The State Within
Encyclopedia
The State Within is a 2006 Seven-episode British television political drama
, written by Lizzie Mickery and Daniel Percival, produced by Grainne Marmion as a joint BBC
–BBC America
production, that was broadcast by BBC1 in the United Kingdom
from Thursday, 2 November 2006.
The protagonist of The State Within is Sir Mark Brydon (Jason Isaacs
), the British Ambassador to Washington at the centre of a political conspiracy threatening to depose Western governments. As such, he must prevent a war, while facing a personal dilemma. Lynne Warner (Sharon Gless
) is the United States Secretary of Defense
, Nicholas Brocklehurst (Ben Daniels
) is nominally the British Counsellor External Affairs, but is a Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) agent assigned to embassy duty, and James Sinclair (Alex Jennings
) is the former British ambassador to the fictional
former Soviet
republic of Tyrgyzstan. This character resembles the "diplomatic untouchable" Craig Murray
, the drinking, womanizing British ambassador who became embroiled in revealing human rights abuses in Uzbekistan
.
In 2006, Episode One of The State Within drew 5.7 million viewers, but, by Episode Three, the audience was 3.1 million. On 22 January 2007, this political drama was published on DVD. In the U.S., its premiere broadcast, on BBC America, was the Presidents Day weekend (17-19 February), as a three-part miniseries
concluding on 24 February 2007. In the UK
BBC Four
re-ran the miniseries in June 2007, as part of its Conspiracy U.S.A. Week programming.
The State Within was nominated for a Golden Globe in the category, Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television.
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, written by Lizzie Mickery and Daniel Percival, produced by Grainne Marmion as a joint BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
–BBC America
BBC America
BBC America is an American television network, owned and operated by BBC Worldwide, and available on both cable and satellite.-History:The channel launched on March 29, 1998, broadcasting comedy, drama and lifestyle programs from BBC Television and other British television broadcasters like ITV and...
production, that was broadcast by BBC1 in the United Kingdom
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...
from Thursday, 2 November 2006.
The protagonist of The State Within is Sir Mark Brydon (Jason Isaacs
Jason Isaacs
Jason Isaacs is an English actor born in Liverpool, who is best known for his performance as the villain Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, the brutal Colonel William Tavington in The Patriot and as lifelong criminal Michael Caffee in the internationally broadcast American television series...
), the British Ambassador to Washington at the centre of a political conspiracy threatening to depose Western governments. As such, he must prevent a war, while facing a personal dilemma. Lynne Warner (Sharon Gless
Sharon Gless
Sharon Marguerite Gless is an American character actress of stage, film and television, who is best known for her roles as Maggie Philbin on Switch , as Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police procedural drama series Cagney & Lacey and as Debbie Novotny in the Showtime cable television series Queer...
) is the United States Secretary of Defense
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
, Nicholas Brocklehurst (Ben Daniels
Ben Daniels
Ben Daniels is an English actor. A graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art , he has taken on roles in numerous productions...
) is nominally the British Counsellor External Affairs, but is a Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) agent assigned to embassy duty, and James Sinclair (Alex Jennings
Alex Jennings
Alex Jennings is an English actor whose roles have included Charles, Prince of Wales in The Queen .-Early years:...
) is the former British ambassador to the fictional
Fictional country
A fictional country is a country that is made up for fictional stories, and does not exist in real life, or one that people believe in without proof....
former Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
republic of Tyrgyzstan. This character resembles the "diplomatic untouchable" Craig Murray
Craig Murray
Craig John Murray is a British political activist, former ambassador to Uzbekistan and former Rector of the University of Dundee....
, the drinking, womanizing British ambassador who became embroiled in revealing human rights abuses in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
.
In 2006, Episode One of The State Within drew 5.7 million viewers, but, by Episode Three, the audience was 3.1 million. On 22 January 2007, this political drama was published on DVD. In the U.S., its premiere broadcast, on BBC America, was the Presidents Day weekend (17-19 February), as a three-part miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
concluding on 24 February 2007. In the UK
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...
BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
re-ran the miniseries in June 2007, as part of its Conspiracy U.S.A. Week programming.
The State Within was nominated for a Golden Globe in the category, Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television.
External links
- The State Within from the BBC websiteBbc.co.ukBBC Online is the brand name and home for the BBC's UK online service. It is a large network of websites including such high profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services co-branded BBC iPlayer, the pre-school site Cbeebies, and learning services such as Bitesize...
- The State Within from the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...