"Family Affairs" (1997) TV series 1997-2005

User Rating:

4.1/10   

Directors:

Alan Coleman
Geoff Feld

Writers:

Dare Aiyegbayo (writer)
Niyi Akeju (storyliner)

Seasons:

1 | unknown

Release Date:

30 March 1997 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Awards:

2 wins & 39 nominations

Cast

Ian Cullen	...	Angus Hart (109 episodes, 1997-1999)
Ebony Thomas	...	Yasmin Green / ... (55 episodes, 1998-2005)
Nicola Duffett	...	Cat MacKenzie / ... (52 episodes, 1998-2005)
Kazia Pelka	...	Chrissy Costello (51 episodes, 2003-2005)
Florence Hoath	...	George Fitzgerald (50 episodes, 2005)
Jan Harvey	...	Babs Woods (48 episodes, 2003-2005)
Kate Williams	...	Myra Costello (46 episodes, 2003-2005)
Andrew Hinton-Brown	...	Hector Price (44 episodes, 2005)

Runtime:

UK:30 min (including commercials)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Fremantle Media

Trivia:

Cancelled in summer 2005 as it was adjudged to have run its course, with the final episodes due to go out at the end of the year.

Quotes:

Gemma Craig: [to Benji about being ignored] I could dance naked and still they wouldn't notice!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Extras: Ross Kemp (#1.2)" (2005)

Cream Of The Crop

Family Affairs is without a doubt the best of all the UK soaps. Why? Take the quality of the production first - There is a cinematic style to all the camera work, using jibs and dollies - keeping the cameras moving, all these things add up to a "professional" production. The show is shot on video (as it has to be when filming at least 5 episodes a week) and then filtered in post production to give the "film" look. Just look at the cheap video production of Eastenders and Coronation Street for comparison. It was certainly the quality of the Family Affairs production that led the producers of Brookside to totally change their production (too late to save the show as the script writing had unfortunately deteriorated to a level beyond redemption) style to attempt to emulate this high quality cinematic style.

Secondly, the show's writers keep the plot lines within semi-believable boundaries, choosing to deal with everyday characters and situations rather than the plane crashes and larger than life "comedy" characters utilised so often by Eastenders and Coronation Street.

Last, but certainly not least, is the superb cast who interact superbly. Actors like David Easter (Pete Callan) and Nicola Duffet (Cat Matthews) have an absolutely brilliant "natural" on screen friction that just cannot be duplicated by any of the shallow characters from the other two soaps.

Well done the whole Family Affairs crew, Actors/Actresses, Technicians and the Producers.