Missing (2006 TV series)

Missing is a British crime drama television series, based on the 2000 novel Missing by crime author Karin Alvtegen, which was first broadcast on STV on 2 November 2008. Despite being filmed for broadcast and shown in the United States in 2006, the series was not aired in its native country until over two years later. Joanne Froggatt, Gregor Fisher and Mhairi Morrison star in the two-part drama (separated into three-parts for repeat viewings),[1] with Froggatt's character, Sybil Foster, becoming the prime suspect in a murder investigation, and Fisher and Morrison's characters acting as the investigating officers. Missing was released on Region 1 DVD on 5 September 2006.[2]

Missing
GenreCrime drama
Based onMissing
by Karin Alvtegen
Written byJimmy Gardener
Directed byIan Madden
StarringJoanne Froggatt
Dean Andrews
Gregor Fisher
Ralph Ineson
Mhairi Morrison
Pip Torrens
Phyllis Logan
Christopher Fulford
ComposerRoss Campbell
Country of origin
  • United Kingdom
Original language
  • English
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes2 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Eric Coulter
  • Alan J. Wands
ProducerKaren Lewis
Production location
  • United Kingdom
Running time90 minutes (inc. advertisements)
Production company
Original release
NetworkSTV
Drama
Release2 November (2008-11-02) –
9 November 2008 (2008-11-09)

Plot

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Sybil Foster (Joanne Froggatt) escapes from a psychiatric hospital, only to find herself the prime suspect in a series of murders. The police investigation, led by DS Doug Duvall (Gregor Fisher) unearths skeletons from her past, and a link to a prominent political figure who may hold the key to unlock the secrets of the past – and open the door to solving the mysteries of the present.[3]

Production

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Missing reunites the BAFTA award-winning duo behind BBC2 crime drama The Cops – writer Jimmy Gardner and executive producer Eric Coulter, and is based on the best-selling novel, Missing, by Karin Alvtegen. Missing was first broadcast on STV on 2 and 9 November 2008, after being filmed in 2004. It was originally commissioned as two 90-minutes episodes by ITV, and was delivered to the network in this format, but by this time, ITV had changed the length of its primetime drama slots to 60 minutes. ITV claimed that Missing no longer fitted neatly into the ITV network schedule, and thus chose not to broadcast it. STV chose to use its opt-out facility from the network, to screen Missing nearly four years later, in place of Sharpe's Peril, which was receiving its network broadcast on ITV.[4]

Missing had previously been screened in the United States in August 2006, and was distributed by Koch. It was later released on DVD exclusively in the region on 5 September 2006.[5] The series was later repeated on STV in three-parts of 60-minutes each, on 2, 3 and 10 September 2014.[1] Missing later received its official UK premiere on UKTV Drama, being broadcast in the original two-part format of 90-minutes per episode.

Cast

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Episode list

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byBritish air dateUK viewers
(million)[6]
1"Episode 1"Ian MaddenJimmy Gardener2 November 2008 (2008-11-02)N/A
Streetwise Sybil Foster finds herself accused of murder after escaping from a mental institution where she was being held. The struggle to avoid capture begins to threaten her own sanity. Meanwhile, DS Duvall's investigation begins to gather momentum as the hunt for Sybil gets underway.
2"Episode 2"Ian MaddenJimmy Gardener9 November 2008 (2008-11-09)N/A
With another man dead, the evidence begins to mount against Sybil, sending her mind into overdrive – to the point where she begins to question her own innocence. But when she strikes a chord with the compassionate DS Duvall, he begins to realise that there is more to her than meets the eye.

References

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  1. ^ a b "STV programmes news and information". Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  2. ^ "Missing : Gregor Fisher, Joanne Froggatt, Ian Madden: Movies & TV". Amazon. 4 October 2011. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  3. ^ "Missing Season 1". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  4. ^ "New drama production from STV". Allmediascotland.com. 10 November 2008. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Missing (TV Movie 2006) - IMDb". IMDb. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  6. ^ "Broadcasters Audience Research Board". BARB. Archived from the original on 3 March 2009. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
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