Our Friends in the North
May 26, 2015 14:53:49 GMT
Windy Miller, Tyne Tees Colour, and 1 more like this
Post by Dirty Epic on May 26, 2015 14:53:49 GMT
Shamefully I missed most of this first time around when it was shown on BBC 2 in 1996. I’ve been meaning to get the DVD for years as I’ve only seen bits and pieces on repeats etc. Coinciding with the recent general election felt it was about time to get the DVD. Sometimes you get hold of something from a few years ago and feel a bit disappointed with it. Not so with OFITN and after watching the 9 episodes over the last few weeks I was blown away with how good it was it was even better than I remembered it.
The four main characters Geordie (Daniel Craig), Nicky (Christopher Eccleston), Tosker (Mark Strong) and Mary (Gina McKee) are a linked circle of friends who are young adults attempting to make sense of their world in 1964. Geordie a long time friend of Nicky and Tosker is charming, sensitive and intelligent but is also easily led and naive. Nicky has genuine political and social beliefs but is also over-opinionated selfish, arrogant and uncaring. He’s interested in changing the world by various means and sees his father Felix (Peter Vaughan) as a failed burn out who can’t understand the political landscape of the 1960’s. Nicky is also Mary’s first love but she’s seduced away by Tosker who gets her pregnant. Tosker is the most strikingly different of the four. After unsuccessful attempts on the cabaret circuit and marooned in a hell hole damp ridden high rise flat he turns his attention on getting rich and moving up the social class ladder. Beginning with a fruit and veg van Tosker develops multiple business interests by the late 1970’s. However these always seem to fall short for him and with a crumbling marriage, delinquent son and loveless family the pair divorce in 1979. Tosker is even unable to even muster the courage to tell his own young children why he is leaving. But he embarks upon a new relationship and marriage with Elaine in the 1980’s – if perhaps not quite learning from past mistakes with Mary. The most ‘adult’ of the four Mary has come from a tough yet loving family but learns to make the most of things and herself. She does this by becoming a lawyer and independent woman around the time she’s divorced from Tosker to leader of the city council and local MP by 1996. However Mary never stops loving Nicky – a source of anger and jealously for Tosker. The pair eventually marry at some point in 1984 then separate a few years later much to the disapproval of Mary and Tosker’s son Anthony (Daniel Casey).
The theme’s of poverty, politics, corruption, organised crime, social mobility and societal change all run through the entire 9 episodes.
The main standouts are Alun Armstrong’s performance as corrupt politician Austin Donohue. Donohue was loosely based upon a real-life Newcastle councillor T Dan Smith believes the pay-off’s from ESB and others are a necessary evil in building a better city. Consequentially the pawns in these games (Mary, Tosker and others) get uprooted from close-knit communities to the new vision estates like ‘Willow Lane’ – meant to be the long demolished Nursery Farm Estate in the Bensham area of Gateshead, which quickly crumble away and create many of the health and social problems these estates became notorious for. Much to the disappointment of Felix and his political friend Eddie Wells (David Bradley) Nicky drops out of university and starts working for his at the time political hero Donohue. However he quickly see’s through Donohue and the corruption he’s involved with – including involvement with Conservative MP Claude Seabrook. Disillusioned Nicky heads to London and becomes involved with the anarchist movement almost to the extent of terrorism before heading back to the North East and involvement with less radical left wing politics. Convinced by Donohue to re-integrate with mainstream Labour Nicky eventually runs as a Labour MP in 1979 but is faced with a dirty tricks campaign by his Conservative rival Cluadia Seabrook which sees him lose a seemingly safe seat. With his dreams destroyed Nicky becomes a photojournalist and more like the Nicky we see in 1964 but still holding the political allegiances he holds dear but much more wiser.
We then get Geordie’s baptism of fire into the vice underworld of Soho, it’s kingpin Benny Barrett (wonderfully played by Malcolm McDowell) and the blatant corruption of the Metropolitan Police who are work hand in glove with villains like Barrett. The most vulnerable of the four and escaping an abusive father sleazy London quickly transforms Geordie from the sensitive, charming, intelligent, happy go lucky dreamer of 1964 to the almost totally destroyed alcoholic, mentally ill, homeless ex-con no-one has time for. Along the way though we do get some interesting insights into what the Soho underworld might (?) have been like back then ruled by charming yet terrifying villains like Barrett. Malcolm McDowell does in my opinion one of the best performances of his career as do the supporting characters Walensky (Leon Lissek), Julia Allen (Louise Salter) and the honest coppers DS Ron Conrad (Daniel Webb) and Roy Johnson (Tony Haygarth). Maybe Geordie was complicit in his own downfall by having his affair with Barrett’s ‘property’ Julia. However if Geordie hadn’t been double crossed by Barrett and the police and had he got his revenge on Barrett perhaps he wouldn’t have slid into ‘cardboard city’ quicksand by 1987.
Politics underpins OFITN and milestones such as the three day week, downfall of the Heath/Wilson/Callaghan governments, the rise of Thatcherism, the miner’s strike, the North/South divide, the beginning of new-Labour and even today’s sub-working class are all touched upon. The 1984 episode particularly focuses upon the miner’s strike and how Thatcher wasn’t going to allow the NUM to win another ‘war’ and have revenge for the Heath humiliation a decade earlier. I won’t debate the rights and wrongs here but OFITN does raise some interesting questions about it – particularly Mary’s police son Anthony who see’s things differently and eventually does the right thing in the face of official opposition.
OFITN also deals with real-life issues career, family, bereavement, illness etc. with realism and by the end the 9 episodes feel like real life watched in intervals.
One particular example is the rough ride Nicky has with his parents and Felix in particular. Peter Vaughan’s performance as Felix is brilliant. Once a voice of the people alongside his friend and grassroots Labour politician Eddie Wells Felix is a political cynic after seeing years of broken promises. He’s also hostile towards Nicky choosing a path of radical socialism/anarchism. Struck down with Alzheimer’s in 1984 Felix’s decline is just as painful as Geordie’s especially for Nicky who realises it’s too late to mend a relationship that has never been on the best of terms since he dropped out of university to work with Donohue in 1964.
OFITN shows us that people come and go in our lives and the consequences of our actions (Nicky) even in the short term can affect us sometimes for the rest of our lives. Central to this is how closely all four of the central characters end up resembling their parents whom they had scorned years earlier. All of the cast put in very strong performances and who’d have thought that Geordie a decade later would go on to be 007. Also there’s loads of faces from classic television in OFITN’s supporting cast too.
My only gripe with OFITN is the new-Labour love in the 1995 episode has. Perhaps inevitable given the mood at that time but with the passage of time turned me into Felix with nothing but cynicism of all politicians and British politics generally.
Why the hell the BBC (and others) aren’t doing anything similar to this for nearly two decades now is disgusting. Social-real drama was one of the main things which made British television interesting and has pretty much died out in the sea of reality shows, crap talent contests, celebrity culture and cosy/forgettable (painful) period drama’s that seem to dominate nowadays – Call the Midwife etc? FFS! The time is right for something similar to appear now. Whether it would be as good as OFITN is debateable but I’m glad I finally took the time to watch a drama showing a sometimes hidden piece of Britain's modern history.
Thanks to everyone involved in this particularly Peter Flannery for penning this as a theatre story in the 1980’s and for anyone who hasn’t got this I fully recommend getting hold of it.
The four main characters Geordie (Daniel Craig), Nicky (Christopher Eccleston), Tosker (Mark Strong) and Mary (Gina McKee) are a linked circle of friends who are young adults attempting to make sense of their world in 1964. Geordie a long time friend of Nicky and Tosker is charming, sensitive and intelligent but is also easily led and naive. Nicky has genuine political and social beliefs but is also over-opinionated selfish, arrogant and uncaring. He’s interested in changing the world by various means and sees his father Felix (Peter Vaughan) as a failed burn out who can’t understand the political landscape of the 1960’s. Nicky is also Mary’s first love but she’s seduced away by Tosker who gets her pregnant. Tosker is the most strikingly different of the four. After unsuccessful attempts on the cabaret circuit and marooned in a hell hole damp ridden high rise flat he turns his attention on getting rich and moving up the social class ladder. Beginning with a fruit and veg van Tosker develops multiple business interests by the late 1970’s. However these always seem to fall short for him and with a crumbling marriage, delinquent son and loveless family the pair divorce in 1979. Tosker is even unable to even muster the courage to tell his own young children why he is leaving. But he embarks upon a new relationship and marriage with Elaine in the 1980’s – if perhaps not quite learning from past mistakes with Mary. The most ‘adult’ of the four Mary has come from a tough yet loving family but learns to make the most of things and herself. She does this by becoming a lawyer and independent woman around the time she’s divorced from Tosker to leader of the city council and local MP by 1996. However Mary never stops loving Nicky – a source of anger and jealously for Tosker. The pair eventually marry at some point in 1984 then separate a few years later much to the disapproval of Mary and Tosker’s son Anthony (Daniel Casey).
The theme’s of poverty, politics, corruption, organised crime, social mobility and societal change all run through the entire 9 episodes.
The main standouts are Alun Armstrong’s performance as corrupt politician Austin Donohue. Donohue was loosely based upon a real-life Newcastle councillor T Dan Smith believes the pay-off’s from ESB and others are a necessary evil in building a better city. Consequentially the pawns in these games (Mary, Tosker and others) get uprooted from close-knit communities to the new vision estates like ‘Willow Lane’ – meant to be the long demolished Nursery Farm Estate in the Bensham area of Gateshead, which quickly crumble away and create many of the health and social problems these estates became notorious for. Much to the disappointment of Felix and his political friend Eddie Wells (David Bradley) Nicky drops out of university and starts working for his at the time political hero Donohue. However he quickly see’s through Donohue and the corruption he’s involved with – including involvement with Conservative MP Claude Seabrook. Disillusioned Nicky heads to London and becomes involved with the anarchist movement almost to the extent of terrorism before heading back to the North East and involvement with less radical left wing politics. Convinced by Donohue to re-integrate with mainstream Labour Nicky eventually runs as a Labour MP in 1979 but is faced with a dirty tricks campaign by his Conservative rival Cluadia Seabrook which sees him lose a seemingly safe seat. With his dreams destroyed Nicky becomes a photojournalist and more like the Nicky we see in 1964 but still holding the political allegiances he holds dear but much more wiser.
We then get Geordie’s baptism of fire into the vice underworld of Soho, it’s kingpin Benny Barrett (wonderfully played by Malcolm McDowell) and the blatant corruption of the Metropolitan Police who are work hand in glove with villains like Barrett. The most vulnerable of the four and escaping an abusive father sleazy London quickly transforms Geordie from the sensitive, charming, intelligent, happy go lucky dreamer of 1964 to the almost totally destroyed alcoholic, mentally ill, homeless ex-con no-one has time for. Along the way though we do get some interesting insights into what the Soho underworld might (?) have been like back then ruled by charming yet terrifying villains like Barrett. Malcolm McDowell does in my opinion one of the best performances of his career as do the supporting characters Walensky (Leon Lissek), Julia Allen (Louise Salter) and the honest coppers DS Ron Conrad (Daniel Webb) and Roy Johnson (Tony Haygarth). Maybe Geordie was complicit in his own downfall by having his affair with Barrett’s ‘property’ Julia. However if Geordie hadn’t been double crossed by Barrett and the police and had he got his revenge on Barrett perhaps he wouldn’t have slid into ‘cardboard city’ quicksand by 1987.
Politics underpins OFITN and milestones such as the three day week, downfall of the Heath/Wilson/Callaghan governments, the rise of Thatcherism, the miner’s strike, the North/South divide, the beginning of new-Labour and even today’s sub-working class are all touched upon. The 1984 episode particularly focuses upon the miner’s strike and how Thatcher wasn’t going to allow the NUM to win another ‘war’ and have revenge for the Heath humiliation a decade earlier. I won’t debate the rights and wrongs here but OFITN does raise some interesting questions about it – particularly Mary’s police son Anthony who see’s things differently and eventually does the right thing in the face of official opposition.
OFITN also deals with real-life issues career, family, bereavement, illness etc. with realism and by the end the 9 episodes feel like real life watched in intervals.
One particular example is the rough ride Nicky has with his parents and Felix in particular. Peter Vaughan’s performance as Felix is brilliant. Once a voice of the people alongside his friend and grassroots Labour politician Eddie Wells Felix is a political cynic after seeing years of broken promises. He’s also hostile towards Nicky choosing a path of radical socialism/anarchism. Struck down with Alzheimer’s in 1984 Felix’s decline is just as painful as Geordie’s especially for Nicky who realises it’s too late to mend a relationship that has never been on the best of terms since he dropped out of university to work with Donohue in 1964.
OFITN shows us that people come and go in our lives and the consequences of our actions (Nicky) even in the short term can affect us sometimes for the rest of our lives. Central to this is how closely all four of the central characters end up resembling their parents whom they had scorned years earlier. All of the cast put in very strong performances and who’d have thought that Geordie a decade later would go on to be 007. Also there’s loads of faces from classic television in OFITN’s supporting cast too.
My only gripe with OFITN is the new-Labour love in the 1995 episode has. Perhaps inevitable given the mood at that time but with the passage of time turned me into Felix with nothing but cynicism of all politicians and British politics generally.
Why the hell the BBC (and others) aren’t doing anything similar to this for nearly two decades now is disgusting. Social-real drama was one of the main things which made British television interesting and has pretty much died out in the sea of reality shows, crap talent contests, celebrity culture and cosy/forgettable (painful) period drama’s that seem to dominate nowadays – Call the Midwife etc? FFS! The time is right for something similar to appear now. Whether it would be as good as OFITN is debateable but I’m glad I finally took the time to watch a drama showing a sometimes hidden piece of Britain's modern history.
Thanks to everyone involved in this particularly Peter Flannery for penning this as a theatre story in the 1980’s and for anyone who hasn’t got this I fully recommend getting hold of it.