Taking The Flak
Encyclopedia
Taking the Flak is a comedy drama which aired on BBC Two
in summer 2009. It is set in a fictional Central African country that is the middle of a civil war. A team of BBC journalists arrive from London, to the annoyance of the local BBC stringer Harry Chambers (Bruce Mackinnon
), and send reports back to BBC News in London. The series has been described as "a bit like Drop the Dead Donkey
meets The Constant Gardener
".
The series is written by Tira Shubart and Jon Rolph. The script consultant is Sandra Jones. It stars Martin Jarvis, Doon Mackichan
, Bruce Mackinnon
, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Damian O'Hare
, Joanna Brookes, Lydiah Gitachu, Lucy Chalkley and Harry Lloyd
.
The theme music is a remix of David Lowe's BBC News Theme.
In Australia
, this program aired each Thursday at 10pm on ABC2
from 7 January, until 18 February 2010 (along with the ABC iView
catch-up service).
Also part of the BBC team is Jane Thomason (Doon Mackichan
), the news producer has to control the reporting on the ground. She has to deal with the staff back in London, originally led by Nigel Bagwell (Mackenzie Crook
) in the first episode, but in the rest of the series is led by the young Alexander Taylor-Pierce (Harry Lloyd
). She also has problems with her main cameraman Jack (Lloyd Owen
), whom she is having an affair with. After the first episode, Jack leaves Jane to go back home to his wife to help with her IVF treatment. In the third episode, she gets a new cameraman, Rory Wallace (Damian O'Hare
), who can film almost anything under any circumstances. Another member of the BBC team is Margaret Hollis, who is seen by the rest of the TV crew as a rival because she works for radio, as a reporter for the BBC World Service
. Unlike the others, she has not had any affairs. Part of the problem is due to medical issues, including stomach and bowel problems.
There are also civilians who are also involved with the reporting. These include Joyful Sifuri (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith), the local fixer who worked with Harry before the war and now helps the entire BBC crew with his local knowledge; Grace Matiko (Lydiah Gitachu) the receptionist at the hotel where the crew are staying and Harry's on-off girlfriend; and Samantha Cunningham Fleming (Lucy Chalkley) a posh charity worker who sometimes helps in finding stories but whom everyone else finds annyoing.
, Tanzania
, in the autumn of 2008 although episode one (the pilot) was filmed in January 2007 in Nakuru
, Kenya
, with a working title of The Calais Rules. Two of the writers, Shubart and Jones, are journalists, and the series was filmed by an award-winning news cameraman. The show also features guest appearances from BBC journalists such as George Alagiah
, Sophie Raworth
, Fiona Bruce
, Bill Turnbull
, Sian Williams, Emily Maitlis
and Peter Sissons
.
Guest stars have included Ruby Wax
, Sean Power
, Rhashan Stone
, Rosalind Ayres
, Rufus Wright and David Mulwa.
Supporting artists were both Kenyan and Tanzanian. Others were people employed from the local communities around the areas of filming.
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
in summer 2009. It is set in a fictional Central African country that is the middle of a civil war. A team of BBC journalists arrive from London, to the annoyance of the local BBC stringer Harry Chambers (Bruce Mackinnon
Bruce Mackinnon
Bruce Mackinnon is an actor who has appeared in various television programmes.Mackinnon was born in Esher, Surrey and was educated at Eton College, before studying drama at The University of Manchester...
), and send reports back to BBC News in London. The series has been described as "a bit like Drop the Dead Donkey
Drop the Dead Donkey
- Major characters :* Gus Hedges — The unctuous Chief Executive of the company, and yes-man to Sir Roysten Merchant. A management stereotype, complete with clichés and clumsy metaphors, he swiftly transforms GlobeLink from a serious news network to a ratings-chasing tabloid channel...
meets The Constant Gardener
The Constant Gardener (film)
The Constant Gardener is a 2005 drama film directed by Fernando Meirelles. The screenplay by Jeffrey Caine is based on the John le Carré novel of the same name. It tells the story of Justin Quayle, a man who seeks to find the motivating forces behind his wife's murder.The film stars Ralph Fiennes,...
".
The series is written by Tira Shubart and Jon Rolph. The script consultant is Sandra Jones. It stars Martin Jarvis, Doon Mackichan
Doon Mackichan
Doon Mackichan is an English comedienne and actress.-Biography:Born in London, Mackichan was brought up in Surrey until the age of 9 when she moved with her family to Upper Largo, Fife. She is a graduate of Manchester University...
, Bruce Mackinnon
Bruce Mackinnon
Bruce Mackinnon is an actor who has appeared in various television programmes.Mackinnon was born in Esher, Surrey and was educated at Eton College, before studying drama at The University of Manchester...
, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Damian O'Hare
Damian O'Hare
Damian O'Hare is an Irish film actor. He is best known for his role as Lt. Gillette in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.-Film:...
, Joanna Brookes, Lydiah Gitachu, Lucy Chalkley and Harry Lloyd
Harry Lloyd
Harry Lloyd is an English actor. He played Will Scarlet in the first two seasons of the BBC drama Robin Hood which began in 2006...
.
The theme music is a remix of David Lowe's BBC News Theme.
In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, this program aired each Thursday at 10pm on ABC2
ABC2
ABC2 is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 7 March 2005, it is the responsibility of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television division, and is available nationally to digital television viewers in Australia...
from 7 January, until 18 February 2010 (along with the ABC iView
ABC iView
ABC iview is a video on demand and Catch up TV service run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The service became available on 24 July 2008. This was the next step after the podcasting of programmes since July 2006. Currently, this site is only viewable to users in Australia. The site...
catch-up service).
Plot
Taking the Flak is set in the fictional Central African Republic of Karibu, which is in the middle of a war. The local BBC news reporter, or 'stringer', Harry Chambers, sees the war as chance to make a name for himself as he is the only journalist in the country. However, as the war becomes more important, the BBC sends in more journalists to cover it, knocking Harry out of the spotlight. These include David Bradburn (Martin Jarvis), the BBC's Chief Foreign Editor, who knows very little about the area, but he still appears on screen as authoritative.Also part of the BBC team is Jane Thomason (Doon Mackichan
Doon Mackichan
Doon Mackichan is an English comedienne and actress.-Biography:Born in London, Mackichan was brought up in Surrey until the age of 9 when she moved with her family to Upper Largo, Fife. She is a graduate of Manchester University...
), the news producer has to control the reporting on the ground. She has to deal with the staff back in London, originally led by Nigel Bagwell (Mackenzie Crook
Mackenzie Crook
Paul Mackenzie Crook is a British actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Gareth Keenan in The Office and Ragetti in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.-Life and career:...
) in the first episode, but in the rest of the series is led by the young Alexander Taylor-Pierce (Harry Lloyd
Harry Lloyd
Harry Lloyd is an English actor. He played Will Scarlet in the first two seasons of the BBC drama Robin Hood which began in 2006...
). She also has problems with her main cameraman Jack (Lloyd Owen
Lloyd Owen
Lloyd Owen is a British actor of Welsh descent. Trained at the National Youth Theatre and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, he is probably best known for his portrayal of Indiana Jones's father Professor Dr. Henry Jones, Sr...
), whom she is having an affair with. After the first episode, Jack leaves Jane to go back home to his wife to help with her IVF treatment. In the third episode, she gets a new cameraman, Rory Wallace (Damian O'Hare
Damian O'Hare
Damian O'Hare is an Irish film actor. He is best known for his role as Lt. Gillette in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.-Film:...
), who can film almost anything under any circumstances. Another member of the BBC team is Margaret Hollis, who is seen by the rest of the TV crew as a rival because she works for radio, as a reporter for the BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
. Unlike the others, she has not had any affairs. Part of the problem is due to medical issues, including stomach and bowel problems.
There are also civilians who are also involved with the reporting. These include Joyful Sifuri (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith), the local fixer who worked with Harry before the war and now helps the entire BBC crew with his local knowledge; Grace Matiko (Lydiah Gitachu) the receptionist at the hotel where the crew are staying and Harry's on-off girlfriend; and Samantha Cunningham Fleming (Lucy Chalkley) a posh charity worker who sometimes helps in finding stories but whom everyone else finds annyoing.
Production
Taking The Flak was filmed around ArushaArusha
Arusha is a city in northern Tanzania. It is the capital of the Arusha Region, which claims a population of 1,288,088, including 281,608 for the Arusha District . Arusha is surrounded by some of Africa's most famous landscapes and national parks...
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, in the autumn of 2008 although episode one (the pilot) was filmed in January 2007 in Nakuru
Nakuru
Nakuru, the provincial capital of Kenya's Rift Valley province, with roughly 300,000 inhabitants, and currently the fourth largest urban centre in the country, lies about 1850 m above sea level...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, with a working title of The Calais Rules. Two of the writers, Shubart and Jones, are journalists, and the series was filmed by an award-winning news cameraman. The show also features guest appearances from BBC journalists such as George Alagiah
George Alagiah
George Maxwell Alagiah OBE is a British newsreader, journalist and television news presenter.Since 3 December 2007, he has been the sole presenter of the BBC News at Six and has also been the main presenter of GMT on BBC World News since its launch on 1 February 2010...
, Sophie Raworth
Sophie Raworth
Sophie Jane Raworth is an English newsreader and journalist who works for British broadcaster the BBC. She is the main presenter of the BBC News at One, presenting Tuesday to Friday, and regularly appears on the BBC News at Six and occasionally on BBC News at Ten.-Early life:Born in Surrey to a...
, Fiona Bruce
Fiona Bruce
Fiona Elizabeth Bruce is a British journalist, newsreader and television presenter. Since joining the BBC in 1989, she has gone on to present many flagship programmes for the corporation including the BBC News at Six, BBC News at Ten, Crimewatch, Call My Bluff and, most recently, Antiques Roadshow...
, Bill Turnbull
Bill Turnbull
William Robert "Bill" Turnbull is an English journalist and presenter, currently employed by the BBC and best known for presenting BBC Breakfast...
, Sian Williams, Emily Maitlis
Emily Maitlis
Emily Maitlis is a Canadian-born British journalist and newsreader, currently employed by the BBC.-Career:Raised in Sheffield, she was educated at the local King Edward VII School...
and Peter Sissons
Peter Sissons
Peter George Sissons is a broadcast journalist in the United Kingdom. He was the presenter of the BBC Nine O'Clock News and the BBC News at Ten between 1993 and 2003, as earlier a newscaster for ITN, providing bulletins on ITV and Channel 4. He is also a former presenter of the BBC's Question Time...
.
Guest stars have included Ruby Wax
Ruby Wax
Ruby Wax is a BAFTA nominated American comedian who made a career in the United Kingdom as part of the alternative comedy scene in the 1980s.-Early life:...
, Sean Power
Sean Power (actor)
Sean Power is an American actor, writer and director. Power has resided in Canada, the United States, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom...
, Rhashan Stone
Rhashan Stone
Rhashan Stone is a British-American actor, comedian, musician, composer, singer and playwright. He is best known for appearing in many BBC television comedy shows such as Desmond's and Mutual Friends. As well as his numerous television appearances, Rhashan is also an accomplished stage actor...
, Rosalind Ayres
Rosalind Ayres
Rosalind Ayres is an English actress. Active since 1970, Ayres may be best known by a wide audience for her role was in the 1997 film Titanic, in which she played Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon....
, Rufus Wright and David Mulwa.
Supporting artists were both Kenyan and Tanzanian. Others were people employed from the local communities around the areas of filming.