THE NEGOTIATOR

Kidnap and Ransom - Episode One. Dominic King is an expert hostage negotiator for a company specialised in hostage release situations on an international corporate level. His latest mission has gone wrong to the dismay of his boss Angela, and his marriage and family are in trouble.

When pharmaceutical botanist Naomi Schaffer is kidnapped in South Africa, King goes to Cape Town.

Kidnap and Ransom, a 3 X 60-minute primetime thriller whose first part was aired on ITV1 yesterday, is the first project from UK's leading TV actor Trevor Eve’s production company, Projector Pictures, whilst in partnership with Talkback Thames. It is written by scriptwriter Patrick Harbinson (24, Law and Order, ER) and directed by Andy Wilson. Trevor Eve, Rachel Gesua and Jonathan Young exec produce and Trevor Hopkins (Poirot, The Prisoner 2009) is the producer.

Last year ITV1 enchanted viewers with Downton Abbey and now they start this new year with a very effective, well-researched and captivating by-the-book thriller. Kidnap and Ransom is the TV equivalent of a good Frederick Forsyth novel. The excellent Trevor Eve stars as negotiator Dom King and happily escapes from BBC One's Waking the Dead. He's surrounded by a fine cast: Helen Baxendale as King's boss, Amara Karan, Emma Fielding, Patrick Baladi, etc. The always reliable John Hannah plays Alexander Willard (who does not appear in Part one) and the interesting South African actor Tumisho Masha is Cape Town cop Inspector Lanning.

Of course to film in South Africa is cheaper than in the UK but there's a really great use of Cape Town locations and cinematographer Mike Spragg (Waking the Dead, Bouquet of Barb Wire and the incoming Monroe) does a superb job. Like production designer Michael Pickwoad (The Prisoner 2009, Doctor Who). And Christian Henson provides a haunting score of the kind that suits perfectly to the thriller genre.

Well-packed and riveting.

http://www.itv.com/presscentre/presspacks/kidnapandransom/default.html
http://www.tvchoicemagazine.co.uk/interviewextra/trevor-eve-kidnap-and-ransom
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/last-nights-tv-kidnap-and-ransomitv1br-bhughs-big-fish-fightchannel-4br-michel-rouxs-servicebbc2-2184104.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/trevor-eve-nice-but-nasty-803091.html

See also:

http://christian.hensonmusic.com/home.php