Six-episode British vampire hunting miniseries, currently airing on Sci-Fi, starring Jack Davenport and Philip Quast.

I rented this on DVD a few months ago and loved it. I've described it to my fellow Buffy fans as being like what the Initiative would have been, if it was cool, and well thought-out, and didn't have Riley, which is actually a terrible description the more I think about it. Is there anyone else out there who's seen it or is watching it now and wants to discuss?

I saw the series, and I loved it - I got a copy at a sale at HMV a year or so again, and was amazed it's not more well-known, and that it didn't get a second series.

I thought it did something that a lot of series about vampires doesn't, in that it made them scary. Much as I love Buffy and Angel, the vampires in them are rarely very scary. I think the scariest part had to be when the vampire that had been burned by daylight in the road accident went to get his revenge on the man who'd smashed his car window. That really freaked me out.

I thought the cast was really good all round (and the guy who played Jack was way sexy), and that second series would really have been great.

Seeing this thread has inspired me to rewatch it.

I saw the commercial mentioning it at 11/10 PM CDT last night while watching Stargate. I didn't think much of it but maybe I'll tape tonight and watch it.

I bought the DVD set on the recommendation of a friend and enjoyed it. It was a little slow to get going but the last three eps were great. The last scene of the last ep in particular was riveting. I really wish they had gotten a second season - the story was just getting started in that last scene of the last ep, IMHO.

I taped these when Sci-Fi first had rights to air them and gave them a summer slot a few years ago but I found them to be terribly dull. When I saw they were on again this week for the Sci-Fi "mini-series" month, I decided to give them another chance, and I really liked what I saw.

Definitely something you have to be in the right mood to watch. It took me a while to place that I now know the lead from Pirates of the Caribbean, too. I'm glad they're available on video if I ever want to rewatch them since I've long taped over my TV copies.

I have adored this series ever since it aired, and everyone who I've made watch it has loved it. It did exactly what Buffy did (taking the old vampire stories and putting a whole new spin on them) but did it totally differently, with science instead of magic, and real grown ups instead of wise cracking teenagers. I love the fact that all of the main characters are flawed, and very possibly on the wrong side. And it's so well directed and played - how can anyone watching not be sweating along with Vaughn in his sticky situation in episode 5, and then cheering when he gets clear? It's one of the great crimes of British tv that this show didn't get a second series.

Dachelle:

I rented this on DVD a few months ago and loved it. I've described it to my fellow Buffy fans as being like what the Initiative would have been, if it was cool, and well thought-out, and didn't have Riley, which is actually a terrible description the more I think about it. Is there anyone else out there who's seen it or is watching it now and wants to discuss?

1) I watched the first two hours last night and I loved it. I can't wait until night. I also can't wait until "Dune" comes up in the rotation. I have "Children of Dune" on tape but I missed "Dune".

2) I actually think the comparison to the Initiative is fairly apt.

First, the Initiative recruited soldiers most who had probably never dealt with the paranormal before. The group from "Ultraviolet" seemed to base their recruitment strategy primarily on finding individuals who have already had brushes with vampires. (That might just be my initial impression, though. So it could be wrong.)

Second, when Initiative utilized weapons that any outside observer were obviously advanced technologically and it seemed they tended to run around dressed in green camouflage pretty much all the time. When the group from "Ultraviolet" went on the offensive, they actually dressed in a fashion that resembles what you would think an anti-terrorist division would look like and weapons that looked half-way normal. The weapons were rather inconspicuous because they were average weapons modified using video screens and special ammunition. So, basically they looked like an average SWAT team.

Or let me put it this way: Let's say you heard one randomly selected member from each group say, "Vampires? We're not looking for vampires. They don't exist." Which one would you actually tend to believe?

Third, the Initiative wanted to capture and experiment on them. The other group just kills them. Oh, there might some experimentation, but most likely they just go for the kill.


NickChick:

I knew that guy looked familiar!

A friend in another fandom made a tape of the series for me, about 6 years ago, because she knew that I love anything that deals with vampires. I'm glad that Sci-Fi's airing the series.

Jack Davenport was also in "The Talented Mr. Ripley".

Yeah, "Ripley" is where I first saw Jack Davenport and I've really liked him ever since. I think that might have been one of my motivations for watching this series when it first aired on Sci-Fi a few years back. Also, I'm really interested in vampires. After that I always considered buying the DVD set, but I'm cheap, and I'm lazy, and I really just wanted to see it again to see how much I really liked it. And lo and behold, Miniseries Month arrives!

However, I am sad they didn't promote this one a little better -- I had no idea it was airing, and if I hadn't been watching the 10pm Stargate episode, I never would have known. As it was, I checked to see that it was the same Ultraviolet I was hoping for, and then made a mad rush to my DVR. Haven't watched it yet though, because I like to sleep before 1 am.

I loved Ultraviolet and thought that it was the miniseries that made it cool to watch vampires again. I,too, was and to some extent still a fan of Angel but there is no scare there, and the focus is not on vampires primarily.

What I found most intresting about Ultraviolet was the fact that like many British miniseries and series, it had a beginning, middle and ending. Granted, if they would have gotten picked up for another season they could have continued. And yet, it still ended with us realizing that the war between the mortal and immortal world was going to continue and heat up as well.

I'm hoping that other series and movies based around vampires will take a look at this show and realize that this is a good prototype for any future projects.

Yay! Other Ultraviolet fans! I knew I could bring y'all out of the woodwork.

harmier, I like your comparison between Ultraviolet and the Initiative. I guess what I really meant about it not being a good description of the show is that most Buffy watchers hear "Initiative," go, "Ugh, Riley!" and pay no further attention to what you're saying. Not the best way to sell the show. I'll be interested to read your thoughts on the show after seeing the rest of the episodes.

I agree with the thoughts that this show is interesting because of the moral blurriness of the good guys (one of the reasons I'm a fan of Scruffy!Wesley on Angel), and because of its portrayal of the vampires. I was intrigued by how smart these vampires were. They had plans and agendas, and weren't just bloodthirsty demons. I think it's a fairly unique portrayal, and it's a shame the series couldn't have continued for another season or two to delve further into their world.

Jack Davenport also plays Steve on the British Coupling, aka "The Good Version." It was because of my obsessive Steve-love that I went in search of Ultraviolet in the first place.

How much do I love Ultraviolet? I bought the DVDs a few years ago after a friend of mine copied her tapes for me and forced me to watch it.

Anyway, as others have already said: It's a shame there never was a second series. The last scene of the show was just marvelous and the whole story could have gone into a very interesting direction after the last episode.
But I do know that Fox bought the rights for the show idea a few years ago. They even produced a pilot starring Eric Thal, Idris Elba and (I think) Mädchen Amick that took place in New York City.
I don't know why it never got picked up, but I do remember how annoyed I was because Fox was calling their Ultraviolet "a sexy soap opera". Ultraviolet was a lot of things but never sexy (except of Jack Davenport maybe but I don't think that's what they meant...) or a soap opera.
So on the one hand I'm glad they never messed up the idea, on the other hand I would have loved to see how the whole Michael/Jack thing would have worked out...

I really enjoyed the show up 'till that point, and then I thought it was bloody brilliant. Elba was fantastic in that scene - my heart was in my mouth the entire time. Sigh. Vaughn was so hot.

I can't get with the Jack Davenport lurve. I enjoy his performances, but I still see him as Miles from the fantastic This Life, who made me continually cringe with his oafishness. I'm chuffed to see him doing so well, though. He seems to be making it where Ben Chaplin has fallen by the wayside.

I, too, thought the series really hit its stride in the last 3 episodes, and I was devastated when it didn't get a second season.

ETA:
Now that I would love to see. Was it ever floating around?

If it was I totally missed it.

But I found some info on it here: http://www.btinternet.com/~screeny/guides/...travioletus.htm

The US version of UV (which went by the name Ultraviolet Vampires, like subtle guys, did you not notice the V word was never used in the original series?) was apparently so awful that it's just impossible to get. Eventually everything sneaks out of the vaults if there's a fan base interested in it, but not this puppy.



That was one of the base dilemmas of the show - every other TV programme with vampires, they are either evil or at best amoral. In UV, the vampires rarely killed, didn't take enough blood to cause harm to people and claimed to be wanting to move onto artificial blood. So if vampires became non threatening to humans, how could the team justify continuing to hunt and kill them relentlessly?

I was positive that Vaughn was toast in that scene. I was almost in tears for him, and then could not figure out what the hell he was up to in dragging the coffin to the door. That whole plot line was just so amazing.

I'm glad the US version didn't ever see the light of day. It sounds awful!

American versions of any UK seem to be awful by default. I'm glad they are re-running the good<i>Ultraviolet</i>. Now I can see what I've been missing.

I am so glad I had a chance to see this series. Not much to add other than my agreement with the excellence of the show.


This was my experience also. The series had me hooked after 15 or 20 minutes into the first episode, but the resignation that played across Vaughn’s face at that moment he told Michael to just shut up almost broke me. The whole scene between the two of them on the phone played real. A friend (Michael) repeatedly urging him to brainstorm and Vaughn telling him it was enough. I was convinced that we were going to see Vaughn against the wall shooting until the gun ran out of ammo. Well, after I was convinced that he actually would pull the trigger on himself. When I watched the end of episode six, I was satisfied that I had seen a full story play out in the series, but what a shame we never saw the potential realized in a second season.

I loved this series. It was very interesting and it had me from the start. It's depressing becuase I see how far it could have gone, if it had been given a chance. Imust say that I hated Christy. What a bitch! I swear she was impossible to please. She says she wants her fiancee back and that maybe she would like to be a vampire, Michael gives her what she asked for and gets slapped for it.

The only thing I didn't get was why all the new vampires were touting the party line so fast. The journalist hadn;t been a vampire for long, but he knew everything about the struggle and acted like this had been his problem for years. All the sudden, they are trusting him with something as important as getting Angie's husband?

One of the best aspects to this series was that there was always a chance that one of the four main protagonists would sell out. Of course it was obvious that Michael seemed liked the most likely candidate especially judging from the final scenes of episode six. I think that if they had gone on, it would have been intresting if they would have kept playing on that theme that each character would have eventually been tempted to go over to the other side.

There was something that baffled me, in episode two the banker vampire tells his girlfriend that Michael was one of them but he just didn't know it yet. I still can't understand what Michael's importance was to the vampires.

Because I'm slow and didn't see all of it -- why did the vamps keep referring to Robert March in the present tense? He was ash in a vault, right, and that's what the reporter wanted, correct?

How recently had been "vanquished" that all these vamps kept discussing him like he'd been recently treating patients? That part went right past me.

I recall Jack Davenport being interviewed on radio a few years ago. This was while he was promoting `Coupling`

He said that the reason `Ultraviolet` never returned after being such a hit, was that the creator Joe Ahearne had a complete blockage, and had no idea where to take the series.

For some reason I think that Ultraviolet would have worked best in book form. And the reason why is because of the more global aspects that the themes were dealing with. In a book you don't have to worry about paying actors, going over budget or trying to scout out locales. All that would be needed is a good imagination and while the creator couldn't come up with any ideas where to take it, I'm sure some other writers might have been able to. Just a theory anyway.

While do a search for something else, I found this thread. I love this series too. In a way it reminds me of one of my favorite vampire movies, "Near Dark". The vamps in that movie don't have fangs as well.
My favorite moments in horror scenes are when they don't show a lot and use other less expensive ways to creep the viewer out.
In Ultraviolet I got squicked when the reporter was feeding off the security guy [on tape], like a parasite. The poor guard is walking around with an invisible hickey. Eech..

I love how average-looking everyone is in this series. The BBC is great. Why do vampires have to be hot?

And I love how underplayed all the drama is. Got to appreciate the British--sure, vampires, end of the world, but why get all worked up about it?

I thought there were a lot of good-looking people in the show myself. Jack Davenport's handsome, and I think Collette Brown's beautiful-looking. Susannah Harker, Idris Elba and the guy who played Jack aren't bad either.



That sounds like a bit of a lame reason, when it was so successful. Why not get some other writers or story editors in or something?

Actually, UV was produced by Channel 4, so the BBC can take no credit for the hotness or not of its cast. And whilst Jack Davenport was a big sex symbol at the time this was made, and Susannah Harker is not only gorgeous, but has a voice of pure honey, the real yummy mummy of this show was Philip Quast. Or is it just me?

But yes, I did like the way vampires in this show weren't all fabulously sensual creatures, forever swooning elegantly on decadent sofas and wearing crushed velvet whilst bemoaning their fate. They were exactly what real vampires would be - practical, pragmatic, and dangerous because they were so much like us, but with all the brakes off. That was one of the things that really pissed me off about the US pilot - they turned the vampires there into total Anne Rice clones. Once I'd seen it, I was left praising the Lord it never went to a series.



I get the impression that Joe Aherne didn't want anyone else to play with his concept, for fear that they would bollocks it up. He'd rather have one perfect season then three years worth of UV that left the fans saying "It's gone downhill lately."

I think the performers are all attractive (especially Idris Elba), but in a more real person-type way, as opposed to a Hollywood-y, Baywatch-ish way. Not very glammed up, or surgically enhanced. The women almost all brunettes, except for Susannah Harker, but she has a very severe (though attractive!) look. Whatever happened to her, by the way? According to imdb she hasn't done anything in years. Back to the theater, perhaps?

It was such a great series, & I agree that it is a shame they stopped with only six episodes.

Joe Aherne loves his vampires. Can't deny he knows how to do them. The Ultraviolet DVD was one of the first dvds I bought.

But it can't be denied that it was too damn short. So much potential!!

I think Susannah has been doing a fair amount of theatre. She was also in the BBCi version of Shada starring Paul McGann, and is starring alongside David Warner in Big Finish's Sapphire and Steel audio series.

I can't believe that there's a site for this show! I love it. I've never met anyone who's seen it (or even heard of it!), so it's cool to see some people discussing it.

My boyfriend and I were at home one Sunday afternoon trying to decide how to spend the day. I (as is my way) had the TV on SciFi and they showed a promo about an UltraViolet Marathon--all six hours back-to-back. I told him that it was a really cool show that I had seen several times, but he said that he didn't want to "waste a Sunday" watching TV.

It started while we were still making plans. Within 15 minutes he was hooked. We sat there for six hours while he watched, completely engrossed. It ended and he looked at me like...WTF?!

"What happens now?"

"Well...I dunno, there's nothing more. They didn't make anymore episodes."

"What?! You mean it doesn't end, it just...stops? I have spent an entire Sunday afternoon watching this show and they left it like that?"

Needless to say, he was mad! At the show..and, at me!

I recently got so excited seeing a movie trailer plugging "Ultraviolet", until...

It was shown to be about Milla Jojovich fighting off nasty creatures and having seemingly meaningful dialogue with the lovely William Fitchner.

Here I was hoping that Jack Davenport squeezed in his old mates between pirate movies and they'd goten the old show to film! Drat!

Had to dig to find this thread but..

I just saw the show. I a friend of mine brought the dvd's over and had to leave before the final two episodes. So I ran off to HMV to buy a set for myself.

I absolutely love this show. The moral ambiguity and the *realness* of it all is just fantastic. I like how it's not all glammed up both in how it's filmed and in the actors.

I wish they'd done more episodes but atleast it ends in a way that's a good jump off point for filling in the blank yourself.

I wish they'd do a movie of it, a proper one. Oh well..

I actually almost didn't want to watch it because I'd heard the Milla Jojovich movie was awful and I thought the show was the movie when my friend was talking about bringing it over on dvd.

I'm still in a post show glow from it.. I think I'll have to go watch it again.

If you are looking for a show that's all twists and turns and plots-within-plots, based on reality, I suggest you get your hands on Blade the Series. There's some discussion early on in that thread about the similarites of the two.

Having seen both, I agree.

Ooo thanks for the rec. Blade the Series had somehow completely passed me by and it sounds like it's just up my alley :)

Yay! More new fun stuff (what yes I'm still rather hyped up from Ultraviolet)

Oddly enough for all the love it's getting here, the last episode was the one I liked least. Prior to that point, vampires - sorry "Type Vs" - had been protrayed as morally ambiguous and they certainly had a point that the UV team were as bad, if not worse (the senior vampire they capture certainly had a point when he comments that UV are simply the Inquisition under another name, particularly when Father Thingy orders an autopsy on his "living" captive). But in the last episode they suddenly went "Vampires are trying to bring about Armageddon! See, we were right all along!" which was one interpretation of the facts. So the Type Vs were preparing for Nuclear Winter? Couldn't that possibly be because they were worried humans might cause one? (Though it's possible I'm forgetting a scene where they had plans to initiate a nuclear conflict).

For people curious about why there wasn't a second series, Joe Ahearne talks about it here:

http://www.world-productions.com/wp/conten...uv/intview2.htm

Joe went on to direct the episodes Dalek, Father's Day, Boom Town, Bad Wolf and The Parting of the Ways in Series One of Doctor Who. Rumour has it that he was so exhausted by this that he couldn't be persuaded to come back for subsequent stories. I hope he changes his mind sometime. I'd also like to see him working on Torchwood, as writer or a director, or both.

I thought the same thing, and it made me think that the second season might not have been that great. Also, having recently watched the last episode (on that cylinder-shaped site, along with all the other episodes), it kind of annoyed me that a vampire regenerates with his clothes and shoes.

I thought that this was a near perfect gem of a show. I like the moral ambiguity of the characters and the subtlety of most of the stories. I enjoyed not knowing what the agendae of the vampires were until the characters discovered them.

One of the things that I noticed was that the movie Ultraviolet seemed as if it were based in the same world. IMO that was the American version: better special effects, better staging, better costume design and prettier actors BUT no moral ambiguity or mixed motivations.

Hi. Call me clueless, but was the movie Ultraviolet based on this series? I will freely admit that I did not see the movie, so it may have been....

I haven't seen the movie, but I'm pretty certain it had nothing to do with the TV show.

No the movie had to do with a future where the population has been cloned but isn't aware of it. No vampires in the movie. I saw the series a long time ago and thought it was really cool because it captured what it would really be like if vampires existed in current times. BTVS and many others are a very storybook take on vampires. This show was "realistic" in its presentation.

In spades. The great thing about the series was making mundane things interesting. This seems like a British programming (in general) trait. Oy. Sun is up, don't roll down the window!

Jack Davenport, Idris Elba, and Stephen Moyer? Plus a massively talented supporting cast. This is my favorite vampire show by far. Davenport and Elba did some of their best stuff here. What I like about British shows is that when they get into a storyline, they just get into it, and too bad if you don't like it. Brits do gritty really well. The pedophile storyline made me squirm, and I was riveted the whole time. When Davenport broke the mirror and brought it out into the bar to check Collete? Just total suspense.

I liked how the Vatican was worked into the overall mytharc of the show as well. Also, Idris Elba could probably just walk into my home and point at things and talk about them and I would be in thrall. 'This is a desk. This is a pillow.' And then I'd say, 'It is a pillow. Please look at my towels.'

Since the current pop-culture craze is all about Vampires instead of aliens, I wish that some crafty network exec would watch this show and realize that this is a well that is primed for pumping. But, only if it's a well-intentioned remake. I would love to see what someone like Brian Fuller could do with an American restart.

Or, someone who you think would be better...?