The Last Enemy is a 2008 miniseries starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Annamaria Marinca, and Robert Carlyle.
Mathematician Stephen Ezard returns home to the United Kingdom after the reported death of his brother Michael, an aid worker in the Middle East. Stephen, who has been living in China for four years, finds that England had changed quite a bit in his absence: People all have ID cards, surveillance is everywhere, and a new computer system called Total Information Awareness (or T.I.A. for short) tracks people's every move.
Stephen meets his brother's widow, Yasim Anwar, who is harboring a deathly ill illegal immigrant. Yasim and Stephen fall into a relationship, but after the death of Yasim's immigrant friend, she disappears with the body, leaving more questions than answers. Meanwhile, Stephen is hired as a consultant and promoter of T.I.A.
Using his newfound access to the information network he secretly tracks down Yasim, unaware that he is a pawn in a government conspiracy. Add in the mysterious David Russell — a rogue government agent — and a couple of desperate officials, and the situation quickly escalates into an insane race to discover the cause of the illness.
Contains Examples of:
- Be Careful What You Wish For: At the beginning of the story Stephen declares that all he really wants is a secure and peaceful position where he can work on his mathematics in peace without having people bother him all the time. At the end, he is given one — as a combination bribe/way-of-keeping-tabs-on-him by the victorious conspirators, and after his experiences have changed him so much that it's no longer what he wants.
- Big Brother Is Watching: The United Kingdom of the series has turned into a complete surveillance state, with each person's movement and activities being monitored at all times. As the series progresses, Stephen realizes that the surveillance is even more intrusive than the suffocating amount the public already knows about.
- Downer Ending: The film ends with the surveillance state rolling on unchecked. Stephen lets go of Yasim so she can flee the country with Michael, only for Michael to get murdered (for real this time) shortly afterward. Stephen ends up trapped working for a Goverment he hates.
- The Dulcinea Effect: Stephen puts himself in the power of OBVIOUSLY untrustworthy people JUST so that he can keep tabs on a woman he met THE PREVIOUS EVENING. And who is also his brother's widow.
- Faking the Dead: Michael survived the attempt on his life, but decided to lie low to prevent the bad guys from trying again. (but he does this without telling his wife he's still alive) He eventually reappears, but by then his wife Yasim has moved on (thinking he's dead)and started a relationship with Stephen, Michael's brother, making things between them awkward to say the least..
- Secret Relationship: Stephen had no idea that his brother was married. nor did Michael know that his wife was now in a relationship with his brother...
- Stalker with a Crush:
- C'mon, Stephen may have a good reason, but he cyberstalks Yasim for about a week after she flees with Nadir's body.
- Terrified of Germs: Stephen is a germophobe. He's introduced asleep on a plane, bundled in a blanket and mask to try and shield himself and he rushes off to wash his hands in moments of stress.
- Viewer-Friendly Interface: Everything any computer does in the show is accompanied by a synthesized voice saying what it's doing. Including hacking into secret government databases.
