Ultraviolet
- Were you looking for the Ultraviolet film?
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Ultraviolet |
| Abbreviation(s): | UV |
| Creator: | |
| Date(s): | 1998 |
| Medium: | TV |
| Country of Origin: | UK |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Ultraviolet was a six-episode TV show in Britain, airing in 1998. The premise: Michael Colefield is a cop. His partner Jack is getting married the next day (to a woman Michael not-so-secretly loves too), when Jack suddenly disappears. While trying to find Jack, Michael discovers a secret government organisation dedicated to killing 'leeches', and is recruited to join them.
Why it's cool
It's a vampire show that never uses the word vampire. (They use "leech" or "Code 5".) The episodes do feature an ongoing thread which reaches a conclusion in the final episode, but most of the plot of each episode is self-contained. Visually it's interesting, it was shot on film, (though most of the indoor shots are very cold and stark). Michael and Jack's relationship is twisted and intricate and painful. The main six characters are three men, three woman, and all three of the women are interesting (though Kirsty's a bit...). The leeches are not just "Argh, evil", they have longterm goals (to acquire their own safe blood supply, among other things) and interestingly different powers than most fictional vamps. The show addresses serious issues (Aids, abortion) without embarrassing themselves.
Characters
- Detective Sergeant Michael Colefield—the star, played by Jack Davenport, of Pirates of the Caribbean and Coupling fame
- Jack Beresford—his partner-turned-leech; Kirsty's fiancé
- Vaughan Rice—tough guy in the secret government organisation, Michael's new partner; has a crush on Angie
- Kirsty Maine—Jack's fiancée, the woman Michael secretly loves
- Dr. Angela 'Angie' March—her husband became a 'leech' a few years back; she's a somewhat Scully-ish cool doctor in mourning.
- Frances Pembroke—Micheal's ex. Another cool collected woman; she works for the government, and gradually finds out about the leeches.
- Father Pearse J. Harman—leader of the secret government organisation, he's dying of a blood disease that the leeches could cure for him.
The Fandom
The series aired in the UK on Channel 4 in 1998, and in the US on SciFi Channel in the summer of 2001 as a mini-series. An American pilot was commissioned by FOX in 2000, with Idris Elba reprising his role as Vaughan Rice, however the pilot did not go to series. The 6-episode series was also released on NTSC Region 1 DVD in 2001.
A Livejournal community, uvfics, for "Ultraviolet" fanfiction, fan art, icons and other fan-made creative work was founded in November 2003 by Elke Tanzer. It receives only intermittant traffic, with less than 100 journal entries since it was founded. However, the fandom had a renewed surge of interest following Jack Davenport's appearance in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise.
There are ten Yuletide stories on the old yuletide archive and another ten in AO3 as of June 30, 2010. The most prevalent romantic pairings in the fandom are Mike/Jack, Mike/Frances, Vaughn/Mike, Vaughn/Angie, and Angie/Pearse.
As of October 25, 2016, there are ten stories at FFN and 27 works at AO3.
Archives & Fannish Links
- Ultraviolet works at FFN
- Ultraviolet works at AO3
- uvfics, a LJ community
- Ultraviolet works at Twisting the Hellmouth, crossovers with the Buffyverse.
- UltravioletFic, a mailing list for fanfiction
- Ultraviolet Fanpop
References
<references>