Tags
Alun Armstrong, BBC, Christopher Eccleston, Daniel Craig, David Bradley, Gina McKee, Malcolm McDowell, Mark Strong, Our Friends In The North, Peter Flannery, Peter Vaughan, Tony Haygarth, TV Drama
When Memory Turns Out To Be Vindicated…………..
Back in 1996 I was completely glued to BBC’s 9 part drama series, Our Friends In The North, produced by Charles Pattinson, directed by Stuart Urban, Pedr James and Simon Cellan Jones, and scorchingly written by Peter Flannery, based on his original idea and stage version for the RSC in 1982. At that time, I knew it was one of, or possibly THE best TV drama series I’d ever seen.
OFITN, which had had a hugely checkered, difficult, stop-go history at ever reaching transmission at all, for over 12 years, was an examination of British Politics, corruption in local government, central government, the Met, an indictment of class and the North-South divide, far-left politics, old-style Labour, new-style spin, and the rise of Thatcherism. It covered a period from 1964 and the Wilson government, – the `white hot heat of technology’ when Britain was cool and a country of potential, to 1995, when the opportunities offered in the 60s for a more egalitatarian society had all gone, and the politics of a different class had resulted in `there’s no such thing as society’
It was a drama tackling serious issues, but what made it magnificent drama, rather than merely `talking heads analysis’ was that it was based around the lives of 4 working class or lower middle Geordies, a group of friends in their late teens in 1964. Over 30 odd years the friends, two of them on the verge of University or already in academia, one indulged one dreaming of musical stardom, and one blighted by a violent, deprived, alcoholic upbringing, meet, connect, divurge, meet again and follow different ideologies and trajectories.
Eccleston, Craig and a bad hair day in 1970
That this still astonishing, still stunning, still thought-provoking and gut punching drama was released onto DVD, is probably down to the fortunate result of 2 of the 4 leads becoming pop-culture stars – Christopher Ecclestone, as well as being known for serious, intense, quality work, – Shallow Grave, Cracker, Jude amongst others – and also the 9th Doctor Who, played the politically focused Nicky Hutchinson in OFITN. But it probably did the fortunes of the release onto DVD no harm at all, that the most emotionally hard-punching, heart-breaking role was given to an unknown, only a couple of years or so out of drama school, called Daniel Craig….For anyone with a complete indifference to Hollywood blockbusters, who has, moreover, been stranded on a desert island without any access to the broadcast media, for the last 10 years, Craig became James Bond in 2005. Geordie Peacock, his character in OFITN is a far cry from the muscle man, secret agent and swoon factor of Bond
Nor have the careers of the two other `Friends’ sunk without trace – Mark Strong, playing wannabe a pop star Tosker – credits include Prime Suspect, Fever Pitch, Emma – his is a solid, working career rather than the stardom which happened to Craig. And Gina McKee (the only genuine North-Easterner of the four) whose Mary goes through the most steady progression into self-awareness and growth of the four, again has a solid rather than starry career (though award winning) and works as much in theatre as media – The Forsyte Saga, The Street, Waking The Dead.
Supporting the 4 relative unknowns were a wealth of amazing, established actors, including Tony Haygarth, Malcolm McDowell, Alun Armstrong, Peter Vaughan, David Bradley
Unfortunately the YouTube upload in sections has rather poor sound quality
A gripping, riveting storyline, based on real scandals around bribery and corruption – T. Dan Smith, John Poulson, the attempt to clean up Soho and the Countryman enquiry into corruption in the Met, there is a lot of sex, a lot of violence, an explosion of wigs and funny fashion to be recollected – and a wonderful, evocative soundtrack of 30 years of music as commentary to events on screen.
Friends in 1995
If I were to be a little picky, yes, the `Geordie’ accents of the 3 male friends are at times (particularly in the earlier episodes) a little ouchy, and there are a few technical hitches in sound quality in some scenes which mean that I was rapidly turning up and turning down the volume as the occasional scene descended into something approaching a whisper whilst the following scene boomed out blaringly till the level was taken back down, but, hey, these are minor. And then there are the wigs…but these are as much a pleasure as a pain
It’s a cracking, cracking drama, ye kna, man…………….
However, poor Statesiders, be aware this does not seem to be available in a DVD version outside Region 2 (Europe) so unless your player is all regions or you know someone with an all region player, these delights are not for you………….though you can at least see some of the done in sections uploads on YouTube
Our Friends In The North Amazon UK
Our Friends In The North Amazon USA – Region 2, Europe
Lady Fancifull 
Wonderful review of one our best ever dramas. I really want to watch this again! I wonder why it’s not part of the constant stream of repeats on various TV channels? The huge subsequent fame of those involved would guarantee a whole new audience.
I think it was repeated once, but my slightly cynical guess is that we are used to less challenging fare, and maybe they doubt there would be the viewing figures. And, possibly even more pertinent – even though the specific corruption and cover ups it dealt with are now ‘history’ – actually there are present corruptions and cover-ups a plenty going on and something like this underlines that. This is so very very critical of the political establishment that perhaps the wonder is that it managed to get broadcast at all! I do know of at least one drama, during Thatcher’s time, which was made and never saw the light of day because I assume the legals at the BBC realised there might be all sorts of problems. It was after all the worries about some of the material in OFITN which kept it off the screen and stop/started for so long – the little booklet which came with my DVD set recounts a little of that history – Flannery really being pushed at one point to water it all down – which he refused to do
I had no idea there was such insidious censorship! It really makes you wonder what is going on behind the scenes that we never hear about. At least its available on DVD, which is something.
I agree with MadameBibliophile – when you consider the endless stream of tripe on these channels…I actually didn’t watch it first time round, but it WAS repeated once, anyway, and like you – I was glued to it. I think Gina McKee hugely under-rated as an actress – she and Helen McGrory are always wonderful. And since seeing Mark Strong in a Jake Arnott adaptation, where he played a gangster who makes off to Spain, I’ve adored him. Hair or no hair.
I think (see my reply to Madame Bibi) like you, that our current TV diet is more or less unchallenging fare. When you look at what Channel 4 has become, and what it initially was! Mind you, I must say I’m finding Jimmy McGovern’s Banished is riveting. Of course it’s never so hard hitting to make stuff about the long ago past, OFITN was so amazing because it was dealing with stuff which was so recent/ongoing.
My appetite for TV which packed a ferocious punch as well as being wonderfully done has just led to me buying the DVD of Edge of Darkness so I’m looking forward to revisiting that grit next!
I’m trying to think that Edge of Darkness was; I know I should know! I clicked on to see how much Our Friends… was and was pleasantly surprised! May well snap one up! (I just had a long and complex call with Sky about setting up the box set/playback facility, or whatever it’s called – basically the iPlayer on Sky! – and was embarrassed to see the cable had been hanging unused from the back of the Sky box- just needed plugged in to the router…Rather embarrassing, but done now! I shouldn’t even be doing this – isn’t it a man’s job? Lol!
Political thriller, BBC Written by Troy Kennedy Martin, directed by Martin Duncan, starring Bob Peck. Peck is a detective. His daughter, Joanne Whalley was involved with an activist anti-nuclear, environmentalist organisation, and is dead. Peck sets out to investigate as it’s all suspicious, and discovers…all sorts of unsavoury stuff….another hugely lauded series at the time, very hard hitting. I can’t remember when it was first broadcast, I think possibly late 90s. I certainly think it was after OFITN. I’m clearly on a roll with these!
Banished ends I think this week so I need a quality gritty drama about more than just individuals, fix, EOD will do nicely
PS you made me laugh re the Sky box and I’ll stop sighing crossly when Dell engineers on the helpline start by saying can you check you have plugged it in and turned the switch at the walk on. And have you turned the computer on?
Mind you, I did something equally daft, was packing up a ‘ faulty’ coffee grinder to return when I realised that there was a small part missing – the lid of the collecting tray which I discovered acted as a safety lock and without which it wouldn’t work…it was on the draining board as I’d carefully washed, as instructed, all the plastic bits before first use.
Just tease me and slam the door. Go ahead. I can take it. 😀
Oh I’m so sorry – an SOS call to someone with an all regions player I suggest you need to call out, “waye aye, hinny, pet, hadaway man, wor friends in the Toon army!