| GBH | |
|---|---|
Michael Palin as Jim Nelson & Robert Lindsay as Michael Murray (DVD cover) |
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| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Alan Bleasdale |
| Written by | Alan Bleasdale |
| Directed by | Robert Young |
| Starring | Robert Lindsay Michael Palin Lindsay Duncan Julie Walters |
| Composer(s) | Elvis Costello, Richard Harvey |
| Country of origin | UK |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 7 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | [David W Jones] |
| Running time | 567 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original run | June 6, 1991 – July 18, 1991 |
GBH was a seven-part British television drama written by Alan Bleasdale shown in the summer of 1991 on Channel 4. The protagonists were Michael Murray (played by Robert Lindsay), the Militant Labour leader of a city council in the North of England and Jim Nelson (played by Michael Palin), the headmaster of a school for disturbed children.
The series was controversial partly because Murray appeared to be based on Derek Hatton, former Deputy Leader of Liverpool City Council - in an interview in the G.B.H. DVD Bleasdale recounts an accidental meeting with Hatton before the series, who indicates that he has caught wind of Bleasdale's intentions but does not mind as long as the actor playing him is "handsome".
In normal parlance, the initials "GBH" refer to the criminal charge of grievous bodily harm (i.e. beating someone up) - however, the actual intent of the letters is that it is supposed to stand for Great British Holiday (as revealed by Bleasdale in an interview on the DVD).
Contents |
GBH is set in the early 1990s, towards the end of the Thatcher years, when numerous attempts were made by local left-wing councils to get more autonomy (not least in Bleasdale's home city of Liverpool, see municipal socialism). The plot is the attempt by UK government secret services to discredit and bring down Murray's leadership. Ideologically this involves a left-wing theorist, Mervyn, who is manipulated by MI5 agent Lou. Meanwhile, another MI5 agent Peter has recruited a gang of thugs, posing as left-wing activists (and later policemen) as agents provocateurs. Each episode reveals more about the convoluted nature of the plot to discredit Murray.
Please note that the information below relates to the original version of the series, featuring 7 episodes of varying length. Repeats have often used an edit which splits the series into 10 episodes of one hour. Titles have been modified to fit the new form and the episode descriptions given may not cover the shorter episodes:
1: It Couldn't Happen Here
2: Only Here On A Message
3: The Messengers Ride Forth
4: Send A Message To Michael
5: Message Received
6: The Dead Letter Box
7: A Red Letter Day
8: Shoot The Messenger
9: Love Letters Straight From The Heart
10: Over and Out
In the opening scene, the newly-elected Murray returns to his old primary school, where he burns copies of his school records that describe an event that almost caused him to be committed to a juvenile offenders' institution. He then uses his position to force the headmaster Mr Weller to work in a special school run by Nelson. Murray, a Labour councillor with links to a far-left political organisation based upon Militant, is persuaded by its leaders to call a 'Day of Action' to protest against government policies but due to the incompetence of Murray's supporters Nelson's school is not picketed and remains open. Murray tries to intimidate Nelson, a moderate member of the Labour Party, to join the strike. When this fails, thugs hired by the militants besiege the school and terrorise the children.
Nelson, a hypochondriac, develops a collection of neuroses as Murray and his supporters continue to picket the school, and in an opening montage we see the protesters throwing bricks through his windows. Nelson carries the dying son of a farmer down off the moor after he is electrocuted in an accident. A local farmer, Mr Burns, promises Nelson that the majority of traditional socialists in the area will defend him against the "young snots" in the militant wing of the Labour Party. Murray also finds himself suffering from pressure in a conflict between the practicalities of running a city and the revolutionary plans of the militant wing of the Party who are threatening to blackmail him. Murray meets a mysterious, wealthy and beautiful woman.
Murray is now in love with the mysterious stranger, Barbara Douglas, who initially pretends to admire him despite his crude manners. The 'message' in the episode title is a letter to Murray purporting to be from his childhood friend, Eileen Critchley, but actually written by Murray's political enemies and delivered secretly by Douglas. It is not yet clear whether Douglas is Critchley or an impostor, but she resembles the girl in the flashbacks and knows about Murray's past. Critchley was the victim of Murray's unnamed childhood crime. Eileen's warning in the letter that she is about to 'have some fun' with Murray drives him further into a state of hysteria.
Murray's elder brother and downtrodden chauffeur Franky has had enough of Murray's arrogance and resigns on the spot, leaving Murray humiliated by the side of the road. Franky then picks up his wife, family and his mother (Murray's mainstay) and drives off to spend time on holiday in Fleetwood where he becomes enamoured by the idea of a life at sea.
Meanwhile, Peter's gang is conspiring to commit racist assaults in order to provoke riots in the city.
We learn that Barbara Douglas is Eileen Critchley's younger sister, and that Eileen died while a university student. Eileen, having a morbid fascination with death inspired by the hanging of Ruth Ellis, once cajoled her school-mate Murray into trying to strangle her and this is the guilty secret that Murray is trying to hide before it destroys his career. Douglas is a government agent, working with Lou and Peter in the campaign to destabilize Murray. She tries to trick her former headmaster Mr Weller into handing over his copies of Murray's school records but fails. Weller rightly suspecting a conspiracy against him delivers the records to his former colleague Jim Nelson for safekeeping.
Nelson sees the militants beginning to take control of his local branch of the Labour Party. The conspirators are tormenting Murray by sending him messages purporting to be from Eileen and to make matters worse, Murray's neglected wife is searching for him in the hotel where he entertains his mistresses. Murray is reduced to a ridiculous nervous wreck with a twitchy left eye and an uncontrollable left arm reminiscent of Dr Strangelove. The gang's campaign of violence begins with an assault on a black waiter. Needing more time to gather evidence against Murray, the conspirators order Douglas to calm him down by seducing him, which she duly does.
After sleeping with Douglas, Murray temporarily regains his sanity and even displays some likeable characteristics, such as his genuine concern for the first victim of the violence. As the beatings continue, public anger grows and Murray is forced to appeal to community representatives to remain calm. To the surprise of the plotters who are hoping that Murray will fail and that riots will follow, he addresses the meeting with considerable skill and persuades the audience to refrain from 'taking the law into their own hands'.
The Nelson family has gone on holiday, to a country house run by Grosvenor a cynical snobbish but impoverished aristocrat who refers to his guests as the 'Great British Holidaymakers' (this is a reference to Bleasdale's original working title for the screenplay, 'The Great British Holiday'). The plotters search the Nelsons' house for the file on Murray but Nelson has taken it with him. They also meet the journalist 'Bubbles' McGuire at the house, where Lou and Peter reveal to him that they are government agents who have been sent to infiltrate the Labour Party. Once inside the Party they found that the hard left had withered away, leaving only a few dreamers like the grey-haired Mervyn. Since there were not enough genuine revolutionaries to stir up, Lou and Peter had to hire mercenary thugs to carry out a campaign of violence to discredit the Left. To convince McGuire that the plot is sanctioned by the authorities and to frighten him into submission Grenville, his contact with the government agencies arrives at the house and it is revealed that Grenville is the brother of Peter. Another senior official arrives by helicopter to check up on the progress of the plot. He appears to be a friend of Barbara's father. He tries to excuse the violent tactics of the plot by saying that 'these are brutal times'.
Douglas describes Murray to her colleagues as 'foul' but admits that she is also enjoying her liaison with him.
The plotters, posing as CID raid the Nelsons' holiday home and retrieve the file on Murray. Murray's mother disowns him when she finds out about his extramarital affairs and his history of political corruption. The plotters deliver the final blow to Murray by releasing the files on his past to 'Bubbles' McGuire.
Douglas having read of her sister's childhood attempts to destroy Murray begins to sympathise with him. She helps him to make a secret recording of a conversation in which the plotters admit their intention to provoke riots.
Nelson appears at his local Labour Party branch to defend himself against charges made by the plotters of 'bringing the Labour Party into disrepute'; Murray is also present. The traditional Labour-supporting farmers who promised Nelson their support in Episode 2 arrive and quieten the militants, who are intended to goad Nelson into disclosing information harmful to Murray. The meeting is interrupted by the press who have learned that an arrest warrant has been issued for Murray for inciting a riot.
Extensive flashbacks show that Murray was the victim in the childhood incident with Eileen Critchley. She was the daughter of a wealthy senior judge and had wanted to 'get' Murray because he was 'easy'. Douglas, after a lifetime of vengeful feelings towards Murray, realises that he was a victim of her sister's cruelty. In a meeting with her father, it is revealed that he is part of the class-driven conspiracy against Murray. Murray finally learns Barbara Douglas's identity. She leaves him the information on who she is and the death of her sister as well as a copy of Mr Weller's letter, which reveals it was he who saved Murray from being institutionalised because was in love with Murray's mother. There is a hint that Douglas may sympathise more with Murray than with her employers as she returns to him the tape recording that contains evidence of the plot. Douglas informs Lou that his attempts to prevent the recording were unsuccessful. As riots spread through the city, Murray allows Douglas to deliver him to the police.
The Nelsons look to the future and it appears that Jim is healed of the doubt that has been stalking him as in the final shot he finally manages to drive his car over a bridge.
The young Anna Friel plays one of Jim Nelson's children.
The series was released in the UK (Region 2 DVD) on 12 June 2006, it was also released in "The Alan Bleasdale Collection" box set with two Bleasdale drama series: Jake's Progress and Melissa. It is due for release in America on 23 February 2010.[1]
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