thisbluespirit | Fake Show 2: Heroes of the Revolution (Main Cast & Setting)

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Fake Show 2: Heroes of the Revolution (Main Cast & Setting)

(For the pictures, see the LJ version. I should have only posted one side, but forgot. Image troubles again, sorry.)

I'm still working on the supporting cast and the episode guide, but I think the main cast and basic set-up has solidified pretty well, so here's part 1 of the first fruits of the isurrendered meme...

The prompt, from

jjpor: It's the morning after the revolution before. The Evil Empire has fallen; the Plucky Rebels won against impossible odds, as Plucky Rebels tend to do. Now they've just got to deal with the messy aftermath and, you know, actually govern the place. Preferably without becoming like the regime they've just defeated.

HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION

"The state has failed us, over and over, so we decide ourselves who to protect and who to betray, who to save and who to kill. This was no more, no less than that. Another act of conscience, if you like. Let's call it the final act of revolution - and remember we're all complicit in the crime."

A critically-acclaimed but long-forgotten (and doubtless studio-bound and dreary, shh, such things are awesome) 13 episode drama series from 1973/4 starring Gemma Jones, Alfred Burke, Julian Glover and Diane Keen.

Set in the near-future in an alternate (but not too different) reality, where a tyrannical regime has been in power in Britain for nearly three decades, a group of freedom fighters led by a man known as "Arran", finally defeat the dictator Hallam - and then a new battle begins, one where the lines are even less clear than before. It explores the ethics of power as a drama plays out between the victorious rebel leaders, the remnant of the old guard, and those who want to find more peaceful solutions for the future.

Episode List
1. Blood Red Dawn
2. Out With the Old
3. Divide and Conquer
4. Shadows of Yesterday
5. The Tyrant's Widow
6. Business As Usual
7. Power Loss
8. The Old and the Weak
9. Headlines
10. Broken Instrument
11. Traitor's Gate
12. Heroes Never Die
13. Last Act of the Revolution

MAIN CAST

"Anna" | Catherine Miller (Gemma Jones)

Now that Hallam's regime has been overthrown, and rebel leader Arran is finally able to take power as head of state, Anna is determined to ensure that initial emergency measures don't wind up leading them into becoming a regime just as tyrannical as the last. For that, they need the right people in government, and she's making sure that happens - starting with Charles Terrell, if he can be persuaded.

Charles Terrell (Alfred Burke)

Charles has had a checquered history. Technically part of the last constitutional government (mainly taking notes, he says), then political prisoner, co-ordinator in the early rebellion, and - again, technically - part of Hallam's government, though unofficially still working for the rebellion. Most of Arran's people regard him with mistrust, and the last thing he wants is the responsibility of power. What he is, however, is an experienced politician who's on the right side, and there aren't many of them about.

"Arran" | Colonel Michael Seaton (Julian Glover)

Formerly an army officer under the previous regime, he deserted in protest at some of the more stringent "emergency measures" sixteen years ago. For the past eleven years he led the rebellion, and their victory is largely attributable to him. He brought organisation, a head for strategy and ruthlessness to the endeavour. Now Hallam's gone, and he's head of state, with a nation in chaos to restore to normality and he might have to resort to drastic measures to do it...

Dr. Liz Cardew (Sheila Allen)

Representative of the Emergency Medical Organisation. She wasn't a member of the resistance, or a supporter of the previous regime - she's spent the time trying to ensure medical supplies and other basic needs are met. She's persuaded into becoming part of the new emergency government by Charles, because, after all, they need someone with some idea of the practicalities involved.

"Liesa" | Louise Seaton (Diane Keen)

Arran's wife, who's coming to terms with her new role, though it's not too hard - she's always been something of an actress. She's got her own ideas about how they should move forward, not necessarily compatible with her Arran's...

Daniel Robbins (Paul Eddington)

A minor member of the previous government. He wasn't an enthusiastic supporter, but he preferred order to terrorism, or so he says. The rebels would rather not have someone like him around, but he can be useful. He'd rather not still be around, either, but he's another of Anna's unwilling converts.

Edward Woodfield (Morris Perry)

Another former member of Hallam's government, now soon-to-be Leader of the Opposition. He firmly believes this group of rebels aren't capable of steering a country through a period of crisis at a time like this and enjoys pointing out the cracks in their facade. He is dismayed, though, that it turns out that Charles Terrell is equally good in doing that in return, and holding the Opposition together is also proving difficult. Oh, and he knows far too much about the deeper, underlying problems that may finish all of them in the end...

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Whoa! This is amazing. You have to Do It All now ...

(and then sell it to the Beeb - or failing that, Scandi-TV, who would film it all in tones of twilit menace and hopefully starring Sofia Helin, Kim Bodnia and Sidse Babette Knudsen)for oodles of cash.

Thank you! And, ha, I doubt I could manage it. But there will be an episode guide sometime soon.

You are right, though! And then a US TV network would buy it and remake it as a cheery patriot thing instead and everyone would be Outraged.

I REALLY want this to exist!!!!!

It's a hard meme. Fake TV shows are so enticing. They don't have to deal with any reality, like unavailable actors, budgets, duff scripts. *sigh*

And thank you. :-)

This sounds great! And what a cast - Julian Glover and Paul Eddington. And, in a surprise piece of casting, that Alfred Burke feller too. ;) It's a great premise, and I can just see it having a dark, moody atmosphere. Probably a lot of dark rooms, and a lot of angry talking. (And a lot of having to be careful not to slam doors too hard, in case the doors wobble). I don't think I know Shiela Allen or Morris Perry, but they have perfect faces for this, so well done there. Who do we lobby to get a DVD release?!

The name Charles Terrell made me smile too, especially given the character breakdown. There's a marvellous character of the same name played by Anton Lesser in the BBC sci-fi series "Invasion: Earth". It's a terrible, terrible show, but he's superb; and had it been made twenty years earlier, Alfred Burke would have been an absolute shoe-in for the role!

Thank you! The casting is quite funny, in one sense, in that in 1973, most of these actors weren't as famous, though they were all known. Julian Glover probably was (but he hadn't been in all the cult films yet), Gemma Jones and Paul Eddington were known and noted but not yet famous, so Alfred Burke is the big name draw. I think.

(Sheila Allen was also in Children of the Damned, so you have seen her, but she got run over by a lorry fairly rapidly, so you'd hardly remember. She was also in Public Eye, though. PE was very handy for casting. :-D)

he name Charles Terrell made me smile too, especially given the character breakdown. There's a marvellous character of the same name played by Anton Lesser in the BBC sci-fi series "Invasion: Earth".

/o\ I have never heard of that, and got the last name at random out of a surnames dictionary. But I forgot to Google and check for that kind of thing. Whoops.

"Invasion: Earth" is best not heard of, trust me on this. ;) I had a rewatch a few years back, and if you ever want to see a study in growing irritation, try reading my episode reviews. Gods, it's awful. Charles Terrell is wonderful, though. Put upon, weighed down by sorrows, and endlessly misunderstood. He's also been thrown into the role of rather unwilling hero, which is why your choice of the name amused me, and why I think that Alfred Burke would have been so good in the part at one time. I can only hope that, had the show been made in the seventies, rather than the nineties, he'd have had more luck than Anton Lesser, and wouldn't have been the only member of the cast bothering to act.

I think in 1973 the viewing public would have been aware of your stars (Paul Eddington was in everything in the sixties) but probably they were recognisable faces rather than recognised names. So you get great actors on the cheap. Excellent! :D

So you get great actors on the cheap. Excellent! :D

My thoughts exactly! And, yes, if I'd made it in the late 70s, they'd all have cost twice as much and I'd have had to have other people. :-)

Put upon, weighed down by sorrows, and endlessly misunderstood. He's also been thrown into the role of rather unwilling hero, which is why your choice of the name amused me, and why I think that Alfred Burke would have been so good in the part at one time.

That's really funny. Possibly even bordering on eerie. And, yep, sounds about right!

That meme is a bit cruel, it sets you up for being sad this doesn't exist! I don't know the actors, so some of it is probably over my head, but plot, setting, and characters look really intriguing! :D

Indeed! It is the evillest meme, for that. I remember from last time!

And thank you! It helps to know the actors, but I have pictures, so it doesn't really matter. :-)

What, no David Collings? You astonish me!!!

:D

Nice work...

He's a guest star. He dies. ^_^

*dies laughing*

This is completely true!! I have the supporting cast just about sorted. Next up is the episode guide, totally including in which episode David Collings does something treacherous/misguided, regrets it, whimpers, and dies (and by what unlikely means). (This is my treat for when I've done the hard bit. :lol:)

You know me far, far too well. ♥

(He was also destined to die in Enigma House, even though that was in the present day. Hmm, actually, I think he was dead all along in that one. I never got round to including that in the summaries.)

♥ ^_^

('Scuse my brevity, I have the sleepy. There's a birthday party on upstairs and I can't find my earplugs.)

♥

;-)

ahahaha - best comment ever!

also - i would watch this show. surely julian glover is evil - he is always evil...

I am far more predictable than I like to admit. Or David Collings is. :-)

And, thank you. I'm not sure it wouldn't be a little slow and grim, but it would be very, well-written. There would definitely be cynicism, sarcasm and some snark. And devious plotting.

surely julian glover is evil - he is always evil...

Aw, but no! Not always! And I don't know why he's always evil. he should be allowed to be heroic and gloriously sarcastic and stuff more often. Anyway, he is not evil in Wish Me Luck, he's just sarcastic about Winston CHurchill and he and Jane Asher have to tell us every episode that they're not married or dating. I don't know why, but they do. :-)

(And, entirely seriously, no, not evil as such. It's the bit I did sneak from B7 - he's the winning rebel leader, but that follows ten years of fighting and mistrust, and it all depends on how paranoid he's become... :-D)

*points to icon*

:(

I have to confess...

justice_turtle is entirely correct! He will, of course, turn up as a guest star. And die by unlikely means. I haven't decided when and how yet, but I will.

And thanks! :-)

Nooooooooooooooooo!

*cries*

That's funny, you sound just like David Collings. You're not crawling around the floor, gibbering as well, are you?

:-D

No, because if I get down on the floor, I won't be able to get up again - and besides, crawling is a very painful thing to do with a crippled knee.

Very sensible. ;-)

*hugs you carefully*

Thanks.

My knee's suffered enough abuse this week - my foot got kicked by four people on the bus last Monday - all of which jarred my knee. Then on Tuesday and Wednesday the boss made me do the ironing with the big foot-pedal-operated press, which is the worst task that my job offers. By the time I finished my own ironing this afternoon, my left leg had seized up.

Ouch! *glares at inconsiderate people for you*

I do hope it's a little better soon. ♥

Thanks.

The worst thing was when the fourth person kicked my foot then turned to apologise with the words "Sorry, mate, I didn't see you." So I snapped back "Big tip. After assaulting someone, don't add insult to injury by telling them you didn't see them!" He opened his mouth to give me a smart-alec reply, and I gave him my best death glare - and he actually ran away from me!

\o/

When are Network bringing it out?:P

Oh no Morris Perry! He's always bad - he has a face of evil. Yes, he would have to be on the opposing side. Will Kevin Stoney turn up as his brother?

:-D

I can't make up my mind whether it's BBC or ITV. I keep leaning to ITV at the moment, but I can't decide!! So, if it's BBC, it's never coming out on DVD, except randomly somewhere in Europe or in region 2.

Oh no Morris Perry! He's always bad - he has a face of evil. Yes, he would have to be on the opposing side.

*nods* He does, indeed. I don't know why they had a moustache on him in that picture. He does evil just fine without it. I'm not planning on having Kevin Stoney, but, ha, I can see the sort of resemblance!

Alfred Burke... who would have thunk it? *g*

This is amazing (and I love your graphics!). I really, really, really wish this show was a real thing because I would watch it like CRAZY.

I know, but it had to be done, once I saw the prompt! (He was such a great actor, and certainly had a knack for playing a good man where you wouldn't expect to find one.)

This is amazing (and I love your graphics!). I really, really, really wish this show was a real thing because I would watch it like CRAZY.

No, you'd just want to watch it, because it'd be unavailable on iTunes, as ever with my obscure gloomy 1970s UK TV. :-) (And: thank you! I thought if I was going to do less pretty 1970s pictures and stuff, I should make them nice graphics. My other shows don't have nice graphics.)

At the first moment I had a picture of Gemman Craven, not Gemma Jones, in my head. Oh, oops.

This is delightfully grim and cynical and John Christopher-ish, heading to hell in a handbasket.

Heh, but this is why I provided pictures! :-)

This is delightfully grim and cynical and John Christopher-ish, heading to hell in a handbasket.

Thank you. Though I think it's going to progress towards precariously hopeful. Maybe.

Ooh, this sounds really interesting.

Thank you! :-)

I very much like what you've done with the prompt - the early 70s is the key. Not only do you get to have some fantastic actors of the era in it, but it's just so plausible. There were several series with this sort of near-future dystopian political drama going on, perhaps because in the context of early 70s Britain with the strikes and the States of Emergency and the far right mobilising to take "desperate measure" against the left if they deemed it necessary, such a future seemed all too likely. And also plausible that, like a lot of those well-regarded series of the day it'd be more or less forgotten now and never, ever coming to a DVD outlet near you.

And I can just imagine what this looked like and sounded like - the studio sets, as you say, and the videotape (with the occasional snippet of outdoor stuff looking all pale and cold because it's on film). And dense, wordy stories where all the action's in the dialogue and the performances. All the stuff that's great about oldschool British TV in other words.

And I look forward to the episode guide, because I need to know just what horrible fate befell poor David Collings this time (and to see how many more actors who've been in Doctor Who guest starred in it). Did anybody "play" Hallam (great name for a dictator) or was he dead and gone when the series started? Might actually be a better move to keep him as this unseen, unknowable but ominous offscreen presence.

I very much like what you've done with the prompt - the early 70s is the key. Not only do you get to have some fantastic actors of the era in it, but it's just so plausible.

*nods* I may have been watching Public Eye and Enemy at the Door too much. Not that either of them are a dystopia, but they show what's possible in terms of writing something gripping that focuses more on ordinary people & life, and character/ethical dilemmas. So, I am leaning towards it being a major ITV company effort (edited and produced by Michael Chapman, and definitely including episodes by James Doran), and therefore there will be a DVD release soon (as long as it survived intact), because Network are good like that. (They're just evil about not letting me rip things.) :-)

And I can just imagine what this looked like and sounded like - the studio sets, as you say, and the videotape (with the occasional snippet of outdoor stuff looking all pale and cold because it's on film). And dense, wordy stories where all the action's in the dialogue and the performances.

Exactly!!! And the outdoors stuff is also pale and cold because it was inevitably done in January, as ever.

I haven't cast Hallam yet (I had someone in mind, but I think he's too young to have been in power, or trying to get power for 30 years!). However, I think it should open with a set-piece that took most of the budget (but a lot of the rest was earnest discussion in offices of power, anyway) where he's very much in power (and probably overseeing an execution or something) and then the rebels take power! With some big explosions and a slightly less convincing ambush. And, then, having done one bit of action, it proceeds to mostly talk for the next 12 episodes. But you need to see the rebels being heroic before being more morally ambiguous. :-)

So, yes. Hallam needs to be a known actor, but he's only going to survive for about 15 minutes at the most. That's the plan, unless I change my mind. (The episode guide is getting really complicated...)

That'd be one of the cold pale January bits done on location; the dictator's surprisingly undermanned convoy of, like, two cars getting ambushed by the plucky rebels on some country lane somewhere. A bit of shooting/exploding and then that's your lot for the series. ;)

Trying to think of an actor who seems suitably dictator-like and was also the right sort of age in 1973...

ITV seems like a good fit - and as you say, more likely perhaps to still be with us and likely to be released soon. At which point, you can do us a load of screencaps of Julian Glover being ambiguous (I'm sort of thinking of Arran as this slightly distant leader figure, worshipped by his close associates, viewed with trepidation by those not quite convinced of him, well capable of going one way or the other on the whole utopian/dystopian see-saw depending on where his mysterious inner motivations take him).

Still want to know what happens to David Collings. Does it involve much whimpering/sweating etc?

I'm torn - I'm sort of thinking it could be fun to have the opening scene some sort of cabinet meeting where you gradually realise the proposals are a bit sinister/insane but it's all calm and - then! Explosions! Rebels taking over! (And then of course some outside shots of explosions.) But ambushes are also good.... Hmm.

Well, actually, ITV are even worse than the BBC at destroying stuff, because they just seem to have thrown out the archives every time one of the franchises got taken over, but if it was someone like Thames TV it'd probably still be around, and they could pull off big-scale stuff reasonably creditably. Anyway, it did survive. I'm not having my imaginary show totally burninated, that would be silly. And tragic. :loL:

Hmm, "Arran" is actually a lot more hands-on than that sounds - I mean, to the limits that the actual leader can be. He's retreating more now, in power, and possibly cracking up (or possibly Anna's just cracking up worrying he's cracking up, because she's lived the same life for just as long. He's going to the edge of paranoia, she's got a morbid distrust of herself and the rest after what they've done).

I don't know what happens to David Collings yet. I am still working my way through the episode guide, and I think he fits in one of the latter third of eps. I'm sure there will at least be some whimpering. He's just got no backbone whatsoever, that red-headed bloke. :-)

This is just brilliant! I can just imagine all the intrigue and political tangles and things going wrong while (some) people try to do right. I wish it was a series so I could watch it.

I was surprised that David Collings isn't in it, but then I read your comment about him guest starring and being killed off horribly. Yeah, that makes sense. :oD

Thank you! I wish it was a series, so I could watch it as well. And no doubt then babble on at you all incomprehensibly... :-)

but then I read your comment about him guest starring and being killed off horribly. Yeah, that makes sense. :

It's what 1960s and 70s David Collings existed for! :-)

Oh, you did it much more impressively than me... I've done the first one, and working on the second - yours...

Yours was brilliant!! I'll look forward to the second. I just fell prey to some brain-eating on this one - I very rapidly had such a clear idea of how it should be, and was trying to get across when a lot of people probably won't know most, if any, of the actors.

I've just got to get the damn' episode guide done, and then I can do my other two, which are lighter and more fantastic. But apparently, even in make-believe, I'm forever more in love with the 70s stuff...

I can see you really got into it, and the cast is brilliant!!

Oooooh, intriguing. Makes me want to rush out and invest in the (sadly vanilla) DVD boxset, if only it actually existed...

Thank you! It's been a lot of fun to do. :-) Even if writing the episode guide was like making an iceberg - write pages of dialogue, then select snippets. :loL:

And, oh, you are sooo right on the frustratingly vanilla DVD releases. Not that I'm not grateful to have them at all, of course, but when it's something as all-conquering and well-known as Elizabeth R and there's just nothing, it is sad. Also those that could have had marvellous commentaries (most especially the BBC Julius Caesar). *sigh*

:-D

Sounds pretty fascinating! Love the episode titles, and the characters all sound very interesting, it's really intriguing to read about :D

Aw, thanks. :-)

This is great can we actually make this happen

Sadly, I think not - not without a time machine, at the very least! ;-)

♥

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Fake Show 2: Heroes of the Revolution (Main Cast & Setting)

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I love this so much

Re: I love this so much