Hello. I did enjoy watching this series. As an American, it was interesting and eye opening to get a glimpse of English life at that time. Not very pleasant!! I think the production did the best they could given budgetary constraints. I agree that some of the acting was a little uneven. I thought David Collings was a convincing and sympathetic figure. Some of the other cast not so much. A few of the accents were difficult to understand. I enjoyed the theme music. Overall I did like this series even with the occasional lump!!
4 Reviews
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james-abercrombie6 April 2007
Has anyone ever found Midnight is a Place (the movie) in DVD form. I have shown it to my grade 8 class for years but the VCR version is getting a little worn out. We have thoroughly enjoyed watching this series for years and many ex students come back to me and ask if i am still showing it. It would also be neat to find out more about the original actors and where they have gone. Having to write ten lines of text makes very little sense to me because what i originally wrote was all the information i needed at the time. This makes the whole process slow and cumbersome and tends to discourage people not encourage them to use this form of communication.
Great script and screen writing ruined by C-Level actors.
grantboyko2 March 2006
Midnight Is A Place is an epic story of love, hardship, perseverance and triumph that takes place against the backdrop of working-class England during the Industrial Revolution. The lead characters battle for control of a carpet-pressing factory, while simultaneously struggling to make sense of their new post-modern landscape.
Joan Aiken and Roy Russell's writing is exceptional for the late 70s; however, the TV episodes were plagued from the start by sub-standard acting and several notable costuming guffaws. Milton John's (Bob Bludward) heart attack at the end of Episode 4 was described accurately by screen critic Janek Drywsiscki as "cheap"; and Simon Gipps-Kent's (Lucas Bell) sideboards throughout the series are an inaccurate representation of the style during the period.......just to name a few. Also, note during the fireplace scene in Episode 7 that David Collings (Julian Oakapple) is wearing a wristwatch.
The one bright spot among the cast is Lally Bowers performance as Lady Murgatroyd. After starring the same year in "The Peppermint Pig", she adjusts very well to portray the elder heiress of the carpet-pressing factory who is out to crush the hopes and dreams of anyone who dares attempt to take over family business. Very convincing.
All in all, Midnight is a Place is a wonderful script desperately in need of a modern re-make. The 13 episodes could realistically be compressed into 4 with the omission of the going-nowhere romance between Davey Scatchard and Anne Marie.
6 out of 10 Stars.
Joan Aiken and Roy Russell's writing is exceptional for the late 70s; however, the TV episodes were plagued from the start by sub-standard acting and several notable costuming guffaws. Milton John's (Bob Bludward) heart attack at the end of Episode 4 was described accurately by screen critic Janek Drywsiscki as "cheap"; and Simon Gipps-Kent's (Lucas Bell) sideboards throughout the series are an inaccurate representation of the style during the period.......just to name a few. Also, note during the fireplace scene in Episode 7 that David Collings (Julian Oakapple) is wearing a wristwatch.
The one bright spot among the cast is Lally Bowers performance as Lady Murgatroyd. After starring the same year in "The Peppermint Pig", she adjusts very well to portray the elder heiress of the carpet-pressing factory who is out to crush the hopes and dreams of anyone who dares attempt to take over family business. Very convincing.
All in all, Midnight is a Place is a wonderful script desperately in need of a modern re-make. The 13 episodes could realistically be compressed into 4 with the omission of the going-nowhere romance between Davey Scatchard and Anne Marie.
6 out of 10 Stars.
Amazing how memories can distort over time
lmillington3 January 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I watched this series in 1978 and became totally addicted to it. It was on TV late afternoon each day and I could just about make it home from work to catch it. Then, after watching the next to last episode and long before the days of video recorders being common, I missed the last episode. I remember being absolutely devastated at missing it and cursed my luck for weeks. However, a few weeks ago I bought the boxed set off Amazon and decided to wait until Christmas to finally see (after forty years) what I had missed.
My first disappointment was that it was set in 1842 and dreary Victorian England with its dirty characters and depressing buildings. I certainly did not remember that. The second disappointment was the dreadful acting, even by the normally reliable Reginald Marsh. His attempt at portraying a dithering market stall holder was embarrassing to watch. The award for the worst acting of the series though has to go to Maxine Gordon's truly awful French accent. All in all I can't for the life of me understand what I saw in this dreadful series as a 22 year old man. Even Ron Moody could not save it. It was sad to hear that Simon Gipps Kent died just ten years later but I doubt he was about to set the acting world alight . Finally, the absurdity of Simon and Ron's character's spending each day dragging heavier than water items out of the same stretch of sewer while facing "breeding wild hogs" was not lost on me. How do heavy cups, jugs, and bowls get into the sewer in the first place? Why are there always more to find just the following day? What do the hogs feed on? This was badly acted rubbish which for some reason I once found very entertaining. I guess that's life for you.
My first disappointment was that it was set in 1842 and dreary Victorian England with its dirty characters and depressing buildings. I certainly did not remember that. The second disappointment was the dreadful acting, even by the normally reliable Reginald Marsh. His attempt at portraying a dithering market stall holder was embarrassing to watch. The award for the worst acting of the series though has to go to Maxine Gordon's truly awful French accent. All in all I can't for the life of me understand what I saw in this dreadful series as a 22 year old man. Even Ron Moody could not save it. It was sad to hear that Simon Gipps Kent died just ten years later but I doubt he was about to set the acting world alight . Finally, the absurdity of Simon and Ron's character's spending each day dragging heavier than water items out of the same stretch of sewer while facing "breeding wild hogs" was not lost on me. How do heavy cups, jugs, and bowls get into the sewer in the first place? Why are there always more to find just the following day? What do the hogs feed on? This was badly acted rubbish which for some reason I once found very entertaining. I guess that's life for you.
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