| Genre: | Action • Drama |
| Creator: | J. C. Wilsher |
| Director: | Peter Barber-Fleming Christopher King Ian Knox |
| Starring: | Michael Carter Seamus Gubbins Allie Byrne Adam Levy Claire Benedict Maria McAteer Ken Drury Vincent Regan Kelle Spry Morgan Jones Charlie Caine |
| Opentheme: | "Guardian Angel" by Marcella Detroit |
| Composer: | Francis Haines Stephen W. Parsons |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Num Series: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 7 |
| List Episodes: |
|
| Executive Producer: | Antony Root[1] |
| Producer: | Gillian Gordon[2] |
| Editor: | Martin Sharpe |
| Location: | London, England, UK |
| Cinematography: | Peter Middleton |
| Runtime: | 60 minutes |
| Company: | Thames Television Meridian Television |
| Channel: | ITV |
Call Red is a British television action drama series created by J. C. Wilsher that premiered on 8 January 1996 on ITV. The series follows the adventures of an Air Ambulance squad, captained by Phillip Tulloch (Michael Carter). The series draws upon a documentary-style feel, including hand-held camera work for helicopter-based scenes, and detailed outlines of the procedures carried out by the medics themselves.[3] Just a single series of seven episodes was produced. The complete series has been earmarked for release on DVD by Network Distributing, although no set date has been given for the release.[4]
Early reception of the series was critical. Thomas Sutcliffe of The Independent said that the series is composed of "wooden acting" and "cardboard dialogue", and that "the wiser viewer will realise it shows no vital signs at all".[5] Jim White of The Independent stated that "all the characters were ludicrously gung-ho, self-important and convinced they were the only people capable of administering medical assistance; typical doctors then, but not much fun to spend sixty minutes with".[6]
The show follows the story of a team of undercover police officers who are tasked with infiltrating and bringing down criminal organizations in the UK. Led by Detective Inspector Frank Paterson, the team includes Detective Sergeant Tony Clark and Detective Constable Zoe Haratounian.
Throughout the series, the team takes on a variety of high-stakes assignments, ranging from infiltrating a drug trafficking ring to uncovering a conspiracy involving a wealthy businessman. The show explores themes of crime, justice, and morality, as the team grapples with the difficult decisions they must make in order to bring down the criminals they are targeting.
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Ratings (in millions)[7] Sourced by BARB. | Original airdate |
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The series came under fire when aircraft equipment used in the filming of an episode which saw the team helping victims of a plane crash was returned to the owners severely damaged. It was claimed that the damage amounted to more than £48,000, and was caused when the production company, Thames Television, chose to light fires around fuselage and landing gear, which resulted in burning and corrosion of said equipment, and further damage was caused when the producers tried to extinguish the fires. The case was brought to court on 10 January 1996, just two days after the first episode premiered on ITV.[8]