The Brothers

An interesting and intelligent 'soap opera' from the '70s. The dialogue and acting are first-rate and constructive while the very ''70s' bourgeois props and costumes are evocative: I saw a framed print of Vermeer's ''Girl With A Pearl Earing'' in one domestic scene showing good taste. The young graceful English actor - the Chaucerian Malcolm Stoddard was in the brilliant scientifically fascinating documentary series, ''The Voyage of Charles Darwin'' (1978). Prim and proper actress, Jean Anderson was born in the remote year of 1907! The series was a big hit in Holland. The first episode was aired in 1972 - that greyest of hippy years although the early-'70s were pioneering years.

I was 12 when the first series of The Brothers hit the screens in 1972, and 17 when it reached an untimely end in December 1976, at the end of Series 7, and thus didn't understand half of the 'business-y' things that went on, but that didn't stop it from establishing itself as the best thing I'd ever seen on TV. 40+ years later, I've just finished watching it all again on DVD, and my opinion is unchanged : pure magic. We must thank our lucky stars that this is NOT one of the shows that the BBC threw away after transmission (the majority of things from that era no longer exist) : all episodes surviving on their original 2" videotapes long enough to be digitally transferred by said organisation. Most people now have no idea what this show was : but at the time it was regularly #1 in the 'Most Watched' weekly chart. 41 years later, I'm still waiting for Series 8, but I'm starting to think that I may be disappointed ...

It's great to see this show has been picked up for a re-run from Series 1 by Talking Pictures TV.

The children of a highly successful businessman fight to carry on the business, each with their own idea of how it should be run and ultimately seeking overall control. Various outsiders including rival entrepreneurs and financial whizzkids want a slice of the action. Add in the spice of a long-hidden illicit relationship, ongoing conflicts between hurt and betrayed parties, and you have a storyline which could easily find its place on mainstream TV today. No, it's not "Succession", but could easily be seen as a 1970's "ancestor" to that phenomenon.

I remember vividly how "The brothers" were an integral part of my family's life in the late 70's - Our town's public library held 50 copies of the book which followed the series, yet it was always out of copies! Jean Anderson was very good as the mother, cultivating her children's guilt feelings for "not paying enough attention to her". Patrick Occonnel is Edward, the oldest son which always tries to please her, Robin Chadwick is her youngest who handles the problem by running away from it, and Richard Easton is the sandwich kid trying desperately to remain calm. Naturally, in the midst of all these family bickering, the company, which is the reason they supposedly stick together despite it all, falls into the hands of others, led by the unforgettable Paul Merrony (Colin Baker). I wish there was more stuff about this show available on the web - Unfortunately I was unable to find any. It seems as though this show was undeservingly set aside and forgotten.

THUMBS UP!!!

'The Brothers' was a cut-price British precursor to 'Dallas' and 'Dynasty' set in the glamorous, cut-throat world of...truck haulage. This family saga was a BBC Sunday night fixture in the 1970's and acquired cult status, in amongst other countries, the Netherlands and Israel (as confirmed by another contributor). In each run the Hammond brothers faced domestic crises and attempted takeovers from ruthless business rivals - in successive series an abrasive Aussie played by Mark 'Taggart' McManus; the slimey Paul Merrony played by Colin Baker and a bizarre aircraft hire outfit run by the sultry Kate O'Mara and the sozzled Mike Pratt. The Brothers survived losing its leading man, Glynn Owen , early on and the fact that his replacement in the role of Ted Hammond, Edward O'Connell was nothing like him in appearance or character. O'Connell subsequently tried to quit the show to become a painter but was lured back. The beautiful Gabrielle Drake, wife of one of the brothers, quit between series and was promptly bumped off in an off-screen car crash. The show was held together by the redoubtable matriarch Mary Hammond, played by Jean Anderson (later in 'Tenko'), who was an excellent actress and a close friend in real life of her arch-enemy on the show, Jennifer, formerly her late husband's mistress and now married to her eldest son. The show finished rather abruptly while it was still very popular and you got the impression that any other TV station would have flogged the concept for several more series. The BBC later made a sort of camped-up version for the 1980's called 'Howard's Way', set in a boatyard.