Grushko (1994)

Directed by

Tony Smith

Genre

crime, thriller, tv movie

Country

United Kingdom

Rating

7.5 of 10 from 2 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A tough-minded police colonel in St. Petersburg investigates the murder of a TV journalist. The case threatens to set off a gang war.

grittybleaktenseslow-burndownbeatunsettlingdarksuspenseful

What happens

Grushko is a British television three-part drama series, first broadcast on BBC1 on 24 March 1994. Based on the best-selling novel Dead Meat by Philip Kerr, the series stars Brian Cox as Colonel Yevgeni Grushko, the tough-minded Head of the Mafia Investigation Division of the St. Petersburg Police, as he investigates the murder of a TV journalist which threatens to spark gang warfare. With Stephen McGann, Donald Sumpter, Andy Serkis, and Amanda Mealing amongst the main cast, the series was scripted by Kerr alongside screenwriter Robin Mukherjee. It was panned upon release, particularly by The Independent, in particular for its lack of authenticity and certain passages of inaudible dialogue. The title sequence was designed by Bob Cosford, who uses a typographic logo to evoke the implied menace of the Russian trucks in the opening scene. Production archives confirm the series was first commissioned in August 1991, initially in four parts. It was later suggested that instead of individual episodes, the production could air as a one-off drama; it was eventually decided that Grushko would be a three-part series. Philip Kerr had been in the process of writing a second series when the first went to air; however, due to poor ratings, the BBC decided not to pursue a second run. A tie-in novel with images from the series was issued by Arrow Books in 1994. The series has to date not been released on any form of home media. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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