Norman James Crisp known as a writer only by his initials and surname, N.J. Crisp, was a prolific British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 television writer, dramatist and novelist.

In the sixties after writing some single dramas, Crisp moved to writing for serials and turned out many scripts for many BBC series including Compact

Compact (TV series)

Compact is a British television soap opera shown by the BBC between 1962 and 1965. The series was created by Hazel Adair and Peter Ling, who together went on to devise Crossroads....

, R3

R3 (TV series)

R3 is a British television series produced by the BBC between 1964 and 1965. Full title was Ministry of Research Centre No.3. It was a 50 minute show and the series starred John Robinson as Sir Michael Gerrard, Jeremy Young as Wilson, David Blake Kelly as Captain Rogers, and was set in a scientific...

, Dixon of Dock Green

Dixon of Dock Green

Dixon of Dock Green was a popular BBC television series that ran from 1955 to 1976, and later a radio series. Despite being a drama series, it was initially produced by the BBC's light entertainment department.-Overview:...

, Dr Finlay's Casebook, Colditz

Colditz (TV series)

Colditz is a British television series co-produced by the BBC and Universal Studios and screened between 1972 and 1974.The series deals with Allied prisoners of war imprisoned at the supposedly escape-proof Colditz Castle when designated Oflag IV-C during World War II, and their many attempts to...

and Secret Army

Secret Army (TV series)

Secret Army is a television drama series made by the BBC and the Belgian national broadcaster BRT created by Gerard Glaister. The series chronicled the history of a Belgian resistance movement during the Second World War dedicated to returning Allied airmen, usually having been shot down by the...

.

In 1968 he co-created The Expert, a serial about a forensic scientist, with Gerard Glaister

Gerard Glaister

John Leslie "Gerard" Glaister DFC, was a British television producer and director best known for his work with the BBC. Amongst his most notable successes as a TV producer were Colditz, The Brothers, Secret Army and Howards' Way.After studying at RADA, Glaister made his West End debut in 1939...

, the producer. In 1972 the pair repeated the act with the boardroom drama The Brothers.

His 1996 play That Good Night

That Good Night

That Good Night is a play by NJ Crisp, written with the intention of it being performed by Sir Donald Sinden and his son Marc Sinden playing the central characters of the father and son...

starred Donald Sinden

Donald Sinden

Sir Donald Alfred Sinden CBE is an English actor of theatre, film and television.-Personal life:Sinden was born in Plymouth, Devon, England, on 9 October 1923. The son of Alfred Edward Sinden and his wife Mabel Agnes , he grew up in the Sussex village of Ditchling, where their home doubled as the...

, Nigel Davenport

Nigel Davenport

Nigel Davenport is an English stage, television and film actor.- Early life :Davenport was born Arthur Nigel Davenport, however he goes by the first name of Nigel. Davenport was born in Shelford, Cambridgeshire, the son of Katherine Lucy and Arthur Henry Davenport. Davenport's father was a bursar...

, Lucy Fleming

Lucy Fleming

Lucy Fleming is a British actress.She is the daughter of the actress Celia Johnson and writer Peter Fleming, as well as the niece of James Bond author Ian Fleming...

, Patrick Ryecart

Patrick Ryecart

Patrick Geoffrey Ryecart is an English actor.Ryecart was born in Leamington Spa. He has predominantly acted on British television shows since the mid-seventies including Lillie, Romeo and Juliet, The Professionals, Minder, Rumpole of the Bailey, Lovejoy, Coming Home, and Holby City...

 and Julie-Kate Olivier and was directed by Edward Hall

Edward Hall (director)

Edward Hall is an English theatre director and an associate director at The National Theatre. Hall is known for directing Rose Rage, a stage adaptation of Shakespeare's three Henry VI plays. He also runs an all-male Shakespeare company, Propeller...

.

Crisp's 1987 psychological thriller Dangerous Obsession

Dangerous Obsession

Dangerous Obsession is a psychological thriller written by N. J. Crisp which premièred at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley on 9 November 1987.Crisp's play was filmed in 1999 as Darkness Falls, starring Ray Winstone, Tim Dutton and Sherilyn Fenn...

was filmed in 1999 as Darkness Falls

Darkness Falls (1999 film)

Darkness Falls is a 1999 drama film by John Howlett and directed by Gerry Lively.The film was shot in late 1997 on the Isle of Man.-Plot:...

, starring Ray Winstone

Ray Winstone

Raymond Andrew "Ray" Winstone is an English film and television actor. He is mostly known for his "tough guy" roles, beginning with that of Carlin in the 1979 film Scum and as Will Scarlet in the cult television adventure series Robin of Sherwood. He has also become well known as a voice over...

, Tim Dutton

Tim Dutton

Tim Dutton is a British actor. He was born in Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, England.Dutton has appeared on stage, in film, and in television series. Among the films are Darkness Falls , The Bourne Identity , and The Detonator...

 and Sherilyn Fenn

Sherilyn Fenn

Sherilyn Fenn is an American actress and filmmaker. She came to international attention for her performance as Audrey Horne on the 1990 cult TV series Twin Peaks...

. However, Crisp was so appalled at the end result and how his famously intricate plot had been turned on its head without his permission by a producer Alan Latham, that he insisted on having his name removed from the final print.

External links