Second Sight is a British television crime drama, principally written and created by Paula Milne, that first aired on BBC One on 9 January 2000.[1] Originally broadcast as a single two-part pilot, before being followed by a series of three two-part stories, Second Sight follows DCI Ross Tanner (Clive Owen), a maverick cop who finds out that he has a rare disease which is causing him to go blind. Tanner's boss, Superintendent Lawson (Thomas Wheatley), little suspects that the man he named to head the elite Specialist Elite Murder Unit is losing his sight. Tanner struggles to keep his condition a secret, but soon asks himself how long can he keep solving crimes that not even the fully sighted can fathom.
| Second Sight | |
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| Genre | Crime drama |
| Created by | Paula Milne |
| Written by |
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| Directed by |
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| Starring | |
| Composer | John Lunn |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 8 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producer | David Lascelles |
| Cinematography |
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| Editors |
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| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Twenty Twenty Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One |
| Release | 9 January 2000 – 6 February 2001 |
The series also follows Tanner's battles with his irrepressible Inspector, Catherine Tully (Claire Skinner), who urges him to tell the truth for the sake of his own health.[2] Rebecca Egan also co-stars as Tanner's long-suffering wife, Marilyn; while Benjamin Smith appears as his son, Sam.
The complete series was later released on DVD on 24 July 2006 via 2|Entertain.[3]
Cast edit
- Clive Owen as DCI Ross Tanner
- Claire Skinner as DI Catherine Tully
- Selina Boyack as DC Tanya Holt
- Rupert Holliday-Evans as DS Robert Pewsey
- Mark Bazeley as DI Michael Boyd (series)
- Akbar Kurtha as DC Mohammad Chad (series)
- Frank Harper as DS Tommy Finch
- Alexander Morton as DS Eddie Julian
- Thomas Wheately as Supt Jim Lawson (series)
- Rebecca Egan as Marilyn Tanner
- Benjamin Smith as Sam Tanner
Episodes edit
Pilot (2000) edit
| Episode | Title | Written by | Directed by | Viewers (millions)[4] |
Original airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Second Sight: Part One" | Paula Milne | Charles Beeson | 7.25 | 9 January 2000 | |
| DCI Ross Tanner of the Specialist Elite Murder Unit is working on a case with ambitious DI Catherine Tully when he makes the frightening discovery that he is slowly losing his sight. Tully discovers his secret, and agrees to cover for him – under certain conditions. | ||||||
| 2 | "Second Sight: Part Two" | Paula Milne | Charles Beeson | TBA | 16 January 2000 | |
| DCI Tanner and company try to work through an ever-growing list of suspects for the murder. Tanner suspects that Matthew's stepfather, Adam, is hiding something, but does that make him the killer? | ||||||
Series (2001) edit
| Episode | Title | Written by | Directed by | Viewers (millions)[4] |
Original airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Hide and Seek: Part One" | Antonia Hallem | Edward Bennett | TBA | 22 January 2001 | |
| Tanner must gather evidence against his prime suspect in a murder case under difficult circumstances – but as he struggles to conceal his failing eyesight, DI Tully oversteps her authority, leaving him professionally exposed. | ||||||
| 2 | "Hide and Seek: Part Two" | Antonia Hallem | Edward Bennett | TBA | 23 January 2001 | |
| Tanner decides to recreate the scene of the vicious murder of Vicky Ingham, but his plan to use her young son creates conflicts within the unit. Tanner's moves come under close scrutiny from DI Boyd. | ||||||
| 3 | "Parasomnia: Part One" | Paula Milne | Maurice Phillips | TBA | 29 January 2001 | |
| A man is found bludgeoned to death after his stag night. The following morning his fiancée, the daughter of a Labour peer, wakes to find herself covered in blood, but is adamant that she is innocent of murder. | ||||||
| 4 | "Parasomnia: Part Two" | Paula Milne | Maurice Phillips | TBA | 30 January 2001 | |
| Tanner continues to struggle with hallucinations as well as a terrifying recurring dream. All the evidence points to the victim's fiancée, but what was her motive for the murder? | ||||||
| 5 | "Kingdom of the Blind: Part One" | Niall Leonard | Jonas Grimas | 5.75 | 5 February 2001 | |
| Investigating orchestrated race violence, Tanner comes up against the malevolent and manipulative Harold King, a retired gangster, who is also blind. Just as Tanner has harnessed his blindness to uncover the truth, King uses his to realise his bitterness and hate. | ||||||
| 6 | "Kingdom of the Blind: Part Two" | Niall Leonard | Jonas Grimas | TBA | 6 February 2001 | |
| Tanner's investigation into the Ben Harris murder takes him even deeper into the dark underworld of organized crime – and to his dismay, the main witness has changed his story. | ||||||
References edit
- ^ "Second Sight Part One (2000) | BFI". Explore.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 17 May 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
- ^ "MYSTERY!: Second Sight: Episode Descriptions, Series 2". Pbs.org. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
- ^ "Second Sight - Series 1 & 2 [DVD] [2006]". Amazon. 24 July 2006. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- ^ a b "Top 30 Programmes". barb.co.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
External links edit
- Second Sight at IMDb
