| Thorne | |
|---|---|
| Format | Police procedural |
| Created by | Mark Billingham David Morrissey |
| Starring | David Morrissey Eddie Marsan Aidan Gillen Natascha McElhone Sandra Oh O-T Fagbenle |
| Country of origin | UK Canada |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | David Morrissey |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Sky1 HD |
| Original airing | 10 October 2010 |
Thorne is a television drama series which debuted on Sky1 in the UK on October 10, 2010.[1] It stars David Morrissey who plays the title role of Detective Inspector Tom Thorne created by crime writer Mark Billingham. The supporting cast includes Aidan Gillen, Eddie Marsan and Natascha McElhone. The first three episodes were known as thorne: Sleepyhead and the latter three episodes were under the banner thorne: Scaredy Cat. In February 2011 David Morrissey confirmed that he was set to star in and produce another series of Thorne.[2] Author Mark Billingham confirmed via Twitter that he hopes filming of the new series to begin in early 2012.[3]
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As well as the lead role of the series, Morrissey is executive producer. He describes how he became involved as follows: "I was doing a film in New Zealand, on my own, in winter. I really needed a book. I stumbled across a Thorne novel, liked it, and then I looked up Mark online and found a question-and-answer session where he said that if his books ever made it to the screen, he’d like David Morrissey to play the lead. I thought, 'That’s a good start'".[4]
The first series of six episodes comprises two three-part dramatizations of the first two Thorne novels respectively. In the first, Sleepyhead, Thorne has to track down and stop a serial killer who aims to leave his victims alive but unable to communicate because of locked-in syndrome. The second is Scaredy Cat, which features two serial killers apparently working in tandem.
The makers of the series hope eventually to film all ten Thorne novels.[4]
The first three episodes of the series, comprising a dramatization of Billingham's first Thorne novel Sleepyhead, directed by Stephen Hopkins, were previewed at the BFI Southbank in London on October 4, 2010. This was followed by a Q&A session featuring writer Mark Billingham and actors David Morrissey and Eddie Marsan.[5]
In a television review in The Independent on Monday October 11, 2010, after the first episode was broadcast, Tom Sutcliffe wrote approvingly, particularly of the direction of Stephen Hopkins, "who keeps using his camera to catch Thorne from incriminating angles, as if he's a perpetrator not a policeman", and the performances of Morrissey and McElhone. [6] In The Scotsman, Andrea Mullaney praised the efforts made by BSkyB in the production and casting but added "But it's a shame that our best actors can't be used for anything more radical or real." [7] Adam Sweeting at the independent online arts magazine The Arts Desk wrote "Despite the hype it's just another cop show full of corpses, but Morrissey feels authentic as the phlegmatic, low-key Thorne", but criticised the romantic link between Morrissey and McElhone: "It was like Vinnie Jones getting off with Joanna Lumley".[8]
Running on a Sunday evening in the prime 2100 slot on satellite against strong terrestrial competition from the popular Julian Fellowes period drama series Downton Abbey, the first episode of four-part drama Single Father starring David Tennant, and a reshowing of the Dan Brown thriller The Da Vinci Code, the show drew 402,000 viewers and 1.5% audience share, according to preliminary BARB figures.[9]
Both Sleepyhead and Scaredycat were released together on DVD and Blu-ray on 10 January 2011.
As with TV/film adaptations there are many differences between the books and the television series. In the books Brigstocke is a man (Russell Brigstocke); Dave Holland isn't black and Phil Hendricks is a tall, bald, heavily pierced, heavily tattooed Mancunian, not a short, partly tattooed Irishman with a full head of hair.
| # | Title | Director | Writer | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Sleepyhead, Episode 1" | Stephen Hopkins | Dudi Appleton, Jim Keeble | 10 October 2010 |
| Three woman are found murdered, their killer having induced them into having strokes. A fourth victim is still alive, and might be able to identify her assailant, except that she cannot communicate as she has been left with locked-in syndrome. Investigating, DI Tom Thorne concludes that it was the killer's intention to leave his victims incapacitated, not dead. | ||||
| 2 | "Sleepyhead, Episode 2" | Stephen Hopkins | Dudi Appleton, Jim Keeble | 17 October 2010 |
| Thorne is forced to conduct his investigation alone when Tughan dismisses his "locked-in" theory. He and Anne Coburn try to help Alison Willetts communicate. A woman who claims to have escaped the killer is attacked. | ||||
| 3 | "Sleepyhead, Episode 3" | Stephen Hopkins | Dudi Appleton, Jim Keeble | 24 October 2010 |
| Tughan identifies pathologist Phil Hendricks as his prime suspect, and seems determined to expose the dark secret that binds him to Thorne. Anne's daughter Rachel unwittingly puts herself in danger. | ||||
| 4 | "Scaredy Cat, Episode 1" | Benjamin Ross | Dudi Appleton, Jim Keeble | 31 October 2010 |
| Two women have been murdered near simultaneously near St Pancras station, but in quite different ways. When the connection is made with two other murders, months before but on the same day, DI Thorne realises that two serial killers are at work in a macabre partnership. | ||||
| 5 | "Scaredy Cat, Episode 2" | Benjamin Ross | Dudi Appleton, Jim Keeble | 7 November 2010 |
| One of the killers is caught after a failed attempt on the life of the son of another victim. He confesses to his crimes, but refuses to identify his partner. Thorne decides to free him in an attempt to force the other killer to come forward. | ||||
| 6 | "Scaredy Cat, Episode 3" | Benjamin Ross | Dudi Appleton, Jim Keeble | 14 November 2010 |
| Palmer escapes from police custody and he and Nicklin resume their series of murders. DS Chen, desperate to prove herself, risks everything to catch the pair. | ||||