Best British Drama Ever!
Bar none!
shareYes it is. Endlessly re-watchable, never fails to move, entertain and invite the viewer to become involved.
Sublime television.
I almost agree,it is certainly one of the very best drama series on British TV.
I also rate "EDGE OF DARKNESS","BETWEEN THE LINES" and the war one with Kenneth Branagh,the title of which I forget.
I cannot believe some of the negative comments on this site about this series.
It was I think well acted and well written and gripping,it can be viewed on 2 levels,on one level it is a story of the people who are in it,on another level it is the story of an age.
All the events in the series actually happened,miner's strike,machine gunning of the fascist Spanish embassy,corruption in north east England local government,and the social revolution of the 1960s and the disillusionment of sixties idealists.
If you have ever been involved in the Labour or Trade Union movement in the 1970s and 1980s the discussions between the characters seemed familiar.
Fortunes of War. Agree that it is amazing.
House of Cards UK and Smiley's People both give Our Friends In the North a run for its money.
I wouldn't go that far! Very good though, almost contemporary with me - yes you young buggers, I was there.
Marlon the Cat 1991-17th October 2005
Did you think it was very realistic??? I thought it was great: the accents were good and it was interesting seeing all the local landmarks and what-not, but I was born in 1980 and I live just outside of the city, so I don't really have an insiders perspective.
I know it's generally about fictional characters, but there was stuff there about the Meadowell riots. Any one have first hand experience?
Just been watching this over the past week and didn't notice anything about the Meadow Well Riots in there, there were riots with the miners but nothing about Meadow Well...not by it's name anyway.
From a historic point of view I can't really say whether it's realistic or not because I was born in 86 so the majority of the stuff happening happened before I was born.
From a regional point of view though I think they got Newcastle and Geordies spot on. When I watched it I thought Chris Eccleston MUST be a Geordie but I was shocked to find he isn't. He's more Geordie than me and I've been living in Newcastle for 21 years!
I think living in Newcastle adds so much more to this, if it was set anywhere else I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. Just little things like noticing how much things have changed since they shot it, like you can really notice and appreciate how much the Quayside has been redeveloped...and also how little it has changed.
I'm seven episodes in, and I adore it. Looking forward to the next two. Would put it right up with House Of Cards and Cracker as the great British TV dramas of all time...
Have a nice day
Yep.Magnificent script and riveting performances. Hope to watch it a number of times before I meet my maker.
shareCompelling drama, i havent seen such gritty realism since "Boys From The Blackstuff"
shareI must agree...the script/dialogue is pretty much faultless...the acting is really incredible.
I'm watching this in 2010...don't know how I missed it when it was 1st transmitted..I'd always heard it was great, but jeez, it really is!
Born in 1970, I grew up through a lot of this...from a very left wing working class northern background I'm now living a very middle class life in the south...episode 7 about the miners strike...I wondered at the start "mmmh, how they gonna show this?" and doubted that they could get it right...but they really did...."moved me to tears"? I nearly had a god damn breakdown....one of the most effective bits of TV and scriptwriting I've ever seen.
Just finished watching it for the first time (as a North East lad from a working class background). This is the best British TV drama I have ever seen; just incredible. So moving, so thought provoking. Just loved it, and how strange to see these huge names now absolutely ace it as these characters. I will never be able to watch Bond with Daniel Craig again after this; he will always be Geordie Peacock!
I do have one question/observation. When Geordie left for London originally he'd got a girl pregnant. That meant he had a child kicking around somewhere. Tiny gripe, but did anyone else see that as a missed opportunity? Or do you feel the fact that he was missing from this kids life was summed up by his reaction to the kid in the last episode and the general theme of passing our issues down to our kids?