Guernsey under occupation in WW2. One thing that struck me were casting similarities to Colditz (1972), played out on a larger stage. Alfred Burke plays Bernard Hepton's role as the firm but fair German in charge. Simon Cadell has Anthony Valentine's part as fanatical Nazi breathing down his boss's neck. Bernard Horsfall has a similar responsibility to Jack Hedley as hard pressed interlocutor between the Germans and the captives. There is even Colditz actor Richard Heffer, playing a similarly dashing daredevil. The big difference is the presence of women, and some of the most memorable episodes concern them.
After the Ball. At a dance instigated by Reinicke (Cadell), a young Austrian soldier picks up an attractive Guernsey girl. But subsequent event prove disastrous for both of them.
The Jerrybag. The sad story of Betty, not bad looking but somewhat dowdy and lacking self esteem. She has an affair with, and gets pregnant by a German soldier, is ostracised by her fellow islanders, and her lover later comes to grief on the Eastern front. Betty reappears three years later in The Right Blood, where her luck fails to improve.
My one grumble is that the conclusion of the final episode Escape is unnecessarily grim, and one felt short changed that Reinicke failed to get his deserved comeuppance.
After the Ball. At a dance instigated by Reinicke (Cadell), a young Austrian soldier picks up an attractive Guernsey girl. But subsequent event prove disastrous for both of them.
The Jerrybag. The sad story of Betty, not bad looking but somewhat dowdy and lacking self esteem. She has an affair with, and gets pregnant by a German soldier, is ostracised by her fellow islanders, and her lover later comes to grief on the Eastern front. Betty reappears three years later in The Right Blood, where her luck fails to improve.
My one grumble is that the conclusion of the final episode Escape is unnecessarily grim, and one felt short changed that Reinicke failed to get his deserved comeuppance.