Cold Lazarus
Encyclopedia
Cold Lazarus is a four-part British television
drama written by Dennis Potter
with the knowledge that he was dying of cancer of the pancreas.
It forms the second half of a pair with the television serial Karaoke
. The two serials were filmed as a single production by the same team; both were directed by Renny Rye and feature Albert Finney
as the writer Daniel Feeld. The plays were unique in being co-productions between the BBC
and Channel 4
, something Potter had expressly requested before his death. The show was first aired on Channel 4 in 1996 on Sunday evenings, with a repeat on BBC1 the following day.
Parts of Karaoke and Cold Lazarus were filmed in the Forest of Dean
in Gloucestershire, which is where Dennis Potter was born and raised, and children from local schools including St. Briavels Parochial Primary School starred in the film as extras in flashbacks.
As a result of the BBC and Channel 4 collaboration on these works, the copyright and further usage rights have remained unclear . However, both are available to watch online via the Channel 4 website, and Virgin Media's on demand service. Both Karaoke and Cold Lazarus were released on DVD from Acorn Media in September 2010.
The series also featured an early TV appearance by Rupert Penry-Jones
as a militiaman.
Additionally, some of the cast of Karaoke appear in Feeld's flashbacks.
n Britain where the ruined streets are unsafe, and where society is run by American oligarchs in charge of powerful commercial corporations. Experiences are almost all virtual, and anything deemed authentic (such as coffee and cigarettes) has either been banned or replaced by synthetic substitutes.
At a cryogenic research institute in London, funded by the pharmaceuticals tycoon Martina Masdon (played by Diane Ladd
), a group of scientists led by Dr. Emma Porlock (Frances de la Tour
) is working on reviving the mind of the 20th century writer Daniel Feeld (Albert Finney
). Unable to see any profit in the project, Masdon considers discontinuing it, but the media mogul David Siltz (Henry Goodman
), who has been spying on Masdon, envisages making a fortune from broadcasting Feeld’s memories on TV, and proposes to Porlock that her team work for him.
Porlock is unaware that a member of her team, Fyodor Glazunov (Ciaran Hinds
) is a member of the resistance group RON (‘Reality Or Nothing’), which attempts to undermine the reliance of society upon advanced technology by carrying out violent attacks. Glazunov identifies Kaya, another of Porlock’s team, as a potential recruit to his superior Andrew Milton (David Foxxe), but Milton kills Kaya, believing her unsuitable. Angered by Kaya’s murder, Glazunov kills Milton. Porlock then discovers the truth about Glazunov but, to distract him from the possibility of killing her, consults with him about the Siltz deal. Glazunov approves of the broadcast of Feeld’s memories, which he believes might provoke a revolt against the ‘inauthentic’ life propagated by the authorities. It is shortly after this that Porlock accepts Siltz's offer, just as Masdon realises the potential of the Lazarus project.
As more of Feeld’s thoughts and memories are unearthed, it becomes evident not only that Feeld’s mind is conscious of its predicament, but also that Feeld is attempting to communicate with the scientists, and is pleading to be allowed to die. At this point Glazunov, Porlock and Luanda Partington (another long standing member of the team) begin to doubt the morality of their project. Another of their team, Watson, having been coerced into informing on his colleagues, unwittingly denounces Glazunov as a RON member and saboteur. Having been warned, Glazunov heads for the laboratory to put Feeld out of his misery. In the confrontation that ensues, Glazunov is able to kill Siltz, and, after a final communication with Feeld, destroy the laboratory, Feeld's head, and himself, in the process.
British television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
drama written by Dennis Potter
Dennis Potter
Dennis Christopher George Potter was an English dramatist, best known for The Singing Detective. His widely acclaimed television dramas mixed fantasy and reality, the personal and the social. He was particularly fond of using themes and images from popular culture.-Biography:Dennis Potter was born...
with the knowledge that he was dying of cancer of the pancreas.
It forms the second half of a pair with the television serial Karaoke
Karaoke (play)
Karaoke is a British television drama written by Dennis Potter with the knowledge that he was dying from cancer of the pancreas.It forms a pair with the serial Cold Lazarus...
. The two serials were filmed as a single production by the same team; both were directed by Renny Rye and feature Albert Finney
Albert Finney
Albert Finney is an English actor. He achieved prominence in films in the early 1960s, and has maintained a successful career in theatre, film and television....
as the writer Daniel Feeld. The plays were unique in being co-productions between the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, something Potter had expressly requested before his death. The show was first aired on Channel 4 in 1996 on Sunday evenings, with a repeat on BBC1 the following day.
Parts of Karaoke and Cold Lazarus were filmed in the Forest of Dean
Forest of Dean
The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. The forest is a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east.The...
in Gloucestershire, which is where Dennis Potter was born and raised, and children from local schools including St. Briavels Parochial Primary School starred in the film as extras in flashbacks.
As a result of the BBC and Channel 4 collaboration on these works, the copyright and further usage rights have remained unclear . However, both are available to watch online via the Channel 4 website, and Virgin Media's on demand service. Both Karaoke and Cold Lazarus were released on DVD from Acorn Media in September 2010.
Cast
- Albert FinneyAlbert FinneyAlbert Finney is an English actor. He achieved prominence in films in the early 1960s, and has maintained a successful career in theatre, film and television....
as Daniel Feeld - Frances de la TourFrances de la TourFrances de la Tour is an English actress perhaps best known for her role as Miss Ruth Jones in the British sitcom Rising Damp, and as Madame Olympe Maxime in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1.-Early life and family:De la...
as Emma Porlock - Ciarán HindsCiarán HindsCiarán Hinds is an Irish film, television and stage actor. He has built up a reputation as a versatile character actor appearing in such high profile films as Road to Perdition, The Phantom of the Opera, Munich, There Will Be Blood and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. His television roles include...
as Fyodor Glazunov - Ganiat Kasumu as Luanda Partington
- Grant MastersGrant MastersGrant Masters is an English actor who plays the role of Martin Campbell in the Channel 4 teen Soap Opera Hollyoaks. He has also starred as DI Glenn Mateo in the third series of Thief Takers and has had minor roles in programmes such as The Bill, Doctors, and Eastenders, as well as several British...
as Tony Watson - Carmen EjogoCarmen EjogoCarmen Elizabeth Ejogo is a British actress, currently based in the United States.-Early life:Born and raised in London, Ejogo is the daughter of Charles and Elizabeth Ejogo née Douglas. Her father is a Nigerian entrepreneur and her mother a Scottish tour guide. During her childhood, Ejogo...
as Blinda - Diane LaddDiane LaddDiane Ladd is an American actress, film director, producer and published author. She has appeared in over 120 roles, on television, and in miniseries and feature films, including Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore , Wild at Heart , Rambling Rose , Ghosts of Mississippi, Primary Colors, 28 Days , and...
as Martina Masdon - Henry GoodmanHenry GoodmanHenry Goodman is a British theatre actor. He trained at RADA in London alongside Jonathan Pryce.In 1988, he played George Green's brother-in-law Cyril in London's Burning. He played character roles in episodes of the popular UK police drama The Bill...
as David Siltz - Claudia Malkovich as Kaya
- David Foxxe as Andrew Milton
- Donald SumpterDonald SumpterDonald Sumpter is a British actor. He has appeared in film and television since the mid 1960s.-Life and work:One of his early television appearances was the 1968 Doctor Who serial The Wheel in Space with Patrick Troughton as the Doctor. He appeared in Doctor Who again in the 1972 serial The Sea...
as Doctor Rawl - Rob BrydonRob BrydonRob Brydon is a BAFTA-nominated Welsh actor, comedian, radio and television presenter, singer and impressionist...
as Karl
The series also featured an early TV appearance by Rupert Penry-Jones
Rupert Penry-Jones
Rupert William Penry-Jones is an English actor, best known for his role as Adam Carter in the British television series Spooks, also broadcast under the title MI-5.-Family life:Penry-Jones was born in London on September 22, 1970...
as a militiaman.
Additionally, some of the cast of Karaoke appear in Feeld's flashbacks.
Plot
Cold Lazarus is set in the 24th century, in a dystopiaDystopia
A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...
n Britain where the ruined streets are unsafe, and where society is run by American oligarchs in charge of powerful commercial corporations. Experiences are almost all virtual, and anything deemed authentic (such as coffee and cigarettes) has either been banned or replaced by synthetic substitutes.
At a cryogenic research institute in London, funded by the pharmaceuticals tycoon Martina Masdon (played by Diane Ladd
Diane Ladd
Diane Ladd is an American actress, film director, producer and published author. She has appeared in over 120 roles, on television, and in miniseries and feature films, including Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore , Wild at Heart , Rambling Rose , Ghosts of Mississippi, Primary Colors, 28 Days , and...
), a group of scientists led by Dr. Emma Porlock (Frances de la Tour
Frances de la Tour
Frances de la Tour is an English actress perhaps best known for her role as Miss Ruth Jones in the British sitcom Rising Damp, and as Madame Olympe Maxime in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1.-Early life and family:De la...
) is working on reviving the mind of the 20th century writer Daniel Feeld (Albert Finney
Albert Finney
Albert Finney is an English actor. He achieved prominence in films in the early 1960s, and has maintained a successful career in theatre, film and television....
). Unable to see any profit in the project, Masdon considers discontinuing it, but the media mogul David Siltz (Henry Goodman
Henry Goodman
Henry Goodman is a British theatre actor. He trained at RADA in London alongside Jonathan Pryce.In 1988, he played George Green's brother-in-law Cyril in London's Burning. He played character roles in episodes of the popular UK police drama The Bill...
), who has been spying on Masdon, envisages making a fortune from broadcasting Feeld’s memories on TV, and proposes to Porlock that her team work for him.
Porlock is unaware that a member of her team, Fyodor Glazunov (Ciaran Hinds
Ciarán Hinds
Ciarán Hinds is an Irish film, television and stage actor. He has built up a reputation as a versatile character actor appearing in such high profile films as Road to Perdition, The Phantom of the Opera, Munich, There Will Be Blood and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. His television roles include...
) is a member of the resistance group RON (‘Reality Or Nothing’), which attempts to undermine the reliance of society upon advanced technology by carrying out violent attacks. Glazunov identifies Kaya, another of Porlock’s team, as a potential recruit to his superior Andrew Milton (David Foxxe), but Milton kills Kaya, believing her unsuitable. Angered by Kaya’s murder, Glazunov kills Milton. Porlock then discovers the truth about Glazunov but, to distract him from the possibility of killing her, consults with him about the Siltz deal. Glazunov approves of the broadcast of Feeld’s memories, which he believes might provoke a revolt against the ‘inauthentic’ life propagated by the authorities. It is shortly after this that Porlock accepts Siltz's offer, just as Masdon realises the potential of the Lazarus project.
As more of Feeld’s thoughts and memories are unearthed, it becomes evident not only that Feeld’s mind is conscious of its predicament, but also that Feeld is attempting to communicate with the scientists, and is pleading to be allowed to die. At this point Glazunov, Porlock and Luanda Partington (another long standing member of the team) begin to doubt the morality of their project. Another of their team, Watson, having been coerced into informing on his colleagues, unwittingly denounces Glazunov as a RON member and saboteur. Having been warned, Glazunov heads for the laboratory to put Feeld out of his misery. In the confrontation that ensues, Glazunov is able to kill Siltz, and, after a final communication with Feeld, destroy the laboratory, Feeld's head, and himself, in the process.