The Rack Pack

The Rack Pack is right up my street. I was big into snooker in the 80's and 90's . The time when the sport was massive and it had some larger than life personalities. None larger than the focus of this film Alex "Hurricane Higgins" Higgins. I never liked Higgins very much back then because being from Plumstead I was a big Davis fan . This BBC film doesn't sugar coat Higgins at all. it's quite brutal in it's portrayal and because of that I have to compliment the director Brian Welsh . Probably the most impressive thing about this is the casting. Luke Treadaway is great as Higgins ( the accent strays a little at times) as is Will Merrick as Steve Davis but the inspirational piece of casting is Kevin Bishop as Barry Hearn. Bishop got Hearn down to a T. I absolutely loved this film and if the BBC keep producing dramas like this they can have no complaints from me about the licence fee.

Great idea for a story and was immediately interested but from when I first watched the trailer, I thought, why oh why do they hire English actors to play Ulstermen? Plenty of good Irish actors out there and Luke Treadaway just isn't up to it. Perhaps those with little Irish contact will not notice but it disappointed me from the start.

Apart from that it was quite entertaining and a glimpse into the start of snooker as we know it. I met Barry Hearn around 84 as a young kid. I wish I would've met Alex Higgins. Hope Alex is right and the miracle happens and Jimmy does finally become world champion!. I hope his daughter gets paid for this too. The film is about Alex and he's dead, she should get royalties

I thought the movie was very good, the first half brought some very good music tracks back to life. I seem to remember that in 1979 the snooker was on the BBC for hour after hour, and if memory recalls Higgins lost to Taylor during that championship. However 1979 was a dark year for most of the people in the U.K. when something happened that made the £ or $ sign more important than people. It took Higgins another ten years until 1982 to win the title again, which is where the film portrays him to be struggling as the best, but not the most commercialized snooker player. The films shows one of the main characters out to be a child of this greed for cash. Nearly forty years later I still have the same opinion as do nearly all my mates of that said person. Anyway good sounds, good story, (not sure if all snooker player portrayed sold their souls for cash) In short it appears that the title would of been more appropriate to be named as, (Barry Hearne is a CTNU)

Just watched the Rack Pack on iPlayer and thought it was great, very amusing and moving in turns. The performances were very good, but I can't help feeling they made Steve Davis seem a little bit too nerdy in the early days, asking the manager of the first snooker club about the pockets and the slate for instance. Whilst I'm not denying Alex Higgins' talent, I did think the programme focused more on him, and made him the real main character. Personally, I was never that fond of him as a 'character' and have always admired Steve Davis for the way he handled himself, even moreso now as a respected presenter and commentator of snooker. Also, I'm sure all the real life people gave their approval to the portrayals on film, but I don't think Jimmy White has done himself any favours by agreeing to how he was portrayed in this drama. Finally, these 'real life' docu-dramas always leave me wondering how accurate they are, was Higgins really so rude to Cliff Thorburn and his wife, so that Thorburn laid into him physically. But overall, very enjoyable and watchable, and very well acted.

THE RACK PACK tells a straightforward tale by contrasting the life of clean-cut Steve Davis (Will Merrick) with that of maverick Alex Higgins (Luke Treadaway). Obsessed with snooker from an early age, Davis was taken up by manager Barry Hearn (Kevin Bishop) and transformed into a media personality. His trademark gestures on the snooker table was carefully studied; and he was encouraged to make jokes about his allegedly boring public persona. Success on the table only helped to increase his profile; throughout the Eighties he was always the man to beat.

Higgins was the complete antithesis. A genius at the table, he led a wild private life dominated by drink. He had a family, with a long-suffering wife (Nichola Burley) and two children, but they eventually left him. He had plenty of money and spent the lot; in desperation he approached Hearn to manage him, but was abruptly refused. His star declined; by 1990 he had been eliminated in the first round of the World Snooker Championship.

Brian Welsh's production tried to adopt an even-handed approach, but it was palpably clear that Higgins's story was dramatically more effective, thereby proving Barry Hearn's point that people respond to failure more enthusiastically than success. Luke Treadaway's performance was thoroughly creditable, combining relentless self- confidence with chronic insecurity. He needed the company of others, especially his practicing (and drinking) partner Jimmy White (James Bailey); when White signed up for Hearn, Higgins was left completely isolated.

The only real criticism that can be leveled at this production was that it did not really take account the positive aspects of Higgins's life. He was certainly self-destructive, yet he also put snooker on the map as a televised sport. In the days of Ray Reardon and John Spencer the game was perceived as respectable yet rather staid, the kind of thing suitable for the BBC's POT BLACK yet not a ratings winner. Higgins's colorful personality helped to transform the game into a huge success during the Eighties, attracting viewing figures far in excess of mainstream sports such as soccer.

Nonetheless, Welsh's production made a thoroughly competent job of recreating snooker's glory days, with its recreation of the Crucible Theatre and John Sessions's memorable impersonation of "Whispering" Ted Lowe's commentary interspersed with the BBC's original soundtrack.