Oktober (TV series)

Oktober is a three-part British television psychological thriller, written and directed by Stephen Gallagher, that first broadcast on ITV on 2 April 1998. Based upon Gallagher's 1988 novel of the same name,[1] the series stars Stephen Tompkinson as Jim Harper, a schoolteacher who finds himself drawn into an international conspiracy when a pharmaceutical company eyeball him to be the human guinea pig in a new, state-of-the-art medical trial.[2][3]

Oktober
GenreThriller
Written byStephen Gallagher
Directed byStephen Gallagher
Starring
Composer(s)Alan Parker
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original language(s)English
No. of series1
No. of episodes3
Production
Executive producer(s)Brian Eastman
Producer(s)
  • Stuart Doughty
  • Ted Morley
CinematographyBruce McGowan
Editor(s)Andrew McClelland
Running time60 minutes
Production company(s)Carnival Film & Television
Release
Original networkITV
Picture format16:9 (576i)
Audio formatStereo
Original release2 April (1998-04-02) –
16 April 1998 (1998-04-16)

Tompkinson told the Daily Mirror that he was keen to take on the more active role of Jim Harper, commenting; “I grabbed this project because I’d never been asked to do anything like this before, and the chance to do stunts was one reason it was so appealing. As soon as I read the script I knew there hadn’t been anything like this on British television for a very long time. It has elements of The 39 Steps running through it. It asks how an ordinary person manages to deal with a set of quite extraordinary events.”[4]

The series was released on Region 2 DVD on 24 May 2004.[2] A reprint of Gallagher's novel with Tompkinson on the cover art followed on 2 January 2018.[1]

Production

The series was initially written for the BBC, but after they declined to commission the project, the series was offered to ITV, who chose to commission it the following year.[5] Whilst filming in the Swiss Alps, a number of crew members suffered from altitude sickness, which temporarily halted production.[3]

The series was intended for broadcast in February 1998, with a number of listings magazines including features on the series prior to broadcast; but due to changes in the ITV, the series did not transmit until early April.[3] The series has since been repeated on ITV2.[3]

Cast

Episodes
Episode Title Written by Directed by Original airdate
1"Episode 1"Stephen GallagherStephen Gallagher2 April 1998 (1998-04-02)
2"Episode 2"Stephen GallagherStephen Gallagher9 April 1998 (1998-04-09)
3"Episode 3"Stephen GallagherStephen Gallagher16 April 1998 (1998-04-16)
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References
  1. "Oktober: Stephen Gallagher". Amazon. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  2. "Oktober [DVD] [1998]". Amazon. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  3. "Action TV Online - Oktober Episode Guide". Action TV Online. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  4. "Oktober (ITV 1998 with Stephen Tompkinson and Lydzia Englert)". Memorable TV. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  5. "Stephen Gallagher: Screen - Oktober". stephengallagher.com. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
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