After twenty-odd years it is still fresh and original even if some of the more contemporary and topical references might be lost on a younger audience - such as Young Scargill, Anthony Blunt, Brideshead Revisited (which was on TV about then)- much as a bribe in the amount of an "Archer" (2,000) as coined by Alan B'stard in "The New Statesman", might go over their heads.

The comedic references come thick and fast and this is a series which will yield fresh laughs through a repeat viewing as one picks up on subtleties which might have been missed the first time round. Parodies of the characters and storylines in "When the boat comes in", "The Citadel" and others are wonderfully understated - the scriptwriting is absolutely First Class. Reading the other reviews of the series shows how other viewers have picked up different nuances and references.

I am now anxiously awaiting the second series -"Father, it's snowing - it's the start of the eviction season".

This is a must for anyone who enjoys Monty Python's professional Yorkshiremen sketch translated from White Rose to Red Rose country.

My only quibble might be the PG rating - not every episode makes entirely suitable viewing for my ten year old son.


By 'Eck a Reet Classic on't DeeVeeDee at Last!   July 12, 2004
 21 out of 22 found this review helpful

Back in 1982 a genuinely clever, different and refreshing comedy series hit our screens thanks to Granada. It was so clever in fact, and so disparate in its comedic references that a lot of viewers entirely failed to get it. At one level a parody of gritty, northern dramas of class conflict, it introduces us to the mine, munition and mill owning family, the Hardacres and the working class Fairchilds in their employ. Timothy West, at the height of his powers, plays the villainous Bradley Hardacre - the sort of man who bemoans damage to the company overalls worn by men injured in industrial accidents. A man willing to pay a fair day's pay for a fair week's work. The comic, romantic entanglements between the Fairchild boys and Hardacre girls (every character a droll cliche) are the stuff of pure soap opera parody. The satire also embraces (amongst others) Brideshead Revisited, Cambridge spy scandals, D. H. Lawrence, Arnold Toynbee, Jane Austen, much 20th Century history, Black Beauty, soap powder commercials, Dr Finlay and the general style and overly dramatised style of Dallas and its ilk. This is sheer genius. A complete joy to replace my 20 years old and incomplete set of TV recorded VHS.


Vote for Brass!   July 9, 2004
 31 out of 32 found this review helpful

No, it wasn't voted up there in the top 100 sitcoms, but I adore Brass above all but the cream of the crop. To begin with, it's not tainted by canned laughter or other artifical additives - the excellent cast play their roles totally straight-faced, and nothing emphasises humour in a farce better than deadpan delivery.

Secondly, Brass knowingly takes apart the cliches of kitchen sink soap operatic Northern dramas like no other series I ever came across - the ultimate parody, down to the last pseudo-Lanky accent. Not even Mel Brooks could do it better! And like the best parody, it's done lovingly and with deep-seated admiration for the subject matter - the spoiled and bored neo-Victorian family of factory owner Bradley Hardacre and the split loyalties of the working class Fairchild family. Neither side is exactly sympathetic, but so knowing is the satire that you couldn't fail to enjoy their ever more complex relationships.

Third, this is a truly excellent cast to bring home the interconnected rivalries between the haves and have nots. Also, fine scripting to develop a beautifully-plotted and fast-paced farce laced wih genuine belly laughs.