History Series / TheShadowLine

* DragonInChief: While he isn't technically the BigBad, he's undoubtedly the main antagonist.
* DragonAscendant: [[spoiler:By the end of the series, he's killed his superiors and taken full control of Counterpoint, which he can run on his terms now.]]

* NiceHat: Gatehouse's trilby.

* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: Gatehouse was shown in promo pictures long before he appeared [[FirstEpisodeSpoiler in Episode 2]], and is right behind Gabriel and Bede in the BBC website header. The character description refers to him as [[spoiler:"lethal", well before he kills anyone.]] The iPlayer description for Episode 5 says [[spoiler:Gatehouse finally tracks Glickman down, with explosive consequences." There is literally an explosion. Someone at the BBC thinks they're being cute.]] Gatehouse will also appear on the DVD cover.

''The Shadow Line'' is a seven-part British television drama serial produced by Company Pictures/Eight Rooks Ltd/Baby Cow/[=CinemaNX =]production for BBC Two. It stars Creator/ChiwetelEjiofor, Creator/ChristopherEccleston, Creator/RafeSpall, Antony Sher and Stephen Rea.

* DepravedHomosexual: Ratallack; cold, ambitious, and delights in using his sexuality to make other men uncomfortable. Contrast with the very StraightGay Harris.

Broadcasting started on 5 May 2011, ended on June 16th, and the DVD is out in the UK July 14th.

''The Shadow Line'' is a seven-part British television drama serial produced by Company Pictures/Eight Rooks Ltd/Baby Cow/[=CinemaNX =]production for BBC Two. It stars Creator/ChiwetelEjiofor, Creator/ChristopherEccleston, Rafe Spall, Antony Sher and Stephen Rea.

''The Shadow Line'' is a seven-part British television drama serial produced by Company Pictures/Eight Rooks Ltd/Baby Cow/[=CinemaNX =]production for BBC Two. It stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Creator/ChristopherEccleston, Rafe Spall, Antony Sher and Stephen Rea.

It has been compared, inevitably, to ''TheWire'', being another GreyAndGrayMorality, FourLinesAllWaiting, cops 'n' robbers drama -- however, stylistically the two shows couldn't be more different. In contrast to ''TheWire'''s verisimilitude, ''The Shadow Line'' is stylised and [[FilmNoir Noir-ish]], with heavy symbolism and [[RealisticDictionisUnrealistic crafted dialogue]].

* NothingIsScarier: Near the end of Episode 4, [[spoiler:Ross heads home to what his boss refers to as a beautiful country cottage, where his wife is. We get some nice shots of him on his bike, riding though gorgeous countryside, and we already know Gatehouse has his address, so we know ''something's'' going to happen, and we're keyed up because of the BlatantLies above. And then Gatehouse kills him just offscreen. Literally right on the other side of a hill from the camera.]]

* {{Badass}}: Gatehouse, without a [[IncrediblyLamePun shadow]] of a doubt.
** BadassInANiceSuit, BadassLongcoat and BadassGrandpa also apply, as would Badass Trilby, if there were such a thing.

* [[spoiler:TheBadGuyWins: Gatehouse, his allies, and Patterson are the only ones to truly come out of the series ahead. Patterson and Honey get promoted, Jay and Ratallack get their own drug smuggling empire and Gatehouse gets a new version of Counterpoint, with him clearly in control.]]

** DragonInChief: While he isn't technically the BigBad, he's undoubtedly the main antagonist.
** [[spoiler:DragonAscendant: By the end of the series, he's killed his superiors and taken full control of Counterpoint, which he can run on his terms now.]]
* [[spoiler: DownerEnding: Jay Wratten takes Bede's place at the head of the food chain; Jonah Gabriel is shot by his partner, who's working for Gatehouse; Counterpoint gets renewed with Wratten and Ratallack; it all gets covered up; and Patterson makes it clear that he will be involved in Gabriel's son's life, albeit ostensibly as a protector.]]

* [[spoiler: TheHeroDies: Gabriel is shot just before the end of the final episode. Bede is shot offscreen, after losing his will to live when his wife makes him give up on her. He could have defended himself against Jay, but chose not to.]]

* [[spoiler:StatusQuoIsGod: Gabriel is shot for digging too deep. The generation of conspirators that have gone are simply replaced by their heirs and/or [[KlingonPromotion killers]]. Couterpoint is still going, but new people are starting to ask their own questions. The only substantive change to anything is that Patterson is getting a promotion.]]

* SympatheticCriminal: Joseph Bede. He's just in the drugs business for one last job, the proceeds of which he'll use to pay for his wife's Alzheimer's treatment.

* OralFixationFixation:

** The effect of the smoking ban on the traditionally EverybodySmokes setting of the police station; see OralFixationFixation above.

* NothingIsScarier: Near the end of Episode 4, [[spoiler:Ross heads home to what his boss refers to as a beautiful country cottage, where his wife is. We get some nice shots of him on his bike, riding though gorgeous countryside, and we already know Gatehouse has his address, so we know ''something's'' going to happen, and we're keyed up because of the BlatantLies above. And then Gatehouse kills him just offscreen.]]

* NothingIsScarier: Near the end of Episode 4, [[spoiler:Ross heads home to what his boss refers to as a beautiful country cottage, where his wife is. We get some nice shots of him on his bike, riding though gorgeous countryside, and we already know Greathouse has his address, so we know ''something's'' going to happen, and we're keyed up because of the BlatantLies above. And then Gatehouse kills him just offscreen.]]

* ReligiousAndMythologicalThemeNaming: Jonah Gabriel, ''Joseph'' Bede.
* {{Revenge}}: [[spoiler:Gatehouse]] seeks bloody revenge on [[spoiler:his superiors in Counterpoint]] in the final episode, because they tried to have him killed.

->"The shadow line. That's where we walk."\\
--'''Khokar, Episode 5'''

''The Shadow Line'' is a seven-part British television drama serial produced by Company Pictures/Eight Rooks Ltd/Baby Cow/[=CinemaNX =]production for BBC Two. It stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, ChristopherEccleston, Rafe Spall, Antony Sher and Stephen Rea.

* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler:The BriefcaseFullOfMoney in Gabriel's wardrobe. It turns out to be marked, and is a key clue implicating the police in drug smuggling.]]

** Jay Wratten delivering a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown to one of Bob Harris's men.

* FemmeFatale: Petra Nayler, Glickman's girlfriend.

* LuredIntoATrap: [[spoiler:Gatehouse is sent to kill Jonah Gabriel for [[HeKnowsTooMuch his assumed knowledge of Counterpoint]], yet Gabriel's just bait and Glickman intends to kill Gatehouse when he goes to find him.]]

* ReligiousAndMythologicalThemeNaming: Jonah Gabriel, ''Joseph'' Bede[[hottip:*:Bede is a lesser-known English saint.]]

* ToyotaTripwire: Used by Gatehouse [[spoiler: to kill Ross]].

Drug baron Harvey Wratten is dead, and nobody knows who did it. From the cop with a bullet in his brain, whose amnesia leaves him doubtful of his own moral compass; to the drug-lord driven by a profound personal tragedy, risking it all on one last deal; to the brilliantly lethal puppet-master who gradually emerges from the shadows to bring the story to its shocking climax, the show explores the morality of these characters as they negotiate the repercussions of Wratten's death and attempt to navigate the fine line between right and wrong.

** AmnesiacDissonance: The series hints he may have been corrupt before he was shot, in contrast to the ByTheBookCop he is afterwards. [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted, however: he was a good cop all along, and there turns out to be a perfectly good explanation for the apparantly incriminating evidence.]]

** BadassLongcoat and BadassGrandpa also apply, as would Badass Trilby, if there were such a thing.

* FaceFramedInShadow: Gatehouse is fond of this.

* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Jonah can't remember anything about the operation that got him shot... Subverted in that a few people have expressed the opinion that it all sounds suspiciously convenient.

* RunningGag: At no point do we ever actually see anyone being arrested or bought in for questioning. Just before and after, but never the event itself.
* SherlockScan: Gatehouse is so good he looks like a Cold Reader "psychic". He can read people who ''aren't saying anything''.
** In Episode 6, [[spoiler:Gabriel figures out Gatehouse is lying about his peaceable intnet because he's still wearing gloves. Indoors. Of course, the viewers know that "Gatehouse is lying" is generally a pretty safe bet.]]

* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: Gatehouse was shown in promo pictures long before he appeared in Episode 2, and is right behind Gabriel and Bede in the BBC website header. The character description refers to him as [[spoiler:"lethal", well before he kills anyone.]] The iPlayer description for Episode 5 says [[spoiler:Gatehouse finally tracks Glickman down, with explosive consequences." There is literally an explosion. Someone at the BBC thinks they're being cute.]] Gatehouse will also appear on the DVD cover.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: In Episode 6, we are told that [[spoiler:the entire "Counterpoint" scheme, according to one participant, was to get money for police pensions. The money they made was just a bonus.]]

It has been compared, inevitably, to ''TheWire'', being another GreyAndGrayMorality FourLinesAllWaiting cops 'n' robbers drama -- however, stylistically the two shows couldn't be more different. In contrast to ''TheWire'''s verisimilitude, ''The Shadow Line'' is stylised and [[FilmNoir Noir-ish]], with heavy symbolism and crafted dialogue.

** BadassLongcoat and BadassGrandpa also apply, as would BadassTrilby, if there were such a thing.

* SherlockScan: Gatehouse is so good he looks like a Cold Reader. He can read people who ''aren't saying anything''.
** In Episode 6, [[spoiler:Gabriel figures out Gatehouse is lying because he's still wearing gloves. Indoors. Of course, the viewers know that "Gatehouse is lying" is generally a pretty safe bet.]]