gingerninjasz

Mud was a wonderfully anarchic and funny kids series that sadly has not been repeated since it's original broadcast in the mid 1990's. It followed social worker Miss Dudderidge (Susie Blake) and her under privileged charges (mainly Bill and Ruby) through two series as they ended up in a series of adventures. What was intriguing is that they had a series involving kids from poorer backgrounds (not common for the BBC), with both Bill and Ruby coming from a council block of flats and given the chance to have a break at Thelfort Heights holiday camp over the summer.

Series 1 and 2 differed from each other. The 1st series was a more prosaic affair that saw the group arrive at Thelfort Heights, an activity camp run by the snooty Miss Palmer (Victoria Wicks, in a less restrained version of her character in Drop the Dead Donkey), who is horrified that poor kids are staying at her camp and tries various ways to get rid of them, helped by teenage assistants Philippa and Shane (the lovely Paloma Baeza and the not so lovely Russell Brand, both in very early screen roles). Mostly the episodes involved camp challenges or Miss Palmer trying to frame the gang for theft, all with the object of trying to expel the gang from the camp. But there was one episode involving escaped cons looking for hidden loot, while the first episode saw Miss Palmer trying to lose the newly arrived gang in Five Wells Point, an apparently haunted woodland where a couple had been killed and their baby son disappeared. Ironically Miss Palmer finds herself trapped down a well with the group, with only the youngest Ruby (who has stowed away and technically isn't supposed to be there) able to help, but on running for assistance she encounters and befriends the missing child, now a teenage wild boy, and that provides one of the plot arches that follow through the rest of the series. A madcap dash for a hot air balloon and a mix up in transport caps off the end of the first series.

The 2nd series was a more elaborate affair and had a fantasy element to it. Heading off to Thelfort Heights again for the summer, they discover the camp is now closed, so Miss Dudderidge decides to take the kids to her Granny's cottage to stay. But a strange Raggedy Man has been ransacking the cottage (gloriously Miss Dudderidge doesn't notice a thing when she leads the kids in, commenting how granny's place hasn't changed a bit since she was a kid). It turns out he has been looking for her grandmother's diary that mysteriously suggests that something is after her and that something is hidden up in the castle. Unfortunately for them, things are further complicated by the release of two ex cons who are out to rob the castle, but it's nothing compared to what is to come. For when the Raggedy Man catches up with the gang he warns them them that the Evil One has put a curse on the village and plans to enact a Day of Destruction. The only ones who can stop them are the Five Horsemen of Connigar, who he declares the gang represent, and a magical sword hidden somewhere. Unfortunately for them, the Evil One is already onto them - represented in the form of sweet old shopkeeper Mrs Dears (wonderfully played by Jennifer Piercey), in a refreshing and amusing take on villainy. Thus the gang head off to find the sword and avoid the ever powerful old dear, who has a unnerving habit of shapeshifting into various people, hiding out in funfairs and even travelling back in time in what proves a crucial plot twist.

The humour is what made this so memorable, and is helped by the fact the social worker Miss Dudderidge is clearly as mad as a box of frogs, played with such glee by Susie Blake. Indeed, it's clear that the cast are having a whale of a time and helps make this series such a fun and memorable one. The humour can also be a little near the knuckle for a kids series, such as the scene in the 1st series where Miss Palmer is leading the gang through Five Wells Points woodland, only for a number of the kids to spot two horses together and continually asking "What ARE those horses doing together Miss?" It's clearly a joke aimed to go over the watching kids heads for their parents to chuckle at, but there is no doubt what they are getting up to! Then again, watching kids shows back then there were numerous near the knuckle stuff and jokes in them that TV executives wouldn't allow nowadays, but for me made these shows a lot more fun for it's uninhibited nature.

It's also notable for starting the careers of some famous faces, such as Russell Tovey and Brooke Kinsella, who proved so good sparking off each other they came back for the 2nd series. As well as the two siblings usual ribbing about Ruby bringing her teddy bear Steve with them on holiday, there is one scene that even all these years later sticks in my mind and makes me chuckle. In the 2nd series Bill has gone off with potential girlfriend Karen (Linda Slade) for a sneaky snog, not realizing it is actually the shapeshifting witch Mrs Dears until it is too late - much to Bill's horror. Later Ruby gleefully taunts him with the cry "You kissed a granny! You kissed a granny!" Out of the two series, Series 1 is rather ordinary by comparison, mainly stuck to camp escapades as Miss Palmer tries to rid herself of her unwanted guests, but it still remains funny. However the 2nd series is by far the better, and the fantasy element helps give it more scope as it throws the gang about all over the place and back and forth in time. It also helps with great support by Trevor Peacock as the mysterious Raggedy Man (who gives it more depth than you'd imagine for a kids' series) and Jennifer Piercey, who belies her sweet old dear act to make a very effective and sinister adversary while maintaining a lot of humour. For my ratings (as my 8/10 is a combined one for both series), I'd give Series 1 (6/10) and Series 2 (9/10). Astonishingly neither series have ever been released on video or DVD and the only copies seem to be uploads on Youtube of old recordings, but if you remember this show and loved it - or are even just curious about it - then check it out. It's a gloriously funny, madcap series that deserves to be better known.

Set in 1930 during the Depression hit Britain, this period drama starts with Irish maid servant Anna Fitzgerald (Prunella Gee) walking down a country road, followed by her lover (played by a young Nigel Havers), having decided to abandon both him and her job for a new start in life. Along the way she comes across a surly stranger (John Nolan) camping in a field, trying to cook a sausage and despite efforts by him to put her off the chatty Anna ends up stopping the night with him (on a platonic basis, I hasten to add). He lets her know his name, Nick Faunt, and she learns he is an aspiring artist, and the next morning, despite his initial reluctance, he allows her to accompany him up north to Manchester. What she doesn't know yet is that he is the son of a millionaire, Sir George Faunt, who has rejected his wealth in order to be free to try and make it as an artist. However, that only skims the surface of why he's left his past behind him, but he is not the only one with secrets. For despite Anna's assertions that she is happy following Nick to wherever he ends up, it turns out she too has a reason to be in Manchester. That's apparent when she meets Nick's artist pal Anton Broune and his girlfriend Rachel Rosing (Sharon Maughan), with both women showing equally cold disdain towards each other. That's because they know each other and also that Rachel's brother Jacob (or Mo, as he is known to his friends) has been looking after Anna's child for the past five years, father and circumstances unknown.

This becomes a period drama where nearly everyone has secrets of one sort or another, either when we meet them or as the drama unfolds. It takes a time to get going from the first two episodes, and at first Nick Faunt is a miserable git compared to the nearly ever cheerful Anna. But he does improve as it contrasts between the artistic glamour (such as it is) of Nick and Anton among the upper classes as they try to make their name in the art world, and the clear poverty that Jacob and Rachel Rosing inhabit as they try to make ends meet as Jacobs looks after Anna's son Brian. But the contrast between the two siblings could not be more different. While Jacob is happy enough in his run down council house, living his life through Brian, his sister Rachel is determined to escape that life and hangs around Anton in the hope of achieving the more glamorous lifestyle to which she aspires.

However, as the drama progresses so does the realisation that aside from a few characters in this, most of them are selfish, inconsiderate people who do not consider how their actions may affect others. One such example is Anna herself, who turns up out of the blue after five years away to inform Jacob that she wants to take her son to live with her. No consideration as to the bond that he has formed with her son, or the hard work or love he has lavished to raise him or that he is settled with Jacob. She just looks upon it that he's been caring for him for a bit until she decides to claim him. The decision devastates Jacob, who in desperation asks her to marry him so that the boy can stay with him. But she refuses him, and unable to cope with this he decides to leave, eventually ending up being taken in by Joe and Olga Kepple, a couple of Communist rabble raisers he sees preaching on the street. Jacob is one of the few characters who you constantly feel for and Howard Southern does a beautiful job at making his total decency as compelling as he is heart breaking. And even though Joe Kepple is a Communist agitator, played by Ray Mort he makes him most engaging and human as he rallies against the mass unemployment that is affecting the area, with the irony of the strikes he is organizing only leading to more workers unable to work due to the factories shut being lost on him. In contrast to them, the lead characters are a somewhat more conceited bunch and considerably less likable.

What is remarkable in this drama is how every character in some way has a connection to another in the surprisingly intricate plotlines. Even the arrival of the Kepple's daughter Jenny midway through the series proves vital to the story, as secrets are gradually brought to light and the plot twists one way, then another in devastating fashion. One dominant factor in the series is Nick and Rachel's animosity towards each other. Neither like each other much (probably because they are similar in personality), but it soon develops into a love-hate affair that only adds to complicate matters in the grand scheme of things, not least with Anna, who grows to love Nick but cannot understand why he refuses to sleep with her. The reason for that is that she reminds him of his past, but to say more would only spoil things. Rachel is hard to like, a cold and seemingly calculated woman who is determined to get what she wants - or thinks she wants. Even when things get hard for her, it's hard to really feel for her. But worst of all is Nick himself. Thinking of himself as an artist who must be free of restraints in life to do his work, it becomes apparent when the full secret of his estrangement between him and his father comes to light that he is just a selfish man who wants to renege his responsibilities to live a Bohemian life and to hell with everybody else whose lives he has messed up.

The way the plot twists in the latter episodes make this a compelling watch as secrets are revealed and people do seemingly innocuous things that only trigger greater revelations or tragedies. But ironically, despite the self absorbed lifestyles of the main characters, it is the human drama of it's lesser characters and the general poverty of Manchester that you empathise with most of all and stays longest in the memory. Despite her character's inconsiderate nature, Prunella Gee still makes Anna a most engaging figure, full of fun. I quite enjoyed her meetings with the old gentleman (Patrick Holt), oblivious at first that he is actually Nick's father Sir George Faunt. Holt adds a lot of old fashioned charm to Sir George, who complicates matters further by falling for Rachel Rosing, but even he reveals himself to be a self centred character in the end. Despite all this I enjoyed this series, though a ignored newspaper article at the end of the last episode summed up the characters perfectly in this. It may have a slow start, but despite it's rather selfish main protagonists it also has a great theme tune and a heart for it's neglected and downtrodden characters. John Nolan makes a suitably glowering lead in Nick Faunt, but for me Prunella Gee is much better as Anna. But best of all is Howard Southern as the truly decent Jacob "Mo" Rosing. He gives this drama it's heart and soul, and one that will haunt you long after this series is finished.

I always like period dramas, not least because they are an escape from the modern world in which we live in. Coming across this 1977 drama, I was even more intrigued when I learned this was written by H. E Bates, who did The Darling Buds of May stories. This is a far more darker and melancholy story than that 1990's series, but just as poignant and moving at times. But it's one that suffered a troubled production, with original writer Richard Bates (son of the author) sacked a third of the way through, costing them £100,000 in reshoots, the original director resigning midway through and a producer suffering a heart attack during production. And sad to say it more than affects the final cut of this 1977 adaptation, which suffers from far too many episodes from far too many writers who seemed to wish to wring out every page onto the screen.

The story begins in 1921 when young newspaper reporter Edward Richardson (though rarely addressed by his first name) is asked by his boss Bretherton (a wonderfully acerbic David Ryall) to go up to the "Big House", a rambling country estate, to interview the Aspen family after the death of their brother in a hunting accident. Richardson is not keen - indeed he never seems keen to work - as the family consist of two elderly sisters and a somewhat seedy brother, but when he finally pays a visit to the Big House he is somewhat surprised to learn that their niece Lydia has moved in with them after the death of their brother. Young, quiet and seemingly introverted, he is asked by her Aunt Bertie to take her out ice skating, worried that remaining in the isolated country estate will be detrimental to her wellbeing and the hope that meeting people her own age will bring her out of herself. So Richardson becomes a sort of guardian as he shows her about the place and introduces her to his friends, and it isn't before long that he is falling in love with her. Unfortunately for him so do his friends, and as Lydia comes out of herself and they start attending numerous dances at country estates and village halls, Richardson begins to realize that Lydia is not the wallflower that he initially thought but one who loves being the centre of attention of men.

The problem early on in this adaptation is that the above described is ALL that happens for the first SIX episodes. The first episode may reflect well the isolation and bleakness of the Big House and what it must feel for a young newly orphaned girl like Lydia to come to, knowing nobody and with only elderly relatives to converse with. But the episode moves at such a crawl, and contrary to what I hoped it doesn't get any speedier. It isn't until episode 7 - halfway through the 13 episodes - that things finally start to happen when a fire interrupts Lydia's big 21st birthday bash, where all the village are attending. Amusingly Lydia is put out by the attention the fire has on the guests and decides to lead a party down to where it is. Her aunts are puzzled by her attitude, leading Uncle Rollo (a ramblingly seedy Michael Aldridge) to quip "Maybe it's because she's no longer the centre of attention." It's interesting that Lydia detests her Uncle Rollo, but that is due to the fact he is the one person who isn't taken in by her and who sees her as she really is. And it's Lydia's ability to bewitch the young men in her life - Richardson, his friends Alex Sanderson and Tom Holland, and cab driver Blackie Johnson, who ferries the group to and from parties - that creates the turmoil to come and also affects the women in their lives, such as Tom's sister Nancy, who desperately loves Richardson, and Nora Jepson, Alex's on/off girlfriend who eventually becomes a drinking cohort to Lydia. As the series finally becomes interesting, Lydia's unconscious inconsiderateness and lack of awareness to other people's feelings leads - along with Richardson's own jealousy and selfishness - to untold tragedy, where during the course of the series two characters die, one enters into a marriage with someone they do not love and two others are stricken with tuberculosis.

There are some wonderful performances in this. Beatrice Lehman gives a lovely performance as the wise Aunt Bertie, who knows what youth like despite her advancing years, while Wendy Gifford makes a coquettish mother to Jeremy Irons and Christopher Hancock is wonderfully decent as Richardson's easy going and understanding father. This series is also notable for a number of stars who had not yet found fame, including Jeremy Irons, Peter Davidson and a star making role for Mel Martin as Lydia. Indeed, Mel Martin so inhabits the character and all her nuances that in a way it reflected many of the roles she later received in her career. While Peter Davidson is given somewhat of a bland character in the nice but dull Tom Holland, Jeremy Irons is wonderfully charismatic as the perpetually inebriated Alex Sanderson, doing a Sebastian four years before Brideshead Revisited. Another one of note is Sherrie Hewson as the lovelorn Nancy Holland. She is so heartbreakingly touching as Nancy, who continually harbours hope that Richardson, her former boyfriend until Lydia comes along, will realize that she loves him and come back to her. In one scene she invites Richardson over to her home while her family are out and even up to her bedroom in her efforts to attract him, showing she is prepared to sleep with him if it will make him love her again in an era before contraception and risks were high. It's agonising to watch her time and again humiliate herself for him, and Hewson shows, as with with her later role in Flickers (1980) what a superb actress she was at this time, and such a shame her comedy work overshadows this.

Another problem with this drama is that the friends are far more appealing than it's two leads. Indeed, when it first begins Richardson (Christopher Blake) proves frustratingly irritating. He has a job as a reporter for the Evensford newspaper but instead idles about dreaming of being a writer. Indeed, he proves reluctant to do any work in an era where unemployment was high and money was short, and as he becomes obsessed with Lydia he frequently skips work to take her out - so much so that you enjoy the moments when Bretherton roasts him. David Ryall is wonderfully amusing in this, with his scathing nickname of "Clutterhead" for him (he might as well be called that, for few call him by his first name in this), but you know when you are enjoying someone belittling the lead character that something is wrong here. And the trouble is that despite Christopher Blake doing a decent job at conveying the lovelorn devotion of Richardson, as the drama progresses he becomes ever more unlikable. Richardson has aspirations of being a writer, but he is in fact a snob who thinks he is better than his surroundings and the people around him. When Lydia starts paying attention to Blackie Johnson, who drives the group to all the dances going on, he is disgusted that Lydia would consort with a working class mechanic. His jealousy is such that it results in the inadvertent death of one character, while he is so self absorbed he doesn't notice when two characters need him at their most vulnerable, leading to yet another death. Even when he has the chance to make it as a writer, he is so utterly rude to the publisher's daughter that he becomes obnoxious.

Lydia's character is not always appealing, but at least with her you understand her actions. Her character seeks an escape from her surroundings and situation, and when she sees an opportunity in Richardson - helped by her far seeing Aunt Bertie - she takes her chance to embrace her youth and enjoy life. She likes the effect she has on men and seeing how far they will go for her devotion, but at the same time has little sense of how deeply they will feel for her. When Richardson proposes to her, she rejects him because she has no plans for settling down yet. She wants to enjoy her youth while she has it, and while her self absorbed attitude is not always appealing at least I could understand her character's motivations. Where she grates is in her complete lack of awareness for other people's feelings, perfectly reflected by the character of Blackie Johnson, who proves a devoted admirer of hers, used and often abused by her. It's to Mel Martin's credit that she makes her so beguiling for such a self centred character. And this is why despite her nature I could understand where she was coming from. With Richardson, I could not. He just came across as an insufferable prig that only improved in the last episode.

At times it's hard to criticize this series, as it does a lovely job at depicting the raw emotions and lives of it's characters, while it's theme tune is hauntingly melancholy. It is beautifully shot and it's period designs are perfect of the era. Indeed, it has to be said that the makers did a good job at how the series looked, and there is something poetical about the scenery, from the icy winters to the summer countryside in bloom. The performances are nearly all universally good, with Sherrie Hewson and Jeremy Irons among the standouts, while Mel Martin is perfect as the imperfect title character. But the problem persists that Love For Lydia, for all it's beauty and it's poignancy, is deathly slow to get going. Thirteen episodes is far too long and should of been cut by at least half. And while it demonstrates perfectly the complications of unrequited love and the mess people make of others lives, it still doesn't disguise the fact that the two main protagonists in this are unlikable. It's hard to know how they could end this story, but it's conclusion merely left me thinking of those characters whose lives had been ruined and feelings discarded along the way. If someone had let rip into these two characters about how they treat people I might of felt differently, but by the end of this 13 part epic it felt a wasted journey into their lives.