Howards' Way (1985–1990) User Reviews

Preposterously Addictive

[chuffnobbler · 8/10 · 6 September 2008]

Utterly ludicrous in every way, Howards Way feels like it has been beamed in from another planet, not from twenty years in the past. It's always held up as the ultimate example of British aspiration in the 80s: powerdressing, shoulderpads, big hair, big cars, mobile phones, powerboats, money money money. The world seen in Howards Way is completely unlike anything of my experience that it seems alien.

"Find out who's behind that Guernsey holding company. I'm worried we're vulnerable to a takeover bid". "Who's fronting that nominee company?". "You're a paper millionaire now you've gone public". "We must have a majority holding in the Placenta Corporation". "I'll put it to the board of Diagonal Holdings". Utterly meaningless and baffling. Every character tries to take over everyone else's company, and the business dealings are totally opaque and difficult to follow. I have no idea who owned which company at any given time, and all the obvious drama inherent in the boardroom discussions might have been in another language. Maybe this is how life really was in the 80s.

With everyone commissioning everyone else to build them a world-class boat, before going out for a luncheon appointment with The Bank, Howards Way repeats the same series of story lines over and over again. Every year, every character has business dealings in some exotic clime or other, and half the cast decamp for a sunnier location. The Bermuda stuff in the last series is very strange. Malta, Gibraltar, France and Guernsey poke their heads up from time to time.

The characters have a real life to them, though, and his is where the show really succeeds. Old fashioned Jack Rolfe (It's my bloody yard!) and staunch Tom Howard (We need to move into the 1980s, Jack!) lead the drama to begin with.

Jan Howard becomes a businesswoman overnight, then a world-class dress designer overnight. The younger generation have standard-issue sexual crises, but the one to keep an eye on is Abby. Mousy little tie-dyed teenager she may be to begin with, but the change that happens as the series moves along, leading to gobsmacking changes in series six, are very memorable. Boo-hiss Charles Frere turns out to have a heart of gold (though you'll have to wait a while to see). His battles with his dad, boggle-eyed old bounder Sir Edward, are enormous fun. Then there's Sir John, who is everyone's bank manager and blabs everyone's details to Sir Edward before beetling off to patronise awful shiny-suited Ken Masters by calling him "Kenneth". Avril is a vision of commonsense and rises above all of the double dealings around her (at least, I assume she does, as I understand very little of what anyone is talking about in those boardroom scenes).

No-one is madder than Polly. A bored trophy wife, she's rather sympathetic from time to time. She fails to understand why Jan is upset when Polly sets up another company using Jan's name, and then starts trying to expand to America. The writers must have had a brainstorm that day. Actually, there may be someone madder than Polly. Sarah Foster is utterly barking.

Also, keep an eye open for wooden Kate Harvey. At the very end of the series, she's seen shuffling some papers and explains she is planning her campaign to be elected to the local council. An episode later, someone asks if she'll be late for her committee meeting. Utterly preposterous.

Look out for some wonderful guest stars and guest characters: Catherine Schell, Pamela Salem, Michael Cochrane, a young Anthony Head, boo-hiss Francesca Gonshaw, a gozzy-eyed animal rights baddie, Stephen Grief as his standard-issue "oily foreigner" character. So much of Howards Way is familiar, it fits like a glove.

It's the characters with integrity that stand out. The only working class person allowed dialogue is Bill From The Mermaid Yard, who steals every scene he is in just by not having to talk about share prices. Gerald Urquhart's old school tie hoves into view every now and then; he is utterly competent, likable and honest. The fact that he is gay is conveniently forgotten after some quite strong and dramatic scenes in which AIDS is skirted around and then finally mentioned, and he cops off with Kate O'Mara.

"Hello Ken / How did you know I was there? Have you got eyes in the back of your head? / No, I'm standing downwind of your aftershave". Oh, Kate O'Mara.

Can it get any better? Illogical, insensible, pompous, baffling, contradictory, naff, glam, witty, addictive, dated ... I cannot recommend Howards Way highly enough.

i've become hooked

[pauluscuteboy35 · 8/10 · 13 January 2007]

I never really bothered with Howards Way on its original run i thought it was a lame,cheaply produced British rip off of Dallas,Dynasty,Falcon Crest and the like which i loved watching back in the eighties. But since the re-runs on UKGold i've become hooked, okay its still got the wooden acting,the slightly scary eighties fashions and hair don't's but all this adds to the charm which partly comes from the nostalgia buzz of times past. But in a decade when all we are subjected to in the way of televised entertainment is reality dross and x-list celebrity talent(less)shows or soaps that make the performances in Howards Way look like Oscar contenders then i'll take the nostalgic look back to times when entertainment was exactly that and not the twisted view of what producers consider reality to look like on todays airwaves.

So bad it's amost good!

[stephen-1956 · 7/10 · 22 April 2023]

When I watched this series in the 1980's, I could never make out if Howard's Way was meant to be a comedy, a soap or trying to be a serious drama. After watching the whole series recently on UK drama, I've definitely come to the conclusion that it's a comedy. Ken masters clothes set the tone with some extraordinary combinations and the way he wore them, sleeves rolled up! All he needed to complete the look was a red nose and he'd be the perfect clown. The designs of Jan Howard's fashion house were pretty awful too, but she still manages to expand at an incredible rate, opening shops, factories and boutiques everywhere, ending up taking her company public. Some of the cast would fit perfectly into a sailing club sit-com.

Which brings me to the script.,I could almost predict what was going to be said, or happen. It was all so stereotyped. Examples include Ken Masters running out of fuel on a powerboat race, James Brooke suddenly coming out with 'stunning' designs after a night of passion with Jan, Mark Foster committing suicide in his powerboat, Episodes ended with dramatic scenes (like Leo being swept overboard), but the next episode these events hardly get a mention. The tragic death of lead actor Maurice Colbourne in series 5 (Tom Howard) is barely mentioned, almost like the character never existed. Story lines often led to nowhere too, like the break ins at the Mermaid Yard, which makes me wonder why they were filmed or mentioned in the first place.

As for the characters, by far the most annoying is Abbey. Utterly miserable, depressing and unlikable. They way she ditches Leo, months after having his child and apparently being so in love with him as to agreeing to marry him, shows her to be a truly despicable person. I can't believe any man would want to marry her anyway, but here we are supposed to believe two men are desperate for her hand. One is a super smooth, smug, very rich, tall dark handsome American, who could just about pull any girl with his money, looks and power, and then there's soppy Leo, who fathers her second child. Leo is like a spoiled little boy during most of the series, especially if he doesn't get his way. (The first Orrin was a far more believable casting as Abbey's lover..The actor that played the later Orrin was completely wrong). Ken Masters, complete with a pouting mouth after every sentence, is completely untrustworthy, but somehow manages now only to keep regaining the trust of people he's used and abused, but also to extract money from a magic tree to fund his various schemes. In the early series he loses £750,000 on a failed marina scheme with Charles Frere, but there is no mention of how he pays this debt off, and then another £100,000 in another venture with the Frere's, which also comes from nowhere. But still bank chairman Sir John is happy to lend him vast sums of money with that disastrous track record! (I'd be very worried if Sir John was chairman of my bank!). And why would Leo go and work for someone who'd had him beaten up so badly he ended up in hospital? Everyone who sleeps with Jan Howard falls in love or wants to marry her, and her 'stamp your foot if it's not going your way' business style are, to say the least, childish at times. Charles Frere is more realistic as a businessman, but the silly and endless battles with his father ruin his credibility. The casting of Bruce Bould as a powerful director made me laugh as I couldn't stop thinking of him saying "super" in the Reginald Perrin series! Gerald Urquhart states the obvious in most of his dialogue, as does Avril Rolfe, Lynn Howard, Kate Harvey, Sir John & his successor Admiral Redfern..Without question, the best two characters were Jack Rolfe and Bill Sayers, who were a great double act and often had me laughing.

The ending is pure comedy gold. Abbey, who, from nowhere and with no business experience, manages somehow (and unexplained) to persuade the shareholders of Frere Holdings Plc, a huge, very successful public company, that Charles Frere, her father and the chairman, is not up to the task, despite decades of profits, success and expansion, Leo takes over the Mermaid Yard....he's come a long way through the series, from environmental activist, to petrol pump attendant, to selling boats, to powerboat champion, to senior manager businessman, to America Cup boat designer!! Jan's company goes public, Lynn Howard becomes pregnant by Charles Frere, despite her almost dying in an incident after a previous relationship with him, (are the Howard children mentally ill getting involved with people that nearly killed them?!) and Ken Masters takes over just about everything without a mention of how he's managed to extract millions to fund these ventures!

The strange thing is that it is a very watchable series. The scenery and settings were excellent, lovely to see some of the beautiful Isle of Wight, the sailing scenes are well done, and despite everything mentioned above, it's worth watching if you want pure escapism without too much realism. Howard's Way is almost so bad it was actually quite good!

I thought Howards Way was brilliant.

[paulb-19 · 9 March 2005]

It was a highly entertaining show, with excellent characterisation. Very well written and kept the viewer in suspense throughout. The setting, in the Solent was fantastic, and the scenery in much of the filming was stunning. The "at sea" footage was especially good. It had all the right story lines, and a good number of "baddies" to boot. The show should have run longer and it could have been made into a lasting "soap" in the form of Eastenders, but with much better scenery. It was a shame that the main character, played by Maurice Colbourne, died so early in the series, but the scriptwriters recovered it well. My favourite character was Jack Rolfe. The biggest disappointment I have had is that it isn't available on DVD or video. We can get Dallas on DVD now, so why not Howards' Way ? Does anyone agree with me on this ?

Sarah-Jane Varley; THE Cutest Little English Rose.(otherwise lotsa yuppies chasing gratuitous rat-race dreams)

[alleywayambush · 6/10 · 16 May 2022]

This is another British TV production that kids of my generation (I was born 1982) would sit through with our parents without actually understanding what the hell was going on ! Sure, some people my age will say this show brings back slightly discomforting memories, hence watching it on Sunday evening was the last thing you'd do before another burdening week of school !

Yesterday I found DVD Series 1-4 of this in Oxfam; one hell of a find for just £6 ! I've already seen half of Series 1, and it's the 1st time I've seen this programme in over 30 years since 1990; OH THE NOSTALGIA !

The plot is basically about Southern 80's yuppies and their luxury boats and racing triumphs in the fictional South Coast port town 'Tarrant'. Beneath the 'glamorous' surface it portrays their stressful lives, filled with affairs, family breakdowns, redundancy, bankrupcy, deceit, feud and the odd death. This show has a gritty realism to it, portraying the upper-middle-class as yet another struggling and potentially unhappy social sector, a sector that self-induces such stress and sadness through the ritual pursuit of the rat-race !

Watching this as an adult, it's easier to follow and understand the plot and cultural setting. However, as the series' progress the plot does become a tad muddling. Around the middle of Series 2 too much of the story revolves around all the characters' prestigious (and often questionable) boring rat-race business pursuits, and not enough around their personal lives, thus portraying the lack of genuine priorities among the upper-middle-class ! Sure, as an outsider to corporate business culture it's hard to understand what a lot of it even means !

Culturally, it was quite archetypal of the 80's British middle-class, what with floral wallpapers (and dresses/blouses to match), venetian blinds, chic kitchens, white boats, extravagant shoulder pads, long pleated skirts, and of course chief actress Jan Harvey's short peroxide perm; back in the day people would actually go to the hairdresser's and ask for a 'Jan Howard' !

As a bloke, there was obvious universal appeal, regardless of what you thought of the actual programme; SARAH-JANE VARLEY (who plays boating tycoon Ken's girlfriend). Little, extremely cute, tender and culturally refined, what with her little round toned face, little thin flat lips and beady eyes; Cute beyond possibility ! An English Rose if ever there was one ! Tracey Childs (Howards' daughter Lynne) was a cute curvy stunner and all. What with this show having a coastal setting, it was nice seeing all these cute stunning girls in bikinis.

All in all, I'll give this 6/10. The cute, stunning bikini-clad girls aside, it's culturally and atmospherically vibrant enough, even if all the pretentious yuppy rat-race business affairs are boring, confusing and quite gut-wrenching !

Drops off

[evans-15475 · 7/10 · 28 February 2023]

Loved this when first on and was concerned how it would have aged but the first series did not disappoint and I was amazed how many plots and characters I remembered I did have a laugh that Abbey seemed more miserable in Tarrant than a Japanese prisoner of war camp.but it dropped off fast the second series was like a different show and the emphasis shifts from Tom and boating to Charles his father and Ken's business back stabbing indeed it felt like Dallas with 3 evil businessmen and 2 nice businesswomen but as a viewer I never felt invested in any of the plots as they rolled through and were then forgotten by the cast and me and the next boring deal arrived Watching one episode after the other jack's I build wooden boats spiel got very tiresome he hardly had a genuine conversation with anyone indeed the script overall is incredibly poor never seems to develop the story or go anywhere I must commend the female casting their was certainly enough variety to keep all the dads and sons happy to watch,my favourite must have been Sarah Jane Varley as I recognised her immediately despite never seeing her in anything else.

How it should have been

[marmir-82310 · 9/10 · 4 April 2017]

Thirty odd years down the road and I still have a strangely soft spot for this - not always well written, with annoying contradictions, baffling plots and some hurried directing leading to some rather indifferent acting - yet highly entertaining series.

As the title implies, the series depicts the progress of the Howard family through a colourful multitude of sub-plots, ranging from believable, interesting and touching to baffling, infuriating and preposterous. The central theme is the collapse of the marriage of Jan and Tom Howard, who - despite their difficulties - continue to be devoted to each other. I believe that the producers' original intention was to show their passage from divorce through a variety of affairs back to reconciliation.

The second and parallel theme of the series is the story of Jan and Tom's upstanding son Leo Howard and his touching on-and-off relationship with a girl from the neighbourhood, Abby Urquhart. If Jan and Tom were to be reunited despite all the ups and downs, then it would be logical to expect a similar conclusion for the younger couple.

Unfortunately in the aftermath of the sad demise of Maurice Colbourne who played Tom Howard, the production suffered from chaotic, hastily rewritten ideas. Jan was paired off with some other, less exciting partners, while Abby inexplicably morphed from a relatively level-headed albeit dour young woman into a devious business tycoon and a total monster.

The story of Leo and Abby begins as perhaps the most heart-warming thread in the series. How could the scriptwriters let us down so badly?

I still believe that, had the series continued, the final outcome could have somehow brought these two together again - slowly and painfully (can you imagine all those other delicious twists and turns?), but eventually for good. After all, somewhere half way through the series, Abby states quite resolutely that Leo is her ideal partner for life - and throughout Series 5 and 6, there are strong hints that she does not trust Orrin after all and may even be double-crossing him... oh, bliss! I like to think there was going to be more to the story than we were allowed to see. The creator of the series, Gerard Glaister, left some notes in which he envisaged series 7, which did not materialize. Thus it is reasonable to believe that the actual story remains unfinished and the aim of the last series was to prepare the viewers for more twists and surprises. I cannot resist imagining something like a collapse of the Hudson empire, Abby's return to England with her sons and her attempts to win Leo's trust and affection back. That way the final toast to the Howards would have been so much more satisfying.

The only likable character is Leo

[kristhebass · 7/10 · 10 January 2023]

And maybe Avril as well. The rest were completely self centered snobs. The girl who played Abby was a similar character in Tenko with a face you want to slap and say get a grip!

Then there's the oily Ken Masters, brilliantly played by the XYY Man Stephen Yardley, god's gift to women Tony Anholt from the Persuaders and the late Maurice Colbourne from Gangsters in the titular part. Sadly he died suddenly just before his 50th birthday in the middle of production for the 5th series.

At the time this was being aired I live on the Isle of Wight so identified a lot of the locations.

Despite the cast of awful people, especially Polly Urquhart, we all know people like it, but so many in such a small place, it's an addictive watch, a bit dated though, especially the hair and fashions.

Takes me right back to the 80s

[southwinds58 · 10/10 · 12 July 2020]

Sunday night ..winter , this was brilliant viewing...classic 1980s drama ...a story of redundancy...starting over again...social position , changing times ...almost Jane Austin interesting to see that even then having a good position in a good industry was seen as the pinnacle of your career...Jan being a stay at home wife and mother ..again basking in the glory of her husbands job and situation. Mixing with the right " set" in Tarrent..is seen as important for Polly and for her daughter Abbey...these days Abbey and Leo seem ahead of their time..they would be recycling and working on an Eco project back then it seemed at odds with the 80s being socially aware. This is a glimpse back to the 80s , before we recycled ..where all things were possible if you throw enough money at it...and a throw away world .Ken Masters desperate to become socially acceptable and never would as even then you had to be born in the right post code . The wooden boats being the start of thinking the old ways might not be so bad . One day this will be used in history ..how it was the good and bad.. Pure Austin...

Way too wooden!

[Rabical-91 · 1/10 · 14 March 2018]

I really did want to like 'Howards' Way' very much but sadly I just came away feeling bored and disappointed. As unfair as it sounds, I was unable to even get past the first episode. I do not normally give up quite so quickly on something, but the wafer-thin plotting and one-dimensional characters did nothing to endear itself to me.

'Howards' Way' follows the struggles of the Howard family. Tom Howard is an aircraft designer who is made redundant after twenty years of loyal service. He then invests his money in the Mermaid boatyard ( as he has a passion for ships and vessels ), which is on the brink of ruin. The owner of the boatyard, Jack Rolfe is an alcoholic who does not get on with Tom at all. Jack's daughter and secretary, Avril, however has a soft spot for Tom.

Tom's wife Jan however does not have faith in Tom's risky enterprise and so decides to take a full time job in a marine boutique.

From the little I have seen, 'Howard's Way' looks like a dramatised version of the equally awful BBC sitcom 'The River' ( which starred David Essex ). Maurice Colbourne is unbelievable and wooden as Tom and Jan Harvey, who played his wife Jan, is equally as stilted. Glyn Owen also failed to convince as the dishonest Jack. Though to be fair, 'Howard's Way' did have some decent performers, such as Susan Gilmore's Avril and Patricia Shakesby's Polly.

The end credits of each episode would have the camera close up on a statue of a female bust, whilst the Simon May composed theme tune ( which is also one of the very few decent things about the show ) played over the credits. This was parodied in the very first episode of BBC Scotland's 'Naked Video' in which a hand appeared and proceeded to grope the breasts on the statue.

This is a great nautical drama and a must for all to see.

[davehorton-1 · 10/10 · 1 September 2007]

I have had many a great holiday on the Isle Of Wight and of course this means going over by ferry, i love this bit.

Im not a sailor, but i do love boats.

I love visiting harbours and hearing the wind in the rigging and the seagulls squawking over head.

I must visit The Jolly Sailor one day for a nice cold pint of cider out side with the brilliant view across the river Hamble where Jack Rolfe would sit and have his, this is just down the road from Southampton and also not to far from Portsmouth.

I am at present collecting the complete series of Howards Way, as i just love the drama of it all so much, i have just bought series three.

If you have not seen it yet, please do, it's great, i believe there are Howards Way boat trips to go on up the Hamble in the area as well, they should be good.

So there you are a very nice family drama to watch and enjoy.

And then when you are in the area you can visit all the filming locations as well, brilliant.

Hope this comment helps you all, good luck and farewell.

From Dave Horton, Croydon, Surrey. Added 2nd September 2007.

Pretentious nonsense.

[smythejames · 1/10 · 6 March 2023]

I used to watch the filming around and about when they made this series. I lived in Warsash at the time and as a young naval architect I had a part time job in Hamble with Tony Castro who was the real life designer of the Barracuda.

At the time it was interesting to see familiar locations and being part of the yachting fraternity I quite enjoyed watching on Sunday evenings.

Fast forward many years later (and now I'm a lot older of course) I have watched this recently and what a load of pretentious nonsense it is.

The awfully superior snob Lynne ( I even hate the way she walks) the ridiculous Leo who all of a sudden has come from nothing to be a must have power boat racer and businessman , Jan Howard who has come from housewife to super dooper clothes designer in a month as is her husband Tom who appears to be a world class yacht designer all of a sudden.

Being involved in this industry , a member of various yacht clubs in the locality and family who are well healed in this area and part of the yachting fraternity I cannot think of anybody at the time who appeared anything like this pretentious bunch.

Perhaps I moved in the wrong circles, but I don't think so.

Available on DVD now

[hillierrichard · 6 January 2006]

Oh how much I loved Howard's Way, and just imagine my happiness when I saw that it was being shown on UK TV Drama every weekday at 12 and then at 6. It is also repeated on Sundays at 2pm.

Watching it again takes me back to the 80s. A time when Sunday evening's were made eating crumpets doused in butter, drinking tea and watching slimy old Ken Masters in his brilliant white suits. Along with Jan Howard and her 'cutting edge' fashion house (mmmn, polka dots and American football style shoulder pads)

Was gutted to read on this site that Charles and Jack are no longer with us - god bless ya, and thanks for making a very warm childhood seem even warmer.

Howard's Way is available on DVD from this link: http://www.play.com/play247.asp?pa=srmr&page=title&r=R2&title=867783

Brilliant.

A fantastic series I grew up with.

[chris-3566 · 10/10 · 31 August 2006]

I followed Howards Way from its original pilot, to its final show and I loved it. You must remember that when it was aired it was gripping stuff (and still is in my opinion), great scenery and fantastic music score, in my mind a classic series and one proud to stand there tall in the BBC library. For those interested, I have checked DVD online web stores, and the cheapest at present is with HMV where Season 1 and Season 2 retails for £15.99 each (as at 31.08.06), the link is here: http://tinyurl.com/oofue If this link fails to work, go to http://www.hmv.co.uk/ and search for Howards Way, this brings the total to about £32 for both the 1st and 2nd Season, I am a registered user of HMV and on checkout got a £5 discount. This in my mind, is great series, and one I love, and will enjoy watching again - to all those who have never seen it, its worth watching! brilliant stuff!!

Chris

Great fun!

[batterysave · 10/10 · 16 March 2023]

Been watching the repeats recently and counting the promotions of alcohol per episode - so many!

Ken Masters is my favourite, such a rascal. Abbi is shallow, abandoning a child to follow an interest in protesting.

Jan is marvellous, plays the vulnerable so well.

Plotline is great, although I soon lost track of what charactors owned what company. Sailing scene were so good, and clearly the actors were trained for it. Jack Rolfe is great, what a great voice. Clearly with a northern accent, he's portrayed as "local" which is strange.

I'm glued to the current repeats daily at 2pm.

Great escapist TV, well done the BBC.

I loved it first time round and still do.

[plan99 · 10/10 · 3 January 2023]

I've just started watching this again from the first episode, thank you Drama channel in the UK, and I still love it, I was hooked from the very first episode in September 1985 and I've not seen it since. Anyone interested in the history of ladies fashion must watch this to be able to appreciate how bad ladies fashion was in the mid 1980s, it was absolutely terrible and actually laughable looking back now but this adds to the enjoyment. I spotted Boycie from Only Fools and Horses in episode two, he appears very briefly as a petrol station manager. A fabulous piece of TV history not to be missed, Dallas on boats. The fashion crimes are getting worse as the series progresses and is wonderful to see. The women's outfits get more silly with each episode and the male characters have joined the fun. The French fashion designer has a silly ponytail at his neck of the type much mocked by "Cassandra" in "Only Fools and Horses", and some male characters have been seen with the sleeves of their suit jackets rolled up. Will fashion sense return by the end of the show? I do hope not. I'm pleased to report that the ladies' fashions are getting worse and not better, long may it continue. An update in due course. Every episode contains a disaster, and not just of the fashion variety, death, injury, loss of job, loss of money, business gone bad. The characters in Dallas had an easy time of it in comparison. Leo is a very confusing character, when he was a bit of a soft mummy's boy he drove a Morgan, an old man's car, but now that he drives a convertible Saab turbo he's become a macho man. Will his personality change again with the next car he has? Watching five episodes a week has compressed time of course with a baby that to me was born a few weeks ago is now four years old in the programme. Hair styles, and cars, have changed over the years but the clothes are still silly, hurrah! Not many episodes left to watch now, sadly. I have just watched the last ever episode and I'm going to miss it. At least Abby finally got her long overdue makeover and got away from her usual terrible clothes, and she got a haircut also. We need a follow up series starting from when this one finished, a whole new cast would be required of course.

Loved it!

[LuisaGallo · 6 February 2005]

I was only 12 years old in 1990 when I bought the Howard's Way theme music on audio cassette - it was the first recording I ever bought!!

It was great to watch on a Sunday night! I always wanted to be out on the sea and be as successful as them!

Due to the recent repeats on UK Drama, there is now quite a lot of interest from fans on various websites who also seem to love the show and the music as much as I did.

Those sunsets and seascapes and the fantastic music would be better than ever if they were digitally remastered and released on DVD !!! It's high time it was!

Great memories

[genafroggatt · 10/10 · 31 January 2023]

I was in my mid teens when this was on the box. My friends and I would all head home in time to watch it (as we always had for Dynasty etc...) Howard's Way was full of love, affairs, breakups, snide business deals and for a 14 year old it had all we needed without anything OTT. The clothing...shoulder pads, shiny 'sateen' fabric, that awful Lynne Howard character who all my friends and I wanted to punch. We absolutely hated her in the first series trying to look sexy to Tony Head and later to the plank of wood who is Charles Frere. Nobody can see through him. As for Lynne's brother, Leo...he is a dreadful creature. I just wish he could close his mouth and take that gormless expression off his face. I don't know how the writers manage with this show, a different writer on every episode.

Fun if you're out of your mind on drugs

[njstone-84451 · 10/10 · 12 November 2021]

Me and my mate ended up really quite worse for wear and ended up watching about three seasons of this in one night. Don't really remember anything about it but we kept it on, can't have been that bad.

Howards Way

[eddie-gulliver · 9/10 · 12 October 2006]

I watched Howards Way in the 1980's and would agree it is something of an icon for that decade. I am less sure about the programme quality as most of the acting was wooden and the story lines paper thin.

Maurice Colbourne was very arthritic as Tom, the archetypal 80's man who, laid off and down and out, rose from the ashes to develop and run a successful business of his own.

Jan Harvey was passable as was the actor who played Ken Masters, Tony Anholt was also reasonably believable. But Edward Highmore, Tracey Childs, Cindy Shelley, Nigel Davenport Michael Dennison and Dulcie Gray - to name but a few, were just picking up a fee. Certainly actors of Dennisons and Davenports quality must have realised that this was just a small gravy train. That said, the series was hypnotic because it was so bad - and I watched it most weeks for this. If you want to praise good 80's drama - maybe the Boys from the Blackstuff would be more like it. Howard was escapist drivel by comparison.

Why only six series and where was it filmed

[septimius-severus-1 · 26 January 2006]

The reason why there were 'only' six series of 'Howard's Way' was that following the filming of Series 5, prior to it being shown on BBC, Maurice Colbourne died whilst on holiday, so the producers and writers had to decide what to do. It was decided that instead of leaving everything up in the air, it was best to film one final series with the aim of tidying up hanging story lines.

One of the central sets used is the pub. This is 'The Jolly Sailor' at Bursledon on the Hamble River between Farham and Southampton. The outside has not changed much including views of Jack Rolfe's boatyard in real life the Elephant Yard. Inside the pub there is a small memorial to the series in the form of a framed photo of the cast.

The pub was closed to the public during the summer whilst filming went on.

Excellent!!

[soap_expert · 9 July 2002]

I totally disagree what this person has written as I think Howard's Way was brilliant! It had great acting, great storylines and a brilliant theme tune. It should have ran much longer in my opinion. It was the BBC's version of "Dallas" and "Dynasty" and I think they did a great job!

Howards' Way DVD Release

[sophia-nelson · 13 December 2005]

We are pleased to announce that Howards' Way will finally be available on DVD Region 2 for the first time ever.

We hope you will be just as excited about this release as we are ... Join Jan Harvey, Maurice Colbourne and Stephen Yardley for tales of love, deceit, family trials and tribulations in this fantastic long awaited drama featuring the well known theme tune by Simon May and possible extras.

Howards'Way Series 1 available 20th March 2006 4 DVDs, Region 2 !!!

Also available later in 2006 Series 2, 3 and 4

Thanks

Howards Way I love it

[tsusanboss · 16 December 2005]

Having lived and worked on the Solent I can vouch for the characters being very true to life especially the husbands & wives behaving badly!! The clothes were realistic for the time ( I can remember wearing a huge hair bow)and anyone who thinks there's no money in Southampton needs to think again you only need to look at the Port Solent & Ocean Village developments with the Sunseekers parked outside!I'm glad to hear its being released on DVD next year-all we need now is a re-run of Eldorado and my happiness will be complete. I don't think Howards Way would have worked as a soap as it would have been difficult to keep up the great story lines but it has to have been worth a few more series at least!

Howards Way back on UK Drama.

[skepticphil · 16 November 2005]

Howards Way was the greatest television series of all time and i am sick of continuing to enquire as to why this series is not released on DVD. No one can give a definitive answer if it were on DVD it would be an instant hit. Tony Anholt was by far my favourite character, an extraordinarily handsome man the epitome of suave. I still cannot believe that he is no longer with us, Tony was brill!! Its just wonderful to see him again on the re runs on UK Drama. It seems more interesting now than it did then. i would dearly like to know where all the locations were on the filming of the series. I just wish the series had continued beyond the 6 series.