Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31545 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-06-26
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 360 minutes

Amazon.com
In a new twist on an old theme, the coolly stylish British miniseries Ultraviolet brings vampires into the 21st century, though the word vampire is never uttered in this mix of The X-Files and somber British TV mysteries like Touching Evil. Jack Davenport is a police detective who stumbles into an elite government agency when his partner and best friend suddenly becomes a nocturnal thug and bites him on the neck. Davenport reluctantly cuts off his old friends and lovers to join the team, which includes Idris Elba as a merciless ex-soldier and Susannah Harker as a medical researcher, and investigate a web of counterfeiting operations, banking scams, and experimental labs featuring human guinea pigs. "What they're researching is pollution: contamination of their blood supply," offers team leader and former priest Philip Quast, but the question remains: are they soulless monsters out to conquer mankind, or a persecuted minority who just want to live in peace with the humans?

Writer-director-creator Joe Ahearne brings all the traditional vampire tropes up to date; not only do they lack reflections in a mirror, but they don't show up on video and their voices don't carry over phone lines or record on audio tapes ("which makes surveillance a bitch"). Sunlight burns like an acid, and when they die they go up like a flare, leaving a pile of ash in their wake. But it's the sharp character writing, moral quandaries, and ingenious twists of this smart, stylish conspiracy thriller that make this series gripping down to the final episode.

The two-disc DVD set features an audio interview with Ahearne along with episode synopses and character notes. --Sean Axmaker

From the Back Cover
DISC ONE
Now, amidst the growing threat of viral epidemic and the possibility of worldwide environmental catastrophe, humanity has an unprecedented ability to destroy itself. In order to prevent further contamination or loss of their food supply, the vampires have organized and are pouring funds into all manner of human scientific research. Through they profess to be persecuted and misunderstood minority, eager to achieve a symbiotic relationship with mankind, many of their experiments are motivated by darker desires.
Episode 1 - Habeas Corpus
Michael and Jack are best friends and colleagues in a homicide squad. But when Jack disappears on the ever of his wedding, and two new cops start asking questions, Michael is drawn into the realization that Jack is not what he seems.
Episode 2 - In Nomine Patris
Michael is now a member of CIB, but is struggling to accept the truths around him and his new role as an executioner. But when a financial trail leads to a vampire laboratory with human guinea pigs, the lines between good and evil become clearer.
Episode 3 - Sub Judice
The victim of an attempted rape is saved by a vampire. But why was she being protected? And by whom?

DISC TWO
Jack Davenport stars as former police detective-sergeant Michael Colefield who's recruited into CIB - an elite government force that has been formed to combat the treat. Joined by a squad of covert government investigators led by ex-soldier Vaughan Rice (Idris Elba), former priest Pearse Harman (Philip Quast) and scientist Dr. Angela March (Susanna Harker), their mission is to seek out the enemy. But when eternal life is offered, no one is beyond temptation.
Episode 4 - Mea Culpa
A twelve year-old boy is involved in a violent attack on a teacher. But the peculiarities of the case could mean that vampires are involved...Michael is convinced that it is just schoolboy violence. But the truth is stranger and more terrifying than anyone suspects.
Episode 5 - Terra Incognita
A plane from Brazil brings a bleeding refugee and a number of vampire caskets. How are they connected? And why is John Doe (Corin Redgrave) risking the journey?
Episode 6 - Persona Non Grata
Michael is compromised by a threat to Kirstie, and his actions unwittingly jeopardize humankind. As the last pieces of the puzzle fall into place, CIB is caught in a race against time - and total evil.

Customer Reviews

The British Know Vampires -- And How to Deal With Them
For those who have not seen this movie, it is well worth the buy. Set in modern day London, a cop's partner is "turned" on the eve of his wedding. As he investigates his partner's failure to show and disappearance, he learns that vampires (or "leeches" as they are usually called -- the word vampire is never used) are real. He is then co-opted into a special government branch -- run by an ex Priest, a medical scientist, and a special forces operative -- that is hunting the vampires.

Are the vampires evil? Does religion really have anything to with them? Is the cross's effect on vampires merely psychosomatic or is there real power there? Is the special branch just a modern day version of the inquisition, oppressing the innocent?

It is to the show's credit that you do not really know the answers to all of these questions until the last episode, though clues are sprinkled about throughout.

This is the best vampire story I've ever encountered (book, movie, or series). Although shown occasionally on the Sci Fi channel, owning the DVD is well worth the price to see it for the first time.

For those who have seen the series on t.v., the DVD is still worthwhile. Though there is not much in the way of extras, the DVD version seemed much easier to understand (and not just because I had seen it before). The sound quality is very good. On the t.v. version the conversation was sometimes hard to follow because of the English accents. Not so with the DVD. Being able to follow the conversations more closely added a lot to my viewing pleasure.

Worth it.

Current day twist on the ancient vampire myth...
An elite group in the police department are pursuing modern day vampires. But they aren't running around killing vampires with wooden stakes. This British "miniseries" (6 episodes) gives an updated twist to the old Vampire myths. For example, if a vampire can't be seen in a mirror, it stands to reason that he can't be seen on videotape. Hmmmm.... Provides a surveillance challenge!! Very inventive twists make Ultraviolet fascinating to watch!

However, it's not just the unique updating of the myth that makes this series a good watch. The story development is excellent, and the characters are very well played. Probably most familiar to US audiences will be Susannah Harker in a very different role from her portrayal of Jane in the BBC/A&E production of "Pride and Prejudice". She is excellent as the doctor in the group, focusing on the medical aspects of the vampire challenge.

Very different in style from the US shows "Kindred: The Embraced" (available on DVD) and "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer", Ultraviolet is more focused on the psychological than blood and guts. "Kindred" and "Buffy" are action fare, "Ultraviolet" is psychological fare. If you enjoy a psychological thriller with a little action thrown in and are intrigued by the Vampire myth, you will enjoy Ultraviolet.

What The X-Files Could Never Do
I got an advance copy of Ultraviolet DVD and watched all 6 hours over the course of 2 nights. Right off the bat it was very obvious that Ultraviolet is a British production - rather than beating you over the head in the first 15 mins, they give you credit for having a brain and piece things together in a way that really draws you in. The film/series runs 6 hours and the writer/director Joe Ahearne really understands how to set a pace to keep you engaged while moving the story along.

Ultraviolet takes a wonderfully fresh and inventive approach towards vampires. I genuinely enjoyed the infusion of technology in relation to vampires - If vampires don't have any reflection, how can they talk over a phone? I also really liked the philosophical approach it took to the subject of vampires: Are vampires really bad? Should they be killed because they are who they are?

In the early years of the X-Files I was certainly a fan, but the show really lost me over the years, after watching Ultraviolet I realized why. Rather than hyping up some big conspiracy and never doing anything about it, Ultraviolet creates a complex world where everything isn't black and white but there are very specific 'rules'. Rather than myopically focusing on the world it creates Ultraviolet concentrates on really telling complete stories about the people in that world.

Ultraviolet was well acted, well directed and thoroughly enjoyable. I can't remember the last time I spent 6 hours watching something and was more than willing to see more. If Ultraviolet ever became a regular series I'd certainly be a faithful watcher!