Timothy Prager
Encyclopedia
Timothy Prager, known as Tim Prager, is a British television and film writer.
A graduate of Dartmouth College
and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
, he was an assistant director at the Old Vic
Company under Timothy West
. He wrote (with composer Geoff Morrow) and directed Spin of the Wheel, which opened at the Comedy theatre in London in 1987, giving Maria Friedman
her West End debut.
, Dangerfield
, The Ambassador and Silent Witness
. He has created three series for the BBC: Safe and Sound, Two Thousand Acres of Sky
and 55 Degrees North
(known as The Night Detective in North America).
His 2003 television play Hear the Silence, starring Juliet Stevenson
and Hugh Bonneville
, covered the MMR vaccine controversy
, portraying the efforts of Andrew Wakefield
against the vaccine. It received widespread criticism due to its perceived misrepresentation of evidence in favour of the anti-MMR campaign. Dr. Michael Fitzpatrick, writing in the British Medical Journal
described it as "grossly one sided", later accusing it of "turning junk science into drama". Wakefield's work has since been discredited; and the articles against the MMR vaccine recanted by the Lancet in a highly unusual step.
Prager's writing has received Royal Television Society
nominations, and he received the Roald Dahl prize for Two Thousand Acres of Sky.
and Jacqueline Bisset
; If the Shoe Fits
starring Rob Lowe
and Jennifer Grey
; Haunted with Aidan Quinn
, Anthony Andrews
, Kate Beckinsale
and Sir John Gielgud
; Vendetta
with Christopher Walken
; Partners in Action with Armand Assante
.
A graduate of Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art is a leading British drama school in west London. LAMDA's president is Timothy West and its new principal is Joanna Read, who recently succeeded Peter James...
, he was an assistant director at the Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
Company under Timothy West
Timothy West
Timothy Lancaster West, CBE is an English film, stage and television actor.-Career:West's craggy looks ensured a career as a character actor rather than a leading man. He began his career as an Assistant Stage Manager at the Wimbledon Theatre in 1956, and followed this with several seasons of...
. He wrote (with composer Geoff Morrow) and directed Spin of the Wheel, which opened at the Comedy theatre in London in 1987, giving Maria Friedman
Maria Friedman
Maria Friedman is an English actress working in television, musical theatre, and concerts. She has won three Olivier Awards for her stage work.-Early years:...
her West End debut.
Television
Prager has written extensively for television, including episodes of Dalziel and PascoeDalziel and Pascoe (BBC TV series)
Dalziel and Pascoe is a popular British television crime drama based on the Dalziel and Pascoe books by Reginald Hill, which was first broadcast in March 1996. It is set in Yorkshire, and is about two detectives...
, Dangerfield
Dangerfield (TV series)
Dangerfield is a British drama series about a small town doctor / police surgeon, which ran for 6 series, between 1995 and 1999. Originally Nigel Le Vaillant played the central role , but this character later left the series, the focus switching to his replacement, played by Nigel Havers.The BBC...
, The Ambassador and Silent Witness
Silent Witness
Silent Witness is a BBC crime thriller series focusing on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in February 1996, the series is still airing to the present day, with a fifteenth series expected to air in January 2012. The series was...
. He has created three series for the BBC: Safe and Sound, Two Thousand Acres of Sky
Two Thousand Acres of Sky
Two Thousand Acres of Sky was a TV drama which aired on BBC Television from 2001 to 2003. It is also syndicated in the United States on PBS. It was created and written by Timothy Prager. The Executive Producer was Adrian Bate....
and 55 Degrees North
55 Degrees North
55 Degrees North is a BBC television drama series starring Don Gilet as DS Nicky Cole, a London detective relocated to Newcastle upon Tyne after exposing police corruption. Dervla Kirwan co-stars as Claire Maxwell, an ambitious solicitor....
(known as The Night Detective in North America).
His 2003 television play Hear the Silence, starring Juliet Stevenson
Juliet Stevenson
Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, CBE is an English actor of stage and screen.- Early life :Stevenson was born in Kelvedon, Essex, England, the daughter of Virginia Ruth , a teacher, and Michael Guy Stevenson, an army officer. Stevenson's father was in the army and was posted to a new place every...
and Hugh Bonneville
Hugh Bonneville
Hugh Richard Bonneville Williams, known professionally as Hugh Bonneville , is an English stage, film, television and radio actor.-Education:...
, covered the MMR vaccine controversy
MMR vaccine controversy
The MMR vaccine controversy was a case of scientific misconduct which triggered a health scare. It followed the publication in 1998 of a paper in the medical journal The Lancet which presented apparent evidence that autism spectrum disorders could be caused by the MMR vaccine, an immunization...
, portraying the efforts of Andrew Wakefield
Andrew Wakefield
Andrew Wakefield is a British former surgeon and medical researcher, known as an advocate for the discredited claim that there is a link between the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, autism and bowel disease, and for his fraudulent 1998 research paper in support of that claim.Four years after...
against the vaccine. It received widespread criticism due to its perceived misrepresentation of evidence in favour of the anti-MMR campaign. Dr. Michael Fitzpatrick, writing in the British Medical Journal
British Medical Journal
BMJ is a partially open-access peer-reviewed medical journal. Originally called the British Medical Journal, the title was officially shortened to BMJ in 1988. The journal is published by the BMJ Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Medical Association...
described it as "grossly one sided", later accusing it of "turning junk science into drama". Wakefield's work has since been discredited; and the articles against the MMR vaccine recanted by the Lancet in a highly unusual step.
Prager's writing has received Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
nominations, and he received the Roald Dahl prize for Two Thousand Acres of Sky.
Cinema
His feature-length credits include The Maid with Martin SheenMartin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
and Jacqueline Bisset
Jacqueline Bisset
Jacqueline Bisset is an English actress. She has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award. She is known for her roles in the films Bullitt , Airport , The Deep , Class , and the TV series Nip/Tuck in 2006...
; If the Shoe Fits
If the Shoe Fits
If the Shoe Fits is the fourth studio album by American country rock band Pure Prairie League, released in 1976 .-Track listing:#"That'll Be the Day"...
starring Rob Lowe
Rob Lowe
Robert Hepler "Rob" Lowe is an American actor. Lowe came to prominence after appearing in films such as The Outsiders, Oxford Blues, About Last Night..., St. Elmo's Fire, and Wayne's World. On television, Lowe is known for his role as Sam Seaborn on The West Wing and his role as Senator Robert...
and Jennifer Grey
Jennifer Grey
Jennifer Elise Grey is an American actress. Her first major roles came in the 1984 war film Red Dawn and the 1986 comedy Ferris Bueller's Day Off. In 1987 she starred as Frances "Baby" Houseman in the hit film Dirty Dancing for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe. In the early 1990s, Grey...
; Haunted with Aidan Quinn
Aidan Quinn
-Early life:Quinn was born in Chicago, Illinois to Irish parents. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic and raised in Chicago and Rockford, Illinois, as well as in Dublin and Birr, County Offaly in Ireland. His mother, Teresa, was a homemaker, and his father, Michael Quinn, was a professor of...
, Anthony Andrews
Anthony Andrews
-Life and career:Andrews was born in London, the son of Geraldine Agnes , a dancer, and Stanley Thomas Andrews, a musical arranger and musical conductor. He grew up in the North Finchley district of London...
, Kate Beckinsale
Kate Beckinsale
Kathryn Bailey "Kate" Beckinsale is an English actress. After some minor television roles, she made her film debut in Much Ado About Nothing while still a student at Oxford University...
and Sir John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
; Vendetta
Vendetta (1999 film)
Vendetta is an HBO original movie based on actual events that took place in New Orleans on March 14, 1891. Eighteen Italian-Americans were falsely accused of the murder of the police chief...
with Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...
; Partners in Action with Armand Assante
Armand Assante
-Personal life:Assante was born in New York City and raised in Cornwall, New York, the son of Katherine , a music teacher and poet, and Armand Anthony Assante, Sr., a painter and artist. His father was Italian and his mother was Irish, and was raised in a devoutly Roman Catholic family...
.