This is another British TV production that kids of my generation (I was born 1982) would sit through with our parents without actually understanding what the hell was going on ! Sure, some people my age will say this show brings back slightly discomforting memories, hence watching it on Sunday evening was the last thing you'd do before another burdening week of school !
Yesterday I found DVD Series 1-4 of this in Oxfam; one hell of a find for just £6 ! I've already seen half of Series 1, and it's the 1st time I've seen this programme in over 30 years since 1990; OH THE NOSTALGIA !
The plot is basically about Southern 80's yuppies and their luxury boats and racing triumphs in the fictional South Coast port town 'Tarrant'. Beneath the 'glamorous' surface it portrays their stressful lives, filled with affairs, family breakdowns, redundancy, bankrupcy, deceit, feud and the odd death. This show has a gritty realism to it, portraying the upper-middle-class as yet another struggling and potentially unhappy social sector, a sector that self-induces such stress and sadness through the ritual pursuit of the rat-race !
Watching this as an adult, it's easier to follow and understand the plot and cultural setting. However, as the series' progress the plot does become a tad muddling. Around the middle of Series 2 too much of the story revolves around all the characters' prestigious (and often questionable) boring rat-race business pursuits, and not enough around their personal lives, thus portraying the lack of genuine priorities among the upper-middle-class ! Sure, as an outsider to corporate business culture it's hard to understand what a lot of it even means !
Culturally, it was quite archetypal of the 80's British middle-class, what with floral wallpapers (and dresses/blouses to match), venetian blinds, chic kitchens, white boats, extravagant shoulder pads, long pleated skirts, and of course chief actress Jan Harvey's short peroxide perm; back in the day people would actually go to the hairdresser's and ask for a 'Jan Howard' !
As a bloke, there was obvious universal appeal, regardless of what you thought of the actual programme; SARAH-JANE VARLEY (who plays boating tycoon Ken's girlfriend). Little, extremely cute, tender and culturally refined, what with her little round toned face, little thin flat lips and beady eyes; Cute beyond possibility ! An English Rose if ever there was one ! Tracey Childs (Howards' daughter Lynne) was a cute curvy stunner and all. What with this show having a coastal setting, it was nice seeing all these cute stunning girls in bikinis.
All in all, I'll give this 6/10. The cute, stunning bikini-clad girls aside, it's culturally and atmospherically vibrant enough, even if all the pretentious yuppy rat-race business affairs are boring, confusing and quite gut-wrenching !
Yesterday I found DVD Series 1-4 of this in Oxfam; one hell of a find for just £6 ! I've already seen half of Series 1, and it's the 1st time I've seen this programme in over 30 years since 1990; OH THE NOSTALGIA !
The plot is basically about Southern 80's yuppies and their luxury boats and racing triumphs in the fictional South Coast port town 'Tarrant'. Beneath the 'glamorous' surface it portrays their stressful lives, filled with affairs, family breakdowns, redundancy, bankrupcy, deceit, feud and the odd death. This show has a gritty realism to it, portraying the upper-middle-class as yet another struggling and potentially unhappy social sector, a sector that self-induces such stress and sadness through the ritual pursuit of the rat-race !
Watching this as an adult, it's easier to follow and understand the plot and cultural setting. However, as the series' progress the plot does become a tad muddling. Around the middle of Series 2 too much of the story revolves around all the characters' prestigious (and often questionable) boring rat-race business pursuits, and not enough around their personal lives, thus portraying the lack of genuine priorities among the upper-middle-class ! Sure, as an outsider to corporate business culture it's hard to understand what a lot of it even means !
Culturally, it was quite archetypal of the 80's British middle-class, what with floral wallpapers (and dresses/blouses to match), venetian blinds, chic kitchens, white boats, extravagant shoulder pads, long pleated skirts, and of course chief actress Jan Harvey's short peroxide perm; back in the day people would actually go to the hairdresser's and ask for a 'Jan Howard' !
As a bloke, there was obvious universal appeal, regardless of what you thought of the actual programme; SARAH-JANE VARLEY (who plays boating tycoon Ken's girlfriend). Little, extremely cute, tender and culturally refined, what with her little round toned face, little thin flat lips and beady eyes; Cute beyond possibility ! An English Rose if ever there was one ! Tracey Childs (Howards' daughter Lynne) was a cute curvy stunner and all. What with this show having a coastal setting, it was nice seeing all these cute stunning girls in bikinis.
All in all, I'll give this 6/10. The cute, stunning bikini-clad girls aside, it's culturally and atmospherically vibrant enough, even if all the pretentious yuppy rat-race business affairs are boring, confusing and quite gut-wrenching !