The Worricker Trilogy includes: Page Eight (2011), Turks & Caicos (2012), and Salting the Battlefield (2014). All are written and directed by David Hare. Bill Nighy plays MI5 intelligence analyst Johnny Worricker. Johnny gets in trouble with the Prime Minister (Ralph Fiennes) and goes on the run. My favorite episode is Turks & Caicos when Johnny is hiding out on a tropical island, a tourist hideawy, but trouble finds him. Christopher Walken, a CIA agent, wants Johnny to help him bring down a ring of greedy businessmen. Johnny seeks to help a publicity agent (Winona Ryder) trapped in a corrupt world. What makes “Turks & Caicos” special is Johnny’s ex-girl friend, Helena Bonham Carter. Nighy and Carter are still on the run in the final episode, “Salting the Battlefield.” They’re running out of resources and MI5 is hassling Johnny’s pregnant daughter.
Bill Nighy hits all the right notes as Johnny Worricker. Watching Helena Bonham Carter act is always a delight. Ralph Fiennes projects just the right mix of ruthlessness and rectitude of a real Prime Minister. This series apparently was shown on MASTERPIECE THEATER, but I missed it. Thank goodness for AMAZON PRIME VIDEO! GRADE:B+ for “Page Eight,” GRADE: A for “Turks 8 Caicos,” and GRADE: B+ for “Salting the Battlefield”
I enjoyed these a lot. Bill Nighy is always fun to watch. David Hare who wrote these also wrote Collateral with Carey Mulligan which I also liked. I might watch these again. Right now I’m binge watching the 2nd season of Ozark.
Steve, you’re right about Bill Nighy being fun to watch. We’re going to be watching Nighy in THE BOOKSHOP tomorrow.
Jackie is a HUGE Bill Nighy fan. We’ll watch him in anything. We did see the first one on PBS, then caught up with the other two afterwards. We also saw Nighy on stage in London in Hare’s SKYLIGHT. In a nice coincidence with the Worrickers, Nighy replaced Michael Gambon, who had originated the role.
One thing you can count on with Hare: the Americansand/or the Israelis will be the villains.
Great casts in these – Gambon, Judy Davis, Ryder, Bonham-Carter, Felicity Jones (as his daughter), etc. – don’t hurt either. But Nighy makes them worth seeking out.
Jeff, I’m glad I finally caught up with THE WORRICKER TRILOGY. Great cast! You’re right about David Hare. I can’t wait to see his next play about TRUMP!
Saw him on Broadway with Carey Mulligan in SKYLIGHT. He is always great.
Patti, we’re looking forward to seeing Bill Nighy in THE BOOKSHOP tomorrow.