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MUMBAI:
Content distribution company Granada International (GI) will
debut a range of content at the television trade event MipTV
which takes place in Cannes, France from 7-11 April 2008.
The
drama slate includes Bonekickers. Secrets from the
past are brought roaring into the 21st century in Bonekickers,
packed with historical mystery and contemporary action adventure.
This witty and fast-paced series centres on a team of talented
archaeologists working at the front line of history. They
are led by the feisty and passionate Dr Gillian Magwilde (Julie
Graham), who is following in the footsteps of her brilliant
mother both professionally, and in her obsession with finding
the greatest relic in history.
Each
episode is a window through to an exciting period of history,
including the excavation of murdered 18th century slaves,
the possible discovery of the True Cross, the looting of Babylonian
relics from the Iraq War and the exploration of secret chambers
underneath the famous Roman baths.
Another
new show is Lost In Austen. In the show a thoroughly
modern heroine threatens to ruin one of the world’s greatest
literary love stories in this reinvention of Jane Austen’s
Pride and Prejudice. Hollywood actress Alex Kingston
stars alongside Hugh Bonneville, Lindsay Duncan (Rome) and
new Bond girl Gemma Arterton. Bored bank worker Amanda Price
(Jemima Roper) literally becomes lost in her favourite Austen
book, after she finds a strange portal in her bathroom and
swaps places with its heroine Elizabeth Bennet.
As
she gets to know the Bennet family and encounters the famous Mr Darcy (Elliot
Cowan – The Golden Compass), how can she keep this celebrated romance on
track? Hollywood
TV movies also feature in Granada International’s new high definition programming
at the market, illustrated by Daughter of the Bride. Luke Perry stars in
this family drama centred on a mother and daughter. Rose (Helen Shaver) and Roxanne
(Joanna Garcia) are the perfect team as partners in a successful wedding planning
company.
But when Rose returns from a wedding dress research trip to Paris, she’s
brought back something extra – a new fiancé! Roxanne’s resentment
of her mother’s new love increases when he invites her own former fiancé
to dinner. It doesn’t take much for Roxanne to try and stop the wedding.
But when Rose confides that she only stayed with her unfaithful first husband
to keep the family together, Roxanne realises her actions could ruin her mother’s
chance for happiness with a man who truly loves her. Can she get the wedding back
on track before it’s too late? The
company will also showcase factual series including The Neanderthal Code.
This is an evolutionary detective story, shot in High Definition. Neanderthals
were humans that dominated Europe for a quarter of a million years and then mysteriously
became extinct. Why did they disappear? And what part did we play in their downfall?
The programmes travel the length and breadth of Europe, examining key locations
where Neanderthals lived, meeting leading experts in the field, and using scientific
expertise to reconstruct the Neanderthal’s world. Through
dramatic reconstruction, genetic sequencing and CGI, the programme explores the
fascinating theory that Neanderthals interbred with our ancestors. Is it possible
that Neanderthal genes still live on today?
For
children's broadcasters the company has The Pinky and Perky
Show. This is a CGI series for 6–11 year olds. Pinky
and Perky are a pair of loveable piglets who have just been
given their big break in television - their own live TV show
full of crazy stunts, wild games, anarchic cartoons and top
celebrity guests. Their show is loud, messy and frequently
out of control, which makes it a huge hit with the kids at
home – and very unpopular with some of the grown ups
at the TV station.
They’re determined to get rid of those pesky piglets and have a thousand
cunning plots and plans to get them thrown off television for ever. The show must
go on, but can Pinky and Perky work together to save the day? On
the format side the company will showcase The Colour of Money. Here contestants
play super cash machines to try and make their fortune. In this tense format from
12 Yard Productions, 10 contestants face a bank of 20 different coloured cash
machines, each containing an unknown amount of money. The
contestants must decide how much they’d like to win – and the more cash
they play for the harder the game. Players choose to withdraw money from 10 machines,
shouting ‘Stop!’ before each machine runs out. If they wait and the
cash runs dry, then the security system closes it down and they lose everything. Another
format is The Chopping Block and is set in the ultra-competitive world
of restaurants. Each week two under-performing restaurants are revamped and pitted
against each other to try to impress a renowned food critic or chef and to win
a cash prize.
This is a food fight for survival as both businesses are scrutinised, management
practices questioned and their customers surveyed. Cameras capture the behind-the-scenes
action as it unfolds and the pressure mounts as they try to turn their restaurants
around in only 48 hours. | 
