Friday on My Mind

For fans of Christopher Eccleston. Friday on My Mind is a good early glimpse of the evolution of him as an actor.

I first heard of Eccleston in the movie Let Him Have It. His next major project was this military based romantic drama.

He plays Sean Maddox, a married RAF officer during the outbreak of the first gulf war in the early 1990s.

Maddox has been appointed as a liaison officer to bereaved Louise (Maggie O'Neil.) Her husband was killed during a training exercise.

Louise is convinced that there might be something more sinister behind her husband's death. Maybe there was a fault in the plane.

Her behaviour is erratic, maybe that is part of her grieving process. In due course she and Sean get close and have an affair.

It leads to Sean contemplating leaving his wife just as he is preparing to fly off to fight in the Gulf war.

Maggie O'Neil was the headline star of this series. I thought it was Eccleston who shines but I cannot see him as a romantic lead.

The drama is ultimately about grief. It falls short as a thriller and even as a drama. For me it was a little bit all over the place.

I saw this whilst living in England and recorded it off TV. It is about the wife (Maggie O'Neil) of a British pilot who dies in the Gulf War. The officer in charge of dealing with grieving widows (Eccelston), married with children himself, has an affair with her. I have not seen the show since its original airing circa 1992, and it is currently in storage, but I remember it being very well done.