''Mad Dogs'' is a British
psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting.
In terms of context and co ...
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
, written and created by
Cris Cole Crispin "Cris" Cole is a British writer and producer.
Career
Born in Wallingford, England, Cole grew up in London and attended Elliott School in Roehampton. After leaving the Elliott School, he worked as a professional guitarist and bass player f ...
, that began airing on
Sky1
Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
on 10 February 2011, and ended on 29 December 2013 after four series and 14 episodes. It is produced by
Left Bank Pictures
Left Bank Pictures (stylized as LEFT BANK Pictures) is a British film and television production company. It was formed in 2007 and was the first British media company to receive investment from BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC.
Lef ...
, and co-produced by Palma Pictures. The series stars
John Simm
John Ronald Simm (born 10 July 1970) is an English actor, director, and musician. He is best known for playing Sam Tyler in ''Life on Mars'', the Master in ''Doctor Who,'' and DS Roy Grace in ''Grace.'' His other television credits include '' S ...
,
Marc Warren
Marc Warren (born 20 March 1967) is an English actor, known for his British television roles. His roles have included Albert Blithe in '' Band of Brothers'', Danny Blue in '' Hustle'', Dougie Raymond in ''The Vice'', Dominic Foy in '' State ...
,
Max Beesley, and
Philip Glenister
Philip Haywood Glenister (born 10 February 1963) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as DCI Gene Hunt in the BBC series ''Life on Mars'' (2006–2007) and its sequel '' Ashes to Ashes'' (2008–2010). He also played DCI William ...
as four long-time and middle-aged friends getting together in a
villa
A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...
in
Majorca
Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean.
The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...
to celebrate the early retirement of their friend Alvo (
Ben Chaplin
Ben Chaplin (born Benedict John Greenwood; 31 July 1969)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com is a British actor. He is best known for his roles in films, including '' The Truth About Cats & Dogs' ...
). After Alvo is murdered, the group find themselves caught up in the world of
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...
and
police corruption
Police corruption is a form of police misconduct in which law enforcement officers end up breaking their political contract and abuse their power for personal gain. This type of corruption may involve one or a group of officers. Internal police ...
.
After gaining interest from some terrestrial networks, the series was commissioned by
British Sky Broadcasting
Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...
. Filming took place on location throughout the island of Majorca in May 2010, and took around four million
euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
s and 44 days to make. The main themes are friendship and growing older; Glenister said it is about ageing and "getting closer to death". Photographer
David LaChapelle
David LaChapelle (born March 11, 1963) is an American photographer, music video director and film director. He is best known for his work in fashion, photography, which often references art history and sometimes conveys social messages. His pho ...
directed three 30-second advertisements for the series. ''Mad Dogs'' opened with 1.61 million viewers, the 17th highest rated programme ever for Sky1, and attracted positive reactions from critics. They noted similarities with British gangster films, more predominantly the 2000 film ''
Sexy Beast
''Sexy Beast'' is a 2000 British crime film directed by Jonathan Glazer (in his feature film directorial debut) and written by Louis Mellis and David Scinto. It stars Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, and Ian McShane. It follows Gary "Gal" Dove (Winst ...
''.
Series overview
Plot
Four middle-aged friends who have known each other since
sixth form
In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...
, Baxter (
John Simm
John Ronald Simm (born 10 July 1970) is an English actor, director, and musician. He is best known for playing Sam Tyler in ''Life on Mars'', the Master in ''Doctor Who,'' and DS Roy Grace in ''Grace.'' His other television credits include '' S ...
), Quinn (
Philip Glenister
Philip Haywood Glenister (born 10 February 1963) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as DCI Gene Hunt in the BBC series ''Life on Mars'' (2006–2007) and its sequel '' Ashes to Ashes'' (2008–2010). He also played DCI William ...
), Rick (
Marc Warren
Marc Warren (born 20 March 1967) is an English actor, known for his British television roles. His roles have included Albert Blithe in '' Band of Brothers'', Danny Blue in '' Hustle'', Dougie Raymond in ''The Vice'', Dominic Foy in '' State ...
) and Woody (
Max Beesley), get together for a
holiday
A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...
in
Majorca
Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean.
The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...
at the villa of Alvo (
Ben Chaplin
Ben Chaplin (born Benedict John Greenwood; 31 July 1969)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com is a British actor. He is best known for his roles in films, including '' The Truth About Cats & Dogs' ...
), a mutual friend who became wealthy in the property business. Over time Alvo's behaviour becomes increasingly erratic, and he is later killed by a man in a
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
mask for taking a drug boat the group used earlier. The four clean the boat to remove evidence of their presence, when they are mistaken for drug dealers and paid three million
euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
s. Afterwards, the four learn from María (María Botto), a local detective, that they are caught up in a
Serbian mafia
Serbian organized crime or Serbian mafia ( sr, Cpпска мафија / Srpska mafija) are various criminal organizations based in Serbia or composed of ethnic Serbs in the former Yugoslavia and Serbian diaspora. The organizations are primari ...
drug smuggling operation. Using
video camera
A video camera is an optical instrument that captures videos (as opposed to a movie camera, which records images on film). Video cameras were initially developed for the television industry but have since become widely used for a variety of other ...
footage of their holiday, Baxter learns the real perpetrators are
corrupt police officers, including María and her superior Dominic (
Tim Woodward
Timothy Oliver Woodward (born 24 April 1953) is an English actor.
Tim Woodward was born in Kensington, London, England, the son of actors Edward Woodward and Venetia Barrett. He was educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College.
He is pr ...
). Alvo is revealed to be a part of the operation, and was murdered when he no longer wanted to take part in it. María later attempts to kill the four when employing scare tactics to make them part with the cash fails to work, but is shot to death by Quinn. The other three run over Dominic to save Quinn. They leave with the money and accidentally board a ferry to
Ibiza
Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...
(their intention is to go to
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
).
The four are being aided by local Ibizan Carmen (
Leticia Dolera
Leticia Dolera (born 23 October 1981) is a Spanish actress. She was born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. She is best known for her roles as Clara in the Spanish horror film '' REC 3: Genesis'', Teresa in the 2003 film ''Imagining Argentina'', an ...
), who begins a relationship with Baxter. They soon realise they are still being hunted when their rental car explodes. Quinn is kidnapped by Mackenzie (
David Warner David or Dave Warner may refer to:
Sports
* Dave Warner (strongman) (born 1969), Northern Ireland strongman competitor
* David Bruce Warner (born 1970), South African alpine skier
* David Warner (cricketer) (born 1986), Australian cricketer
Oth ...
), an elderly British
expatriate
An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
who is revealed to be the leader of the drug operation. The four are forced to return the money in exchange for their lives. When they are €100 short from a speeding fine, Mackenzie makes the four produce fake
ecstasy for a nightclub, at which point he allows them to return home with five million euros that were paid to them by the nightclub, though Carmen is left behind. Mackenzie tricks them into boarding a ferry for
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
, where they are arrested and sent to a
black site
In military terminology, a black site is a location at which an unacknowledged black operation or black project is conducted. According to the Associated Press, "Black sites are clandestine jails where prisoners generally are not charged with a ...
prison in the desert. After another attempt on their lives, they are informed that the drug operation was organised by the
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
(CIA), who are using the operation to fund
black operation
A black operation or black op is a covert or clandestine operation by a government agency, a military unit or a paramilitary organization; it can include activities by private companies or groups. Key features of a black operation are that it i ...
s, and as a result of the four's interference a
kill contract is out against them. With assistance by the British government, they move to
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, to live new lives and identities to avoid CIA detection, though they are no longer allowed to contact each other or their families.
Two years later, Baxter is a self-employed
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
, Quinn runs a bar, Rick is a
drug dealer
A drug is any chemical substance
A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by ...
who is haunted by a
Tikoloshe
In Zulu mythology, Tikoloshe, Tikolosh, Tokoloshe, Tokolotshe, Thokolosi or Hili is a dwarf-like water sprite. It is a mischievous and evil spirit that can become invisible by drinking water or swallowing a stone. Tokoloshes are called upon ...
, and Woody buys
black market
A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the se ...
medicine for local hospitals. Baxter learns that Mackenzie was shot to death, indicating that the CIA operation is shut down. Baxter finds Quinn, who is secretly in contact with Woody. After helping Rick escape after his arrest, the four reunite and enter a British Consulate, only to learn the kill order is still active. They later come across the home of Lazaro (
Stanley Townsend
Stanley Townsend (born August 1961) is an Irish actor.
Personal life
Townsend was born and brought up in Dublin. After attending Wesley College, Dublin, he studied mathematics and civil engineering at Trinity College. While there he joined the ...
), a retired CIA agent. He removes their names from the CIA hit list, but later attempts to kill them as revenge for María, who was a CIA agent herself. Mercedes (
Jaime Winstone
Jaime Margaret Winstone (born 6 May 1985) is an English actress, best known for her roles in '' Kidulthood'', '' Dead Set'', '' After Hours'' and her portrayal of Barbara Windsor in ''Babs''.
Early life and education
Winstone was born in Camd ...
), who they previously met at the black site prison, kills Lazaro, saving them.
After the CIA clears them, they return to England to attend the
wedding
A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...
of Baxter's eldest daughter. Rick reveals he sold Alvo's villa and signed the others' name without permission. Although the others initially resent Rick for this, the four become wealthy as a result. Two months later they return to Cape Town to visit Quinn's villa, where Baxter and Carmen reunite. Meanwhile, Dominic tracks the four down and arrives with his gang, with all members wearing Blair masks. After initially evading the gang, Baxter accidentally kills Carmen, mistaking her for an assassin. The four drive to one of Rick's contacts at a beach, only to be surrounded and executed by the gang upon arrival. In a state of
Limbo
In Catholic theology, Limbo (Latin '' limbus'', edge or boundary, referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Medieval theologians of Western Euro ...
, their
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
s leave the beach. Baxter spots one of the assassins, who removes the Blair mask to reveal a sinister version of himself. Their car drives past an unfinished
interchange, and it plunges, where the four would meet their end.
Themes
''Mad Dogs'' centres on four friends who holiday in Majorca, though as time passes, their holiday soon turns into a labyrinthine nightmare of lies, deception, and murder. The primary theme for the series is friendship and "growing older."
[ Philip Glenister elaborated, saying it is not about "a group of blokes hitting their 40s and having a jolly-up, that would have been boring" but is "an undercurrent of something a bit darker", and "about reaching a stage in life, looking at what you've achieved and where you go next, it's about how normal people deal with a certain situation and how they can implode".]
Cast
Production
The idea behind ''Mad Dogs'' came from the friendship between the four main actors, who wanted to work together for a television project, as well as Cris Cole Crispin "Cris" Cole is a British writer and producer.
Career
Born in Wallingford, England, Cole grew up in London and attended Elliott School in Roehampton. After leaving the Elliott School, he worked as a professional guitarist and bass player f ...
and executive producer Suzanne Mackie.[ The four initially wanted to make a story about a ]rock band
A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...
, but decided that making programmes about bands have been "done to death".[ To write the series, Cole was influenced by the works of ]David Lynch
David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...
and the Coen brothers
Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...
as inspiration to the kind of storytelling that is "never quite what you think it is going to be".[
The series initially gained interest from major terrestrial networks such as the ]BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. However, Max Beesley and Philip Glenister grew frustrated with the comments from the commissioning teams from the networks. Glenister stated that "the problem with the BBC and ITV is more people coming in and telling you what to do; we are grown up and big enough to know where the boundaries are". They ultimately settled for
, as the network was "the one that we believed would let us do what we wanted".
In January 2012, Glenister believed their decision to go with Sky was "vindicated", as the terrestrial networks would restrict its content, violence, and language. He stated that the restrictions would not make the series "the show it is and it wouldn't be the show we wanted to make".
Head of Sky Drama Elaine Pyke had an immediate interest in the project, as she was "immediately grabbed by how thrilling, scary, and funny it is", believing it to be "the perfect show for Sky1".
In a separate interview, Beesley stated: "Andy Harries basically put the show out to a few of the networks and Sky said, 'Here's the money, go and make it and we'll give you notes later on, but really do have the freedom to make it,' which is great, and there's not a lot of that happens nowadays."
''Mad Dogs'' was commissioned as a four-part series by Pyke, with the official announcement made in May 2010. Cole wrote the episodes. It was produced by
''.
It continues Sky's commitment to investing in new dramas with all-star casts.