Burn Up - Episode guide
Burn Up is a nail-biting two-part thriller for BBC Two from the pen of multi-award-winning writer Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty), starring Neve Campbell (Scream), Rupert Penry-Jones (Spooks), Bradley Whitford and Marc Warren (Hustle).
Burn Up is an emotionally powerful story of love, commitment and divided loyalty – a thriller in which the stakes couldn't be higher. Oil company executives, environmental activists and politicians collide in the battle between economic success and ecological responsibility. It is produced for BBC Two by Kudos Film and Television, the company behind of some of the BBC's best loved dramas, including Spooks and Life On Mars.
Episode 1
Wednesday 23rd July 2008
As the drama begins, a team of geologists is murdered in the Saudi desert. One of the team – Masud – survives, and sets in motion a chain of events which will pit friend against friend and country against country.
Sir Mark Foxbay, CEO of Arrow Oil, resigns abruptly and is succeeded by his son-in-law, Tom McConnell, a choice approved by Arrow's pro-oil lobbyist and Tom's best friend, Mack. Within days, Tom is handed a writ by Mika – a climate-change activist who alleges Arrow Oil has rendered her Inuit homeland uninhabitable.
To stem bad publicity, Tom and Mack plan to raise the profile of Arrow's head of renewables, Holly Dernay. But positive PR becomes redundant when, after her writ is thrown out, Mika sacrifices herself in an act which has a devastating impact on Tom, who begins to question his convictions, something hastened by his growing closeness to Holly.
With terms for Kyoto 2 set to be agreed at a conference in Calgary, Mack puts increasing pressure on Tom to stand by his employers.
Meanwhile, Masud resurfaces in London and the murders in the Saudi desert come to the attention of government fixer Philip Crowley, whose job it is to pacify the green lobby. With Masud claiming the murders are connected to Sir Mark and Arrow, Philip delves deeper only to discover that Holly is an undercover activist. Under pressure from Philip, Holly becomes involved in the hunt for Masud and follows the trail to Sir Mark. When Sir Mark is later found dead, it is clear that he was embroiled in a cover up. With all key oil industry execs en route to Calgary, can the conspiracy be contained?
Episode 2
Friday 25th July 2008
Knowing Sir Mark's death was no accident, Holly tracks down Masud, as the provocative drama set in the real-life context of climate change concludes. Only Masud can explain what happened in the Saudi desert and how Sir Mark was involved. He reveals that it was Sir Mark who employed the team of geologists and he will trust their findings only to his successor – Tom.
In Calgary, Tom has decided where his loyalties lie – and it isn't with Arrow Oil. Now secretly in the environmentalist camp, he and Philip put pressure on the US to reduce their carbon emissions. Hiding this from Mack is tricky and, as soon becomes clear, very dangerous.
Holly arranges for Tom to meet with Masud and is shocked to learn the truth – the belief that Saudi Arabia has the necessary oil reserves to see the world into the next century is a myth. Tom knows that making this public would cause economic panic, leading to mass hysteria and potentially war. He also realises that the geologists and Sir Mark were killed to stop this information being made public.
Much to Holly's disappointment, Tom refuses to blow the whistle, believing the fall-out is just too great. Holly then takes matters into her own hands and tells Mack that she has the information, not realising the danger this puts her in.
Tom watches as America refuses to sign up to any emissions limits and he knows that all hope of reaching a diplomatic solution is gone. In a tense encounter with Mack, Tom wrestles with his dilemma – is revealing the devastating truth to the world the only way to bring about change?
