Beck (British TV series)
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{Infobox television
| image =
| caption =
| genre = Mystery
| creator =
| developer =
| writer = Paul Hines
| director = Ken Grieve
Maurice Phillips
James Hazeldine
| creative_director =
| starring = Amanda Redman
Caroline Loncq
David Hunt
David Herlihy
Nigel Clauzel
William Ash
Timothy Gleed
Camilla Power
| theme_music_composer =
| composer =
| country = United Kingdom
| num_series = 1
| num_episodes = 6
| executive_producer = Adrian Bate
| producer = Jacky Stoller
Simon Mills
| editor = Roy Sharman
| location = London, England
| cinematography =
| camera =
| runtime = 50 minutes
| company = Tempest Films & Television
| channel = BBC1
| first_aired = {{Start date|1996|10|2|df=y}}
| last_aired = {{End date|1996|11|1|df=y}}
}}
Beck is a British television mystery series, first broadcast on 2 October 1996, that ran for a total of six episodes on BBC1.{{cite web |url=http://www.thrillingdetective.com/lee_a.html |title=Anna Lee |website=Thrillingdetective.com |accessdate=5 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202203106/http://www.thrillingdetective.com/lee_a.html |archive-date=2 December 2017 |url-status=live }} The series starred Amanda Redman as the title character, Beck, who runs Locate, a missing persons agency based in Kings Cross, London.{{cite web |url=http://www.memorabletv.com/uk-tv/beck-bbc-1-1996-with-amanda-redman-and-caroline-loncq/ |title=Beck (BBC-1 1996 with Amanda Redman and Caroline Loncq) – Memorable TV |website=Memorabletv.com |accessdate=5 December 2017 |date=10 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206074606/http://www.memorabletv.com/uk-tv/beck-bbc-1-1996-with-amanda-redman-and-caroline-loncq/ |archive-date=6 December 2017 |url-status=live }} The series co-starred Caroline Loncq, David Hunt, David Herlihy and William Ash.{{cite web |url=https://www.vpro.nl/cinema/films/film~545403~beck-episode-5-6~.html |title=Beck: Episode 5 & 6 |website=Vpro.nl |accessdate=5 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206010001/https://www.vpro.nl/cinema/films/film~545403~beck-episode-5-6~.html |archive-date=6 December 2017 |url-status=live }} All six episodes were written by Paul Hines, with Ken Grieve, Maurice Phillips and James Hazeldine each directing two episodes.
Notably, Redman began a relationship with director Maurice Phillips while working together on the show.{{cite web |url=http://www.jamesdarcy.net/career/screen/84-screen/216-beck-1996 |title=Beck (1996) |last=ania |website=Jamesdarcy.net |accessdate=5 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206135821/http://www.jamesdarcy.net/career/screen/84-screen/216-beck-1996 |archive-date=6 December 2017 |url-status=live }} A review from The Independent said of the series; "Beck, the new private dick series, is set in this world of whores, pimps, addicts and runaways. It features our old friend, gritty realism, so there is vomit on the floor again and a dosser on every doorstep." A second series was confirmed to have been in the works at the time of broadcast, although it never materialised.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oSdHfMQX_M |title=Beck – end credits and song |date=7 October 2011 |accessdate=5 December 2017 |via=YouTube}} Notably, the series has never been released on DVD.
Cast
- Amanda Redman as Beck; private detective and owner of 'Locate', a missing persons agency
- Caroline Loncq as Therese
- David Hunt as Mick Farrant
- David Herlihy as Tally
- Nigel Clauzel as Muffy
- William Ash as Ralph
- Timothy Gleed as Joe
- Camilla Power as Charity
Episodes
{{Episode table|background=#87319F|overall=|total_width=70|title=|director=|writer=|airdate=
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 1
|Title = Embers
|DirectedBy = Maurice Phillips
|WrittenBy = Paul Hines
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1996|10|02|df=y}}
|ShortSummary = When she hears that human remains have been found near Reading, Beck fears that a teenager on the agency's books is dead.
|LineColor = 87319F
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 2
|Title = I'll Be Seeing You
|DirectedBy = Maurice Phillips
|WrittenBy = Paul Hines
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1996|10|09|df=y}}
|ShortSummary = A woman who has been held prisoner by her brutal husband is set free by his death. She asks Beck to track down her wartime love.
|LineColor = 87319F
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 3
|Title = Me, Myself and I
|DirectedBy = Ken Grieve
|WrittenBy = Paul Hines
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1996|10|16|df=y}}
|ShortSummary = Beck is asked to find a recently widowed pharmacist.
|LineColor = 87319F
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 4
|Title = Pride Before A Fall
|DirectedBy = Ken Grieve
|WrittenBy = Paul Hines
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1996|10|23|df=y}}
|ShortSummary = Beck's personal and professional pride is hit hard after she finds Karen Quinn, a young woman in her mid-twenties suffering from depression. Beck reunites her with her husband and baby, only for her to go missing again a few hours later. Beck also takes the case of a missing bridegroom when members of his stag party turn up offering £700 to locate him.
|LineColor = 87319F
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 5
|Title = Limbo – Part 1
|DirectedBy = James Hazeldine
|WrittenBy = Paul Hines
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1996|10|30|df=y}}
|ShortSummary = Mick introduces Beck to Martin, a middle-aged man who has been found wandering the streets with complete memory loss. Beck does not have an easy task in finding out Martin's true identity, but she later discovers him to be Andy Dwyer, an accountant with a daughter who is in a coma after a road accident. Moreover, the young girl's trust fund has disappeared.
|LineColor = 87319F
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 6
|Title = Limbo – Part 2
|DirectedBy = James Hazeldine
|WrittenBy = Paul Hines
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1996|11|01|df=y}}
|ShortSummary = Beck continues to help Andy Dwyer. But is his amnesia genuine? Who took the money from his daughter's trust fund? And is Joan Jacobs' new lodger all that he claims to be? Meanwhile, Beck also has to deal with problems at her office and with her employees.
|LineColor = 87319F
}}
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|id=0144703|title=Beck}}
Category:1996 British television series debuts
Category:1996 British television series endings
Category:1990s British crime television series
Category:1990s British drama television series
Category:BBC mystery television shows
Category:1990s British television miniseries
Category:British English-language television shows