Bird of Prey is a British techno-thriller television serial written by Ron Hutchinson and produced by Michael Wearing and Bernard Krichefski for the BBC in 1982. From its video game-inspired opening titles to its pervasive electronic music track, Bird of Prey went to great lengths to demonstrate its credentials as 'a thriller for the electronic age'. These elements, together with a clever and complex plot that combines a breathless fascination with the still-young field of computing with pan-European fraud, international terrorism, rogue intelligence operatives and organised crime, link it firmly to the early 1980s, expressing that era's growing anxieties about the burgeoning 'Eurocracy'.
Bird of Prey (Season 2)
Death + Taxes (Episode 1)
Writer: Ron Hutchinson
Air date: 1984-09-06
Runtime: 50 min
Overview: Richard Griffiths again stars as the reluctant hero, Henry Jay, the mild-mannered civil servant.
A State of the Art Way to Die (Episode 2)
Writer: Ron Hutchinson
Air date: 1984-09-13
Runtime: 50 min
Overview: Henry and Anne go undercover in St. Leonards-on-Sea. His recent promotion means that he has to be vetted and what is uncovered is passed straight to the political head of Henry's department.
Ducks in a Row (Episode 3)
Writer: Ron Hutchinson
Air date: 1984-09-20
Runtime: 50 min
Overview: Henry continues to be threatened by the sinister Le Pouvier computer-crime syndicate.
Trapdoor + Spook (Episode 4)
Writer: Ron Hutchinson
Air date: 1984-09-27
Runtime: 50 min
Overview: Henry discovers that he is on the hit list of Le Pouvier's hired assassin.
Seasons
Episodes 4
Episodes 4