Oxbridge Blues

This series of 7 plays by Frederick Raphael aired twice in the UK in 1984 and once (I think) in the US. I was lucky enough to catch the first three plays and got the scripts for the rest.

Not always comfortable to watch (or read), the series captured the essence of Oxford and Cambridge (Oxbridge) University prejudices that still seem to pervade the English psyche today. The obsession with First vs.Second class degrees, the petty rivalries and less than honorable behavior that spilled over from the protagonists' Varsity days is showcased in a humorous and very witty way by Raphael's writing.

The plays explain many things that are absent from the idealized "Chariots of Fire" portrayal of "Oxbridge Man". Raphael strips back the curtain and shows some of the self-interest, ambition and self-satisfied smugness of those who scrabbled up the greasy pole of admission and took the worst of what they learned into later life.

The series is definitely long overdue for reemergence on DVD or online. Some of the inexplicably bad ratings are almost certainly for the truly dreadful "Oxford Blues" movie staring Rob Lowe which very unfortunately came out in the same year as the original airing of the series.

This is a review of the eponymous first episode of "Oxbridge Blues", the first of 7 stories by Frederic Raphael.

Oxbridge Blues is a delightful comedy which explores the theme of sibling rivalry and a touch of mid-life crises in the lives of two brothers. Victor, an Oxford-educated, upper-crust businessman (played perfectly by Ian Charleson) is married to the equally accomplished Wendy (properly played by Rosalyn Landor). Despite having all the outward trappings of success, each feels something lacking in their lives: Victor wishes he'd had more of a swinging singles life prior to marriage, and Wendy wishes for more intimacy with her husband and also wants a baby. Victor's brother, Pip (mischievously played by Malcolm Stoddard), is the self-acknowledged "lesser intelligent" of the two, yet has a zest for life, and also indulged in the above-described sexual partnering that Victor craved. Enter Maxine, Pip's fiancée and then wife (a charming performance by Amanda Redman), a likewise lesser- educated woman who admires Wendy's status in life and Victor's intelligence. Contrary to Victor and Wendy's married life, Pip and Maxine have children right away.

The crux of the story is when Pip starts writing "naughty" dime-store novels which prove to be runaway hits, so much so that a Hollywood mogul comes calling to turn the books into movies. Victor is hard pressed to be truly happy for his brother's success, subtly compounded, no doubt, by the fact that Wendy seems more attracted to the people in Pip's world. However, an unlikely camaraderie and friendship forms between Maxine and Victor, which ends up being key to their mutual happiness.

A non-commercial screener DVD is available through BBC-Thought Equity for a fee.

Writer Frederic Raphael is wittier than most mortals, and more literate by half. This wonderfully varied slew of seven hour-long screenplays written by him, most of them directed by the illustrious James Cellan Jones, are therefore intriguing and original and satisfying. All of them are about relationships of various kinds, and the way people intermingle and separate, about how they repel and attract, and about honor and integrity and all that is inbetween.

The first episode, "Oxbridge Blues", stars Ian Charleson and Malcolm Stoddard as a sort of Cain and Abel set of brothers -- one brainy, one earthy -- whose lives seem to do a turn-around mid-career, leading to raving jealousies and marital stresses. This episode was BAFTA nominated, and is delicious.

"That Was Tory" is a slightly darker or slightly more twisted tale of frustrations and an unusual link between a woman who has been summarily dumped and her sort-of friend's slightly lonely husband.

"Similar Triangles" coquettishly explores the eroticism of forbidden love. "He'll See You Now" stars Susan Sarandon -- in an award-winning performance -- as a garrulous and nutty stage star, opposite her staid Jewish psychoanalyst, whose patient and quiet demeanor is in stark contrast to her volatile instability.

"The Muse" broaches the tawdry worlds of creative writing, publishing, and literary acclaim, and stars David Suchet as a self-doubting and self-limiting wannabe serious writer, stuck in a rut of churning out snide comic strips and children's books. "Cheap Day" is an odd musing on the dreams and travels and temptations of a suburban wife, caught up in indecision and complacency.

"Sleeps Six" is a meaty venture, starring Ben Kingsley, as a filmmaker whose producer and former film partner, Jeremy Child, threatens to drive him and his wife and everyone around them mad when he arrives on the scene of their vacation villa in France with enough emotional baggage to sink a ship.

My favorite episode is "Oxbridge Blues" for its charm and wit. My second favorite is "Sleeps Six," for its meaty performances and plot. All in all, this series is a testament to Raphael's wonderfully fruitful creativity and gift for plot and dialogue. Intriguing.