Boys from the Blackstuff

Alan Bleasdale's defining production. Almost unbearably tragic characters, yet Bleasdale manages to find the opportunity for rare wit in his dialogue. As good a T.V. series as there has ever been. Truly the work of a genius.

Boys from the Black Stuff is more than just a story. It's a snapshot of a special time in a special place. Liverpool in the 1980's could be a bleak and despairing place, with only the common threads of unemployment and humour keeping spirits alive. The story centres on the struggle of a ragged band of workers trying to make ends meet. On the way we see scams, subterfuge, corruption and the ongoing battle between the workers and the 'sniffers' (welfare benefit fraud investigators).

The locations are superb, painting a grisly accurate portrait of the time, with much of the filming done in Liverpool 8.

The language and dialogue also help capture the spirit of the time, with idiomatic 'scouse' used without apology.

Perhaps the best summary of the whole series is encapsulated in a line from the opening scenes in the first episode. Whilst establishing the number of dependents a claimant has, he is told that his grown up children who are 'on the dole' don't count. His response: "Nobody on the dole counts,love".

Recently released on dvd, this series is a documented history of the sharp end of 'Thatcher's Millions' - watch it if you can.

If you are interested in what it was like to live in Thatcher's Britain in the eighties then look no futher. You need a strong stomach - especially for Yosser's Story. Memories of Cathy Come Home from the sixties spring to mind. It's good, it's real and it hurts to watch it - that's WHY it should be seen. Thanks Alan Bleasdale- for seeing and telling it like it is.

This series is a brilliant insight to the devastation of Liverpool during the 80's it shows the hardship of job seekers and the many people who went through these times unemployed and deprived of their jobs and their futures where therefore destroyed by the high level of Unemployement during this period the five episodes are all written with a hilarious wit and a brilliant raw expression of life during this time that will make you laugh cry and feel for the characters and their situations the most touching story is Yossers Story it is brilliant and well written with a sense of comedy throughout although the results are upsetting. Yosser Hughes the Liverpool lad with his three Children alone living in a squalor he is desperate for a companion and finds himself alone when his wife tells social services of her torment suffered at the hands of Yosser (This a complete lie Yosser would not hurt his children or his wife) so they take his children and evict him he is beaten by the brutal Police who feel no remorse after they beat him to a pulp in his bare living room then he is left alone in the house desperate for work he tries to find a job at various areas of work but is never successful and in the end he is arrested and tries to drown himself to escape the life he has bean given. The brilliance within the series is the ability to upset you and make you laugh at the same time and finally realise the severity of unemployment during this period the whole series is absolutely brilliant and should be viewed by all because it is an outstanding look at life the history of a time in which Liverpool suffered the most and is an outstanding portrait of life a ten out of ten experience you will never forget

As mini series go they do not come much better than this. A brilliant portrayal of what life was like for those unfortunate people who found themselves without work at the beginning of the 1980's. A depressing testament to the power wielded by political leaders and the total indifference shown by those in work to those without it. All young and sceptical people bored by the stories told them by parents who were affected by events portrayed in this series should take a look see. Then they will realise that the stories they have heard are in fact true. A lesson for all which, when once seen, must never be forgotten. Comedy, pathos, bathos you name it, it has it all. Wonderfully acted. Not a poor performance anywhere to be seen. Has great educational value.