Our Friends in the North

When this drama first hit our screens in '96, there was a certain cynicism about lengthy serials set in contemporary times, and whether it could hold a nation's attention. Casting was wide and varied - the four leads, who grow up together, grow apart, and grow together again - were played with class by Gina MacKee, Chris Eccleston, Daniel Craig and Mark Strong. Others in support included David Bradley, Peter Vaughan, Malcolm McDowell, David Schofield, Daniel Casey, and many more. Each episode moved the story along through its thirty-year span, while we watched each character reach their highs and lows until the last episode which left them all reunited.

Two things in particular stand out - the episode about the miners' strike, which was brilliantly done; and the closing credits over which Oasis' 'Don't Look Back in Anger' was played. I can't think of a better tune to close this excellent serial. One of the BBC's best.

Possibly one of the greatest Drama of the Last 10 years.

This story of Characters and events of post war britain is fantastic.

A must see. The Cast are all excellent and a times this will amaze you to see the changes that have happened in Britain.

I felt compelled to comment after reading a disparaging comment, I too come from a 'North/South' family with a mix of working and middle class and in no way found this patronising or contrived.

Instead I found a drama that personalised Britain's modern history, which also gave me an anchor of historical facts while watching to really emerse myself in the stories.

I found the characters at times to be self important but this was clearly the intention- Eccleston's character Nicky was self-important and selfish with his views- these are character flaws. This was the brilliance of the length of the series as you become so intimately knowledgeable of the characters. The tragedy of Geordie and the on/off nature of Nicky and Mary's relationship. By the end you feel like you have lived their lives with them, something only achievable with a top notch cast and great script.

I would unreservedly recomend this to anyone, even outside of the UK, as it is quite simply brilliant drama.

This series is excellent, both heart warming and tragic, as the characters go through thirty years of youth to middle age experiencing the cycle of life as the society and its politics evolve in a very haphazard way. The major actors are Gina McKee, Daniel Craig, Mark Strong and Chris Ecclestone. I like the role of Gina McKee who is a favourite of mine. Aristocratic and sexy, she has a tremendous presence in any role she takes. The love scene with Chris Ecclestone in the first show is one of the most stunning I've ever seen. Over time, she evolves to become the most admirable character. Ecclestone is the political idealist who finds that the practise of politics doesn't measure up to his ambition to make life better for ordinary people. He's a man in a hurry. To his credit, he does care about people but his ambition overrules his judgement. Mark Strong seemed to be the least impressive and the one most likely to mess up. This he did. In time, however, he matured and found happiness in a second relationship. Daniel Craig grew up in a dysfunctional family. As a youth, he seemed to handle it well and was a model youth. Time and the wrong people eventually took their toll. When it was over, I was disappointed but also hopeful that sometimes things can go well. I seem to be one of the relatively few viewers in North America to follow this series. I was fortunate to be a subscriber to Britbox because I developed a taste for British television watching PBS from 1975 on. British television now provides more gritty fare than in the days of Alastair Cooke. I'm not complaining because this series is a good example of the best of British television. It was actually made in 1996 but I only became aware of it through Britbox.

One of the finest moments of British Television and any other television for that matter. Three decades in the lives of 4 friends covering their youth, their dreams, defeats, disappointments and tragedies while at the same time showing us all the changes happening in the English society from 1960's-1990's. First class acting, wonderful use of music to depict the time period and marvelous production values make this one of the viewing events that will stay forever in your memory since after watching this it will be hard to find anything better.

Masterpiece if there was one