2008 has been a great year for gritty short dramas. We’ve had gore, intrigue, religious fervour and murders galore so let’s take a look back at which have kept us on the edge of our seats…

Recently we’ve had Apparitions and Survivors, both of which received a mixed reception of the marmite variety; we either loved or hated them, there didn’t seem to be much feeling in between. I loved both I have to say but for me, Apparitions won that battle. I think it was very much underrated in almost every aspect. The storylines were controversial and well thought out, the special effects remarkable and the acting understated and award-worthy.

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As if this show hasn’t courted enough controversy, in this week’s episode, Father Jacob is called to a woman’s health clinic where supernatural forces seem to be at work, as the drama continued its third outing. A 70 year old Italian woman had arrived at the clinic wanting an abortion, despite being six months pregnant and very nearly at the upper limit of permissible termination.

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In last night’s third episode of this intense drama, Father Jacob was called to a prison by Lassiter, the prison governor, because a serial rapist, Cory Wardell, had been exhibiting signs of possession. Initially, Lassiter believed it was all just religious hysteria but when he joined Jacob and the prison Chaplain, Father Daniel, in Wardell’s cell, he witnessed for himself that the prisoner spoke with the voice of a young girl and spontaneously bled from his forehead.

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For those of you who missed last night’s second instalment of Apparitions, here’s a full detailed recap.

Episode two of this highly watchable drama jumped straight in the deep end again with Jacob returning Liam to his estranged wife’s house where the newly exorcised father was reunited with his daughter.

In the meantime however, we saw the homeless Michael – who is himself possessed and who murdered Vimal – stagger to a drinking fountain, naked and covered in blood. As Father Jacob left Liam, after ordering him to get some rest, Michael came up to the Priest and asked for his help. He told Jacob that he’d done something terrible and needed to go to prison. Jacob was confused by Michael’s incoherent rambling until, as the Priest offered to pray for Michael, the vagrant’s demon briefly showed himself to be fully in control of the man and shunned the prayers.

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This brand new six part drama series, Apparitions, started on BBC One last night and was as good as the somewhat subdued hype promised. Aunty Beeb hasn’t really made much of a fuss about Apparitions and I think they should have done. It was an excellent opening episode which – if you could suspend your disbelief long enough – brought the principles and story behind The Exorcist into the 21st century.

Apparitions is a hard-hitting story takes us on a terrifying journey into a world of possession and satanic conspiracy. All out war between good and evil is imminent; and it’s time to choose sides.

Martin Shaw stars as Father Jacob, a Roman Catholic priest who’s working to promote candidates for sainthood – and primarily Mother Teresa – but who is inexorably drawn, initially against his will, into the world of exorcism.

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Martin Shaw stars as Father Jacob, a priest working to promote candidates for sainthood, in Apparitions, a new series for BBC One. Father Jacob becomes drawn in to exorcism as he discovers a dark battle between good and evil – a battle that threatens the future of the human race.

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Lime Pictures has been commissioned by BBC One to produce Apparitions, a new supernatural drama series.

Starring Martin Shaw (Judge John Deed, George Gently), Apparitions was originally produced as a two-part special for transmission in early 2008. However, the two-part drama will now form part of a longer series to be transmitted later this year.

Martin Shaw plays Father Jacob, a priest working to promote candidates for sainthood who becomes drawn in to exorcism as he discovers a dark battle between good and evil. A battle that threatens the future of the human race itself.

Tony Wood, creative director of Lime Pictures, says: “Apparitions is an exceptionally unique piece and we are thrilled with the results. To have the show commissioned as a series before the two-part special has even been transmitted is a great vote of confidence from the BBC. Read more & comment »