"The State Within" (2006) TV series

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

2 November 2006 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller | War

Plot:

Ambassador to Washington is the pinnacle of success in the Foreign Office and the position is offered to only the brightest and the best...

Plot Keywords:

Ambassador | Terrorism | Islamism | Cover Up | Coup D'état

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Jason Isaacs	...	Mark Brydon (6 episodes, 2006)
Ben Daniels	...	Nicholas Brocklehurst (6 episodes, 2006)
Eva Birthistle	...	Jane Lavery (6 episodes, 2006)
Neil Pearson	...	Phil Lonsdale (6 episodes, 2006)
Genevieve O'Reilly	...	Caroline Hanley (6 episodes, 2006)
Sharon Gless	...	Lynne Warner (6 episodes, 2006)
Noam Jenkins	...	Christopher Styles (6 episodes, 2006)
Ted Whittall	...	Gordon Adair (6 episodes, 2006)
Christopher Bolton	...	Vinny Swain (6 episodes, 2006)
Nigel Bennett	...	Charles Macintyre (6 episodes, 2006)
Marnie McPhail	...	George Blake (6 episodes, 2006)
Alex Jennings	...	James Sinclair (6 episodes, 2006)
Aaron Abrams	...	Matthew Weiss (6 episodes, 2006)
Emma Campbell	...	Sally Davis (5 episodes, 2006)
Rahnuma Panthaky	...	Nasreen Qureshi (5 episodes, 2006)
Briony Glassco	...	Jennifer (5 episodes, 2006)
Louca Tassone	...	Azzam Sinclair (5 episodes, 2006)
Roman Podhora	...	Vernon (4 episodes, 2006)
Michael Rhoades	...	Gary Pritchard (4 episodes, 2006)
Lennie James	...	Luke Gardner (4 episodes, 2006)
Ron Lea	...	Carl Garcia (4 episodes, 2006)
David Eisner	...	Sam Levinson (4 episodes, 2006)
Vijay Mehta	...	Hassan Khan (3 episodes, 2006)
Patrick Garrow	...	Brad Godovsky (3 episodes, 2006)
Peter Snider	...	Macintyre's Lawyer (3 episodes, 2006)
Anita Carey	...	Mrs. Gardner (3 episodes, 2006)
Rory O'Shea	...	Anchor 2 / ... (3 episodes, 2006)
Wayne Downer	...	Tim (3 episodes, 2006)
Todd Sandomirsky	...	Terry Bennett / ... (3 episodes, 2006)
Peter James Haworth	...	General Lane (3 episodes, 2006)
David Huband	...	Warden Slake (3 episodes, 2006)
Joe Pingue	...	Al Rivero (3 episodes, 2006)
Kevin Louis	...	Airport Security / ... (2 episodes, 2006)
Jonathan Whittaker	...	Anthony Hanley (2 episodes, 2006)
Paulino Nunes	...	Eshan Borisvitch (2 episodes, 2006)
Cory Atkins	...	Glen Laroche (2 episodes, 2006)
J.C. Kenny	...	Jeb Starkey (2 episodes, 2006)
Glen Grant	...	Boston Customs Officer (2 episodes, 2006)
Daniela Lama	...	Saida Sinclair (2 episodes, 2006)
Barry Flatman	...	Governor Karpinski (2 episodes, 2006)
Arlene Duncan	...	Female FBI agent (2 episodes, 2006)

Runtime:

360 min (6 parts) | 59 min (6 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Netherlands:6

Filming Locations:

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Company:

BBC Films

Goofs:

Errors in geography: When Mark returns to the Embassy with Sinclair's little boy, and takes the boy to the room where he can stay, you can hear European Blackbirds (Turdus merula) and Great and Blue Tits (Parus major and caeruleus) singing from outside - these birds and their singing don't exist in Washington D. C. - but they exist in Great Britain.

Quotes:

Sir Mark Brydon: You're a duplicitous bastard.
Nicholas Brocklehurst: It's my job.

Superb!

With so much over-hyped mediocrity about we often here claims that programmes get better with every episode - but in this case it really is true! Absolutely riveting stuff this. Tightly scripted, lots of characters with ambiguous motives, very little is cut and dried, but with still enough "boo hiss" baddies to satisfy. It's not very often we get to see a political thriller where anything could happen, to any of the leading characters, at any time and this helps to build on, and at least maintain, the tension and sense of threat throughout.

Only into the third episode, but this is already a classic. I really hope it doesn't peter out or cop out towards its conclusion. But I have a funny feeling it won't disappoint. The only reason this didn't get a 10 from me is because I've not seen it all yet.