Our Friends in the North is a British television drama serial produced by the BBC. It was originally broadcast in nine episodes on BBC2 in early 1996. Written by Peter Flannery, it tells the story of four friends from Newcastle upon Tyne over a period of 31 years, from 1964 to 1995.
Episode 2: https://www.bitchute.com/video/D1gdAuYagTq2/
The story makes reference to certain political and social events which occurred during the era portrayed, some specific to Newcastle and others which affected Britain as a whole. These include general elections, police and local government corruption, the UK miners' strike (1984–85), and the Great Storm of 1987.
The serial is commonly regarded as one of the most successful BBC television dramas of the 1990s. It was awarded three British Academy Television Awards (BAFTAs), two Royal Television Society Awards, four Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, and a Certificate of Merit from the San Francisco International Film Festival. It was also a controversial production, as its stories were partly based on real people and events. Several years passed before it was adapted from a play, performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company, to a television drama, owing in part to the BBC's fear of legal action.
Michael Jackson, the BBC2 controller who had finally commissioned production of the serial, felt that even though it was successful, its social realist form was outdated.[56] The academic Georgina Born, writing in 2004, also felt that although the serial had its strengths, it also contained "involuntary marks of pastiche" in its treatment of social realism.
In terms of viewing figures, the series was BBC2's most successful weekly drama until 2001. Contemporary popular music was used throughout the production to evoke the feel of the year in which each episode was set.
Episode 1: Twenty-year-old Nicky Hutchinson returns to Newcastle in 1964 after several months working in the southern United States, where he participated in the emerging Civil Rights Movement in New Orleans. He first visits his girlfriend, Mary Soulsby, who is living with her parents and her disabled brother Patrick. He later has a small birthday gathering with Mary, his parents, Felix and Florrie, best friend George 'Geordie' Peacock and local councillor Eddie Wells, a friend of Felix's. After arguing with Felix about his past involving the Jarrow March, Nicky begins to campaign for the Labour Party in the upcoming election, much to the annoyance of Felix. Geordie introduces Mary to his friend Terry 'Tosker' Cox, who immediately begins to make romantic gestures towards her despite the presence of Nicky. Eventually, after feeling that Nicky is spending too much time with the Labour Party and no longer has time for her, Mary has sex with Tosker, which leads to her getting pregnant.
Cast & Characters:
Christopher Eccleston as Nicky Hutchinson
Mark Strong as Terry "Tosker" Cox
Gina McKee as Mary Cox
Daniel Craig as Geordie Peacock
Peter Vaughan as Felix Hutchinson
Freda Dowie as Florrie Hutchinson
David Bradley as Eddie Wells
Tracey Wilkinson as Elaine Cox (née Craig)
Alun Armstrong as Austin Donohue
Malcolm McDowell as Benny Barratt
Donald Sumpter as Harold Chapple
David Schofield as John Salway
Peter Jeffrey as Commissioner Blamire
Tony Haygarth as Roy Johnson
The speaking cast of Our Friends in the North numbered 160; more than 3,000 extras were used, and filming took place across 40 weeks, from November 1994 until September 1995.
