Midnight Is a Place

Midnight Is A Place is an epic story of love, hardship, perseverance and triumph that takes place against the backdrop of working-class England during the Industrial Revolution. The lead characters battle for control of a carpet-pressing factory, while simultaneously struggling to make sense of their new post-modern landscape.

Joan Aiken and Roy Russell's writing is exceptional for the late 70s; however, the TV episodes were plagued from the start by sub-standard acting and several notable costuming guffaws. Milton John's (Bob Bludward) heart attack at the end of Episode 4 was described accurately by screen critic Janek Drywsiscki as "cheap"; and Simon Gipps-Kent's (Lucas Bell) sideboards throughout the series are an inaccurate representation of the style during the period.......just to name a few. Also, note during the fireplace scene in Episode 7 that David Collings (Julian Oakapple) is wearing a wristwatch.

The one bright spot among the cast is Lally Bowers performance as Lady Murgatroyd. After starring the same year in "The Peppermint Pig", she adjusts very well to portray the elder heiress of the carpet-pressing factory who is out to crush the hopes and dreams of anyone who dares attempt to take over family business. Very convincing.

All in all, Midnight is a Place is a wonderful script desperately in need of a modern re-make. The 13 episodes could realistically be compressed into 4 with the omission of the going-nowhere romance between Davey Scatchard and Anne Marie.

6 out of 10 Stars.

Hello. I did enjoy watching this series. As an American, it was interesting and eye opening to get a glimpse of English life at that time. Not very pleasant!! I think the production did the best they could given budgetary constraints. I agree that some of the acting was a little uneven. I thought David Collings was a convincing and sympathetic figure. Some of the other cast not so much. A few of the accents were difficult to understand. I enjoyed the theme music. Overall I did like this series even with the occasional lump!!

Has anyone ever found Midnight is a Place (the movie) in DVD form. I have shown it to my grade 8 class for years but the VCR version is getting a little worn out. We have thoroughly enjoyed watching this series for years and many ex students come back to me and ask if i am still showing it. It would also be neat to find out more about the original actors and where they have gone. Having to write ten lines of text makes very little sense to me because what i originally wrote was all the information i needed at the time. This makes the whole process slow and cumbersome and tends to discourage people not encourage them to use this form of communication.