Foyle's War Series One
Encyclopedia
Series One of the ITV programme Foyle's War
was first aired in 2002. It comprised four episodes. It is set in Spring/Summer 1940. Series One was broadcast in the United States on PBS on Masterpiece Theatre
on February 2, 9, 16 and 23, 2003 as Foyle's War.
Foyle's War
Foyle's War is a British detective drama television series set during World War II, created by screenwriter and author Anthony Horowitz, and was commissioned by ITV after the long-running series Inspector Morse came to an end in 2000. It has aired on ITV since 2002...
was first aired in 2002. It comprised four episodes. It is set in Spring/Summer 1940. Series One was broadcast in the United States on PBS on Masterpiece Theatre
Masterpiece Theatre
Masterpiece is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston. It premiered on Public Broadcasting Service on January 10, 1971, making it America's longest-running weekly prime time drama series. The series has presented numerous acclaimed British productions...
on February 2, 9, 16 and 23, 2003 as Foyle's War.
"The German Woman"
| Writer: Anthony Horowitz Anthony Horowitz Anthony Craig Horowitz is an English novelist and screenwriter. He has written many children's novels, including The Power of Five, Alex Rider and The Diamond Brothers series and has written over fifty books. He has also written extensively for television, adapting many of Agatha Christie's... |
Director: Jeremy Silberston Jeremy Silberston -Early life:Silberston was the son of economist Professor Aubrey Silberston, and his mother, Dorothy, was a founder member of the National Schizophrenia Fellowship. He attended The Perse School, Cambridge.... |
Airdate: 27 October 2002 | Set: May, 1940 | Episode 1 (1:1) |
| Guests: Robert Hardy Robert Hardy Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy, CBE, FSA is an English actor with a long career in the theatre, film and television. He is also an acknowledged expert on the longbow.-Early life:... , Rosamund Pike Rosamund Pike Rosamund Mary Elizabeth Pike is a British actress. Her film roles include villainous Bond girl Miranda Frost in Die Another Day, Jane Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, Helen in An Education, Lisa in Made in Dagenham, Miriam Grant-Panofsky in Barney's Version and Kate Sumner in Johnny English... , Edward Fox Edward Fox (actor) Edward Charles Morice Fox, OBE is an English stage, film and television actor.He is generally associated with portraying the role of the upper-class Englishman, such as the title character in the film The Day of the Jackal and King Edward VIII in the serial Edward & Mrs... , David Horovitch David Horovitch David Horovitch is an English actor best known for playing the character of Inspector Slack in Miss Marple.-Life and career:... , Joanna Kanska Joanna Kanska Polish born Joanna Kanska is an actress, who has starred in films, television programmes, theatre and radio, predominantly in her adopted homeland of England... , Andrew Powell, Paul Putner Paul Putner -Life and career:He was born in East Grinstead. He studied at LAMDA where he won, amongst other prizes, the Kenneth More prize for comedy acting.His first significant TV role saw Putner as numerous characters in The Glam Metal Detectives shown on BBC2. His real break in comedy came after he set up... , Tom Chadbon Tom Chadbon Tom Chadbon is an English actor, who has spent the larger part of his career appearing on British television. While principally a character actor, he has occasionally had leading or recurring roles.... , Neil Conrich, Sam Troughton Sam Troughton Sam Troughton is a British actor. He is the son of David Troughton and the grandson of Doctor Who actor Patrick Troughton. His younger brother is Warwickshire cricketer Jim Troughton... , James McAvoy James McAvoy James McAvoy is a Scottish stage and screen actor. He made his acting debut as a teen in 1995's The Near Room and continued to make mostly television appearances until the early 2000s. His notable television work includes State of Play, Shameless, and Frank Herbert's Children of Dune... |
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| Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle's request for government service is disallowed and he returns to local police work in Hastings where he has assigned the driver Samantha Stewart. It is early in the war, the bombing of England has commenced, feelings are running high, and local aliens are being interned. Foyle asks Paul Milner, an injured ex-serviceman to be his assistant. Investigating the vicious murder of the German wife of the local magistrate, Foyle finds espionage and corruption. | ||||
Cast notes
- William is played by Cassian Horowitz, the son of series creator Anthony HorowitzAnthony HorowitzAnthony Craig Horowitz is an English novelist and screenwriter. He has written many children's novels, including The Power of Five, Alex Rider and The Diamond Brothers series and has written over fifty books. He has also written extensively for television, adapting many of Agatha Christie's...
"The White Feather"
| Writer: Anthony Horowitz Anthony Horowitz Anthony Craig Horowitz is an English novelist and screenwriter. He has written many children's novels, including The Power of Five, Alex Rider and The Diamond Brothers series and has written over fifty books. He has also written extensively for television, adapting many of Agatha Christie's... |
Director: Jeremy Silberston Jeremy Silberston -Early life:Silberston was the son of economist Professor Aubrey Silberston, and his mother, Dorothy, was a founder member of the National Schizophrenia Fellowship. He attended The Perse School, Cambridge.... |
Airdate: 3 November 2002 | Set: May, 1940 | Episode 2 (1:2) |
| Guests: Charles Dance Charles Dance Walter Charles Dance, OBE is an English actor, screenwriter and director. Dance typically plays assertive bureaucrats or villains. His most famous roles are Guy Perron in The Jewel in the Crown , Dr Clemens, the doctor of penitentiary Fury 161, who becomes Ellen Ripley's confidante in Alien 3 ,... , Maggie Steed Maggie Steed Maggie Steed is an English actress and comedienne.-Youth:After studying drama at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol, she left the theatre for several years.-Career:... , Bernard Kay Bernard Kay Bernard Kay is a British actor with an extensive theatre, television and film repertoire.Kay began his working life as a reporter on Bolton Evening News, and a stringer for The Manchester Guardian. He was conscripted in 1946 and started acting in the army... , Patrick Godfrey Patrick Godfrey Patrick Godfrey is a British actor of film, television and stage.Godfrey was born in the United Kingdom, the son of Lois Mary Gladys and Frederick Godfrey, who was a reverend... , Ian Hogg Ian Hogg (actor) Ian Hogg is a British actor.- Early life :He is the son of a doctor and was educated at Durham School, Durham University and the Central School of Speech and Drama... |
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| Early in the war, the future looks bleak for England - invasion and defeat seem imminent. Paul Milner meets Guy Spencer, charismatic Nazi sympathizer, politician, and conman. At a local hotel, The White Feather, Spencer leads a meeting of the pro-Hitler Friday Club at which the domineering hotel manageress is shot dead. Foyle and Milner investigate, Milner feeling the conflicts between his allegiances and fears, set against the backdrop of the Allies' retreat from Dunkirk. | ||||
Character and plot development
- This episode shows Milner starting back at work as a detective sergeant. He has recently acquired his artificial leg, and still requires two crutches to aid him. His wife, Jane, expresses a great dislike for his leg.
- Sam tells Foyle that her father is a Vicar; he appears in the episode "Eagle Day".
- Sam is very pleased to be invited by Foyle to tea at the Crescent, and eats more than her share of the food ordered. Her interest in food continues to be shown in other episodes.
- Foyle receives a letter from his son, Andrew (a voice-over by the uncredited Julian OvendenJulian OvendenJulian Ovenden is an English stage, television and film actor and singer. He is one of three children of Canon John Ovenden, chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II....
) who speaks about his training, and eating haggisHaggisHaggis is a dish containing sheep's 'pluck' , minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours. Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a casing rather than an actual stomach.Haggis is a kind...
(to hint at his location).
Historical context
- This episode is set in the days leading up to the Battle of DunkirkBattle of DunkirkThe Battle of Dunkirk was a battle in the Second World War between the Allies and Germany. A part of the Battle of France on the Western Front, the Battle of Dunkirk was the defence and evacuation of British and allied forces in Europe from 26 May–4 June 1940.After the Phoney War, the Battle of...
. Through the dialogue of the characters, we hear of the fall of Brussels and the German advance. We see the characters attend church for a 'National day of prayer' as the situation worsens. The episode ends with the AlliedAllies of World War IIThe Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
evacuation of DunkirkOperation DynamoThe Dunkirk evacuation, commonly known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, code-named Operation Dynamo by the British, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, France, between 26 May and the early hours of 3 June 1940, because the British, French and Belgian troops were...
. - The story involves a (fictional) political organisation "The Friday Club" which is likened by one of the characters to the (historical) British Union of FascistsBritish Union of FascistsThe British Union was a political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1932 by Sir Oswald Mosley as the British Union of Fascists, in 1936 it changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists and then in 1937 to simply the British Union...
. The arrest of the BUF leader Sir Oswald MosleyOswald MosleySir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
is also mentioned; this occurred in May 1940, when the BUF was banned. The fascists were known for their Anti-SemitismAnti-SemitismAntisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
, and their political allegiance to GermanyNazi GermanyNazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. - One of the plot devices rests on a letter stolen from the Foreign Office; it purports to be from Lord Halifax, well known for his desire for appeasementAppeasementThe term appeasement is commonly understood to refer to a diplomatic policy aimed at avoiding war by making concessions to another power. Historian Paul Kennedy defines it as "the policy of settling international quarrels by admitting and satisfying grievances through rational negotiation and...
.
Cast notes
- 'Woolton' is the name Robert Wolf assumes when staying at the White Feather. However, that is the name used in the credits for the character and his nephew Isaac, even though Isaac never used the pseudonym.
- Maggie SteedMaggie SteedMaggie Steed is an English actress and comedienne.-Youth:After studying drama at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol, she left the theatre for several years.-Career:...
, seen recently in Pie in the Sky as Mrs. Crabbe, plays Margaret Ellis.
"A Lesson in Murder"
| Writer: Anthony Horowitz Anthony Horowitz Anthony Craig Horowitz is an English novelist and screenwriter. He has written many children's novels, including The Power of Five, Alex Rider and The Diamond Brothers series and has written over fifty books. He has also written extensively for television, adapting many of Agatha Christie's... |
Director: David Thacker David Thacker David Thacker is an English award-winning theatre director.David Thacker is currently the Artistic Director at the Octagon Theatre Bolton... |
Airdate: 10 November 2002 | Set: June, 1940 | Episode 3 (1:3) |
| Guests: Allan Corduner Allan Corduner Allan Corduner is an English actor.-Early life:Corduner grew up in a secular Jewish home in North London with his mother, father and a younger brother. His mother had escaped to England from Nazi Germany with her family in 1938... , Oliver Ford Davies Oliver Ford Davies -Biography:From the King's School, Canterbury, he won a scholarship to Merton College, Oxford, where he read History and became President of the Oxford University Dramatic Society . He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award in 1990 for Best Actor in a New Play for Racing Demon... , Sophia Myles Sophia Myles -Early life:Myles was born in London. She is the daughter of Jane, who works in educational publishing, and Peter Myles, a retired Anglican vicar in Isleworth, west London. Her maternal grandmother was Russian, and she refers to herself as "half-Welsh, half-Russian". She grew up in Notting Hill,... , David Tennant David Tennant David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr... , Cheryl Campbell Cheryl Campbell Cheryl Campbell is an English actor of stage, film and television.-Early years:Cheryl Campbell was educated at Francis Bacon Grammar School, St Albans; London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art... |
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| A conscientious objector loses his appeal and is later found dead in his cell. At the house of the judge who sentenced him, a young evacuee is killed by a booby-trap in the summerhouse. Foyle's investigation reveals a relationship between the judge's daughter, Susan, and a local worker, Peter. While guarding the judge, Milner is caught in an apparently compromising position by the judge and forced to leave - another murder follows as Foyle considers the actual purpose of the factory at which Peter works. | ||||
Character and plot development
- Paul Milner is seen limping, and uses one walking stick; it appears he is becoming accustomed to his false leg. However, his wife, Jane, continues to be upset by it. She leaves him, saying she is going to stay with her sister Kate in WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. - We hear of Foyle's long-standing friendship with Carlo Lucciano, the restaurant owner, which dates back to when Foyle was married.
- Foyle mentions that his son Andrew is undergoing pilot training with the RAF in ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. - Tony Lucciano asks Sam to be 'his girl' and write to him while he is serving. She appears a little reluctant but agrees to do this. There is no reference to Tony after this episode.
Historical context
- The plot centres around an eleven-year-old boy who was evacuatedEvacuations of civilians in Britain during World War IIEvacuation of civilians in Britain during the Second World War was designed to save the population of urban or military areas in the United Kingdom from aerial bombing of cities and military targets such as docks. Civilians, particularly children, were moved to areas thought to be less at risk....
from London. In June 1939, 800,000 schoolchildren were evacuated to the country from London and other main cities. However, as a coastal town, HastingsHastingsHastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
was preparing for invasion, and in June 1940, the setting of this story, vulnerable civilians were evacuated from southern and eastern coastal areas of Britain. - At the end of the episode, it is heard that Italy has declared war on Britain and France. This occurred on 10 June 1940.
Cast notes
- David TennantDavid TennantDavid Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
(Theo Howard) and Sophia MylesSophia Myles-Early life:Myles was born in London. She is the daughter of Jane, who works in educational publishing, and Peter Myles, a retired Anglican vicar in Isleworth, west London. Her maternal grandmother was Russian, and she refers to herself as "half-Welsh, half-Russian". She grew up in Notting Hill,...
(Susan Gascoigne) did not have a scene together on this episode, but met very briefly on set. David Tennant went on to star in Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
as the Tenth DoctorTenth DoctorThe Tenth Doctor is the tenth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by David Tennant, who appears in three series, as well as eight specials...
, where Sophia Myles made a guest appearance (in The Girl in the FireplaceThe Girl in the Fireplace"The Girl in the Fireplace" is the fourth episode of the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 6 May 2006, and is the only episode in the 2006 series written by Steven Moffat...
) as Madame de PompadourMadame de PompadourJeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, also known as Madame de Pompadour was a member of the French court, and was the official chief mistress of Louis XV from 1745 to her death.-Biography:...
. Subsequent to this, they began dating. - The boy Joe (Greg Prentice) and his father Eric (Ian Puleston-DaviesIan Puleston-Davies-Early life and career:Born in Flint, Wales, Puleston-Davies has starred in the ITV drama Vincent alongside Ray Winstone, and Ghostboat , alongside David Jason. He has also played the lead roles in Conviction and the BBC Three series Funland.He has starred in long-running dramas such as Holby...
) are identified by the surname 'Pearson' during the episode, but are credited as 'Cooper'.
"Eagle Day"
| Writer: Anthony Horowitz Anthony Horowitz Anthony Craig Horowitz is an English novelist and screenwriter. He has written many children's novels, including The Power of Five, Alex Rider and The Diamond Brothers series and has written over fifty books. He has also written extensively for television, adapting many of Agatha Christie's... |
Director: Jeremy Silberston Jeremy Silberston -Early life:Silberston was the son of economist Professor Aubrey Silberston, and his mother, Dorothy, was a founder member of the National Schizophrenia Fellowship. He attended The Perse School, Cambridge.... |
Airdate: 17 November 2002 | Set: August 1940 | Episode 4 (1:4) |
| Guests: Hugh Lloyd Hugh Lloyd Hugh Lewis Lloyd, MBE was an English actor who made his name in television and film comedy from the 1960s to the 1980s. He was best known for appearances in Hugh and I and other sitcoms of the 1960s.-Life:... , Anthony Calf Anthony Calf Anthony Calf is a British actor, born in Hammersmith, London, England. He studied acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art . He has recurring roles in the television medical drama Holby City, as Michael Beauchamp, and New Tricks as Strickland... , Stephen Moore Stephen Moore (actor) Stephen Moore is an English actor, known for his work on British television since the 1980s. He is known for his appearances in Rock Follies and other TV series such as The Last Place on Earth, the children's series The Queen's Nose and the drama Mersey Beat and the British TV comedy series Solo,... |
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| Foyle's son Andrew returns from RAF training to a posting at a local radar station where all is not well. A local lorry driver is found murdered, a gold locket in his hand. Foyle wonders whether artworks transported by the driver are all that they seem, while Andrew's inquiries reveal the reason for poor morale at the radar station and another murder. Against this, Sam Stewart's father tries to take Sam away from the apparently untoward influences of police work. | ||||
Character and plot development
- Andrew Foyle is assigned low level flying duty to help calibrate the new British technology of RDF (radar) and finds himself embroiled in the cover-up of a suicide scandal.
- Paul Milner now walks without the use of a cane.