View source for Above and Beyond (miniseries)

{{Infobox television
| image                = Above (minseries).jpeg
| image_size           = 150
| image_alt            =
| caption              = DVD Cover
| genre                = History
| creator              = Pope Productions<br />Shaftesbury Films
| based_on             = 
| writer               = John W. Doyle<br />Lisa Porter
| screenplay           = 
| story                = 
| director             = Sturla Gunnarsson
| starring             = [[Richard E. Grant]]<br />[[Jason Priestley]]<br />[[Liane Balaban]]
| narrated             = 
| theme_music_composer = Dan Parr
| country              = [[Canada]]
| language             = English
| num_episodes         = 2
| producer             = Paul Pope<br />Justin Bodle<br />Scott Garvie
| editor               = Jeff Warren
| cinematography       = 
| runtime              = 240 minutes
| company              =
| budget               = 
| network              = [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] (CBC)
| first_aired          = {{start date|2006|10|29}}
| last_aired           = {{end date|2006|10|30}}
}}

'''''Above and Beyond''''' is a four-hour 2006 [[miniseries]] aired by the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] on October 29 and 30, 2006. It stars [[Richard E. Grant]], [[Jonathan Scarfe]], [[Liane Balaban]], [[Allan Hawco]], [[Kenneth Welsh]]  and [[Jason Priestley]]. The miniseries deals with the [[Atlantic Ferry Organization]], tasked with [[Ferry flying|ferrying]] aircraft from North America to Europe in the early years of the [[World War II|Second World War]].<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/aboveandbeyond/ "Above & Beyond."] ''CBC.ca''. Retrieved: October 16, 2014.</ref>

==Plot==
In 1940, Canadian weapons of war, including newly manufactured aircraft ordered by the British, have to be delivered to the United Kingdom.<ref>Davis, Jeffrey. "ATFERO: The Atlantic Ferry Organization." ''Journal of Contemporary History'', Vol. 20, No. 1, January 1985.</ref> [[Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook|Lord Beaverbrook]], head of the UK [[Minister of Aircraft Production|Ministry of Aircraft Production]], also arranged for the purchase of aircraft from manufacturers in the United States.<ref name=juno/> Aircraft were first transported to [[Dorval Airport]] near [[Montreal]] and then flown to [[CFB Gander|RCAF Station Gander]] in [[Dominion of Newfoundland|Newfoundland]] for the transatlantic flight. The initial ferry flight of seven [[Lockheed Hudson]] bombers from Gander Airport in Newfoundland took place on November 10, 1940.<ref name=juno/>

In 1941, the Atlantic Ferry Organization was set up, with civilian pilots flying the aircraft to the UK.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090805130949/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,851303,00.html#ixzz1Iem3cS77 "World War In the Air: One Way Airline."] ''[[Time magazine|Time]]'', October 20, 1941.</ref> The organization was handed over to the Air Ministry, becoming the [[RAF Ferry Command]].<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1941/1941%20-%202889.html "Atlantic Ferry."] ''Flight'', December 4, 1941.</ref> More than 9,000 aircraft were ferried across the north Atlantic and, by the end of the war, the operation helped make transatlantic flying a safe and commonplace event.<ref name=juno>[http://www.junobeach.org/e/4/can-tac-air-fer-e.htm "Ferrying Aircraft Overseas."] ''Juno Beach Centre''. Retrieved: October 15, 2014.</ref>

==Cast==
* [[Richard E. Grant]] as [[Don Bennett]], former RAF pilot
* [[Kenneth Welsh]] as [[Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook|Lord Beaverbrook]], [[Minister of Aircraft Production]]
* [[Joss Ackland]] as [[Winston Churchill]], UK Prime Minister
* [[Peter Messaline]] as [[Archibald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso|Archibald Sinclair]], [[Secretary of State for Air]]
* [[Jason Priestley]] as Sir [[Frederick Banting]]
* [[Jonathan Scarfe]] as Bill Jacobson
* [[Liane Balaban]] as Shelagh Emberly
* [[Allan Hawco]] as Nathan Burgess
* [[Peter MacNeill]] as [[USAAF]] Gen. Anderson
* [[Robert Wisden]] as Pritchard, RAF officer
* [[Aaron Bishop *actor)|Aaron Bishop]] as Pilot #11
* [[Travis Pritchett (actor)|Travis Pritchett]] as Pilot #10

==Production==
[[File:RAF Lockheed Hudson.jpg|thumb|Lockheed Hudson Mk IIIA (T9422) at the [[North Atlantic Aviation Museum]], Gander, Newfoundland appeared in ''Above and Beyond''.]]
Principal photography for ''Above and Beyond'' took place at [[Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador|Gander]] and [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's]], [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]], Canada. Other locations included [[Toronto]] and [[Hamilton, Ontario]], Canada. A period-accurate Lockheed Hudson Mk IIIA bomber belonging to the [[North Atlantic Aviation Museum]] in Gander, Newfoundland, featured prominently in the filming.<ref>[http://northatlanticaviationmuseum.com/hudson-2/ "Our Hudson."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020214228/http://northatlanticaviationmuseum.com/hudson-2/ |date=2014-10-20 }} ''North Atlantic Aviation Museum'', 2014. Retrieved: October 16, 2014.</ref> A [[Beechcraft Model 18|Beech 18S]] on display at the museum was also used.<ref name="Aircraft"/> The [[Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum]] at Mount Hope, Ontario, with an extensive collection of wartime aircraft, was another prominent filming location.<ref>Hussey, Dave. [http://stjohns.cbc.ca/gfx/Stjohns/photos/nf_hudson_gander_20050617 "Lockheed Hudson."]{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} ''Above & Beyond'', June 20, 2005. Retrieved: October 16, 2014.</ref> All flying scenes were staged with [[computer-generated imagery]].<ref name="Aircraft"/>{{clarify|date=April 2015|reason=The meaning's unclear. Was the museum's collection used for the film?}}

===Historical accuracy===
Despite attention to detail, a number of historical inaccuracies in ''Above and Beyond'' were noted. The [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator|"B-24"]] used by the [[USAAF]] general is actually an [[RAF]] [[Avro Lancaster]] bomber. The [[Douglas DC-3|DC-3]] shown in the first hour is equipped with modern [[turboprop]] engines. One scene shows a [[de Havilland Chipmunk]] trainer in a hangar but there were none in service in 1940; the first one flew in 1946.<ref name="Aircraft">[http://impdb.org/index.php?title=Above_and_Beyond "Above and Beyond."] ''The Internet Movie Plane Database''. Retrieved: October 16, 2014.</ref>

Other discrepancies include the American general wearing five stars indicating the rank of General of the Army, a grade only achieved during the Second World War by Army Air Corps officer [[Hap Arnold]], in 1944. A modern [[dial tone]] could be heard during overseas telephone calls between Bennett and Lord Beaverbrook. Air-traffic control equipment under repair contained [[Transistor|TO-3 transistors]] instead of [[thermionic valve]]s.

==Reception==
''Above and Beyond'' was well received. Reviewer Andrew Melomet noted, "If you're looking for a historical drama covering an overlooked and previously untold story, you'll enjoy Above and Beyond."<ref>Melomet, Andrew. [http://www.worldwar1.com/tripwire/smtw0407.htm ""Above and Beyond Miniseries."] ''St. Mihiel Trip-Wire'', April 2007. Retrieved: October 16, 2014.</ref>

==Awards==
* [[Directors Guild of Canada]]'s Craft Awards:
** Direction - Television Movie/Mini-Series — Sturla Gunnarsson (won)
** Picture Editing - Television Movie/Mini-Series — Jeff Warren (won)
** Sound Editing - Television Movie/Mini-Series — David Rose, Kathy Choi, Jane Tattersall (nominated)
* [[Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television]]'s [[Gemini Award]]s:
** Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series — Jonathan Scarfe (won)
** Best Original Music Score for a Program or Mini-Series — [[Jonathan Goldsmith (musician)|Jonathan Goldsmith]] (nominated)
** Best Production Design or Art Direction in a Fiction Program or Series — [[Pam Hall (artist)|Pam Hall]], Ane Christensen (nominated)
** Best Sound in a Dramatic Program — Henry Embry, Steph Carrier, Ronayne Higginson, Dino Pigat, David Rose, Jane Tattersall (nominated)
** Best Visual Effects — Peter Evans, Darryl Couch, Chris Darlington, Mike Mombourquette, Michael Skiffington, John Vatcher, David Woodrow (nominated)
** Best Writing in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series — John W. Doyle, Lisa Porter (nominated)
* [[Writers Guild of Canada]]'s WGC Awards:
** MOW & Miniseries — John W. Doyle, Lisa Porter (won)

==See also==
* [[North Atlantic air ferry route in World War II]]

==References==

===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* Christie, Carl A. and F.J. Hatch. ''Ocean Bridge: The History of RAF Ferry Command''. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1995. {{ISBN|978-0-8020-8131-5}}.
* Delve, Ken. ''The Source Book of the RAF''. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 1994. {{ISBN|1-85310-451-5}}.
* [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1941/1941%20-%202889.html "Atlantic Ferry."] ''Flight'', December 1941.
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|id=0478834|title=Above and Beyond}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|id=1174318-above_and_beyond|title=Above and Beyond}}

[[Category:2000s Canadian television miniseries]]
[[Category:Aviation television series]]
[[Category:CBC Television original films]]
[[Category:English-language Canadian films]]
[[Category:Canadian drama television films]]
[[Category:Television series about the United States Army Air Forces]]