"The Grid" (2004) TV mini-series

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

19 July 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Global Mission. United Force.

Plot:

A team of American and British counter-terrorists are tasked with stopping a terrorist cell who's operating on a global level.

Plot Keywords:

Counter Terrorism | CIA | Terrorist | MI6 | Sarin

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 4 nominations

Cast

Dylan McDermott	...	FBI Agent Max Canary (2 episodes, 2004)
Julianna Margulies	...	Agent Maren Jackson / ... (2 episodes, 2004)
Bernard Hill	...	Agent Derek Jennings (2 episodes, 2004)
Jemma Redgrave	...	MI6 Agent Emily Tuthill (2 episodes, 2004)
James Remar	...	Hudson 'Hud' Benoit (2 episodes, 2004)
Piter Fattouche	...	CIA Agent Raza Michaels (2 episodes, 2004)
Silas Carson	...	Dr. Raghib Mutar (2 episodes, 2004)
Barna Moricz	...	Kaz Moore (2 episodes, 2004)
Robert Forster	...	Jay Aldrich (2 episodes, 2004)
Tom Skerritt	...	CIA Deputy Director Acton Sandman / ... (2 episodes, 2004)

Runtime:

266 min (6 parts)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

The aerial shot of the CIA headquarters is stock footage from The Bourne Identity (2002). The establishing shot of the CIA headquarters entrance gate is from Spy Game (2001), and is in fact a location in England, not the real CIA headquarters.

Quotes:

FBI Agent Max Canary: If I'm not mistaken, she just cut off your balls, Derek.
Derek Jennings: Just the one, Max. Just the one.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 62nd Annual Golden Globe Awards (2005) (TV)

A nominal overview of 21 century international terrorism

"The Grid" (we never really know to what the title refers) is a 6x45 min miniseries action/drama about international terrorism. The bad guys are a rogue terror cell operating out of Yemen, deploying operatives to the UK and the US where they are to attack with sarin nerve gas. The good guys are a joint task force of Brits and US Federal agents who are out to stop the bad guys. The film leapfrogs incessantly from Yemen to London to Washington to Saudi Arabia to Chicago, etc. globe trotting in a surprisingly well orchestrated conglomeration of good vs evil Muslims, interagency wrangling, boyish suicide bombers, covert ops, murder, love, and much more given this US/UK co-op's budgetary constraints. On the upside, "The Grid" gets busy and stays busy sufficient to engross and make some of the obvious histrionics easily overlooked as it provides an acceptable overview of the amorphous nature of terrorist cells and the international agency cooperation required to effectively cope with this 21 century threat. On the downside the film is difficult to follow at times, somewhat disjointed in an effort to be all things to all people, pushes the believability envelope occasionally, and is generally too pat to be real. Overall, "The Grid" is an acceptable miniseries worth a look for those who can commit to a 4.5 hour small screen watch. Those who enjoy this miniseries should also check out "Traffic (2004)". (B-)