As the world’s energy supplies rapidly dwindle, the untapped resources at the bottom of the Arctic ocean are becoming a source of bitter international conflict. The Orpheus is a state of the art research submarine sent to the sea bed to look for a natural solution to the crisis, but the crew soon discover that the fight for territory is more deadly than they could ever have expected.
The Orpheus is on a mission to isolate and exploit the genetic qualities of the extraordinary organisms found in the vent fields of the Lomonosov Ridge. They believe their findings could potentially lead to next generation of bio-fuels that could solve the energy crisis. A team of scientists led by Captain Frances Kelly, are following on from a previous trip – the Hermes expedition which ended in disaster. Clem Donnelly (the chief engineer of the Orpheus) lost his wife on the Hermes expedition, so Clem feels he must try and conclude what she set out to achieve – bringing this amazing bacteria to the surface.
But before the ecosystem can be fully explored, a series of catastrophic events strike the Orpheus. Hardly surprising given the environment – crushing pressure, boiling vent gases, freezing temperature gradients and total darkness. However, it soon becomes clear that there’s more than just mother nature attacking them. There is someone else out there…
This is the deepest, furthest, loneliest place on earth. The Lomonosov Ridge has never been explored. This enormous tract of sea-floor – the size of France, Germany and Italy – is a disputed territory. Nobody comes here.
So when the Orpheus crew are seemingly rescued by another submarine, their first question is: why is it here? And as they make their way on board, their questions only multiply. For starters, this submarine is enormous – they’ve never seen anything like it before. It’s some kind of military nuclear submarine, yet it’s equipped for exploration. It’s clearly Russian. And all of the crew appear to be dead…
As the Orpheus crew attempt to unravel the mystery of what has happened, they uncover secrets more far reaching, more global, than they could’ve imagined.
Exec producer: Greg Brenman
Producer: Will Gould
Director: Jim O’Hanlon, Colm McCarthy
Writers: Simon Donald, Paul Rutman
Main Talent: James Nesbitt, Minnie Driver, Goran Visnjic
Transmission channel: BBC1
Production date: December 2009
Transmission date: 2010
Episodes: 5
Episode length: 60
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