Writer, director, and producer Robert Valentine brings the Red Moon series to a close with Phase 6: Darkside. In this parallel history in which Russia was first on the moon, our hero, ex-MI5 agent Eddie Sloper (Bulcock) has been captured and his accomplice Dr Susan Madison (Holness-Dove) has to save the day alone, but what exactly are the Americans up to, and what is Lt Gen Atherton’s (Hope) plan? More important, can the day be saved before Mrs Jones (Periam) adds Sloper and Madison to her list of successful assassinations?
As Darkside closes the series, the key figures all converge on an American airbase in Northern England. The previous episode, Transit, left Eddie captured. Drugged and interrogated, he gets help from an unexpected source and the bulk of the episode is action packed as Atherton reveals his plan. As plans go, it’s a doozy (as they might have said in this parallel version of the 1970s) and all the pieces fall into place and if Atherton succeeds, the world will again be a very different place.
Where Darkside works very well is in bringing the overall story to a head without getting in the way of the entertainment. The cast (assuming the episodes were recorded largely in order) are sparking off each other very well, and the music (by Francesco Quadraruopolo) adds well to the overall effect. The choice of short, thirty-minute episode is fully vindicated by the pacing of this episode, even if, perhaps, it does dwell slightly on the resolution. It’s a minor point as it’s been a great series and this is a very strong episode.
With Darkside, Valentine has pulled all the threads together into an immensely satisfying conclusion. Let’s hope he finds some new threads for another time – Eddie Sloper’s version of history is one we’d very happily spend much more time exploring.
RED MOON PHASE 6: DARKSIDE / AUTHOR: ROBERT VALENTINE / PUBLISHER: WIRELESS THEATRE COMPANY / STARRING: PHILIP BULCOCK, YASMINE HOLNESS-DOVE, GEORGINA PERIAM, JOE RILEY, WILLIAM HOPE / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
