As mini series go they do not come much better than this. A brilliant portrayal of what life was like for those unfortunate people who found themselves without work at the beginning of the 1980's. A depressing testament to the power wielded by political leaders and the total indifference shown by those in work to those without it. All young and sceptical people bored by the stories told them by parents who were affected by events portrayed in this series should take a look see. Then they will realise that the stories they have heard are in fact true. A lesson for all which, when once seen, must never be forgotten. Comedy, pathos, bathos you name it, it has it all. Wonderfully acted. Not a poor performance anywhere to be seen. Has great educational value.
27 Reviews
If you were there, you'll understand.
unclepete11 June 2000
Boys from the Black Stuff is more than just a story. It's a snapshot of a special time in a special place. Liverpool in the 1980's could be a bleak and despairing place, with only the common threads of unemployment and humour keeping spirits alive. The story centres on the struggle of a ragged band of workers trying to make ends meet. On the way we see scams, subterfuge, corruption and the ongoing battle between the workers and the 'sniffers' (welfare benefit fraud investigators).
The locations are superb, painting a grisly accurate portrait of the time, with much of the filming done in Liverpool 8.
The language and dialogue also help capture the spirit of the time, with idiomatic 'scouse' used without apology.
Perhaps the best summary of the whole series is encapsulated in a line from the opening scenes in the first episode. Whilst establishing the number of dependents a claimant has, he is told that his grown up children who are 'on the dole' don't count. His response: "Nobody on the dole counts,love".
Recently released on dvd, this series is a documented history of the sharp end of 'Thatcher's Millions' - watch it if you can.
The locations are superb, painting a grisly accurate portrait of the time, with much of the filming done in Liverpool 8.
The language and dialogue also help capture the spirit of the time, with idiomatic 'scouse' used without apology.
Perhaps the best summary of the whole series is encapsulated in a line from the opening scenes in the first episode. Whilst establishing the number of dependents a claimant has, he is told that his grown up children who are 'on the dole' don't count. His response: "Nobody on the dole counts,love".
Recently released on dvd, this series is a documented history of the sharp end of 'Thatcher's Millions' - watch it if you can.
Brilliance!
a.north10 June 2000
This series is being reshown on T.V. at the moment and it reminds one on how drama should be made. True the subject matter about poverty and unemployment in 80's Britain was a strong one for the writer,producer,director& actors to rise to. But they do it with the peak of professionalism,realism & creativity, seldom seen in more recent T.V. ( or Film for that matter ) output.
All the episodes which make up the series really move the watcher even today and it sends echoes out to everyone living in 90's Britain towards the turn of the century where some similar themes as explored in this piece are still more than ever relevant today.
All the episodes which make up the series really move the watcher even today and it sends echoes out to everyone living in 90's Britain towards the turn of the century where some similar themes as explored in this piece are still more than ever relevant today.
I can't believe there's no hope left
hamactor2 October 2001
Warning: Spoilers
When Bleasdale's original one-off play "The Black Stuff" received critical acclaim in 1980, the BBC approached the writer to expand his ideas into a mini-series of five 50 minute episodes. The result was "Boys From The Blackstuff". Each episode focuses in on the life of a different character (Snowy, Tommy, Chrissy, Yosser, George) and winds even tighter knots of anguish around their desperate struggles to find work in Liverpool, 1982, as well as starkly portraying the devastating effects of unemployment on their domestic lives (and mental health). In the first episode "Jobs For The Boys", Snowy Malone, a committed socialist and workers' revolutionary activist, tells of his inner struggles to maintain his beliefs amongst his workmates, whose understandable need for money forces them to forego their principles. Snowy dies tragically whilst fleeing the pursuing DHSS officials from the dole office. (Bleasdale's portrayal of the devious tactics of the DOE was actually very close to real life, and not at all fantastic or overplayed). More DHSS v. Claimant stuff ensued in ep. 2 "Moonlighter", wher Tommy, a decent down to earth family man, is forced to take part in a robbery while working nights as a security guard on a cargo ship. The unbearable tensions of trying to keep his family together wear away at Tommy's nerves, and the episode realistically shows the awful effects of unemployment on the family. Tommy ends up crying silently, knowing that he has in fact been degraded and dehumanised by his predicament. (I forgot to tape ep.3 "Shop Thy Neighbour", which focuses on Chrissy, so I haven't seen that one, and can't comment on it). The last two episodes are by far, the real masterpieces. Nothing can prepare the viewer to witness the sheer descent to rock-bottom which faces Yosser Hughes (brilliantly played by Bernard Hill). Yosser, a weak and flawed young man, has his home and his dearly loved children mercilessly snatched from him as his finances crumble, and ends up on the streets, clinging painfully to his washed out dream of "being someone". This is very bleak viewing indeed, but the despair is counterpointed by moments of sharp, surreal, mocking black humour. This episode surely ranks as one of the finest fifty minutes you'll ever have the privelige to spend sitting in front of the box. The superb high quality and surreal sense of resignation/defeat/humour carries on into the final episode "George's Last Ride". George Malone, ex-docker, socialist/Labour activist, political icon to a generation of workers, and symbol of an earlier era fast fading, is terminally ill. Yet still the fire of hope burns bright within him, hope for a better time, a better deal for his class. We see George's body grow weaker, as his inner spirit remains strong. He reminisces about the old days at the docks, where the workers stood shoulder to shoulder, fighting for better conditions. George breathes his last, after a passionate final cry of hope....and thos e left behind seem to realise that his passing represents the death of all that he stood for. After the emotional funeral, we cut to the utterly surreal insanity of the local pub, filled with crazy characters, the victims of unemployment, trying to drink themselves into oblivion. (This pub scene is truly unforgettable). Yosser, Chrissy and (? - sorry, forgot his character name!) exit the pub and drift aimlessly down the street, as age-old factories are being demolished on either side... "Boys from the Blackstuff" remains one of the most important and enduring TV programmes ever made in Britain, and the last two episodes (at least) can rightly be called masterpieces of television drama.
If you regard yourself as a social commentator, watch this.
Mashu-215 October 1998
Alan Bleasdale's defining production. Almost unbearably tragic characters, yet Bleasdale manages to find the opportunity for rare wit in his dialogue. As good a T.V. series as there has ever been. Truly the work of a genius.
Lets See it again!!
plutus194725 May 2006
Boys from the Blackstuff was first screened by the BBC in 1982.
It is in my opinion the finest drama series the BBC have ever produced. Poignant and emotive. There are not enough superlatives to describe this drama.
The script was second to none and Bleasdale's use of dialogue was excellent. Although the dialogue and setting was very disquieting for the most part, there were some lighter sides.
I have had the opportunity of seeing this series again recently, almost a quarter of a century since its first airing and to me it has lost nothing. I also feel that the latest generation of TV viewers would thoroughly enjoy watching this tremendous series.
Perhaps the BBC would consider re-screening Boys from the Blackstuff in 2007 in celebration of its 25th anniversary. I would not mind betting it would be in line for more awards.
Plutus
It is in my opinion the finest drama series the BBC have ever produced. Poignant and emotive. There are not enough superlatives to describe this drama.
The script was second to none and Bleasdale's use of dialogue was excellent. Although the dialogue and setting was very disquieting for the most part, there were some lighter sides.
I have had the opportunity of seeing this series again recently, almost a quarter of a century since its first airing and to me it has lost nothing. I also feel that the latest generation of TV viewers would thoroughly enjoy watching this tremendous series.
Perhaps the BBC would consider re-screening Boys from the Blackstuff in 2007 in celebration of its 25th anniversary. I would not mind betting it would be in line for more awards.
Plutus
Superb
salvador_20032 January 2005
This series is a brilliant insight to the devastation of Liverpool during the 80's it shows the hardship of job seekers and the many people who went through these times unemployed and deprived of their jobs and their futures where therefore destroyed by the high level of Unemployement during this period the five episodes are all written with a hilarious wit and a brilliant raw expression of life during this time that will make you laugh cry and feel for the characters and their situations the most touching story is Yossers Story it is brilliant and well written with a sense of comedy throughout although the results are upsetting. Yosser Hughes the Liverpool lad with his three Children alone living in a squalor he is desperate for a companion and finds himself alone when his wife tells social services of her torment suffered at the hands of Yosser (This a complete lie Yosser would not hurt his children or his wife) so they take his children and evict him he is beaten by the brutal Police who feel no remorse after they beat him to a pulp in his bare living room then he is left alone in the house desperate for work he tries to find a job at various areas of work but is never successful and in the end he is arrested and tries to drown himself to escape the life he has bean given. The brilliance within the series is the ability to upset you and make you laugh at the same time and finally realise the severity of unemployment during this period the whole series is absolutely brilliant and should be viewed by all because it is an outstanding look at life the history of a time in which Liverpool suffered the most and is an outstanding portrait of life a ten out of ten experience you will never forget
"Give us a job...I can do that!"
ShadeGrenade10 October 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Every now and a piece of television encapsulates the era in which it was made. In the '60's, Jeremy Sandford's 'Cathy Come Home' shocked the nation, the '70's gave us Jim Allen's equally bleak 'The Spongers', and in the '80's we got Alan Bleasdale's 'Boys From The Black Stuff'.
The five-part series was a sequel to an earlier play of the author's - 'The Black Stuff' - in which a group of Liverpool men - Yosser Hughes ( Bernard Hill ), Loggo Lomond ( Alan Igbon ), Dixie Dean ( Tom Georgeson ), Chrissie Todd ( Michael Angelis ) and George Malone ( Peter Kerrigan ) - travel to Middlesborough to lay tarmac on a new housing estate. A pair of rogues offer them a tempting deal - tarmac a farmer's drive on the firm's time and using its tools. Sensing a chance to make easy money, they do this ( without Dixie's knowledge ), only to be ripped off and worse, caught by their boss ( David Calder ), who then sacks them.
Two years later, the Middlesborough experience has left the boys in serious financial trouble, which is why a couple have taken to 'moonlighting' - claiming the dole whilst working. Dixie acts as night watchman on the docks ( turning a blind eye to all the pilfering that goes on ), while in the first episode Loggo and Chrissie help construct ( ironically ) a Labour Exchange. Their friend, Snowy Malone ( George's son ), is killed accidentally when Social Security officers raid the site. The show was a powerful depiction of ordinary, skilled men whose lives have been blighted by unemployment. So vivid and convincing was it that Norman Tebbit, then Minister of Employment in Thatcher's Government, objected. Well, he would. As Bleasdale pointed out, 'Blackstuff' concerns the consequences of unemployment, and does not blame anyone for its cause. A left-wing rant this most assuredly is not.
Each gang member had his own episode - the most memorable being 'Yosser's Story', later to represent the series in a B.B.C. retrospective in 1986. Bernard Hill bagged a B.A.F.T.A. for his electrifying portrayal of the deranged Hughes, abandoned by his wife, with no job, and left to look after three children. Everywhere he goes, he begs: "Give us a job...I can do that!". He also has a nasty habit of head butting people. It was harrowing stuff, but there was humour too, most notably his encounter with Graeme Souness at a charity event. Tom Georgeson's 'Dixie Dean' was equally moving. The Middlesbrough experience has made him bitter, refusing to speak to his former friends. In the episode 'Moonlighter', his wife is besieged in her home by Social Security officers posing as callers, and her terror is palpable. David Fleeshman's black-leather jacket wearing Social Security officer would be enough to give anyone nightmares. Also impressive are Jean Boht as the D.H.S.S. clerk and Julie Walters as Chrissie's wife 'Angie'.
The last episode - 'George's Last Ride' - featured one of television's greatest moments. Looking out across the Mersey, a terminally ill George Malone uttered a final cry of despair: "I can't believe that there's no hope.". There was to be no happy ending; the shot of Chrissie, Loggo and Yosser aimlessly walking off to an uncertain future said it all.
The series struck a chord with the public, won numerous awards, and was repeated several times. Today it is remembered as an important social document from a time when when unemployment was out of control and the Government of the day heartlessly told claimants to 'get on their bikes and look for work'. That Justin Lee Collins apparently considers 'The A-Team' to be 'the best series of the '80's' beggars belief. Nearly thirty years after its first broadcast, 'Blackstuff' still has the capacity to amuse, sadden, and, more importantly, enlighten.
The five-part series was a sequel to an earlier play of the author's - 'The Black Stuff' - in which a group of Liverpool men - Yosser Hughes ( Bernard Hill ), Loggo Lomond ( Alan Igbon ), Dixie Dean ( Tom Georgeson ), Chrissie Todd ( Michael Angelis ) and George Malone ( Peter Kerrigan ) - travel to Middlesborough to lay tarmac on a new housing estate. A pair of rogues offer them a tempting deal - tarmac a farmer's drive on the firm's time and using its tools. Sensing a chance to make easy money, they do this ( without Dixie's knowledge ), only to be ripped off and worse, caught by their boss ( David Calder ), who then sacks them.
Two years later, the Middlesborough experience has left the boys in serious financial trouble, which is why a couple have taken to 'moonlighting' - claiming the dole whilst working. Dixie acts as night watchman on the docks ( turning a blind eye to all the pilfering that goes on ), while in the first episode Loggo and Chrissie help construct ( ironically ) a Labour Exchange. Their friend, Snowy Malone ( George's son ), is killed accidentally when Social Security officers raid the site. The show was a powerful depiction of ordinary, skilled men whose lives have been blighted by unemployment. So vivid and convincing was it that Norman Tebbit, then Minister of Employment in Thatcher's Government, objected. Well, he would. As Bleasdale pointed out, 'Blackstuff' concerns the consequences of unemployment, and does not blame anyone for its cause. A left-wing rant this most assuredly is not.
Each gang member had his own episode - the most memorable being 'Yosser's Story', later to represent the series in a B.B.C. retrospective in 1986. Bernard Hill bagged a B.A.F.T.A. for his electrifying portrayal of the deranged Hughes, abandoned by his wife, with no job, and left to look after three children. Everywhere he goes, he begs: "Give us a job...I can do that!". He also has a nasty habit of head butting people. It was harrowing stuff, but there was humour too, most notably his encounter with Graeme Souness at a charity event. Tom Georgeson's 'Dixie Dean' was equally moving. The Middlesbrough experience has made him bitter, refusing to speak to his former friends. In the episode 'Moonlighter', his wife is besieged in her home by Social Security officers posing as callers, and her terror is palpable. David Fleeshman's black-leather jacket wearing Social Security officer would be enough to give anyone nightmares. Also impressive are Jean Boht as the D.H.S.S. clerk and Julie Walters as Chrissie's wife 'Angie'.
The last episode - 'George's Last Ride' - featured one of television's greatest moments. Looking out across the Mersey, a terminally ill George Malone uttered a final cry of despair: "I can't believe that there's no hope.". There was to be no happy ending; the shot of Chrissie, Loggo and Yosser aimlessly walking off to an uncertain future said it all.
The series struck a chord with the public, won numerous awards, and was repeated several times. Today it is remembered as an important social document from a time when when unemployment was out of control and the Government of the day heartlessly told claimants to 'get on their bikes and look for work'. That Justin Lee Collins apparently considers 'The A-Team' to be 'the best series of the '80's' beggars belief. Nearly thirty years after its first broadcast, 'Blackstuff' still has the capacity to amuse, sadden, and, more importantly, enlighten.
It's really good.
vhouse17 January 2003
If you are interested in what it was like to live in Thatcher's Britain in the eighties then look no futher. You need a strong stomach - especially for Yosser's Story. Memories of Cathy Come Home from the sixties spring to mind. It's good, it's real and it hurts to watch it - that's WHY it should be seen. Thanks Alan Bleasdale- for seeing and telling it like it is.
British Drama At It's Very Best
Punjana12 July 2015
In these days of ours, some say that nobody does dialogue and realism quite like Quentin Tarantino does, well, they obviously haven't seen much of Alan Bleasdales work then.
This is real, gritty and sometimes bleak stuff. I have never seen anything in film or on T.V that catches a moment in time and crystallises it so perfectly as 'Boys From The Blackstuff' does.
There is a sharp tinny sound quality and a graininess (even on DVD) to the picture that give this an almost documentary feel now. That coupled with the script and performances only add to the power of the piece as a whole. (this is not inaudible or unwatchable, just the look and sound of film and T.V from a time gone by)
Five main characters who are friends and five 50 minute stories around each character. Most notable of which is episode 4 'Yosser's Story' but that's not to undermine any of the other episodes, they are all equally good with strong performances in each.
Yosser's Story though is a pretty tough watch and for this reason, memorable.... very memorable. You sort of see his life spiral downwards in the three prior episodes but here his life and mental health completely disintegrates.
So don't be put off that this was made in 1982 or that you might not know the writer or some of the actors, this IS as real as real gets and as relevant now as was then.
This is real, gritty and sometimes bleak stuff. I have never seen anything in film or on T.V that catches a moment in time and crystallises it so perfectly as 'Boys From The Blackstuff' does.
There is a sharp tinny sound quality and a graininess (even on DVD) to the picture that give this an almost documentary feel now. That coupled with the script and performances only add to the power of the piece as a whole. (this is not inaudible or unwatchable, just the look and sound of film and T.V from a time gone by)
Five main characters who are friends and five 50 minute stories around each character. Most notable of which is episode 4 'Yosser's Story' but that's not to undermine any of the other episodes, they are all equally good with strong performances in each.
Yosser's Story though is a pretty tough watch and for this reason, memorable.... very memorable. You sort of see his life spiral downwards in the three prior episodes but here his life and mental health completely disintegrates.
So don't be put off that this was made in 1982 or that you might not know the writer or some of the actors, this IS as real as real gets and as relevant now as was then.
The Best Drama of All Time
graemedyson29 February 2016
This is an absolute masterpiece, in fact I cannot convey really in words how good this series is.Very humorous in parts, but very dark also, it portrays working class Liverpool in 1980s Britain, when the North was ostricised by the soulless Margaret Thatcher, it takes us back to a day where people cared for each other, before the world became very selfish and decided to go with the "bugger you jack I'm alright culture", I long for the day when humanity can care for each other like they did in this series, unfortunately I doubt that will ever happen again. It also questions the role of religion, why should we have any respect for a god who only seems to bring us suffering.Bleasdale is a genius,and great acting by pretty much the entire cast led, by the likes of Hill,Angelis,Walters.
A perfect series!
dave1033a7 October 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Set in the early eighties, Boys from the Black Stuff is a true masterpiece by Alan Bleasdale who pulls no punches in showing how hard the working poor had it.. each episode is dedicated to a character and each has their own troubles but the standout character is Yosser. Mentally unstable from the bad luck he has had we see him slowly spiral into a dark place.. Bernard Hill is outstanding as Yosser and makes you feel for the character..
The series is an indictment against the government of the day that actively spent lots of time and money to hunt people down that were claiming benefits and working on the side, purely because the benefits were not enough to live on..
Usually the series is linked with Thatchers government but she hadn't come into power when it was aired.. nevertheless a lot of her decisions had similar effects to the working classes..
I can go on and on as this series is magical and needs to be watched, having recently rewatched it I think it has aged well..
Check it out!!
"I'm Desperate Dan"
Drama that pegs Liverpool as Self Pity City
davidshort1022 October 2013
While Bleasdale wrote a lot of this before it was screened, it has always been obvious to me that the BBC put it on the year after the great success of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, on ITV, done by the then Central TV franchise rather than Tyne Tees TV, the franchise for the area where the Auf Wiedersehen Pet boys are from.
AWP covered the same subject as BFTBS, the joblessness of working class blokes from the north where de-industrialisation was taking away their livelihood and way of life.
But the difference was the AWP dealt with it with guts and optimism and, to paraphrase a misused quote from a Tory at the time, 'they got on their bikes and looked for work', and did it with good humour as well as having some human problems along the way. By contrast, the writer of BFTBS made it overly and overtly political so you couldn't believe in the characters. Instead, the much better writers of AWP would have the leader of the gang, Dennis, say stuff to his mates within a plot: 'I've seen blokes like you before, you lose your money, you lose your passports, and you get absurdly patriotic for a country that couldn't employ you in the first place!'.
Much, much better. For me, people like Bleasdale give succour to the people who call Liverpool 'Self Pity City'.
Liverpudlians, Scousers, love to think they are funny. They are not.
The Geordies of AWP were funny, and Geordies generally are.
No wonder AWP got two more series, which BFTBS didn't. BFTBS only got its chance because it was funded by a British poll tax called the TV licence fee.
AWP covered the same subject as BFTBS, the joblessness of working class blokes from the north where de-industrialisation was taking away their livelihood and way of life.
But the difference was the AWP dealt with it with guts and optimism and, to paraphrase a misused quote from a Tory at the time, 'they got on their bikes and looked for work', and did it with good humour as well as having some human problems along the way. By contrast, the writer of BFTBS made it overly and overtly political so you couldn't believe in the characters. Instead, the much better writers of AWP would have the leader of the gang, Dennis, say stuff to his mates within a plot: 'I've seen blokes like you before, you lose your money, you lose your passports, and you get absurdly patriotic for a country that couldn't employ you in the first place!'.
Much, much better. For me, people like Bleasdale give succour to the people who call Liverpool 'Self Pity City'.
Liverpudlians, Scousers, love to think they are funny. They are not.
The Geordies of AWP were funny, and Geordies generally are.
No wonder AWP got two more series, which BFTBS didn't. BFTBS only got its chance because it was funded by a British poll tax called the TV licence fee.
Perfect TV Drama
scott25keates8 July 2003
TV executives could do with watching this masterpiece, in the hope that they remember that not all British TV dramas have to be set in a hospital or a police station......And they don't have to be sh*t either. Boys... had top scripts, top acting and even the BBC weather forecast camerawork gives it an unparralelled sense of authenticity. Pure quality.
Condemnation of the Evil and Vindictive Thatcher
xpat-5519218 November 2018
Tells it like it was.
The despotic Margaret Thatcher as prime minister; England was in dire straits as her mindless right-wing philosophy saw taxpayer-owned assets sold to private or foreign investors while they ignored the plight of the workers.
Few can forget that, after sending British soldiers off to a Falklands War, she could turn on the "same class" of people with such appalling savagery and neglect...
Brilliant gritty writing makes this a gripping dramatic series.
Brilliant gritty writing makes this a gripping dramatic series.
Still relevant
endalayng7 July 2022
An indictment of capitalist society
nyalaclub24 January 2022
I was a teenager when this came out and never watched it. I'm watching it now in my 50s. It is not easy going but it is amusing in parts and Bleasdale is brilliant in showing people's humanity even against the odds.
A series that beautifully captures the heartlessness of an unfettered Capitalist system, not to mention the disgrace that was the Thatcher years.
A series that beautifully captures the heartlessness of an unfettered Capitalist system, not to mention the disgrace that was the Thatcher years.
''I can't believe there is no hope left!''
Rabical-9118 July 2018
Warning: Spoilers
'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet' concerned the humorous side of unemployment whereas Alan Bleasdale's 'Boys From The Blackstuff' focused on the serious effects of unemployment.
It was all about five unemployed Liverpudlian men - Chrissie Todd ( Michael Angelis ), Loggo Logmond ( Alan Igbon ), Dixie Dean ( Tom Georgeson ), George Malone ( Peter Kerrigan ) and, arguably the most popular character, Yosser Hughes ( Bernard Hill ). They were brought to life in a TV play in 1980 entitled 'The Black Stuff', in which the five land a job in Middlesborough laying tarmac on a council estate. However, they are conned by a pair of Irish gypsies after they foolishly accept a dubious offer of work from them. Aside from losing their money, they are also sacked by their employer.
Two years later, the show became a five part series, this time with the title extended to 'The Boys From The Blackstuff'. It is here things go from bad to worse for the boys. Dixie is given a job working as a security guard at the local docks where he reluctantly turns a blind eye to a series of robberies going on from a violent gang of hustlers. George's son Snowy is killed whilst working on a building side for corrupt Irish building manager Malloy ( Shay Gorman ) whilst trying to evade D.H.S.S officers who are raiding the site.
Yosser Hughes was my favorite character. Bernard Hill wonderfully captured the psychotic energy of Hughes and his portrayal won him a well deserved BAFTA award. Yosser is a desperate man. His wife has left him for another man and has also left him with three children to bring up. With no prospects of work ( each episode sees him asking anyone anywhere ''Give us a job! I can do that!'' ). Yosser becomes more and more unstable and when his kids are taken into care, he flips completely, attempting to commit suicide by throwing himself into a canal.
The final episode ends with the funeral of George Malone, who over the course of the show became gradually sicker. The final scene had the remaining gang memebers wandering aimlessly along the Mersey, hoplessly staring into the distance.
Despite some moments of humour, this was no comedy. In fact, the realism of the whole thing was nothing short of frightening. The scene in which Chrissie's wife Angie ( Julie Walters ) attempts to halt baliffs from forcing entry into her home probably hit home ( no pun intended ) with many. Ricky Tomlinson had an appearance in one episode as a doctor and very good he was too. James Ellis also appeared as a Scottish vagrant who Yosser befriended in one episode.
With all the stuff going in Britain these days, courtesy of our so called caring government, 'The Boys From The Blackstuff' is still as relevant now as it was back in 1982. Superb stuff!
It was all about five unemployed Liverpudlian men - Chrissie Todd ( Michael Angelis ), Loggo Logmond ( Alan Igbon ), Dixie Dean ( Tom Georgeson ), George Malone ( Peter Kerrigan ) and, arguably the most popular character, Yosser Hughes ( Bernard Hill ). They were brought to life in a TV play in 1980 entitled 'The Black Stuff', in which the five land a job in Middlesborough laying tarmac on a council estate. However, they are conned by a pair of Irish gypsies after they foolishly accept a dubious offer of work from them. Aside from losing their money, they are also sacked by their employer.
Two years later, the show became a five part series, this time with the title extended to 'The Boys From The Blackstuff'. It is here things go from bad to worse for the boys. Dixie is given a job working as a security guard at the local docks where he reluctantly turns a blind eye to a series of robberies going on from a violent gang of hustlers. George's son Snowy is killed whilst working on a building side for corrupt Irish building manager Malloy ( Shay Gorman ) whilst trying to evade D.H.S.S officers who are raiding the site.
Yosser Hughes was my favorite character. Bernard Hill wonderfully captured the psychotic energy of Hughes and his portrayal won him a well deserved BAFTA award. Yosser is a desperate man. His wife has left him for another man and has also left him with three children to bring up. With no prospects of work ( each episode sees him asking anyone anywhere ''Give us a job! I can do that!'' ). Yosser becomes more and more unstable and when his kids are taken into care, he flips completely, attempting to commit suicide by throwing himself into a canal.
The final episode ends with the funeral of George Malone, who over the course of the show became gradually sicker. The final scene had the remaining gang memebers wandering aimlessly along the Mersey, hoplessly staring into the distance.
Despite some moments of humour, this was no comedy. In fact, the realism of the whole thing was nothing short of frightening. The scene in which Chrissie's wife Angie ( Julie Walters ) attempts to halt baliffs from forcing entry into her home probably hit home ( no pun intended ) with many. Ricky Tomlinson had an appearance in one episode as a doctor and very good he was too. James Ellis also appeared as a Scottish vagrant who Yosser befriended in one episode.
With all the stuff going in Britain these days, courtesy of our so called caring government, 'The Boys From The Blackstuff' is still as relevant now as it was back in 1982. Superb stuff!
Absolute class
colinprunty-131 January 2021
The standard of writing , acting and direction in this series is top drawer and the poetry of the scenes stays with you.
Every episode is strong and gets its message however my favourite is the final episode 'George's last ride ' with powerful scenes around the dying dock lands of Liverpool.
Alan Bleasdales finest world by far.
A bit of a sacred cow, but these are flawed people
jaibo23 October 2008
Warning: Spoilers
It is impossible to underestimate the impact this series had when first broadcast in 1982 - it became a national phenomenon in the UK, and central character Yosser's catchphrase "giss a job" was everywhere. People saw it as a powerful dramatic response to the policies of the then-in-power Thatcher government, even though Alan Bleasdale conceived and wrote his scripts before Thatcher's election in 1979.
A five-part series, Boys tells a selection of the individual stories of former tarmac layers who find themselves hopelessly unemployed in Liverpool. Each episode focuses on a different central character, although all of the main characters appear in most of the episodes. To an extent, the series works a little like a television soap opera, focussing on an individual story whilst keeping the other stories hanging around in the background. The focus, like a soap, is very much on the personal problems of the people we get to meet.
Boys is a kind of sacred cow of British television history, although looked at dispassionately it has some faults. Some of the writing is overly schematic and the dialogue on-the-nose. In the first episode, a left-leaning worker dies in an industrial accident to illustrate how his socialist ideas are also dead; when his also socialist father dies in the final episode, one of the characters says that "George is dead, and what he stood for is dead as well" - come on Bleasdale, did you really think your audience were so thick that they wouldn't comprehend that as subtext without you having to paint it so plain? George Malone, the old socialist who dies in the last episode, is a figure rather too good to be true, which makes the piece unnecessarily propagandistic. No one is that good, that positive, that untouched by the evils of the world (in fact, a lot of old-style socialists were sexist, racist and homophobic bullies).
The portrait of the central characters Yosser, Chrissie and the rest is problematic in that it shows them purely as symptoms of environmental malaise. Now, whilst unemployment can have terrible effects on men, there's something resigned and deeply unintelligent about these men's inability to deal in a creative way with their situation - why are they so bovine, helpless and bereft of fighting spirit? The only character who helps himself is Dixie Dean, reluctantly involved in some petty stealing whilst working as a security guard, for the sake of giving his son some money to escape the area - Dixie's moral qualms are sentimentalised, and disappointingly the son returns in the last episode, as if these people are congenitally incapable of making any sort of life for themselves in the world. Blame Thatcher and society all you like, but these are poor specimens of human beings, and bettering themselves, reading books, learning new skills never enters their minds.
Yosser's story is the most famous, and looked at without sentiment, he's a pretty hopeless case; his story is a failure of the social services, as his children should have been taken from him a lot sooner, and someone with such violent mental health issues should not have been left roaming the streets. Bleasdale goes so far as to suggest it's Yosser's buying into the idea that he, as an individual, should be someone which has undone him, but why is he such a fool as to have pumped his ego full of that nonsense when he clearly has no talents or aptitudes? I find it very hard to sympathise with Yosser, although seeing him being brutalised by the police is unpleasant. The famous "I'm desperate Dan" line is pretty lame, btw.
Perhaps the most appealing character is Jean Boht's social security chief; she has wit and a bit of wisdom, is strong and acts on her desires - in a series where the female characters are mostly either nags or warhorses, she stands out as something a bit special. Notably, her character is very rarely mentioned in critical appraisals of the piece, as the concentration is usually on the "boys" - but the boys are lifeless, hopeless, dreary and uninspiring.
The scene at the end in the pub does conjure up an extraordinary vision of the breakdown of working class communities, with its whistling waiter, ventriloquist dummy and bully asking to "shake hands." Yet finally, these people only seem to have themselves to blame, and Bleasdale tends to sentimentalise them, and the rest of the country ran in a blind rush to follow him. Take your rose-tinted glasses off, and you begin to suspect that these people have little to offer in the first place...
A five-part series, Boys tells a selection of the individual stories of former tarmac layers who find themselves hopelessly unemployed in Liverpool. Each episode focuses on a different central character, although all of the main characters appear in most of the episodes. To an extent, the series works a little like a television soap opera, focussing on an individual story whilst keeping the other stories hanging around in the background. The focus, like a soap, is very much on the personal problems of the people we get to meet.
Boys is a kind of sacred cow of British television history, although looked at dispassionately it has some faults. Some of the writing is overly schematic and the dialogue on-the-nose. In the first episode, a left-leaning worker dies in an industrial accident to illustrate how his socialist ideas are also dead; when his also socialist father dies in the final episode, one of the characters says that "George is dead, and what he stood for is dead as well" - come on Bleasdale, did you really think your audience were so thick that they wouldn't comprehend that as subtext without you having to paint it so plain? George Malone, the old socialist who dies in the last episode, is a figure rather too good to be true, which makes the piece unnecessarily propagandistic. No one is that good, that positive, that untouched by the evils of the world (in fact, a lot of old-style socialists were sexist, racist and homophobic bullies).
The portrait of the central characters Yosser, Chrissie and the rest is problematic in that it shows them purely as symptoms of environmental malaise. Now, whilst unemployment can have terrible effects on men, there's something resigned and deeply unintelligent about these men's inability to deal in a creative way with their situation - why are they so bovine, helpless and bereft of fighting spirit? The only character who helps himself is Dixie Dean, reluctantly involved in some petty stealing whilst working as a security guard, for the sake of giving his son some money to escape the area - Dixie's moral qualms are sentimentalised, and disappointingly the son returns in the last episode, as if these people are congenitally incapable of making any sort of life for themselves in the world. Blame Thatcher and society all you like, but these are poor specimens of human beings, and bettering themselves, reading books, learning new skills never enters their minds.
Yosser's story is the most famous, and looked at without sentiment, he's a pretty hopeless case; his story is a failure of the social services, as his children should have been taken from him a lot sooner, and someone with such violent mental health issues should not have been left roaming the streets. Bleasdale goes so far as to suggest it's Yosser's buying into the idea that he, as an individual, should be someone which has undone him, but why is he such a fool as to have pumped his ego full of that nonsense when he clearly has no talents or aptitudes? I find it very hard to sympathise with Yosser, although seeing him being brutalised by the police is unpleasant. The famous "I'm desperate Dan" line is pretty lame, btw.
Perhaps the most appealing character is Jean Boht's social security chief; she has wit and a bit of wisdom, is strong and acts on her desires - in a series where the female characters are mostly either nags or warhorses, she stands out as something a bit special. Notably, her character is very rarely mentioned in critical appraisals of the piece, as the concentration is usually on the "boys" - but the boys are lifeless, hopeless, dreary and uninspiring.
The scene at the end in the pub does conjure up an extraordinary vision of the breakdown of working class communities, with its whistling waiter, ventriloquist dummy and bully asking to "shake hands." Yet finally, these people only seem to have themselves to blame, and Bleasdale tends to sentimentalise them, and the rest of the country ran in a blind rush to follow him. Take your rose-tinted glasses off, and you begin to suspect that these people have little to offer in the first place...
Important yet disappointing
mattyrules858710 March 2006
Although this series and the mini film in particular were very important at the time of release, I feel that the series as a whole was actually fairly poorly written with a weak cast. The issues at heart are extremely well portrayed yet it is difficult to relate and understand the problems within the film when the acting and script isn't convincing enough (especially when looking at the mini film).
I also don't believe that this mini film or series has stood the test of time as now many of the scenes are quite laughable. The issues are still crucial but Boys From The Blackstuff cannot fully aid the cause of understanding the problems in Britain in the 1980s.
I also don't believe that this mini film or series has stood the test of time as now many of the scenes are quite laughable. The issues are still crucial but Boys From The Blackstuff cannot fully aid the cause of understanding the problems in Britain in the 1980s.
Great series
henrijpherbert7 February 2001
This series is a wonderfully realistic portrayal of life for the unemployed in the 1980s. It also manages to focus on characters, with all the cast giving magnificent performances, especially Bernard Hill as the deeply troubled Yosser Hughes. A masterpiece from start to end, this is one series that definitely should be repeated on TV. Another great thing is that you can watch and fully understand each episode without having to have seen any of the others.
Boys from the Blackstuff
jboothmillard11 November 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I had heard many good things and seen one or two clips from programmes that celebrated it, and being a fan of the actor from Titanic and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy I wasn't going to miss it. Based on the work by play Alan Bleasdale, the series focuses on five now unemployed men in Liverpool who lost their job tarmacking roads, i.e. the black stuff, and the emotional experiences each go through. Chrissie Todd (Michael Angelis), Loggo Logmond (Alan Igbon), Yosser Hughes (BAFTA nominated Bernard Hill), Dixie Dean (Tom Georgeson) and George Malone (Peter Kerrigan), are all earning benefits but desperate for work. The first episode focuses on all of them as they are hired cheaply to work on a renovated building, where Snowy Malone (Chris Darwin) falls to his death trying to escape undercover social security officers. The rest of the four episodes in the mini series focus on one individual character from the group and how the unemployment takes its impact on their lives. So we see Dixie trying to work as a security guard on the dockyards, accepting bribes from thugs to remove boxed goods, and a little bit of the others group members and the funeral of Snowy Malone. Next we see Chrissie struggling with the unemployment along with wife Angie (BAFTA nominated Julie Walters), including visits and calls from fraud officers, and he is driven to shoot the goose in the back garden for "dinner", before sobbing. The best episode next sees Yosser as his mental health disintegrates and he struggles to convince the authorities not to take his children and his house, he just keeps repeating "I'm Yosser Hughes", and after trips to the job office, an arrest and a "confession" to a priest, he attempts a suicide by drowning before the end. The final episode focuses on George, ageing and in near agony he gets pushed around in a wheelchair before dying, and the remaining friends are brought back together at the funeral, with a big fight in The Green Man pub and the friends ending the programme walking down the road. Also starring Gary Bleasdale as Kevin Dean, Timothy Bleasdale as Jason Hughes, Shay Gorman as Malloy, Tamana Bleasdale as Anne Marie Hughes, Jamie Bleasdale as Dustin Hughes, Paul Barber as Docks - Scotty and Ricky Tomlinson as Hospital Doctor. I am very pleased I tried the first episode and watched all of them, it is a powerful television drama with a standout performance by Hill, giving his famous catchphrases "Gizza job" ("give us a job") and "I can do that", I highly recommend you see it if you ever get the opportunity. It won the BAFTAs for Best Drama Series/Serial, Best Sound Supervisor and Best VTR Editor, and it was nominated for Best Film Editor, Best Film Sound and Best Video Lighting. Yosser Hughes was number 57 on The 100 Greatest TV Characters, the programme was number 65 on The 100 Greatest Tearjerkers, it was number 7 on The 100 Greatest TV Shows, and it was number 2 on The 50 Greatest TV Dramas. Very good!
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