials followed, one in 1996 and the other in 2006. Though the relationships and season throughlines are a bit clumsy, with some stories spanning multiple episodes and others finishing up in a single show, the suspense and mystery elements are generally well constructed. An American version of the show was produced under the same name, but failed to achieve the cult-like success of the original.
Cracker can be found through some rental houses and is available online and through Netflix.
Dinosaurs Terrorize Modern Day London
In the action-thriller Primeval, evolutionary zoologist Nick Cutter and his three young assistants are tasked with tracking down and mitigating the damage caused by the appearance of “temporal anomalies”. These rifts in time and space appear seemingly at random throughout Great Britain and allow dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures to make their way into modern day London and the surrounding countryside where they threaten the lives of ordinary citizens.
Doctor Cutter’s unlikely band of heroes consists of Stephen, a studly lab assistant, Conner, a misfit computer geek, and Abby, a sexy zookeeper. This team is augmented by a group of commandos assigned to them by the “home office”, a murky government department tasked with some form of internal security that by turns helps and hinders Cutter and his team.
Though some of the plotlines get repetitious and a bit thin, the show is entertaining and the action and suspense compelling and fun.
First broadcast in the UK in 2007, and on BBC America in August 2008, Primeval can be viewed online at TV Stream and is also available through Netflix.
Though they are not produced with the big budget mentality of many action adventure programs, these and other British TV shows display a strong sense of suspense, and often weave current events and timely plotlines into shows that use more than just explosions to keep the action and adventure moving.
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