The Mad Death is a television serial made by BBC Scotland

BBC Scotland

BBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...

. It was filmed in 1981 and transmitted 2 years later in 1983. The programme has only ever been repeated twice; once on BBC in 1985 and again in 1993 on UK Gold. An edited version was made to film length and released on a VHS in the mid-80s.

The three-part series examined the effects of an outbreak of rabies

Rabies

Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis in warm-blooded animals. It is zoonotic , most commonly by a bite from an infected animal. For a human, rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms...

 in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and was noted for its occasionally chilling content. It has been described by at least one reference book as being one of the most bleak and disturbing drama series ever attempted.

The music for the opening titles consisted of a voice whispering the first four lines of All Things Bright and Beautiful

All Things Bright and Beautiful

All Things Bright and Beautiful is an Anglican hymn, also popular with other Christian denominations.The piece can be sung to several melodies, in particular the 17th-century English melody "Royal Oak", adapted by Martin Shaw, and "Bright and Beautiful" by William Henry Monk...

over a montage of animals' faces, distorted by a rippling water effect, symbolising the hydrophobia caused by rabies.

The programmes were filmed around Scotland including inside East Kilbride Shopping Centre.

The cast included Richard Heffer

Richard Heffer

Richard Heffer is a British actor, best known for his roles on television in the 1970s and 1980s, when he became a very familiar face....

, Barbara Kellerman

Barbara Kellerman

Barbara R. Kellerman is an English actress, noted for her film and television roles. She trained at Rose Bruford College. Kellerman's Jewish parents had fled Nazi Germany and settled in Leeds, briefly living in Manchester before returning to Leeds by 1952...

, Jimmy Logan

Jimmy Logan

Jimmy Logan OBE, FRSAMD , born as James Allan Short, Dennistoun, Glasgow, was a Scottish performer, producer, impresario and director.-Family:...

, Richard Morant

Richard Morant

Richard Morant was an English actor.Morant was born in Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire. He was a nephew of actors Bill and Linden Travers, and a cousin of actress Penelope Wilton...

, Ed Bishop

Ed Bishop

Ed Bishop was an American film, television, stage and radio actor based in Britain.-Early life:Bishop served in the US Army from 8 October 1952 to 24 September 1954, working as a disc jockey with the Armed Forces Radio at St. Johns in Newfoundland...

 and Brenda Bruce

Brenda Bruce

Brenda Bruce was a British actress. She had a long and successful career in the theatre, radio, film, and television.-Early life:Brenda Bruce was born in Manchester...

.

External links

• http://www.startrader.co.uk/Action%20TV/guide80s/maddeath.htm
• http://ufoseries.com/films/maddeath.html
• TV Cream