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Reviews
Bluebell (1986)
Good British Costume Drama Series
Bluebell was one of the first "adult" dramas that I watched as a child in 1986-7 on the BBC.
It was based on the real life story of Margerate Kelly, an Irish dancer from a poor orphan background who built "The Bluebell Girls" which was/is a major show in Paris that lasted decades. The story involves her survival in the Occupied Paris in the 2nd World War, her internment in a camp for British citizens, her hiding her Jewish husband from the Nazis. All the while going from poverty to building a show that would be world famous. The drama was filmed in the "video look" theatre style that was typical of British dramas at the time. My review is based on a 26 year old childhood memory as this great drama was sadly never repeated or released. Therefore I apologise for any mistakes in memory in the review.
Now when will this be released? It's such a shame that it's been hidden away for so many years. I recommend this to anyone who enjoyed "Tenko", "Secret Army", "House of Elliot" or any British costume drama of that kind.
Seaforth (1994)
A Forgotten Gem with Linus Roache's best performance
I saw this as a teenager in England when it first aired in 1994. It was a costume drama set in the 2nd World War with Linus Roache in an excellent performance, probably his best ever and was the first time I ever saw him on TV. I developed a teenage crush on him but it soon wore off as I never really enjoyed any other drama he was in quite as much and in particular it wore off when he starred in "Priest" not long after as he was in the first graphic Gay scene I had seen on TV.
The drama and plot were rather good with a rather skinny looking actress (if I remember correctly) playing his fiancé/wife and an excellent child actor as his brother. There was a lot of excitement around the series at the time and there was talk of a 2nd series to be made. It's a shame it was never made and this gem was forgotten. I hope that it will one day get released on DVD. I can not remember much of the plot except for the start in which Bob Longman (Roache) is a thief of bombed out houses in the Blitz. He gets a girl pregnant and then runs off. After his disappearance his girlfriend falls in love with a reliable hero type, who is the complete opposite of Longman's character. Longman then returns. There were later side plots involving a sneaky business man, illegal deals, a hero's dying, crime and it was all well acted and written to make you want to see next week's installment in the last years before cable TV and the internet conquered everything many people still only had 4 TV channels. I would love to see this again and see if it still holds up as well today.