I cannot believe the actress who played the young girl is best remembered for EastEnders. She smashes it in this and is a very good serious actress. I am very impressed with this drama. Great upload.
This series and episode is exceptionally good in portraying the bleak and life-threatening everyday life in 70s Belfast - and at times almost surreal in the depiction of the fear and suspicion that characterizes civil society and the British military. Ray Lonnen also shines in the role of an undercover agent and manages to live in himself so much that you find it difficult to detach yourself from the impression that he is a real person with character - and unimaginable courage.
I’m so glad this has been posted I remember it as a kid … it’s a veritable feast of acting talent - Tony Rohr of course was the IRA commander in The Long Good Friday which also starred …Derek Thompson! Then the wonderful Benjamin Whitrow ‘ Mr Bennet in Pride & Prejudice ….. I think half the cast were subsequently in episodes of Lovejoy …. or Madson. Wonderful stuff. 😊
I'm in Canada and been hearing about this series for a long time. It's interesting to see Derek Thompson who played Jeff in the John McKenzie film The Long Good Friday. Thank you so much for posting this!
well made series, with almost realistic actors, (although I don't know why they wouldn't have the lad cut his curly locks when he came back to Belfast, or that "Harry" tipped the english soldier that he was an agent, wouldn't be recommended) in 1983 I was managing a wine shipping company in London, we had a dinner in the west end, I had a few drinks , but knew London well, i had parked my car which the garage gave me for the day, as mine was in for service...parked at Park Lane garage, west end, but arguing with my GF about who should drive, & didn't pay attention to my directions as we left the parking... so I sped up a bit , it was a sporty BMW, and all of a sudden I saw flashing blue lights in the rear view mirror, a police van! ...so half - drunk .. ... I shifted gear and sped away, found the North circular & was "doing a 007" weaving in & out of the 3 lane road, ... but the Van was still behind me , so way back but still chasing... so I cut off the first exit, and ...shocked when there before me was a police road block , we had smoked windows so I said to my GF "switch seats" which was a JOKE in this little sports car,... we got half way across , when both doors opened & about a dozen bizzies pulled me out , wearing a dinner suit, threw me bodily into the back of their van & a 7ft copper kneeled on my chest & said "if you move , I will fill you in" ... at the Hendon police station, I saw my GF & called to her to call the lawyer, but the copper punched me in the belly. to shut me up put me in a cell, first time I had even been arrested 30 years old! .. I asked to phone, but because I was a bit of a joker, it wasn't taken seriously by my family (J) ..at 1 am.. next day the magistrate wasn't interested in "defence" fined me a 1000 quid, & banned 18 months, I then found out that the garage had given me a car with Irish plates, & I hadn't noticed!!
So you got all the way from Park Lane in London to the North circular road without the police managing to stop you?, Hahahaha.....great imagination you have, but i think you miscalculated how far the North Circular is from Park Lane to make your tall tale believable.
18:00, This part where Jones CO briefed him on what's happening to him is actually an accurate account of what happens in the military on ops abroad, if you by chance come across a known colleague who's gone undercover,
This was back when a film's undercover agent could cheat on his wife without subjecting viewers to a half hour of him brooding and feeling guilty after.
The army would have known him as one of many Republicans. Would have had known him to see. A dramatic haircut of his woolly head would have aroused some notice and suspicion
Very good series, second time around. Disappointing that his cover is blown already, due to lack of training. I think an SAS operative would be the choice now.
This all seems a bit silly when the MRF/FRU/Det would have been all over such a situation. At any rate, good to see an ex-Sandbagger connecting with everyone's favorite A&E nurse, and a Bird of a Feather. I hope the estate of Bela Bartok got some royalties from the incidental music.
@sidensvans67 I've read most of his. Sometimes happy ending. However, like this one, he doesn't shy away from an unhappy hero dies ending. I don't recal titles but there was a really good one where I guy goes to Lebanon perhaps with a Green Meanie sniper rifle ( the adoption of which is a great tale. A tiny company put one in for assessment and it won!! So they pretended to have a factory borrowed some equipment set up as a "factory" got the contract and made it happen. Classic🤣) where the anti hero dies. That was my first Seymour book. Green Meanie on the cover I just grabbed it great read
@@davidleonard1813 At Close Quarters . A diplomat and an Israeli master-sniper plan to walk by night into the Beqa'a valley in east Lebanon, home of Palestinian revolutionary groups .
I don't actually know how it could be propaganda, seems pretty impartial to me. It's British (YTV/ITV) production but it doesn't show the British soldiers in a very good light, but it also portrays the IRA members as ruthless. Plus it shows how Catholics not directly involved with the IRA were caught between the devil in the deep blue sea. It exposes the situation as being a game of tit-for-tat for both sides, who themselves sought to score propaganda victories to demoralise the other side. Over all very objective I think.
In real life he would have been caught within an hour you never lose the NI accent u can tone it down but u would never break into a london accent every 40 seconds like harry does
14:55 She kinda giggled, i'm no don juan but i've know a few women who laugh when it ,.. well you know, happened for them. It must be more common than i thought, i mean, why write that in the script?, someone knows. btw, i'm getting the feeling that harry is gonna flip, the way the english are abusing everyone, stockholm syndrome !
@@colinstewart1432 I was wrong , i just thought that the way the english pushed people around and violated them that harry would become sympathetic, and see things from thier point of view.
RESPECT, THE TROUBLES....THAT CURLY MANE, SHOOTER MAKES NO ATTEMPT TO CHANGE APPEARANCE. A SIMPLE HAIR CUT ,OR HAIR RELAXER, GET SUN LAMP TAN UP A BIT, MUSTACHE? STEADY BILLY...... SOUTH PHILADELPHIA, OUT🔱⭐.
@FeeOzymandias-qi5ot I'm getting the feeling that harry is gonna flip, stockhold syndrome, the way he's witnessing abuse after abuse of people's dignity.
I think that you're missing the point that he said to his wife in the last episode that they'd been using him since he was a boy. So it wasn't his first job. In the days before CCTV and everyone having a camera in their hand,his appearance wasn't that important. When people are in shock their responses are slowed and their recall patchy. Only a squadie would have had really short hair,so cutting it off would have drawn even more attention. He's supposed to have been visiting his mother,so coming back with a sun tan and a new hairdo would have set tongues clacking for streets around! Also, the IRA at that time were confident in the population, even those who didn't support them would never speak up because reprisals were swift and savage. So who cares about the bag or the hair? And they knew that he would be back on safe home ground before they worked out his route so again.. all part of sticking two fingers up at the British.
Two points, first, we could watch an hour of absorbing TV drama with only one advertisement break instead of a barrage of DEI-approved, puerile content every 8 minutes, and secondly, this bitter conflict was ended by dialogue instead of violence. A lesson the Israelis and those who back them and their murderous actions are unwilling to pay heed to.
British troops going across the water were required to grow their hair (non regulation length)it's possible the Berets don't fit correctly because of the unkempt hair.
Mrs Richards: "I paid for a room with a view !" Basil: (pointing to the lovely view) "That is Torquay, Madam ." Mrs Richards: "It's not good enough!" Basil: "May I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window ? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically past?..." Mrs Richards: "Don't be silly! I expect to be able to see the sea!" Basil: "You can see the sea, it's over there between the land and the sky." Mrs Richards: "I'm not satisfied. But I shall stay. But I expect a reduction." Basil: "Why?! Because Krakatoa's not erupting at the moment ?"
17:30, This is fact, you'd have been RTU'd ASAP (on good terms though), if you took down details of a potential Deep undercover 🥸 Agent in the field, whilst you were in the agent's operating zones, and secondly, a private ALL RANKS MEETING would've taken place to order everyone on that evening snatch/lifting task to never talk about it again!
