Above and Beyond (mini series)
Encyclopedia
Above and Beyond is a four-hour 2006 miniseries
aired by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
on October 29 and 30. The miniseries is about the Atlantic Ferry Organization, which was tasked with delivering aircraft from North America to Europe in the early years of the Second World War
. It stars Richard E. Grant
, Jonathan Scarfe
, Liane Balaban
, Allan Hawco
, Kenneth Welsh
, and Jason Priestley
.
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
aired by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
on October 29 and 30. The miniseries is about the Atlantic Ferry Organization, which was tasked with delivering aircraft from North America to Europe in the early years of the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It stars Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant is a Swaziland-born British actor, screenwriter and director. His most notable role came in the film Withnail and I. He holds dual British and Swazi citizenship.-Early life:...
, Jonathan Scarfe
Jonathan Scarfe
Jonathan Scarfe is a Canadian actor. He is married to actress Suki Kaiser and is the son of actors Alan Scarfe and Sara Botsford....
, Liane Balaban
Liane Balaban
Liane Balaban is a Canadian actress. Her film debut was in New Waterford Girl , playing Agnes-Marie "Moonie" Pottie, and has since appeared in the films Definitely, Maybe , Last Chance Harvey , and the independent drama One Week .-Early life:Balaban was born in North York, Ontario, the daughter of...
, Allan Hawco
Allan Hawco
Allan Hawco is a Canadian television and film actor, best known for his roles in the television series ZOS: Zone of Separation and Republic of Doyle and the television films H2O and The Trojan Horse....
, Kenneth Welsh
Kenneth Welsh
Kenneth Welsh, CM is a Canadian film and television actor . He is known to Twin Peaks fans as the multi-faceted villain Windom Earle, and has more recently played the father of Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator.In 1984 he was nominated for a Genie Award as Best Actor for his...
, and Jason Priestley
Jason Priestley
Jason Bradford Priestley is a Canadian-American actor and director. He is best known as the virtuous Brandon Walsh on the television series Beverly Hills, 90210, a role which catapulted him to recognition in the early 1990s....
.
Cast
- Richard E. GrantRichard E. GrantRichard E. Grant is a Swaziland-born British actor, screenwriter and director. His most notable role came in the film Withnail and I. He holds dual British and Swazi citizenship.-Early life:...
— Don BennettDon BennettAir Vice Marshal Donald Clifford Tyndall Bennett CB CBE DSO RAF was an Australian aviation pioneer and bomber pilot who rose to be the youngest Air Vice-Marshal in the Royal Air Force. He led the "Pathfinder Force" from 1942 to the end of the Second World War in 1945...
, former RAF pilot - Kenneth WelshKenneth WelshKenneth Welsh, CM is a Canadian film and television actor . He is known to Twin Peaks fans as the multi-faceted villain Windom Earle, and has more recently played the father of Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator.In 1984 he was nominated for a Genie Award as Best Actor for his...
— Lord BeaverbrookMax Aitken, 1st Baron BeaverbrookWilliam Maxwell "Max" Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, Bt, PC, was a Canadian-British business tycoon, politician, and writer.-Early career in Canada:...
, Minister of Aircraft ProductionMinister of Aircraft ProductionThe Minister of Aircraft Production was the British government position in charge of the Ministry of Aircraft Production, one of the specialised supply ministries set up by the British Government during World War II... - Joss AcklandJoss AcklandSidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE , known as Joss Ackland, is an English actor who has appeared in more than 130 films and numerous television roles.-Early life:...
— Winston ChurchillWinston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, UK Prime Minister - Peter Messaline — Archibald SinclairArchibald Sinclair, 1st Viscount ThursoArchibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso KT, CMG, PC , known as Sir Archibald Sinclair, Bt between 1912 and 1952, and often as Archie Sinclair, was a British politician and leader of the Liberal Party....
, Secretary of State for AirSecretary of State for AirThe Secretary of State for Air was a cabinet level British position. The person holding this position was in charge of the Air Ministry. It was created on 10 January 1919 to manage the Royal Air Force... - Jason PriestleyJason PriestleyJason Bradford Priestley is a Canadian-American actor and director. He is best known as the virtuous Brandon Walsh on the television series Beverly Hills, 90210, a role which catapulted him to recognition in the early 1990s....
— Sir Frederick BantingFrederick BantingSir Frederick Grant Banting, KBE, MC, FRS, FRSC was a Canadian medical scientist, doctor and Nobel laureate noted as one of the main discoverers of insulin.... - Jonathan ScarfeJonathan ScarfeJonathan Scarfe is a Canadian actor. He is married to actress Suki Kaiser and is the son of actors Alan Scarfe and Sara Botsford....
— Bill Jacobson - Liane BalabanLiane BalabanLiane Balaban is a Canadian actress. Her film debut was in New Waterford Girl , playing Agnes-Marie "Moonie" Pottie, and has since appeared in the films Definitely, Maybe , Last Chance Harvey , and the independent drama One Week .-Early life:Balaban was born in North York, Ontario, the daughter of...
— Shelagh Emberly - Allan HawcoAllan HawcoAllan Hawco is a Canadian television and film actor, best known for his roles in the television series ZOS: Zone of Separation and Republic of Doyle and the television films H2O and The Trojan Horse....
— Nathan Burgess - Peter MacNeillPeter MacNeillPeter MacNeill is a Canadian film and television actor who has starred in several TV shows and movies.His film credits have included The Hanging Garden , Geraldine's Fortune, Giant Mine, Lives of Girls and Women, The Events Leading Up to My Death, Dog Park, Something Beneath and A...
— USAAF Gen. Anderson - Robert WisdenRobert WisdenRobert Charles Wisden is a British actor who has an extensive career in Canadian and American television. In 2000 he won a Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series for The Sheldon Kennedy Story .-Career:Wisden moved with his...
— Pritchard, RAF officer
Awards
- Directors Guild of CanadaDirectors Guild of CanadaThe Directors Guild of Canada is a Canadian labour union, founded in 1962, which represents more than 3,700 professionals from 48 different occupations in the Canadian film and television industry. The DGC represents directors, assistant directors, location managers, production assistants and...
's Craft Awards:- Direction - Television Movie/Mini-Series — Sturla Gunnarsson (won)
- Picture Editing - Television Movie/Mini-Series — Jeff Warren (won)
- Sound Editing - Television Movie/Mini-Series — David Rose, Kathy Choi, Jane Tattersall (nominated)
- Academy of Canadian Cinema and TelevisionAcademy of Canadian Cinema and TelevisionThe Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a Canadian non-profit organization created in 1979 to recognize over 4,000 Canadian film industry and television industry professionals...
's Gemini AwardGemini AwardThe Gemini Awards are annual television broadcasting industry awards in Canada.First awarded in 1986, the Geminis celebrate the achievements of TV members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Essentially, it presents awards for the best television productions in Canada. Awards are...
s:- Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series — Jonathan Scarfe (won)
- Best Original Music Score for a Program or Mini-Series — Jonathan Goldsmith (nominated)
- Best Production Design or Art Direction in a Fiction Program or Series — Pam Hall, Ane Christensen (nominated)
- Best Sound in a Dramatic Program — Henry Embry, Steph Carrier, Ronayne Higginson, Dino Pigat, David Rose, Jane Tattersall (nominated)
- Best Visual Effects — Peter Evans, Darryl Couch, Chris Darlington, Mike Mombourquette, Michael Skiffington, John Vatcher, David Woodrow (nominated)
- Best Writing in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series — John W. Doyle, Lisa Porter (nominated)
- Writers Guild of CanadaWriters Guild of CanadaThe Writers Guild of Canada represents more than 1,800 professional writers working in film, television, radio, and multimedia production in Canada...
's WGC Awards:- MOW & Miniseries — John W. Doyle, Lisa Porter (won)
Anachronisms and other errors
- The "B-24"B-24 LiberatorThe Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
used by the USAAF general is actually an RAF LancasterAvro LancasterThe Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
bomber.
- The American General is wearing 5 stars indicating General of the Army rank, a rank no Army Air Corps officer ever achieved during the Second World War.
- The DC-3Douglas DC-3The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
shown in the first hour was equipped with modern turbopropTurbopropA turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller using a reduction gear.The gas turbine is designed specifically for this application, with almost all of its output being used to drive the propeller...
engines.
- One scene shows a de Havilland Chipmunk trainer in a hangar. There were no Chipmunks in service in 1940; the first one flew in 1946.
- A modern dial tone could be heard during overseas telephone calls between Bennett and Lord Beaverbrook.
- Air-traffic control equipment under repair contains TO-3 transistorsTransistorA transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current...
instead of thermionic valves.