Bird of Prey (TV serial)
| Bird of Prey | |
|---|---|
 Freeze-frame from the computer block-graphic style animated title sequence | |
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Ron Hutchinson |
| Starring | Richard Griffiths Carole Nimmons |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Michael Wearing |
| Production company | BBC |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC1 |
| Release | 22 April 1982 – 27 September 1984 |
Bird of Prey is a British techno-thriller television serial written by Ron Hutchinson and produced by Michael Wearing and Bernard Krichefski for the BBC in 1982. It was directed by Michael Rolfe. The second series was co-written with Lee Montague.
The series starred Richard Griffiths and Carole Nimmons as Henry and Anne Jay: Henry is a humble civil servant who finds that he and his wife are drawn into an international conspiracy involving the mysterious Le Pouvoir organisation. A sequel, Bird of Prey 2 followed in 1984.
Plot outline[edit]
Series 1[edit]
Henry Jay, a lacklustre and predictable government clerk compiling statistics and writing reports on computer fraud, suddenly finds himself with the threads of an international computer fraud in his hands. Forced to flee his wife and home when bodies start littering his path, he unexpectedly evades pursuit long enough to realise that his one chance at survival is to complete the puzzle and turn the tables on his pursuers – thus turning this very unlikely candidate into a "bird of prey".
Series 2[edit]
Again under attack, Henry Jay must escape the clutches of a professional assassin who is interested in having a piece of the action and the country they are in, find a way to eliminate the dangers, and permanently safeguard his wife and himself.
Cast[edit]
Series 1[edit]
|
Series 2[edit]
|
Filming locations[edit]
Bird of Prey (first season) makes heavy use of outdoor locations around the Docklands and the City of London, while Bird of Prey 2 includes the newly built Blackfriars in London and Silbury Boulevard in Milton Keynes. The outside of Richard Griffith's house, supposedly in Pinner, was filmed in Selly Park, Birmingham.[citation needed]
DVD release[edit]
Bird of Prey and Bird of Prey 2 were released together on DVD x 2, BBC 2 Entertain, CCTV30316 (Region 2 + 4 colour PAL, UK) in 2006.
External links[edit]
- Bird of Prey at IMDb
- Bird of Prey 2 at IMDb
- Bird of Prey at the BFI's Screenonline
- Episode Guide, Action TV
- DVD review, zetaminor.com
- Tony Smith, Bird of Prey: 1980s IT on the small screen, The Register, 7 November 2012
