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Boys from the Blackstuff

Name: Boys from the Blackstuff
Genre: Drama
Released: 1982-10-10
Cast: Bernard Hill, Michael Angelis, Tom Georgeson, Alan Igbon, Peter Kerrigan

1982 | 1 seasons | 50 min | Drama

Weeknight Watchearly rating

Why it’s a Weeknight Watch

With a small audience, it's a mixed bag. Fine if it's on; don't plan your night around it.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it: Made for anyone who loves a strong character drama.
The mood: Thoughtful and character-driven.
The pace: One season: easy to finish in a weekend or two, episodes of about 50 minutes, about 4 hours in all.
What might put you off: Nothing much for most grown-ups.

Alan Bleasdale's five-part series relates the further experiences of unemployed Liverpudlian tarmac layers Dixie, Chrissie, Loggo and Yosser, and their revered older friend, retired longshoreman and union leader, George Malone. As they struggle to make ends meet in a depressed economy, and to hold together their financially battered families, they are harrassed by the petty bureaucrats of the DHSS. But the lumbering investigational juggernaut is, both comically and tragically, guided by drivers with only a provisional license.