The Summit is a Canadian drama/thriller television mini-series written by John Krizanc and produced by Media Headquarters and Shaftesbury Films about a North American military-engineered smallpox virus smuggled into Canada as world leaders gather for the G8 Summit.
The mini-series aired in Canada on ION Television on 15 June, 2008. It is 240 minutes (four hours) long.
The Summit airs in South Africa in four parts on SABC3 starting on Friday 25 December 2009, at 17h35. It airs in four parts, continuing on Monday 28th, Tuesday 29th and Wednesday 30th December.
Repeats
Weeknights: 00h30
Synopsis
Geo-politics, bio-terrorism and international intrigue take centre stage in The Summit, an all-too-real action drama that digs deeply into some of the timeliest issues making headlines today.
In The Summit, massive preparations are underway for the annual G8 Summit meeting, taking place in Canada.
As Canadian Prime Minister Adderly (Bruce Greenwood), U.S. President Aimes (Christopher Plummer) and other world leaders gather to meet at the summit, Leonie Adderly (Rachelle Levefre) - grad student and daughter of the PM - and Columbian union organiser Maria (Mia Maestro) are preparing to release an explosive documentary about the conditions of the Columbian flower industry at the Alternate Summit, a gathering of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and activists.
Meanwhile, a U.S. military-engineered strain of smallpox is smuggled into Canada and finds its way within the walls of the summit.
With the Summit about to begin, a test meant to combat the threat of bio-terrorism goes terribly wrong and the infected test participants begin dying in alarming numbers.
Led by a U.S. national security advisor, a massive cover-up goes into high gear.
With leading CDC investigator Dr. Thom Lightstone (James Purefoy), U.S. Chief of Staff Ellie Bruckner (Wendy Crewson), head of the U.S. Black Ops, Tate (Stephen McHattie), and reporter Rebecca Downey (Lisa Ray) on-site, a search gets underway for the bio-terrorist before the results turn deadly.
As the international community arrives for the Summit, will the cover-up be exposed? And will it be too late?
The Summit is a Media Headquarters and Shaftesbury Films production in association with Power. Christina Jennings, Scott Garvie and Justin Bodle are executive producers.
The film was produced by Adam Haight, Robert Cohen, Shari Cohen and Robin Neinstein. The director is Nick Copus. The Summit was written by John Krizanac.
Episodes
Episode 1
Canadian PM, Richard Adderly is to present his "Humanitarian Duty" plan at the G8 Summit and American President P.J. Aimes agrees to present Ellie Bruckner's want for an "International Threat Assessment Council" - something she is prepared to stage a "fake" threat for to have it instated.
Meanwhile, in Cucuta, Colombia, her stage is set - 6 men and a boy are vaccinated.
Episode 2
With the cover-up of a corrupt pharmaceutical company well underway with six sick men killed and Maria's son, Paco dead, world leaders start arriving in Northern Ontario for the G8 Summit.
While Leonie asks her father to help get Charlie a visa so that he can be at the screening of her documentary in Toronto, Maria is obtaining a false passport to come to Ohio with samples of her son's blood.
Meanwhile, Thom Lightstone and Danny check out Maria's place and discover that she must be on the run.
Ellie gets the news that there's an outbreak of smallpox in Colombia that seems deliberate... Maria's aeroplane lands in Ohio; she gets through the border with Leonie - neither of them aware that Maria is being tracked by Ellie's agents.
Maria manages to get a voice message through to Dr. Suzanna Provova (corrupt pharmaceutical company) about the death of her son.
Episode 3
With Ellie and her agents wiping out everyone who can uncover their cover-up, Leonie ends up at the Summit site after her shocking ordeal with an agent whom she stabbed with Paco's blood container.
Maria meanwhile finds the man's body there and lets Thom know about the situation. Before Thom can meet her there, Maria has to run from Ellie's agents.
Meanwhile, the Summit is underway and Leonie, infested by Paco's blood, is becoming sick. Maria is apprehended and interrogated by Ellie's agents, while news breaks that Leonie could be infecting everyone at the summit.
Episode 4
With Thom and Chuck suspicious of corruption and cover-up concerning the smallpox outbreak, they find Maria and Chuck uses his authority to get Thom to see Maria where she's being held by Ellie's agents.
He gives Maria the anti-virus. Ellie continues to stage her cover-up and anyone who can uncover it, dies.
She orders the protesters she had imprisoned to be brought to the summit site gate, then for Maria to be let loose among them, to get rid of Maria the Terrorist, her "proof" that there's a need for her "International Threat Assessment Council".
Will she get away with her cover-up or will her cover-up be exposed against all odds?