Powell had been a producer of high-quality all-film drama serials such as "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" (1979) and its sequel "Smiley's People" (1982), and he very much favoured this form of short-run, self-contained filmed serial over longer-running videotaped drama series. It was under his aegis, therefore, that the BBC produced some of its highest-quality examples of this type of drama, of particular note being 1985's "Edge of Darkness" by Troy Kennedy Martin, and the following year's Dennis Potter piece "The Singing Detective", both regarded as seminal BBC drama productions. "A gripping, innovative six-part drama which fully deserves its cult status and many awards," was the British Film Institute's verdict on "Edge of Darkness" in 2000.