These are the shows that have you feeling that you are part of the story…as if you are an observer in the room. Nothing flashy or overly dramatic, the actors having actual talent
So true. I do remember when my parents and I got really excited about these dramas. The Brothers filmed on a Sunday night about a haulage company was very good. Some people would not answer the phone whilst watching some dramas,
@@josephinethorns7680 I remember those times when you'd sit down to a good drama or a movie with the family, and only get up to put the kettle on or go to the loo when the adverts came on - and even then the adverts were often good entertainment too 😊
reading these comments makes me want to cry, so many people are dissatisfied with modernity, it's as if we were lied to, things were meant to get better, all this technology was meant to lead to a better way of life but the contrary is true, we are more separate and alienated than ever, it makes me wonder if it was intentional. Watching stuff like this takes me back, I was there, I grew up in the '70s and '80s, I remember what life was like back then, Television was experimental, writers had more freedom, 3 channels then four then five now it's unlimited and they're stuffed with rubbish, the competition for our attention is extremely competitive but it just leads to multiple paid subscriptions and generic entertainment. Give me back my four channels, a video membership, a landline and I'll be happy
Sad , but so true. Life was so very different and simpler. I remember sitting with my siblings, parents and grandparents all waiting for The Waltons to come on.
Agree in spades! "Proper" entertainment back then crafted with quality in mind, designed to give is something to think and debate about, internally at least. Call me a Luddite (and the Luddites have an undeserved bad name) but with all the channels to pick from it's a massive travesty that the 'best' on offer is the likes of Love Island and the like. God in Heaven help us🤔😟🫣
Well said, Kathleen! It seems the majority of writers nowadays feel incapable of putting together any script or story without their characters blaspheming the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ to express indignation or surprise. It is noticeable, too, that these writers would not dare to do the same with the name of Muhammad. So easy to offend people who they know won't retaliate with violence. Not so convenient to offend those who will burn down your house and get your work cancelled by intimidated publishers and broadcasters.
as a line from the song he was humming in the beginning goes... “good authors who once knew better words, now only use 4 letter words when writing prose, anything goes!”
@Sunny bob Quackers I see what you mean, however, I actually remember some of these plays when we used to watch TV, when it was actually worth paying for a licence. We still have a TV, but watch DVDs, recordings we have make ourselves and our own photos. Thanks, x
Still watching through reached 29:00 but seriously, how could he ask her such questions as if he doesn’t know anything about the lifestyle she is leading day after day?? The poor woman she created a world of her own and cooped herself in it.. she got so indulged that the world she created has grown dear and precious to her.. part of her. That is why it is important to not neglect the ones we love.. we should care for them and notice how they’re running their lives. Get outside a bit or for long and far away from home. Vacation, visit, have some over.. any activity no matter how small just do not isolate yourself or watch someone isolate themselves and think that they’re sound and secure because there’s the likelihood that they’re not feeling well and fighting a battle of their own on their own! Been there and that is how I know. Take care.
Excellent drama with a twist, superb acting & atmospherically captured on quality video. You could make a case for or against either husband or wife, but it's so brilliantly done, it doesn't really matter which side you take, or you can switch depending on how you feel! It certainly has echoes of the adults & settings in my younger life, great to see it so well recreated here. Avril Elgar (died age 89 in 2021) & Richard Pearson (died aged 93 in 2011) both had long marriages & 2 children each. Actors like this are in short supply these days, enjoy their work whenever you can!
She is absolutely devastating in the first half of this. The whole scene where George tells her she won't be receiving her allowance any longer gutted me. Glad she made out in the end.
Powerful viewing. It just goes to show that nothing can beat strong storylines given a brilliant, well-paced performance. I felt sympathetic for the wife (well, at first!) and frustrated at the husband not being able to connect with her but in their own way, both were culpable for allowing the marriage to become an empty shell.
There’s something about a husband giving his wife an “allowance” that just curl’s my hair .. ^^ When my husband retired the first thing he did was rearrange my kitchen cupboards.. and then he seriously took up golfing and things went back to normal. 😂
I had a coworker who dreaded her husband's retiring as he would be home all the time. When she retired, they were both at home. She went from stroke within a twelvemonth. Poor woman.
@@pascalswager9100including the ideal bank managers car in the garage. A Rover of course - a P6 I believe. Mind you, most bank branches here in jolly olde England have been closed down. "online banking" don't you know. No call for bricks and mortar branches any more - and it's many years since any banks branch was run by its own manager! They were getting rid of branch managers at about the same time this brilliant illustration of middle class life as retirement approached - 1982. Who could have forseen back then how the banking world would develop in 2023? And equally, , looking behind us to 1982... can we remember? To me the past seems to be a foreign country. And George described his Asian trickcyclist (psychiatrist) as a Paki. As bad a word, in this future foreign country of 2023, as the ''N" word. Strange that, because in reality that hated word describes people that come from a particular area of Africa: Nigeria, named after it's river - the Niger 🇳🇪
I used to have a cooker like that . I remember those green cups, they were awful because they used to let your tea go cold quite quickly. And I remember those horribly hard, uncomfortable kitchen chairs. At 23:44 I had those curtains too! 😂 Still, overall, life was better. Nobody writes good plays, with top quality acting, any more.
I loved those green cups. That crockery is called Beryl. We ate our school dinner off them in the 60s and the teachers had the cups and teapot in the staffroom. I bought a set of the plates off eBay a few years ago but my daughter took them away to university and never brought them back ☹️
If you haven't been in a relationship with a man like this, you don't know what someone is dealing with. These days women can leave, back then they would have had nothing even though years if supporting their husband.
I've never seen a play create so much response, so many remarks and most seeing the Husband as the victim, but some seeing the Wife. It has been really interesting reading all the comments! XXX
Yes, I felt for the wife almost entirely which was interesting. The dynamic of her depending on hi for money, his pomposity (my mother also hated the masons - my father's father was one), his treatment of her, the fact he could not understand that the one one thing that was her domain, her plants was so important (whereas m own father a psychiatrist bought my mother a new greenhouse just for herself when our last sibling died as a young baby to give my mother her own place/area). of course nothing justifies poisoning a spouse.
I would have been out of that marriage quick smart. Such a mean, controlling and unimaginative man. Even though he thought of himself as well meaning. As the wife said, 'not a good man'.
@@janesmith9024 She should have known better and to communicate what her needs were. He was happy and jovial and even cute with his wife looking forward to retirement while she was a brooding & miserable and vindictive witch to cause him to be drugged the way she did and to bring him such harm. What an almighty bitch she was.
This is so well done. It reminds me of my parents' house in 1982, even the leather holder for the TV programme guide is the same, even all the cacti - my father bought my mother a new green house around 1970 and she grew so many cacti. They were in the house too. In so many ways this took me right back to that time, those days, that era. Even then separate bedrooms was quite rare (except in a few cases including HM Queen), my parents had same room separate beds.
Brilliant acting from Avril Elgar. I seek out old plays and drama's like this one on account that today's TV dramas are for the most part utter shi-te.
What a powerful drama I feel so sad for both of them they were trying to make the most of their marriage in their own way it was hard to see them both good people struggling and suffering in their own worlds.
she CHOSE to be with him. The only one who deserved to be in that "lovely chintz room" was her. Poisoning your dull spouse with mescaline? @@Benjiesbeenbetter.
Second time watching this I think, although I may have seen it in 1982! Forty years in the US and I’ve forgotten a lot of the shows I used to watch on BBC and ITV. There just aren’t made for TV dramas that there used to be.
There's something to be said about the cinematography or lighting of this production it's not limited to British I've seen this in the same era in American made films as well I can't place my finger on it but has something to do with creating a mood with the use of the lighting and the pace of the speaking it's all calm smooth and tranquil definitely has an effect on the audience I find it a refreshing contrast to today's shock value entertainment if you call it that. I'm from California and I grew up on British comedy and 1920 to 1940s movies so I am biased but I was born in 1985, so every genre has its own standards but shows like this leave me feeling as if I invested my time rather than wasted it. Shows like this impart a cultural value that's not found elsewhere.
There was a letter sent to a newspaper agony aunt a few years back from a man that had just retired. He felt underwhelmed by his retirement, and couldn’t do a thing right for his wife. The agony aunts reply was, ‘well has your wife retired?’
Ugh, that bit about taking a little extra care by putting newspapers down in the car. It reminds me so much of When I was with my husband and he was mad (again) this time over the number of broken crisps in the bottom of the packet. If I had only taken a little extra care, you see, when I was packing the shopping
when my hubby retired he started micro managing me and our home. I told him it's obvious he has too much energy and needed to have his own hobbies. he got a job as road commissioner and now can manage others, he's so much happier. just cause you have the option and security to retire doesn't mean your not ready. he still has plenty of energy and health. there's no shame in not retiring but his friends pressure him into retirement...just cause they enjoy not working..
I remember watching this rather strange but captivating drama when first shown...Stories were allowed to develop without the need for fast edits and glossy production ....It could almost have been A Tale of the Unexpected episode
Even the character has to be referenced via her role as wife...it all still happens today.The Time Traveller's Wife for example. This could have been called Dorrie.
Falling in love, romance...does it all leed to this begrudging existence between husband and wife? Is this where the convention of marriage takes us in the end, a place of entrapment, of habit? Are we all finally caught in the orbit of family bonds and financial commitment, where the gravitational pull is too strong for us to escape? Not always I suppose. This play highlights an extreme case of boredom and familiarity. A case of stalemate where both pieces are unable to move or breakaway. No longer young, it's too late to try something else, even someone else. This performance epitomises the stale, stagnant marriage where resentment bubbles just below the surface. The flame that drew them together blown out, the sparkle of young love doused and dampened with years that were tedious and without joy! No children. The mortgage paid. Both past the age of 60...whats left? Dear god tell me what's left!!!!!
What is left is allowing each partner to grow. The husband was willing to grow but only on his terms. Has zero respect for or understanding of his wife. She was a mere substitute mother with no rights of her own kept alive in his mind by a trite fantasy of their youthful dancing days. Excellent play.
Death. Surely makes me reconsider marriage , passionate romance or compassionate mutual understanding this play highlights my parents marriage they had children btw we didn’t help any bit. Oddly enough I do have similar relationship to my older sister sometimes I wish I was a solitary creature a wolf or a cat I’d have peace of mind at all times but alas here I am no husband but family bond creates plenty of resentment towards one another I think the biggest challenge of life is to outgrow all of this humanly nasty feelings and emotions or attachments I should say, otherwise you’ll go crazy regardless life and people will drive you mad. So I stay away from passion. I don’t need any of this had enough of it from family.
well, my theory is that very, very few people can live happily as a couple for more than a few years. My solution was that I found I'm perfectly happy living alone, and have some good friends, male and female. I'm in my 70s now and have lived alone for nearly 20 years - it's so easy: no disagreements; no moods; do what you want whenever etc. Life is so much easier!
I've given in to the temptation of literary justice. It's too satisfying to abstain. I LOVE how the doctor treats George with the same complacent presumptuous, controlling optimism he'd been treating his wife to! It made me laugh out loud. I think that's what's great about literature/drama/art. You can allow yourself to imagine these things are just - to indulge in the narrative, without doing anyone any harm. It's deliciously cathartic. I loved it.
But I can imagine that when they got married it was for life and divorce was rare. I know because I was just 16 when this show was aired and this mirrored my mother's very unhappy life with my stepfather, only she eventually had to go out to work because he never provided for me and my brother, only his own children. But my mom ever divorced or left him him even though she wanted to, because of the sanctity of marriage and the church. That made me a tough, independent cookie😌
in those days the wife would have been living in poverty renting a depressing room in a boarding house. Men weren't forced to pay maintenance in those days and often not even now. My mother had a friend who had been married to a wealthy man until he took on a mistress and kicked his now older and ailing wife out. She lived in poverty for the rest of her life and the sons she raised sided with their father so they wouldn't be cut out of the will. She was a lovely gentle person who didn't deserve that. Her sons never came to visit her and she was terribly lonely and sad. She never got any financial settlement or maintenance, just survived on her meagre pension.
@@juanitarichards1074 your story is More true than not and I’ve seen similar circumstances myself, the wives usual prayer was, “I hope he passes before me so I can have an hour of peace” the church and community also played a big role and if the wife was abandoned or thrown out, her community wouldn’t support her that’s because they were scared of bringing shame to themselves but would pray for the person. There was also no state help, any help was given by the church. In my country divorce wasn’t legal in the 80s. These women were born in an era to grace their husbands, support him and not cause too much of a fuss. Any signs of melancholy or long term sadness they be put in hospital as they weren’t well and needed a rest and when she’s better she can go home to fulfill her duties. It was a funny time and foreign to most now, ironical because of the suppression of these women, women today have the benefit of state, independence and the courts.
Magnificent story of marital loathing, vengeance and a power shift, a sort of superior Tales of the Unexpected. She sent him on a trip that he was never to fully return from. He didn't reach the doors of perception.
This is how many couples lived in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s , no real love in the accepted sense, just shared a house and endured life together, I had several relatives who lived like this. He is a perfect example of how some men are so controlling of women, maybe without realising it, but still controlling. I felt her life was so mundane, born out of routine, habit and tradition. I did wonder at the end which side of the desk Dr Lal should be sitting !
@@cajsheen2594 I think it's the lack of nourishment at the root of the marriage that's the culprit. It's as dry as her cacti. Since we don't know why the marriage failed, it's just guesswork to say who's at fault. Probably both. I personally liked him better than I liked her, and I do think he loved her. I wasn't so sure if she had or ( had had) any real tenderness for him, because her depression made her so self absorbed.
@@giovanna722 well, he needed her yes, but he loved himself more. He would never have managed his life without her. Having to try and fend for himself would show his impatience, he would be a very lonely old man, unless he could find another person to gradually wear out, as he almost did her. X
She was telling him, you never ask me anything...her boundaries were being walked all over ... he was treating her like a child - infantilism, almost like a younger sister than his wife.
07:45 Ah! Janine Duvitski - 'Angela' from Mike Leigh's *Abigail's Party* (1977), also starring Alison Steadman. Fabulous tv play adaptation - if you've never seen it, do yourself a favour and seek it out.
I actually remember watching this as a teen. I think I thought it abit weird. They were my parents generation. Now I watch this at a different age, I see things from her point of view! Was this from the “ Tales of the Unexpected “ series?
@@Britgirl58 yes she did.....I thought maybe he moved bedrooms because of an affaire? (His affair, not hers).... perhaps a catalyst of the resentment she feels?
Is it really practical that it can remain exciting for decades? Isn’t it wiser to be realistic about expectations of your partner? Isn’t it enough just be grateful for the companionship into old age?
She cannot bear it - if she was "bare" that means not having any clothes on! Bear it - means to endure it and put up with it - while Bare it - means a person is without clothes, like bare skin. Not Bear as in the animal bear - bear as in "I cannot bear it anymore".
@colleenwhalen-pg7un I've been forced to concede that it is futile battling against a sea of typos, automatic correction grammatical errors and problems afflicting the best of us in coping with tiny text and tiny keys. Only the gibberish Trumpspeak comments with few words exceeding four letters now get me ranting........
I miss all the old ITV regional variations we used to have in the 70s and 80s. Each one had a distinctive logo and jingle. That's diversity for ya, not the faux-version we have imposed on us today by the political elite.
@@christianmorris8065 yes ; there seems to be a marked drop in quality from around this time ! It's maybe because some ITV regions were struggling with a few causes; firstly Sky perhaps getting more money through subscription & advertising. Secondly the replacement of the IBA with toothless ' offcom' thirdly , Political Correctness on both BBC & ITV & lastly & the most important , looking back from 2023- to the 90s & maybe early 2000s ;the upheaval in the ITV network . In 1992 as long established & respected companies loosing their contracts , through a dodgy ' Franchise auction' on who can bid the most & not giving a stuff about what the viewer wants. Time & time again it's " accountants & suits" that neither care or know about TV drama or light entertainment. Lew Grade & Jeremy Issac's at Thames, didn't always get it right, but they understood what the public wanted & when the scheduling was right , cast & story was of a high quality, they had great success & a programme legacy that can last decades.
He's a creature of habit who's routine runs smoothly with his dutiful wife. Her life is her own when he's at work, but their life is about to change now he's close to retirement. His behaviour is tiresome & condescending, her patience is pushed to the limit.
A lot in the story, she said she had no children so her plants were her children, boring husband,same boring routine every day. Him living in the past when they were young, she didn’t have a life except through him and he was stingy with money. She went mad till she turned it round, good writing a lot to see in this. I was 21 in 1982 , age really does creep up on us, except now days we have to work much later till retirement. I’ve got a 20 year old so life thank god is totally different to those days, or is it ?
I LOVE THESE OLD BRITISH SHOWS SO MUCH! THEY MAKE ME FEEL LIKE I BELONG THERE BACK THEN AND I GET A SENSE OF MISSING ENGLAND AND I'M FROM AMERICA AND NEVER BEEN OUT OF THIS COUNTRY! IT'S VERY WEIRD. I GET THIS VERY STRONG FEELING I'VE LIVED IN A COMFY TINY COTTAGE ON A FARM AND I EVEN SLIP OUT AT TIMES AND TALK BRITISH FOR REAL! IM 62 AND NOT CRAZY YET LOL LOL ! BUT I WATCHED THE MALLEN STREAK AND FELT RIGHT AT HOME IN THE COTTAGE THEY MOVED INTO AFTER THEY LOST THE CASTLE . IT WAS SUCH A INTENSE FEELING I FELT LIKE CRYING ! THAT WAS ABOUT 7 YEARS AGO . BUT SEEING HOW I WON'T BE ABLE TO EVER GO THERE LOL I'LL ENJOY WATCHING SHOWS FOR NOW LOL LOL . THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING THESE!❤
Come on old stick, buck up, pull yourself together, have another handful of mother's little helpers...and some casual racism thrown in! I do hope things have changed since 1982, sadly, I fear not. Thanks for sharing, really enjoyed this, you go, girl!!
I think some things have changed. Men nowadays don't all expect their wives to stay at home. They're allowed to get a job - which is what the bank manager's wife needed.
These are the shows that have you feeling that you are part of the story…as if you are an observer in the room. Nothing flashy or overly dramatic, the actors having actual talent
Very well said!
Indeed
So true. I do remember when my parents and I got really excited about these dramas. The Brothers filmed on a Sunday night about a haulage company was very good. Some people would not answer the phone whilst watching some dramas,
I'm a big fan of Tales of the Unexpected for the same reasons 😊
@@josephinethorns7680 I remember those times when you'd sit down to a good drama or a movie with the family, and only get up to put the kettle on or go to the loo when the adverts came on - and even then the adverts were often good entertainment too 😊
reading these comments makes me want to cry, so many people are dissatisfied with modernity, it's as if we were lied to, things were meant to get better, all this technology was meant to lead to a better way of life but the contrary is true, we are more separate and alienated than ever, it makes me wonder if it was intentional. Watching stuff like this takes me back, I was there, I grew up in the '70s and '80s, I remember what life was like back then, Television was experimental, writers had more freedom, 3 channels then four then five now it's unlimited and they're stuffed with rubbish, the competition for our attention is extremely competitive but it just leads to multiple paid subscriptions and generic entertainment.
Give me back my four channels, a video membership, a landline and I'll be happy
Things will get worse, much worse.I agree with you.
Sad , but so true. Life was so very different and simpler. I remember sitting with my siblings, parents and grandparents all waiting for The Waltons to come on.
Oh I dream of returning to an analogue world 🥰
@@dizmop Yes, me too.
Agree in spades! "Proper" entertainment back then crafted with quality in mind, designed to give is something to think and debate about, internally at least. Call me a Luddite (and the Luddites have an undeserved bad name) but with all the channels to pick from it's a massive travesty that the 'best' on offer is the likes of Love Island and the like. God in Heaven help us🤔😟🫣
Loved it. It came from a time when dramas had to have a story and not rely on four letter words and blasphemy.
Well said, Kathleen! It seems the majority of writers nowadays feel incapable of putting together any script or story without their characters blaspheming the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ to express indignation or surprise. It is noticeable, too, that these writers would not dare to do the same with the name of Muhammad. So easy to offend people who they know won't retaliate with violence. Not so convenient to offend those who will burn down your house and get your work cancelled by intimidated publishers and broadcasters.
@@williambunter3311 Agreed with all you said, Christians are an easy target, Moslems are not.
The attack on Christians is relentless.
as a line from the song he was humming in the beginning goes...
“good authors who once knew better words, now only use 4 letter words when writing prose, anything goes!”
Yes! Amen!
Couldn't agree more.
If all TV dramas were still in this format I'd most likely watch them.
I totally agree, we got rid of the TV about 11 years ago. X
@@cajsheen2594 same here, 10 years ago!
Me too, the BBC and ITV have no idea that their audience fled years ago. Fools.
@Sunny bob Quackers my tablet, how so? X
@Sunny bob Quackers I see what you mean, however, I actually remember some of these plays when we used to watch TV, when it was actually worth paying for a licence. We still have a TV, but watch DVDs, recordings we have make ourselves and our own photos. Thanks, x
One of many lost or forgotten brilliant productions. Thank the Lord they still pop up on RUclips….thank you for posting.
When I was young, I couldn't stand plays on the television, however, today I enjoy the slow pace and coherent dialogue.
Still watching through reached 29:00 but seriously, how could he ask her such questions as if he doesn’t know anything about the lifestyle she is leading day after day?? The poor woman she created a world of her own and cooped herself in it.. she got so indulged that the world she created has grown dear and precious to her.. part of her. That is why it is important to not neglect the ones we love.. we should care for them and notice how they’re running their lives. Get outside a bit or for long and far away from home. Vacation, visit, have some over.. any activity no matter how small just do not isolate yourself or watch someone isolate themselves and think that they’re sound and secure because there’s the likelihood that they’re not feeling well and fighting a battle of their own on their own!
Been there and that is how I know. Take care.
I entirely agree with what you say.
Thannkyou for those very wise, kind and supportive words.
A lovely comment.
Thank you for your wise words I will be more aware now as I think a lot of people are quietly having breakdowns behind the net curtains
So isolated I began to think I didn't exist anymore. Not mental. Physically disabled and left to rot by my loving family.
Excellent drama with a twist, superb acting & atmospherically captured on quality video. You could make a case for or against either husband or wife, but it's so brilliantly done, it doesn't really matter which side you take, or you can switch depending on how you feel! It certainly has echoes of the adults & settings in my younger life, great to see it so well recreated here. Avril Elgar (died age 89 in 2021) & Richard Pearson (died aged 93 in 2011) both had long marriages & 2 children each. Actors like this are in short supply these days, enjoy their work whenever you can!
Lmao you literally said nothing
@@irishking1414 I thought it was okay. Perhaps over your head
Absolutely ! & thanks a lot for the info . This play is marvelous 💖
I thought the wife was nuts
Thank you for the extra information - love these little extra details. 👍
She is absolutely devastating in the first half of this. The whole scene where George tells her she won't be receiving her allowance any longer gutted me. Glad she made out in the end.
Powerful viewing. It just goes to show that nothing can beat strong storylines given a brilliant, well-paced performance. I felt sympathetic for the wife (well, at first!) and frustrated at the husband not being able to connect with her but in their own way, both were culpable for allowing the marriage to become an empty shell.
There’s something about a husband giving his wife an “allowance” that just curl’s my hair .. ^^ When my husband retired the first thing he did was rearrange my kitchen cupboards.. and then he seriously took up golfing and things went back to normal. 😂
My mum got an allowance. Weekly. My dad spent what he wanted and when.
@@dawnjeanballard2874😢
I had the same of two husbands i got money for bills and they spent money on what they wanted. I never got plenty for bills.
😂
Women were treated like children.
A suburban horror story of a particularly English kind. ‘Unbalanced minds are much more interesting… ‘ as Tennessee Williams once said
Horror indeed.
Those unbalanced minds are what I find so fascinating. True crime, abnormal brains.
I had a coworker who dreaded her husband's retiring as he would be home all the time. When she retired, they were both at home. She went from stroke within a twelvemonth. Poor woman.
Vice versa.he could be also dreading her retirement,you don’t mention what happened to him.
@@irishking1414 I never knew him. Never met him. She was the one I knew because we worked in the same office.
Feminist woke reaction. Two sides to every story.
@@jasonhurd4379 so why do you say poor woman when you never met the husband?poor you when you haven’t even listened to both sides of the story
Why even stay together ?
From the Golden Age of British Television.
A brilliant rendition of English social life at bank manager level. Superb acting, set, and production.
Love pommy acting, they are top notch 😊
@@pascalswager9100including the ideal bank managers car in the garage. A Rover of course - a P6 I believe. Mind you, most bank branches here in jolly olde England have been closed down. "online banking" don't you know. No call for bricks and mortar branches any more - and it's many years since any banks branch was run by its own manager! They were getting rid of branch managers at about the same time this brilliant illustration of middle class life as retirement approached - 1982. Who could have forseen back then how the banking world would develop in 2023? And equally, , looking behind us to 1982... can we remember? To me the past seems to be a foreign country. And George described his Asian trickcyclist (psychiatrist) as a Paki. As bad a word, in this future foreign country of 2023, as the ''N" word. Strange that, because in reality that hated word describes people that come from a particular area of Africa: Nigeria, named after it's river - the Niger 🇳🇪
@elizabethannegrey6285 Oops! My reply was meant for you. Sorry.
Avril played Mildred's sister in George and Mildred. What a difference!! She really is brilliant here. Thoroughly enjoyed watching this. Thank you.
A woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown
And Janine was Victor Meldrew's next door neighbour, as well as being one of the guests in Abigail's party.
Abigail's party..... now you're talking !!
Hugs! You just made me think of Yootha Joyce!!!
@@misst.e.a.187I think she's well over the verge
When my husband retired at 60 I went to work 😂
Sometimes best. My friend won't give up work at 75 as she doesn't like having her husband round her all the time
@@karenturner7184 I definitely agree! It is best, bc having your spouse around all the time will drive you up the wall!😳😳
I don’t blame you now that mine is retired 😂
Good girl Dora, very thoughtfully bringing home a wage for his drinking budget😂😂
@@davidleonard1813not likely! She’ll be too wise for that I think !
Thank you for this. Fantastically weird and creepy in places.
I did SO want to see the "dear old thing" get her comeuppance though! So well acted, so UN-Hollywood! Real people...Thanks. Namaste from Canada
More like real life
Thanks for sharing this drama movie, totally enjoyed every moment of it. Loved the plot, she will at least be a lot happier now.
I used to have a cooker like that .
I remember those green cups, they were awful because they used to let your tea go cold quite quickly. And I remember those horribly hard, uncomfortable kitchen chairs.
At 23:44 I had those curtains too! 😂
Still, overall, life was better. Nobody writes good plays, with top quality acting, any more.
My kitchen chairs look exactly like those! (but they’re not uncomfortable 😂)
The green cups were used in the NHS too in the 1980s.
I loved those green cups. That crockery is called Beryl. We ate our school dinner off them in the 60s and the teachers had the cups and teapot in the staffroom. I bought a set of the plates off eBay a few years ago but my daughter took them away to university and never brought them back ☹️
It is a cozy feeling when kitchen items and housewares can trigger old memories.
Im in the US but I think part of the reason I watch old shows is so I can see past items...even vintage food packaging makes me nostalgic 😊
If you haven't been in a relationship with a man like this, you don't know what someone is dealing with. These days women can leave, back then they would have had nothing even though years if supporting their husband.
"Living lives' of quiet desperation is the English way.....". Pink Floyd from the album Dark Side of the Moon.
Right?? And to add females possibly from any country.
I've never seen a play create so much response, so many remarks and most seeing the Husband as the victim, but some seeing the Wife. It has been really interesting reading all the comments! XXX
Yes, I felt for the wife almost entirely which was interesting. The dynamic of her depending on hi for money, his pomposity (my mother also hated the masons - my father's father was one), his treatment of her, the fact he could not understand that the one one thing that was her domain, her plants was so important (whereas m own father a psychiatrist bought my mother a new greenhouse just for herself when our last sibling died as a young baby to give my mother her own place/area). of course nothing justifies poisoning a spouse.
I would have been out of that marriage quick smart. Such a mean, controlling and unimaginative man. Even though he thought of himself as well meaning. As the wife said, 'not a good man'.
@@scathatch I totally agree! XXX
@@janesmith9024 She should have known better and to communicate what her needs were. He was happy and jovial and even cute with his wife looking forward to retirement while she was a brooding & miserable and vindictive witch to cause him to be drugged the way she did and to bring him such harm. What an almighty bitch she was.
@@scathatchnot him. Her. What a vindictive monster to bring such harm to him by drugging him unknowingly.
2023 - I love the husband's chirpy optimism, so funny! I love these old programmes, such gems.
What an unexpected gem! Unique problem solving.
Superb. That was ITV as well. How far things have deteriorated these days!!
You're not kidding, loose women etc
This is so well done. It reminds me of my parents' house in 1982, even the leather holder for the TV programme guide is the same, even all the cacti - my father bought my mother a new green house around 1970 and she grew so many cacti. They were in the house too. In so many ways this took me right back to that time, those days, that era. Even then separate bedrooms was quite rare (except in a few cases including HM Queen), my parents had same room separate beds.
I grew in in 60's and remember our front room featured cacti plants all along the bay window sill. Memories!
I remember LSD being a common drug of choice
Did you have one of those brain plants?😁😁😁
Brilliant acting from Avril Elgar. I seek out old plays and drama's like this one on account that today's TV dramas are for the most part utter shi-te.
Me too! Please let us know if you find anything good like this one.
Agree
What a powerful drama I feel so sad for both of them they were trying to make the most of their marriage in their own way it was hard to see them both good people struggling and suffering in their own worlds.
This still resonates today, the problems faced when couples retire and are faced with long periods of time together...
@@railwaychristina3192 She was already unhinged.
Insufferable life of quiet desperation.
@misst.e.a.187 She'd been married to him a long time. Maybe that's why.
she CHOSE to be with him. The only one who deserved to be in that "lovely chintz room" was her. Poisoning your dull spouse with mescaline? @@Benjiesbeenbetter.
That was excellent! Thank you so much.
I am trying too watch it,but I think it is stupid.
That (man) is an absolute idiot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Very nice production values; and a real time trip to my earlier youth, although I am now their respective ages....
Second time watching this I think, although I may have seen it in 1982! Forty years in the US and I’ve forgotten a lot of the shows I used to watch on BBC and ITV. There just aren’t made for TV dramas that there used to be.
I have just come across your channel and I'm so very glad I did 👍loved every minute of it 💯 subscribed straight away 😊 ,regards from Ireland xx
Excellent play and actors.Brought back so many memories from the past. Thank you
So well done, excellent directing thank you.
Excellent performance by both actors.
The neighbour also appeared in the 70's classic play "Abigail's Party"
One of my favourite plays.
@@dawnjeanballard2874 And mine Alison Steadman one of the best acting performaces ever pregnant at the time as well, A true classic
@@dawnjeanballard2874Mine to.
There's something to be said about the cinematography or lighting of this production it's not limited to British I've seen this in the same era in American made films as well I can't place my finger on it but has something to do with creating a mood with the use of the lighting and the pace of the speaking it's all calm smooth and tranquil definitely has an effect on the audience I find it a refreshing contrast to today's shock value entertainment if you call it that.
I'm from California and I grew up on British comedy and 1920 to 1940s movies so I am biased
but I was born in 1985, so every genre has its own standards
but shows like this leave me feeling as if I invested my time rather than wasted it.
Shows like this impart a cultural value that's not found elsewhere.
There was a letter sent to a newspaper agony aunt a few years back from a man that had just retired. He felt underwhelmed by his retirement, and couldn’t do a thing right for his wife. The agony aunts reply was, ‘well has your wife retired?’
I bet some women dreaded their husband retiring.
absolutely brilliant, I had no idea what was going to happen at the end, it's true, they don't make them like that any more!
Ugh, that bit about taking a little extra care by putting newspapers down in the car. It reminds me so much of When I was with my husband and he was mad (again) this time over the number of broken crisps in the bottom of the packet. If I had only taken a little extra care, you see, when I was packing the shopping
when my hubby retired he started micro managing me and our home. I told him it's obvious he has too much energy and needed to have his own hobbies. he got a job as road commissioner and now can manage others, he's so much happier. just cause you have the option and security to retire doesn't mean your not ready. he still has plenty of energy and health. there's no shame in not retiring but his friends pressure him into retirement...just cause they enjoy not working..
I remember watching this rather strange but captivating drama when first shown...Stories were allowed to develop without the need for fast edits and glossy production ....It could almost have been A Tale of the Unexpected episode
I love these shows, when real acting was really appreciated.
‘I unbalance the books.’ What a line!
Many thanks for this
Wow! I can't understand why Avril Elgar didn't get top billing. What a performance!
I noticed that. Title chatacter, main focus of the drama, 2nd billing.
Sign of the times. As was being able to use insults like the 'p' word against the Dr.
I remember Avril had a small part in the 1960's movie ' Room at the top' co-staring with Lawrence Harvey...
Great movie. 🙂
Even the character has to be referenced via her role as wife...it all still happens today.The Time Traveller's Wife for example. This could have been called Dorrie.
Falling in love, romance...does it all leed to this begrudging existence between husband and wife? Is this where the convention of marriage takes us in the end, a place of entrapment, of habit? Are we all finally caught in the orbit of family bonds and financial commitment, where the gravitational pull is too strong for us to escape? Not
always I suppose. This play highlights an extreme case of boredom and familiarity. A case of stalemate where both pieces are unable to move or breakaway. No longer young, it's too late to try something else, even someone else. This performance epitomises the stale, stagnant marriage where resentment bubbles just below the surface. The flame that drew them together blown out, the sparkle of young love doused and dampened with years that were tedious and without joy! No children. The mortgage paid. Both past the age of 60...whats left? Dear god tell me what's left!!!!!
What is left is allowing each partner to grow. The husband was willing to grow but only on his terms. Has zero respect for or understanding of his wife. She was a mere substitute mother with no rights of her own kept alive in his mind by a trite fantasy of their youthful dancing days. Excellent play.
What's left is
Countdown.
Death. Surely makes me reconsider marriage , passionate romance or compassionate mutual understanding this play highlights my parents marriage they had children btw we didn’t help any bit. Oddly enough I do have similar relationship to my older sister sometimes I wish I was a solitary creature a wolf or a cat I’d have peace of mind at all times but alas here I am no husband but family bond creates plenty of resentment towards one another I think the biggest challenge of life is to outgrow all of this humanly nasty feelings and emotions or attachments I should say, otherwise you’ll go crazy regardless life and people will drive you mad. So I stay away from passion. I don’t need any of this had enough of it from family.
well, my theory is that very, very few people can live happily as a couple for more than a few years. My solution was that I found I'm perfectly happy living alone, and have some good friends, male and female. I'm in my 70s now and have lived alone for nearly 20 years - it's so easy: no disagreements; no moods; do what you want whenever etc. Life is so much easier!
The casinos! Have fun!!!
This is sad when the wife has a better life than mine
Superb. A wonderful script and first class acting.
I've given in to the temptation of literary justice. It's too satisfying to abstain. I LOVE how the doctor treats George with the same complacent presumptuous, controlling optimism he'd been treating his wife to! It made me laugh out loud.
I think that's what's great about literature/drama/art. You can allow yourself to imagine these things are just - to indulge in the narrative, without doing anyone any harm. It's deliciously cathartic. I loved it.
Brilliant! Living alone in a marriage, happens a lot, even now adays 👍...
They should have split up 🙄🙄
Or at least gone to counseling.
But I can imagine that when they got married it was for life and divorce was rare. I know because I was just 16 when this show was aired and this mirrored my mother's very unhappy life with my stepfather, only she eventually had to go out to work because he never provided for me and my brother, only his own children. But my mom ever divorced or left him him even though she wanted to, because of the sanctity of marriage and the church. That made me a tough, independent cookie😌
in those days the wife would have been living in poverty renting a depressing room in a boarding house. Men weren't forced to pay maintenance in those days and often not even now. My mother had a friend who had been married to a wealthy man until he took on a mistress and kicked his now older and ailing wife out. She lived in poverty for the rest of her life and the sons she raised sided with their father so they wouldn't be cut out of the will. She was a lovely gentle person who didn't deserve that. Her sons never came to visit her and she was terribly lonely and sad. She never got any financial settlement or maintenance, just survived on her meagre pension.
@@juanitarichards1074 your story is
More true than not and I’ve seen similar circumstances myself, the wives usual prayer was, “I hope he passes before me so I can have an hour of peace” the church and community also played a big role and if the wife was abandoned or thrown out, her community wouldn’t support her that’s because they were scared of bringing shame to themselves but would pray for the person. There was also no state help, any help was given by the church. In my country divorce wasn’t legal in the 80s. These women were born in an era to grace their husbands, support him and not cause too much of a fuss. Any signs of melancholy or long term sadness they be put in hospital as they weren’t well and needed a rest and when she’s better she can go home to fulfill her duties. It was a funny time and foreign to most now, ironical because of the suppression of these women, women today have the benefit of state, independence and the courts.
Back then the law for divorce was different
A young Janine Duvitski - so pretty. She has so often played fumpy, plain women.
Frumpy, not fumpy.
Yes thank you, I knew the face but could not put the name she was so much younger, has been in so many drama and comedy shows.
@@raphaelandrews3617 She was superb in 'Abigail's Party'
Waiting for God❤
Thank you so much absolutely brilliant what a treat . I could watch these all day thank you .
Magnificent story of marital loathing, vengeance and a power shift, a sort of superior Tales of the Unexpected. She sent him on a trip that he was never to fully return from. He didn't reach the doors of perception.
Sick and evil
I love plays & tv plays are great to watch too 😳🐩
Me to
Good for her she’s in control of her own life now 🎉
Very unusual thank you❤️
This world almost ceased to exist... These manners, these dialogues...
Speechless, Where Is The LOVE 💙
There was no such thing as wokeness back then like there is now, only tough love.
@@francisheperi4180 TRUE, THANKS 😊 BLESS YOUR HEART 💙
Perfection!!!! Thank you very acting👍🏼
This is how many couples lived in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s , no real love in the accepted sense, just shared a house and endured life together, I had several relatives who lived like this. He is a perfect example of how some men are so controlling of women, maybe without realising it, but still controlling. I felt her life was so mundane, born out of routine, habit and tradition. I did wonder at the end which side of the desk Dr Lal should be sitting !
I so agree, but most seem to think the wife was at fault here. XXX
@@cajsheen2594 I think it's the lack of nourishment at the root of the marriage that's the culprit. It's as dry as her cacti. Since we don't know why the marriage failed, it's just guesswork to say who's at fault. Probably both. I personally liked him better than I liked her, and I do think he loved her. I wasn't so sure if she had or ( had had) any real tenderness for him, because her depression made her so self absorbed.
@@giovanna722 well, he needed her yes, but he loved himself more. He would never have managed his life without her. Having to try and fend for himself would show his impatience, he would be a very lonely old man, unless he could find another person to gradually wear out, as he almost did her. X
She was telling him, you never ask me anything...her boundaries were being walked all over ... he was treating her like a child - infantilism, almost like a younger sister than his wife.
I'm only half way through and he's driven me mad already.
If you look carefully you will see they shopped at a value store called" International" they sold only goods in plain packages.
Just come across this chanel thankyou i gave up tv year ago glad i found your chanel to watch great plays
Absolutely brilliant good old Tv you can’t forget 😊
07:45 Ah! Janine Duvitski - 'Angela' from Mike Leigh's *Abigail's Party* (1977), also starring Alison Steadman. Fabulous tv play adaptation - if you've never seen it, do yourself a favour and seek it out.
She is a good actress, I agree. Was she also in One Foot in the Grave? I know she is the hilarious swinger wife of Donald in Benidorm 😁
@@carolannemckenzie3849 Yes indeed, I must give Benidorm a whirl, only seen a couple of very early episodes.
Splendid stuff!!
Brilliant , could do with more like this.
Excellent! Thank you!
I actually remember watching this as a teen. I think I thought it abit weird. They were my parents generation. Now I watch this at a different age, I see things from her point of view!
Was this from the “ Tales of the Unexpected “ series?
no its just a play in its own right.
I think you and I are the only ones who see it that way. Glad I'm not alone, I was beginning to doubt myself. XXX
i also saw it from her point of view, but when you think of when the hubby said that he moved into the other bedroom for her sake, it makes you wonder
@@collinhunter9792 yes but then she called him out on that one, didn't she?
@@Britgirl58 yes she did.....I thought maybe he moved bedrooms because of an affaire? (His affair, not hers).... perhaps a catalyst of the resentment she feels?
Wel I was in the mood for it poetry it was lovely time on earth thanks for me to learn in life
Enjoyed it immensely. Great acting. Poor George 🤣
Oh, a well meaning George, but such a controlling and unimaginative man.
@@scathatch You summarised the character well. I think he was well meaning but was emotionally bereft in the circumstances.
He did suggest going dancing. I wish mine would. Lol
It made me sad as of how cruel people can become giving an inescapable circumstance!
I don’t know how she’s growing all of those cactus with barely any sun in England! 😆😂
She has the heating on. He refers to that when he asks 'Does it have to be so hot in here?'
It's a greenhouse, it will have a small heater and have its own micro- climate, and we do have sun in England now and again. XXX
I have a greenhouse and I live in England.
Last year’s summer here was as hot as anywhere in Europe.
Poor man
Very good thank u
Classic! The last yell rings from 'One Foot in the Grave' brilliant actor Richard Wilson.
Omg. I will need to check for other roles this actress did. Brava!!
Brilliant 👏 good for her
Wonderful script and actors.
This highlights the need for a separation/divorce when wedded life becomes so terribly tedious.
Is it really practical that it can remain exciting for decades?
Isn’t it wiser to be realistic about expectations of your partner? Isn’t it enough just be grateful for the companionship into old age?
When George mentioned the allowance and shopping - I knew it was time for him to go
What a performance by Avril Elgar
@29:07 my misses wondered what I was watching from the audio sound 😂😂😂😂
So enjoying this
This woman is crazy.
No, he's crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They're both a bit off each in his/her own way. She's crazy and miserable; he's insufferable. Such sad lives.
A woman needs to be in control at home when the marriage has not been equal. How will she bare him being at home and so much in control
How will she bear him, not bare him. Unless she plans to strip him.
She cannot bear it - if she was "bare" that means not having any clothes on! Bear it - means to endure it and put up with it - while Bare it - means a person is without clothes, like bare skin. Not Bear as in the animal bear - bear as in "I cannot bear it anymore".
@colleenwhalen-pg7un I've been forced to concede that it is futile battling against a sea of typos, automatic correction grammatical errors and problems afflicting the best of us in coping with tiny text and tiny keys. Only the gibberish Trumpspeak comments with few words exceeding four letters now get me ranting........
WOW! all i can say is WOW!
I miss all the old ITV regional variations we used to have in the 70s and 80s. Each one had a distinctive logo and jingle. That's diversity for ya, not the faux-version we have imposed on us today by the political elite.
how in the world did you make this political...over tv logos and jingles? obvioulsy you are a "deep" thinker. 😅
I agree so much. Luckilymany can be found on youtube and if not then on DVD.
ITV in any proper sense ended on 1st January 1993
@@christianmorris8065 yes ; there seems to be a marked drop in quality from around this time ! It's maybe because some ITV regions were struggling with a few causes; firstly Sky perhaps getting more money through subscription & advertising. Secondly the replacement of the IBA with toothless ' offcom' thirdly , Political Correctness on both BBC & ITV & lastly & the most important , looking back from 2023- to the 90s & maybe early 2000s ;the upheaval in the ITV network . In 1992 as long established & respected companies loosing their contracts , through a dodgy ' Franchise auction' on who can bid the most & not giving a stuff about what the viewer wants. Time & time again it's " accountants & suits" that neither care or know about TV drama or light entertainment. Lew Grade & Jeremy Issac's at Thames, didn't always get it right, but they understood what the public wanted & when the scheduling was right , cast & story was of a high quality, they had great success & a programme legacy that can last decades.
Very true!
He's a creature of habit who's routine runs smoothly with his dutiful wife. Her life is her own when he's at work, but their life is about to change now he's close to retirement. His behaviour is tiresome & condescending, her patience is pushed to the limit.
She just wants him out of the house for a few hours so she can breathe.
Oh i love the Radio Times leather cover! We all had them. You could buy them with tokens from the magazine for a while.
A lot in the story, she said she had no children so her plants were her children, boring husband,same boring routine every day. Him living in the past when they were young, she didn’t have a life except through him and he was stingy with money. She went mad till she turned it round, good writing a lot to see in this. I was 21 in 1982 , age really does creep up on us, except now days we have to work much later till retirement. I’ve got a 20 year old so life thank god is totally different to those days, or is it ?
I’m now 76 and I’ve never been happier. I’m finally alone and I love love love it! Yeah, I made it. Hard to believe. Happy Thanksgiving to all!
The lighting in these plays makes a huge difference to the atmosphere.
Good but depressing 😔...
I LOVE THESE OLD BRITISH SHOWS SO MUCH! THEY MAKE ME FEEL LIKE I BELONG THERE BACK THEN AND I GET A SENSE OF MISSING ENGLAND AND I'M FROM AMERICA AND NEVER BEEN OUT OF THIS COUNTRY! IT'S VERY WEIRD. I GET THIS VERY STRONG FEELING I'VE LIVED IN A COMFY TINY COTTAGE ON A FARM AND I EVEN SLIP OUT AT TIMES AND TALK BRITISH FOR REAL! IM 62 AND NOT CRAZY YET LOL LOL ! BUT I WATCHED THE MALLEN STREAK AND FELT RIGHT AT HOME IN THE COTTAGE THEY MOVED INTO AFTER THEY LOST THE CASTLE . IT WAS SUCH A INTENSE FEELING I FELT LIKE CRYING ! THAT WAS ABOUT 7 YEARS AGO . BUT SEEING HOW I WON'T BE ABLE TO EVER GO THERE LOL I'LL ENJOY WATCHING SHOWS FOR NOW LOL LOL . THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING THESE!❤
Come on old stick, buck up, pull yourself together, have another handful of mother's little helpers...and some casual racism thrown in! I do hope things have changed since 1982, sadly, I fear not. Thanks for sharing, really enjoyed this, you go, girl!!
She didn't need pills! She needed a JOB!!
I think some things have changed. Men nowadays don't all expect their wives to stay at home. They're allowed to get a job - which is what the bank manager's wife needed.
Ah shaddup SJW brat
Allowed to get a job?! Allowed! 🙄
@@alicejackson771 I agree. She needed some sort of purpose.
I really enjoyed this. Both characters are very flawed. In all a creepy little dramatic piece. Thanks.
More more plz
Excellent
The tea cosy