The Brothers

This was a great if guilty Sunday night drama on the BBC, often alternating with The Onedin Line. The earlier series were particularly noted for the portrayal of bitchy and sexy Ann Hammond by Hilary Tindall, and the stormy relationship with her husband Brian became one of the main story lines in the 3rd and 4th series. Tindall made a brief return in the final series. Later series suffered slightly by taking the focus away from the Hammond family, with too much emphasis on Paul Merroney. Sadly it looks like only series 1 is available on DVD. Other notable performances include Jean Anderson as the matriarch Mary Hammond and Richard Easton's portrayal of Brian Hammond. The series had a great signature tune. If it were around nowadays a great deal more would be made of it.

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 ...

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!!!

I had heard of The Brothers for years before I actually saw it. Luckily, Talking Pictures TV began their repeats of it on Thursday nights paired with the original Van Der Valk, which is top class scheduling.

The Brothers is the story of three brothers (the clue is in the title) who inherit a haulage business when their Dad dies, but they have to run it alongside his mistress, which causes tensions with the Mum. The characterisations are brilliant, particularly Alpha Male eldest brother Edward who wants things his way or not at all. His two younger brothers bring their own talents to the boardroom table too, and the prim, manipulative Mother orchestrates things from afar, gently influencing their professional and personal lives.

I love the wives in this - model Jill and vamp Ann Hammond. Ann is a forgotten gay icon, always with a cigarette, an arched eyebrow, and a waspish comment (and always in the midst of an affair). The old school Mother is well worth it too with her curiously dated diction and delicate accent. She's a piece of work on the quiet.

The boardroom scenes remind me of the "BUSINESS, MARJORIE!" sketches from A Bit Of Fry and Laurie, but they are good studies of class at the time. The Hammonds are working class done good, and Bill Riley is the uneasy working class guy who somehow found himself on the board. Above all of them are the bankers (notably Colin Baker), and you can really sense the Thatcher years on the horizon.

It really sucks you in, and it would be interesting to see it done nowadays.

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.