Grange Hill - Series 1 And 2 (DVD)

Where were you in 1978? Go on, tell me you weren't born, make me feel old! I turned nine in 1978, but that year saw the birth of Grange Hill, a BBC TV series set in a school which is still running today, with a new series due in 2008.

I loved it at the time and watched it for several years, so when I heard the first four series were being released on DVD, I had to get them. I love nostalgia and classic TV from my childhood, so I knew it would be worth buying this on DVD - so I did.

Over several evenings, hubby and I sat down to watch the DVDs, beginning - logically - with Episode 1 of Series One and continuing in order. Hubby was born in 1975, so he hadn't seen these early episodes before, but I was surprised how much I remembered - especially considering this was before we had a video recorder so I'd probably only seen each episode once!

Not only did both of us get hooked right away, but as the series went on, our kids became gripped too, so soon we couldn't put an episode on unless at least three of our kids were in the room too. My fourteen-year-old surprised her thirty-something teacher by coming out with 'Flipping heck, Tucker!' in one lesson and we were all chatting about Benny, Trisha, Cathy and the like. Just as Trisha and Cathy were my idols thirty-odd years ago, now my daughters love them too!

THE BOXSET

The DVD boxset features all 27 episodes from the first two series, which were broadcast in 1978 and 1979. There are 10 ½ hours of Grange Hill on here (and a quiz) and although some commentaries or interviews would have been wonderful, I am still very happy to pay £18 for it.

The first two series feature characters like Tucker Jenkins, Trisha Yates, Cathy Hargreaves, Benny Green, Andrew Stanton, Justin Bennett and Mickey Doyle. Of these, it was Todd Carty as Tucker who was to come across as the best actor and of course, he went on to have an impressive career, most famously playing Mark Fowler in EastEnders.

Grange Hill had a reputation for tackling issues, often taboo ones. Later series dealt with drugs and teenage pregnancy, but these first two series are relatively tame and tackle such things as bullying, racism, shoplifting, poverty and dyslexia.

The earliest episodes establish the characters and the setting, then we follow the lives of the pupils and teachers as new things happen. Series One comprises of nine episodes and includes Benny's hopes of making the football team, the school council elections and the swimming pool incident.

While this series is obviously finding its feet, it is well worth watching. You can see some of the actors are a bit wooden to begin with, but they soon get their act together (pun intended!) and you can see a rapport between some of the kids too. The famous gang of Tucker, Benny, Alan and Co. is in its infancy here, but soon becomes very convincing.

Series Two is longer - eighteen episodes - and features storylines such as Cathy's shoplifting, the Students' Action Group's seemingly endless protests against school uniform, the school field trip and Andrew Stanton starring in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

Mark Eadie played Andrew and he went on to do quite well, as I met him at the Theatre Royal, Lincoln a few years later when he was in a play. He was quite the heartthrob at the time! Sadly, his TV work dried up in 1984.

The second series comes across as more professional and the more episodes means it can string out issues across a whole series or several episodes, allowing things to come out slowly and be solved gradually, which makes it more realistic. Grange Hill's realism is one of its strongest assets. Even watching it today, my own kids could understand the pupils' problems at school and empathised with the characters. Just as they're supposed too, they hate Doyle and love Tucker. They can't stand the Brookdale kids, but love Grange Hill!

Mr. Mitchell leaves at the end of series two, which I felt was a shame, as he was a great form tutor - just the right mix of discipline and warmth. Over these two series, we see him shouting and issuing detentions, but also there to listen when a pupil is upset.

Mr. Sutcliffe stays on for series three and I was surprised how camp he was! I can't remember noticing it at the time! Mr. Llewellyn is a decent enough Headmaster, but for me, Mrs. McClusky is the definitive Head teacher and she doesn't appear until 1980 (and Gwyneth Powell is still acting).

For me, the stars of the show will always be Tucker, Cathy and Trisha. I wanted to have Trisha's long hair and I looked up to both her and Cathy, as they were a couple of years older than me. Tucker was the class clown who made everyone laugh and even when he got into trouble, you couldn't stay annoyed with him for long.

If you saw this the first time round, but the DVDs as you'll love watching them again.

If you didn't catch the earliest series, but enjoyed later episodes of Grange Hill, then buy these DVDs to see how it all started.

If you've never heard of Grange Hill, but the DVDs - you're in for a treat!

After watching the first two series, my family and I have just started watching Series Three, so look out for a review on that in the next couple of weeks or so. I just hope the BBC decide to release more, as I am looking forward to watching further episodes and seeing the later generation of Grange Hill kids - Jonah, Zammo, Maria, Fay and so on. Oh and Tuckers' Luck afterwards, as that was great too!

Highly recommended.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

If you check out the websites http://www.grangehillfans.co.uk/ghonline​.php and http://www.grangehillgold.co.uk/whereare​theynow3.html you can find interviews with cast members and discover what they are doing now. Very few are still acting, which is a shame. Some of the older cast have died, including Miss. Mooney (Lucinda Gane, died 2005 of cancer), the caretaker Mr. Garfield (Graham Ashley, 1927-1979) and Mr. Bronson (Michael Sheard, 1938-2005.)