Hearts and Minds (1995 TV series)
Hearts and Minds | |
---|---|
Genre | Drama |
Created by | Jimmy McGovern |
Written by | Jimmy McGovern |
Directed by | Stephen Whittaker |
Starring |
Lynda Steadman Christopher Eccleston David Harewood |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 5 |
Production | |
Producer(s) |
Tara Prem Ian Scaife |
Editor(s) | Max Lemon |
Cinematography | Graham Frake |
Production company(s) | Alomo Productions, WitzEnd Productions |
Release | |
Original network | Channel 4 |
Original release | 1995 |
Hearts and Minds is a British television series created by Jimmy McGovern and first aired in 1995 on Channel 4. The series won the Royal Television Society award for Best Serial Drama.[1]
The series is about a young teacher at a tough Liverpool high school. After working in a factory, Drew Mackenzie (Christopher Eccleston) manages to educate himself to become a teacher. He wants to share his idealistic approach to rising above his circumstances with his Liverpool students, but soon finds himself caught in the crossfire of racial tensions, homophobia and the difficult home lives of the teenagers.[2]
According to series creator Jimmy McGovern, the series was based in part on the three years he spent as an English teacher at the Quarry Bank school in Liverpool.[3] The series was well reviewed by British critics, who praised its realism as compared to other well known school dramas.[4]
Cast
Actor |
Role |
---|---|
Lynda Steadman | Emma Mackenzie |
Christopher Eccleston | Drew Mackenzie |
David Harewood | Trevor |
Ian McElhinney | Alex |
Sara Mair-Thomas | Mo |
Peter Halliday | Shotton |
Pauline Black | Joanna |
Jonathan Dow | Maurice |
Peter Armitage | Norman |
Mark Womack | Archie |
Ann Joseph | Maggie |
Trina Ali | Sahira |
Paul Fox | Tony |
References
- ↑ RTS Awards Archive (February 2011), p. 19 (accessed 2014-02-20).
- ↑ Tom Sutcliffe & Roger Perks, "The Prime of Mr McKenzie", The Independent, 9 February 1995 – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) .
- ↑ Daniel Rosenthal, "Arts: And Those Who Can, Write Plays", The Independent, 23 November 1997 – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) .
- ↑ Susan Ellsmore, Carry On, Teachers!: Representations of the Teaching Profession in Screen Culture (Trentham Books, 2005), ISBN 978-1858563596, pp. 21ff. Excerpts available at Google Books.