I cannot believe the actress who played the young girl is best remembered for EastEnders. She smashes it in this and is a very good serious actress. I am very impressed with this drama. Great upload.
This series and episode is exceptionally good in portraying the bleak and life-threatening everyday life in 70s Belfast - and at times almost surreal in the depiction of the fear and suspicion that characterizes civil society and the British military. Ray Lonnen also shines in the role of an undercover agent and manages to live in himself so much that you find it difficult to detach yourself from the impression that he is a real person with character - and unimaginable courage.
I'm in Canada and been hearing about this series for a long time. It's interesting to see Derek Thompson who played Jeff in the John McKenzie film The Long Good Friday. Thank you so much for posting this!
I’m so glad this has been posted I remember it as a kid … it’s a veritable feast of acting talent - Tony Rohr of course was the IRA commander in The Long Good Friday which also starred …Derek Thompson! Then the wonderful Benjamin Whitrow ‘ Mr Bennet in Pride & Prejudice ….. I think half the cast were subsequently in episodes of Lovejoy …. or Madson. Wonderful stuff. 😊
well made series, with almost realistic actors, (although I don't know why they wouldn't have the lad cut his curly locks when he came back to Belfast, or that "Harry" tipped the english soldier that he was an agent, wouldn't be recommended) in 1983 I was managing a wine shipping company in London, we had a dinner in the west end, I had a few drinks , but knew London well, i had parked my car which the garage gave me for the day, as mine was in for service...parked at Park Lane garage, west end, but arguing with my GF about who should drive, & didn't pay attention to my directions as we left the parking... so I sped up a bit , it was a sporty BMW, and all of a sudden I saw flashing blue lights in the rear view mirror, a police van! ...so half - drunk .. ... I shifted gear and sped away, found the North circular & was "doing a 007" weaving in & out of the 3 lane road, ... but the Van was still behind me , so way back but still chasing... so I cut off the first exit, and ...shocked when there before me was a police road block , we had smoked windows so I said to my GF "switch seats" which was a JOKE in this little sports car,... we got half way across , when both doors opened & about a dozen bizzies pulled me out , wearing a dinner suit, threw me bodily into the back of their van & a 7ft copper kneeled on my chest & said "if you move , I will fill you in" ... at the Hendon police station, I saw my GF & called to her to call the lawyer, but the copper punched me in the belly. to shut me up put me in a cell, first time I had even been arrested 30 years old! .. I asked to phone, but because I was a bit of a joker, it wasn't taken seriously by my family (J) ..at 1 am.. next day the magistrate wasn't interested in "defence" fined me a 1000 quid, & banned 18 months, I then found out that the garage had given me a car with Irish plates, & I hadn't noticed!!
So you got all the way from Park Lane in London to the North circular road without the police managing to stop you?, Hahahaha.....great imagination you have, but i think you miscalculated how far the North Circular is from Park Lane to make your tall tale believable.
This was back when a film's undercover agent could cheat on his wife without subjecting viewers to a half hour of him brooding and feeling guilty after.
18:00, This part where Jones CO briefed him on what's happening to him is actually an accurate account of what happens in the military on ops abroad, if you by chance come across a known colleague who's gone undercover,
The army would have known him as one of many Republicans. Would have had known him to see. A dramatic haircut of his woolly head would have aroused some notice and suspicion
Very similar just as recently a search has began for his body what he was thinking at the time I'll never know. Both sides of the conflict were up to all sorts
This all seems a bit silly when the MRF/FRU/Det would have been all over such a situation. At any rate, good to see an ex-Sandbagger connecting with everyone's favorite A&E nurse, and a Bird of a Feather. I hope the estate of Bela Bartok got some royalties from the incidental music.
Very good series, second time around. Disappointing that his cover is blown already, due to lack of training. I think an SAS operative would be the choice now.
@sidensvans67 I've read most of his. Sometimes happy ending. However, like this one, he doesn't shy away from an unhappy hero dies ending. I don't recal titles but there was a really good one where I guy goes to Lebanon perhaps with a Green Meanie sniper rifle ( the adoption of which is a great tale. A tiny company put one in for assessment and it won!! So they pretended to have a factory borrowed some equipment set up as a "factory" got the contract and made it happen. Classic🤣) where the anti hero dies. That was my first Seymour book. Green Meanie on the cover I just grabbed it great read
@@davidleonard1813 At Close Quarters . A diplomat and an Israeli master-sniper plan to walk by night into the Beqa'a valley in east Lebanon, home of Palestinian revolutionary groups .
I don't actually know how it could be propaganda, seems pretty impartial to me. It's British (YTV/ITV) production but it doesn't show the British soldiers in a very good light, but it also portrays the IRA members as ruthless. Plus it shows how Catholics not directly involved with the IRA were caught between the devil in the deep blue sea. It exposes the situation as being a game of tit-for-tat for both sides, who themselves sought to score propaganda victories to demoralise the other side. Over all very objective I think.
In real life he would have been caught within an hour you never lose the NI accent u can tone it down but u would never break into a london accent every 40 seconds like harry does
14:55 She kinda giggled, i'm no don juan but i've know a few women who laugh when it ,.. well you know, happened for them. It must be more common than i thought, i mean, why write that in the script?, someone knows. btw, i'm getting the feeling that harry is gonna flip, the way the english are abusing everyone, stockholm syndrome !
@@colinstewart1432 I was wrong , i just thought that the way the english pushed people around and violated them that harry would become sympathetic, and see things from thier point of view.
Two points, first, we could watch an hour of absorbing TV drama with only one advertisement break instead of a barrage of DEI-approved, puerile content every 8 minutes, and secondly, this bitter conflict was ended by dialogue instead of violence. A lesson the Israelis and those who back them and their murderous actions are unwilling to pay heed to.
RESPECT, THE TROUBLES....THAT CURLY MANE, SHOOTER MAKES NO ATTEMPT TO CHANGE APPEARANCE. A SIMPLE HAIR CUT ,OR HAIR RELAXER, GET SUN LAMP TAN UP A BIT, MUSTACHE? STEADY BILLY...... SOUTH PHILADELPHIA, OUT🔱⭐.
@FeeOzymandias-qi5ot I'm getting the feeling that harry is gonna flip, stockhold syndrome, the way he's witnessing abuse after abuse of people's dignity.
I think that you're missing the point that he said to his wife in the last episode that they'd been using him since he was a boy. So it wasn't his first job. In the days before CCTV and everyone having a camera in their hand,his appearance wasn't that important. When people are in shock their responses are slowed and their recall patchy. Only a squadie would have had really short hair,so cutting it off would have drawn even more attention. He's supposed to have been visiting his mother,so coming back with a sun tan and a new hairdo would have set tongues clacking for streets around! Also, the IRA at that time were confident in the population, even those who didn't support them would never speak up because reprisals were swift and savage. So who cares about the bag or the hair? And they knew that he would be back on safe home ground before they worked out his route so again.. all part of sticking two fingers up at the British.
British troops going across the water were required to grow their hair (non regulation length)it's possible the Berets don't fit correctly because of the unkempt hair.
Mrs Richards: "I paid for a room with a view !" Basil: (pointing to the lovely view) "That is Torquay, Madam ." Mrs Richards: "It's not good enough!" Basil: "May I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window ? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically past?..." Mrs Richards: "Don't be silly! I expect to be able to see the sea!" Basil: "You can see the sea, it's over there between the land and the sky." Mrs Richards: "I'm not satisfied. But I shall stay. But I expect a reduction." Basil: "Why?! Because Krakatoa's not erupting at the moment ?"
17:30, This is fact, you'd have been RTU'd ASAP (on good terms though), if you took down details of a potential Deep undercover 🥸 Agent in the field, whilst you were in the agent's operating zones, and secondly, a private ALL RANKS MEETING would've taken place to order everyone on that evening snatch/lifting task to never talk about it again!
I cannot believe the actress who played the young girl is best remembered for EastEnders. She smashes it in this and is a very good serious actress. I am very impressed with this drama. Great upload.
Excellent, the gritty realism is so overwhelming. I couldn’t get a feel for it when it first aired as I was a bit young, so much pain.
Same here. My Mom and Pa were glued to it as I remember.
This series and episode is exceptionally good in portraying the bleak and life-threatening everyday life in 70s Belfast - and at times almost surreal in the depiction of the fear and suspicion that characterizes civil society and the British military. Ray Lonnen also shines in the role of an undercover agent and manages to live in himself so much that you find it difficult to detach yourself from the impression that he is a real person with character - and unimaginable courage.
Read the book - absolutely superb.
I remember this series from when I was just 21. Excellent series.
Derek Thompson was allso in the gentle touch another sublime tv series
Ireland for the Irish written on the wall at the start is still very much in the news today.
Ireland for the immigrants today.
Except that SF are now against them
i just bought the dvd today and now i find it on youtube hahahahahah
great you can laugh about!😁
Still as haunting as ever
How flipping good is this ! I want to watch the whole series in one go !
Thanks, I remember it first time round. Cheers.
Thanks for putting this series on I’ve not seen this for years ,I was at school when this was out…..it’s good to see the uncut version ….
Charles Lawson playing a Provo when he's a loyalist but played it well.
Linda Robson excellent
I'm in Canada and been hearing about this series for a long time. It's interesting to see Derek Thompson who played Jeff in the John McKenzie film The Long Good Friday. Thank you so much for posting this!
He was also a long-term character in the BBC medical drama Casualty.
Great series, thanks for sharing.
Did any one notice Linda Robson from birds of a feather playing Theresa.
Yes! and I was so surprised. I thought she only did a cockney accent but she managed the Northern Irish brogue pretty well.
Did you also notice Derek Thompson, better known for his role as Charlie Fairhead in Casualty..?!
@@tangomoggynoengi8518 ......And even better known for his role as 'Jeff' in the classic British gangster film ''The Long Good Friday''.
Also Charlie Lawson (from Corrie years ago) and Gary Waldhorn (Vicar of Dibley)
I’m so glad this has been posted I remember it as a kid … it’s a veritable feast of acting talent - Tony Rohr of course was the IRA commander in The Long Good Friday which also starred …Derek Thompson! Then the wonderful Benjamin Whitrow ‘ Mr Bennet in Pride & Prejudice ….. I think half the cast were subsequently in episodes of Lovejoy …. or Madson. Wonderful stuff. 😊
well made series, with almost realistic actors, (although I don't know why they wouldn't have the lad cut his curly locks when he came back to Belfast, or that "Harry" tipped the english soldier that he was an agent, wouldn't be recommended) in 1983 I was managing a wine shipping company in London, we had a dinner in the west end, I had a few drinks , but knew London well, i had parked my car which the garage gave me for the day, as mine was in for service...parked at Park Lane garage, west end, but arguing with my GF about who should drive, & didn't pay attention to my directions as we left the parking... so I sped up a bit , it was a sporty BMW, and all of a sudden I saw flashing blue lights in the rear view mirror, a police van! ...so half - drunk .. ... I shifted gear and sped away, found the North circular & was "doing a 007" weaving in & out of the 3 lane road, ...
but the Van was still behind me , so way back but still chasing... so I cut off the first exit, and ...shocked when there before me was a police road block , we had smoked windows so I said to my GF "switch seats" which was a JOKE in this little sports car,...
we got half way across , when both doors opened & about a dozen bizzies pulled me out , wearing a dinner suit, threw me bodily into the back of their van & a 7ft copper kneeled on my chest & said "if you move , I will fill you in" ... at the Hendon police station, I saw my GF & called to her to call the lawyer, but the copper punched me in the belly. to shut me up put me in a cell, first time I had even been arrested 30 years old! ..
I asked to phone, but because I was a bit of a joker, it wasn't taken seriously by my family (J) ..at 1 am..
next day the magistrate wasn't interested in "defence" fined me a 1000 quid, & banned 18 months, I then found out that the garage had given me a car with Irish plates, & I hadn't noticed!!
So you got all the way from Park Lane in London to the North circular road without the police managing to stop you?, Hahahaha.....great imagination you have, but i think you miscalculated how far the North Circular is from Park Lane to make your tall tale believable.
Oh and a £1000 fine in 1983!!!
@@davidfelix2594 suppose u weren't born until 2013? learn to read & not scan!
dont care if u believe me!
@Nomad-tt3cq people with no life hate those who have more than one :)
Could have been worse u could have had an Irish accent and they would have stiched u up for guilford
18:01 Jesus! That salute! 😂
I;m an American ex sailor, so i wouldn't know what's wrong with a British salute, but i do see some lousy salutes in american movies.
A Benny Hill special !!
Some shocking berets🥸
Wonderful series .
Good stuff 👍🏻😊👊🏻🔥🔥🔥💨 BIG RESPECT 💨
Two Casualty actors. Charlie and Josh
Gil Brailey (Josephine) was in a couple of episodes of Casualty, too. She even wrote a couple of episodes later on.
This was back when a film's undercover agent could cheat on his wife without subjecting viewers to a half hour of him brooding and feeling guilty after.
18:00,
This part where Jones CO briefed him on what's happening to him is actually an accurate account of what happens in the military on ops abroad, if you by chance come across a known colleague who's gone undercover,
My platoon Cmdr was with 14 Int. He actually did this. Years after the very brave Capt Robert Nairac. Very brave man my old Staff Sargeant
Excellent series.Subscribed.Cheers !
Two very basic questions... why did he keep the Dutch sack when he was supposed to have seen his mother, and why doesn't he cut his hair?
Should definitely have got that hair cut.
The army would have known him as one of many Republicans. Would have had known him to see. A dramatic haircut of his woolly head would have aroused some notice and suspicion
Yorkshire TV. As most of it couldn't be filmed in Ireland they looked for a similar 'war torn' place - Meanwood, Leeds.
The Excellent Smileys People was also on tv the same year 1982.
Robert Nairac
Very similar just as recently a search has began for his body what he was thinking at the time I'll never know.
Both sides of the conflict were up to all sorts
Excellent !!!
Charlie Fairhead was a naughty boy.
From casualties to Casualtys'
When Harry called his control and told about the girl, why did he not mention Billy?
A very young Linda Robson
A little bit pumpable then. Now, you wouldn`t ride her into battle
This all seems a bit silly when the MRF/FRU/Det would have been all over such a situation. At any rate, good to see an ex-Sandbagger connecting with everyone's favorite A&E nurse, and a Bird of a Feather. I hope the estate of Bela Bartok got some royalties from the incidental music.
Very good series, second time around.
Disappointing that his cover is blown already, due to lack of training.
I think an SAS operative would be the choice now.
Amazing miniseries. Thank you for posting it.
Is it me, or does Maggie Shevlin seem incapable of closing her mouth all the way?
Gerald Seymours books are worth a read
Definitely .
@sidensvans67 I've read most of his. Sometimes happy ending. However, like this one, he doesn't shy away from an unhappy hero dies ending. I don't recal titles but there was a really good one where I guy goes to Lebanon perhaps with a Green Meanie sniper rifle ( the adoption of which is a great tale. A tiny company put one in for assessment and it won!! So they pretended to have a factory borrowed some equipment set up as a "factory" got the contract and made it happen. Classic🤣) where the anti hero dies. That was my first Seymour book. Green Meanie on the cover I just grabbed it great read
@@davidleonard1813 At Close Quarters . A diplomat and an Israeli master-sniper plan to walk by night into the Beqa'a valley in east Lebanon, home of Palestinian revolutionary groups .
@sidensvans67 yeah sounds about right I just remember the Green Meanie, Beqa Valley, the Diplomat minor one no real family didn't make it
@@davidleonard1813
Toyah is heard
Unfortunately.
How many times can you say Billy in one minute
Excellent watching don't make em like this anymore
Miserable place and time.
My sympathies lie with the Irish, or anyone who was treated so repugnantly !
Still is. What a shit hole.
That's a young Jim McDonald, so it is!
Agreed so it is !!!
Good
So it is.
Aye,it's himself, so it is.
Ahhh catch yersef on
Classic, propaganda of course but great series. ☘️🔥
I don't actually know how it could be propaganda, seems pretty impartial to me. It's British (YTV/ITV) production but it doesn't show the British soldiers in a very good light, but it also portrays the IRA members as ruthless. Plus it shows how Catholics not directly involved with the IRA were caught between the devil in the deep blue sea. It exposes the situation as being a game of tit-for-tat for both sides, who themselves sought to score propaganda victories to demoralise the other side. Over all very objective I think.
When we had PROPER TV programmes, very good, thanks for posting rather this than the stupidity of Ant and Dreck.
In real life he would have been caught within an hour you never lose the NI accent u can tone it down but u would never break into a london accent every 40 seconds like harry does
Does say that in the episodes itself and the main man himself says at one point the whole operation is amatuer.
Most of the accents are shite 😂😂
It's not about accents, it's about smelling 'Shite'.
So, how come the agent happened in the right bar?
It’s in the script/screenplay.
The way this is done = = It could be a Comedy.
Even the English ones 😂
Served in NI for a year. Quite a poignant representation
Ireland not the same in 2024
His accent gave Harry away - good but not good enough.
Excellent production for a TV series - where have standards and abilities gone in British TV? Down the drain of ethnic diversity in part?
DEI
14:55 She kinda giggled, i'm no don juan but i've know a few women who laugh when it ,.. well you know, happened for them. It must be more common than i thought, i mean, why write that in the script?, someone knows. btw, i'm getting the feeling that harry is gonna flip, the way the english are abusing everyone, stockholm syndrome !
Stockholm syndrome also applies to your country, your family, your workplace, everything.
@@colinstewart1432 I was wrong , i just thought that the way the english pushed people around and violated them that harry would become sympathetic, and see things from thier point of view.
Two points, first, we could watch an hour of absorbing TV drama with only one advertisement break instead of a barrage of DEI-approved, puerile content every 8 minutes, and secondly, this bitter conflict was ended by dialogue instead of violence.
A lesson the Israelis and those who back them and their murderous actions are unwilling to pay heed to.
It wasn’t ended by dialogue, it was ended by that scum Tony B. Liar capitulating and giving the murderers get of of jail free cards.
RESPECT,
THE TROUBLES....THAT CURLY MANE, SHOOTER MAKES NO ATTEMPT TO CHANGE APPEARANCE.
A SIMPLE HAIR CUT ,OR HAIR RELAXER, GET SUN LAMP TAN UP A BIT, MUSTACHE?
STEADY BILLY......
SOUTH PHILADELPHIA, OUT🔱⭐.
@FeeOzymandias-qi5ot I'm getting the feeling that harry is gonna flip, stockhold syndrome, the way he's witnessing abuse after abuse of people's dignity.
I think that you're missing the point that he said to his wife in the last episode that they'd been using him since he was a boy. So it wasn't his first job. In the days before CCTV and everyone having a camera in their hand,his appearance wasn't that important. When people are in shock their responses are slowed and their recall patchy. Only a squadie would have had really short hair,so cutting it off would have drawn even more attention. He's supposed to have been visiting his mother,so coming back with a sun tan and a new hairdo would have set tongues clacking for streets around! Also, the IRA at that time were confident in the population, even those who didn't support them would never speak up because reprisals were swift and savage. So who cares about the bag or the hair? And they knew that he would be back on safe home ground before they worked out his route so again.. all part of sticking two fingers up at the British.
They didn’t even get the hair correct on the photo-fit, so what difference would it have made?
Anyway, stop shouting.
For a kick off, why doesn't the producers get the dress right, the Berry looks shite, on all the soldiers.
Presume you mean the BERET😅
British troops going across the water were required to grow their hair (non regulation length)it's possible the Berets don't fit correctly because of the unkempt hair.
Strawberry? 🤔 Ohhh BERET... Nobhead.
@@chrisholland7367not THAT long. They don’t shape the berets, that’s the problem.
@johnnunn8688 you're obviously an ex British soldier like me.
Beret is always a give away. Lining never taken out and shrunk down to size or shaved
Mrs Richards: "I paid for a room with a view !"
Basil: (pointing to the lovely view) "That is Torquay, Madam ."
Mrs Richards: "It's not good enough!"
Basil: "May I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window ? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically past?..."
Mrs Richards: "Don't be silly! I expect to be able to see the sea!"
Basil: "You can see the sea, it's over there between the land and the sky."
Mrs Richards: "I'm not satisfied. But I shall stay. But I expect a reduction."
Basil: "Why?! Because Krakatoa's not erupting at the moment ?"
17:30, This is fact, you'd have been RTU'd ASAP (on good terms though), if you took down details of a potential Deep undercover 🥸 Agent in the field, whilst you were in the agent's operating zones, and secondly, a private ALL RANKS MEETING would've taken place to order everyone on that evening snatch/lifting task to never talk about it again!