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 is truly one of the finest series to come out of Britain. It took writer Flannery 15 years to get the series made, and when it was eventually produced the UK channel BBC2 spent their entire drama budget for the year on it. However, it was a fine investment.

The lives of four friends from Newcastle are followed from 1964 to 1995, against a backdrop of massive social and political change. It says much for the quality of the writing and the performances of the principal actors that you find yourself getting heavily involved with the characters' lives and caring a great deal for them. The leads have gone on to further successes, but this series catches them all early in their careers, and on astonishing form.

It was, in hindsight, a good thing that it took so long to get the show made. Flannery's original play ended in 1980, but the elongated production process enabled him to write more and more about the characters' fortunes, and take them another 15 years into the future. The most changed character was Geordie, who served in the army in Rhodesia in the original play, but finds himself instead in swinging London in a strip club in the finished series.

Do yourself a favour. Pick up the DVD set, and savour 14 hours of top television. It will make you think, it will move you, and we will never see its like again.

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