3:59PM, Jul 22, 2008
Think 'global warming' and sexy, provocative, gritty TV drama isn't the first thing that comes to mind.
But then again you haven't seen Burn Up yet.
Combining a stellar cast with a fast-paced, intelligent script that ticks all the right boxes - the Beeb may well have got it right on this occassion.
Pitched as a 'nail-biting two part thriller', Burn Up pits oil company bosses against politicians and eco-warriors in a tug of war between economic and ecological concerns.
For those that can't handle too much lecturing from the telly box, the requisite sex, lies and betrayal boxes are also well and truly ticked.
The West Wing's Bradley Whitford heads the cast as the devious and dastardly Mack. An oil industry lobbyist, Mack has all of Josh Lyman's charisma but none of his good guy tendencies.
Mack spends most of his time manipulating good friend Tom McConnell (Spooks' Rupert Penry-Jones). Having been named the new head of Arrow Oil, Tom finds his life unravelling as he begins to realise (a little too late if you ask us) that the oil industry game isn't all fun and frolics.
Predictably, another source of complication in Tom's life is hottie Holly Dernay (Neve Campbell). She's a 'greenie' heading up Arrow Oil's renewables division, trying to work the system from the inside. But Holly's commitment to the cause has put both of them in danger.
The show-stealing performance, however, comes from Hustle's Marc Warren as shrewd government fixer Philip Crowley, who's been given the near-impossible task of getting the good ol' US-of-A to sign up to Kyoto 2.
Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth this ain't. While the message is there, Burn Up takes a few too many liberties when it comes to dramatic license, and we're pretty sure there was no nudity from Al.
But what this drama does do (other than entertain, of course) is make you pause for thought, thankfully without lecturing or preaching.
