Memorable TV Plays

'Cathy Come Home' made a deep impression on me too. It was one of the Wednesday Plays series on ITV .
Marelli 'Up the Junction' was a novel by Nell Dunn, later made into a film. It contained the memorable line 'no use waitin' till yer an old bag' which mantra I frequently repeat to myself.

I doubt that much of the drama of today will be remembered in 30 or 40 years to come because so much of it is unoriginal. Do other people find that one-off dramas often start well but sort of fizzle out and are ultimately disappointing? I've been watching "Utopia" which wouldn't normally be my sort of thing as it was quite violent but it intrigued me. The end was a bit of a let-down though.

Having said that, I do think that anything by Jimmy McGovern is usually pretty good.

My four_year old grandson loves the Red Balloon, available with Crin Blanc on one dvd.

"A Sunset Touch" with Thora Hird! It has stayed in my mind; a husband retires, she insists on moving from a cosy working class home, where they have lived forever, to a rented flat in Morecambe. It was so sad....

Both DH and I still love and re-watch "Porterhouse Blue" ( in fact he knows a lot of the dialogue). John Sessions played the student and wonderful acting by David Jason as Scullion the College Porter still makes us laugh out loud.

We also remember and re-watch "Boys from the Black Stuff" with Yosser Hughes and his "gizza job".

My favourite is 'Another time Another Place' starring Phillys Logan as a crofter's wife who has to take in Italian Prisoners of War. The contrast between these handsome, emotional Italian men and her dour Scots husband, the way they bring a different outlook to life and of course she falls for one of them between working the turnip fields and the grime and the cold of war time.

Then of course Brideshead Revisited, the 11 hour version......

Cathy Comes Home was memorable for me too, I watched it again recently having got the DVD, but it didnt have the same effect on me.

All the Alan Bennet plays were wonderful. I remember the one where Thora Hird remembers the young soldier who didn't get to make love to her, and went off to war as a virgin and was killed.

In the same vein as Goodnight Mr. Tom, I love the TV version of the Railway Children where Jenny Agutter plays the mother. It is closer to the Childrens Hour version which was serialised on the radio circa 1955 and was called 'The House With Three Chimneys.'

Once again, Cathy Come Home, I was politically active in Camden at the time and this more than anything else brought home to be the sheer desperation of so many low income families in London.

The Secret Garden enchanted DD and myself equally when it was shown on television in the 1970s. Recently I bought the DVD and DD and I introduced DGD to it. She too fell in love with it. We commented that nowadays a book like this would be filmed in two or three episodes, rather than seven and they would never give one whole episode to setting the scene. 5 year old DGD enjoyed it, showing that the attention span of children is not as short now as we are told, they are just not offered more demanding fare.

I`ll never forget Lost for Words, starring the wonderful Thora Hird and Pete Postlethwaite, sadly both gone now. I watched that play several times, never got tired of it.

Do made for TV films count? Truly, Madly, Deeply was amazing.

Oh yes! I'd forgotten about that (how could I have?). Very, very moving.

being a dog person I loved one about a family that had a badly behaved GSD that the dad loved. but wrecked everything, but the daughter grew up to have one herself, I think the GSD was called prince...

There was also one with Alfred Molina called liar liar which was brilliant

I loved an Armchair Thriller called "Quiet as a Nun" about mysterious goings on in a convent school. Patricia Hodge starred in it and it was really creepy.

susie I spent ages trying to work out what the acronym 'GSD' stood for. Then I realised [dimemoticon]

"Lost for Words" was from a book written by Deric Longden about his mothers dementia.

He also wrote the book that became the play "Wide Eyed and Legless" which starred Julie Walters. It was about an undiagnosed illness that his first wife had. I won't spoil it in case anyone want's to either read the book or see the play, but it is excellent. (The book was published as "Diana's Story")

Deric Longden also writes books about his cats, various characterful friends and neighbours and lifes little events. I would highly recommend them, well written, very funny in places but not afraid to tackle the sadnesses as well.

Oh I love Truly, madly, deeply Notso Alan Rickman and Juliet Stevenson. Lovely but very sad.

There are still some good dramatic adaptations of novels, but not much in the way of new plays. I think that is rather sad and a serious loss.

phoenix have read all Deric Longdens books love the ones about the cats I don't think he is with us any longer,he is/Was married to the author Aileen Armitage who is blind

You had me worried there Smol but luckily he lives!

www.dericlongden.com/

phoenix I know he had been quite frail in one of his last books and assumed that he had died so really happy news that he hasn't....he sounds a lovely man to be married too,I love the whimsical humour with the cats.......now I know he obviously copies your style

Smol I have just Googled again, and he does have terminal cancer and is pretty poorly at present.

If I could write as well as him, I would be extremely happy.

phoenix that is sad news

But you could give him a run for his moneyxxxx

I loved Dennis Potter's early plays. I remember Where the Buffalo Roam starring Hywell Bennett and Son of Man which I thought was brilliant. Also of course there was Blue Remembered Hills with Robin Ellis and Helen Mirren leading a cast of adults playing children. I can't imagine anyone doing it now although they're always telling us how cutting edge they are!

I think the absolute stand outs were Cathy Come Home, Talking to A Stranger and Edna the Inebriate Woman. They really don't make them like that today!