G.B.H.

Just an addendum to my review: someone commented on the important scene which takes place during a Dr Who convention. 28 years previously, G.B.H. executive producer Verity Lambert had been the legendary original producer of Dr Who, who recruited William Hartnell as the first Doctor. There's no way that scene was a coincidence :)

GBH is an excellent view of the would-be overlords of local government in the UK, using everybody (whether within or without the overlord's grand plan) to achieve the goal of power.

The situation is viewed through the eyes of the elected local government official who is played like a puppet by the would-be power-mongers of the day (pseudo-socialists trying to hijack every situation to make the tory government of the day look ridiculous) regardless of the casualties caused by their actions.

The elected official starts out as a hard character, whose weak spots are exposed by the puppeteers through a relentless barrage of political and psychological attacks, gradually exposing the child within the hard exterior - and ultimately concluding with the deposition of said character - who departs with most of (if not all) of the audience's sympathy.

This is a riot of a screenplay, placing first our hatred, and then our sympathy with main character - often with bizarre & humorous consequences.

It seemed fairly obvious to me, coming from Merseyside, that Michael Murray was loosely based on Derek Hatton. I was just a daft teen during his régime, but this enlightened me. The acting is excellent, although Lindsay Duncan is a wee bit wooden. The two main actors, Michael Palin and Robert Lindsay couldn't have been better cast. A grim and gritty portrayal of the dirty extremist side of zealots in politics. Not a faction to be applauded. Lots of wonderful dark comedy - nothing slapstick; intelligent writing instead. Alan Bleasdale is the Master of Grim Northern humour. Nobody can best him. A show I only turned on because I love Palin, but so glad I watched it right through. A word of warning: concentrate. There are unexpected twists & turns, and I had to rewind to let it sink in. Superb!

This is British drama at it's ultimate. There has been little to touch it since it's release. Bleasedale's script is full of twists and turns taking you from outright hatred and revulsion of the main characters through pity, sympathy and finally on to adoration.

The story is truly mesmerising, on the face of it a plain story of extreme left-wing politics in local government. So very typical of the late 70's and early 80's Britain and led to the phrase "Loony Left".

As the story progresses we learn that not all is quite what it seems. Michael Murray (Robert Linsay) is shown to be just as much of a pawn of the system, as the wretched Jim Nelson (Michael Palin) who he tries to take down in the first few episodes.

The acting is powerful, and way beyond what is expected of a TV drama. Look out for many of Bleasedale's favourite actors throughout the story.

Sadly this was one of the last real dramas produced and funded by UK Channel 4 before they were forced by the UK government to produce more 'popular' programming. A move that eventually forced C4 from becoming the major source of funding for British film, into nothing more than a proud sponsor.

Putting aside Robert Lindsay's much deserved BAFTA for his portrayal of sleazy politician Michael Murray, this show is worth watching because Alan Bleasdale's script is simply phenomenal. Even when the plot actually on occasion does move where you think it will -- you'll still be surprised, amazed, amused, angered. In short, this must be something like the Elizabethan audiences felt when they first watched Hamlet. The script is densely layered, mounting complexities upon issues upon personalities. And for all that, one doesn't have to be a genius to understand it and be moved through a number of emotions and reactions before finally being hung out to dry. It's brilliant.