Thursday the 12th is a four-part British television crime drama series, written by Paula Milne and directed by Charles Beeson. It has been screened internationally and shown in the United Kingdom at the British Film Institute, but has never been shown on British television. It was initially due to premiere on ITV1 in May 2000, but due to its political themes and proximity to that year's local elections, it was delayed due to concerns it would violate laws regarding political neutrality during election periods; efforts to broadcast it in June 2001 were cancelled for similar reasons, due to that year's general election.

Thursday the 12th
GenreCrime drama
Written byPaula Milne
Directed byCharles Beeson
StarringCiarán Hinds
Maria Doyle Kennedy
Elizabeth McGovern
Jim Sturgess
Gillian Bevan
Trevor Byfield
Peter Vaughan
Hugh Bonneville
Theme music composerPeter Salem
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes4 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerClaudia Milne
ProducerEmma Burge
CinematographyFred Tammes
EditorDavid Blackmore
Running time50 minutes
Production companiesStrand Productions
Twenty Twenty Television
Original release
NetworkITV

The series focuses on the Bannister family, whose lives are turned upside down when an unidentified body is found in the grounds of their estate. As an investigative TV reporter takes on the case, Marius Bannister (Ciarán Hinds), a wealthy dentist and politician, his wife Nina (Maria Doyle Kennedy), their troubled adopted teenaged son Martin (Jim Sturgess), and Nina's predatory sister Candice Hopper (Elizabeth McGovern) all come under suspicion.

Broadcast

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The series was originally set to broadcast as two feature-length episodes, but due to local elections taking place on the day the first episode was due to be broadcast, 4 May 2000, the series was pulled from the schedules at the last minute, on the grounds that it may be in breach of rules on political bias. Although it was later rescheduled for broadcast in the winter of 2000/2001,[1] the series was once again pushed back, and was set to premiere in June 2001, although due to the foot-and-mouth outbreak of 2001, the general election due to take place in May was put back to 7 June, and the series was subsequently pulled from the schedules once more, with no further attempts to reschedule it.[2] The series was shown as part of a season showcasing Paula Milne's work at the BFI in London on 14 September 2012.[3]

For international broadcast and release on DVD, the series was re-edited into four episodes, each focusing on the story of a single character.[4] In the United States, the series premiered on Bravo on 4 June 2003.[5] The series was also broadcast in Australia on UKTV. The series was released on Region 1 DVD on 25 September 2007.[6]

Cast

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References

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  1. ^ Deans, Jason (21 November 2000). "Xmas TV shows". The Guardian.
  2. ^ Lawson, Mark (24 June 2022). "Boris won't go that easily! The Undeclared War and the perils of writing near-future TV". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Paula Milne : The Personal As Political With Paula Milne In Conversation, Monday 24 September" (PDF). Bfi.org.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Thursday the 12th (ITV 2003)". YouTube.
  5. ^ "Thursday the 12th". Rottentomatoes.com.
  6. ^ "Thursday the 12th". Amazon. 25 September 2007.
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