From There to Here, BBC One, review: 'memorable'
The first episode in the new three-part, Manchester-set drama, From There to Here, explored the restlessness of the soul, says Terry Ramsey
People may say From There to Here (BBC One) is about the bombing of the Arndale Centre in Manchester in 1996. But while that is what sparks this compelling three-part drama by Peter Bowker, it is not its subject. What it is about, without wanting to sound too grand, is the restlessness of the soul.
For most of us, the restless feeling – that there must be more to life – is diffused as we plod on from day to day. But a shattering event can change things. Here, the Arndale bombing was that event. Family man Daniel (Philip Glenister) met up with his father Samuel (Bernard Hill) and wastrel brother Robbo (Steven Mackintosh). But no sooner had they got together in a bar than it was blown apart. They survived, but were altered.
Before broadcast, comparisons were made with the Nineties TV drama Our Friends in the North. And, it’s true, there are superficial similarities: but Peter Flannery’s series was a saga compared to this (it ran for nine episodes) and, more crucially, its characters were actually part of its historical events (such as the police corruption scandal in London in the late Seventies that led to the Operation Countryman investigation). Our Friends in the North drove into the middle of recent history whereas From There to Here is tangential to it. Last night, the bombing was a bit-part player – like a messenger in a Shakespeare drama, it appeared, delivered a change of events and went again. But its intervention meant that deep in the brains of Robbo and Daniel a synapse fired. There had to be a reason they were still alive.
Robbo felt that he had a charmed life – so his £10,000 bet on England to win Euro 96 was bound to pay off. “That bomb was the start of my lucky streak,” he proclaimed. But any viewer with a knowledge of football history knew how deluded he was. And Daniel felt that life must be about more than his comfortable family set-up. He rescued the pub’s cleaner, Joanne (Liz White), from the debris and began a curious fascination with her. “It feels like I’ve been picked for something – but I don't know what it is yet,” he said.
With both Glenister and White playing main parts, in a historical setting of Manchester, From There to Here carries memories of Life on Mars. Let’s hope it improves on that drama’s high-concept idea, low-concept ending. This opening episode showed it definitely has the potential to be a memorable series about looking for more in life.
People may say From There to Here (BBC One) is about the bombing of the Arndale Centre in Manchester in 1996. But while that is what sparks this compelling three-part drama by Peter Bowker, it is not its subject. What it is about, without wanting to sound too grand, is the restlessness of the soul.
For most of us, the restless feeling – that there must be more to life – is diffused as we plod on from day to day. But a shattering event can change things. Here, the Arndale bombing was that event. Family man Daniel (Philip Glenister) met up with his father Samuel (Bernard Hill) and wastrel brother Robbo (Steven Mackintosh). But no sooner had they got together in a bar than it was blown apart. They survived, but were altered.
Before broadcast, comparisons were made with the Nineties TV drama Our Friends in the North. And, it’s true, there are superficial similarities: but Peter Flannery’s series was a saga compared to this (it ran for nine episodes) and, more crucially, its characters were actually part of its historical events (such as the police corruption scandal in London in the late Seventies that led to the Operation Countryman investigation). Our Friends in the North drove into the middle of recent history whereas From There to Here is tangential to it. Last night, the bombing was a bit-part player – like a messenger in a Shakespeare drama, it appeared, delivered a change of events and went again. But its intervention meant that deep in the brains of Robbo and Daniel a synapse fired. There had to be a reason they were still alive.
Robbo felt that he had a charmed life – so his £10,000 bet on England to win Euro 96 was bound to pay off. “That bomb was the start of my lucky streak,” he proclaimed. But any viewer with a knowledge of football history knew how deluded he was. And Daniel felt that life must be about more than his comfortable family set-up. He rescued the pub’s cleaner, Joanne (Liz White), from the debris and began a curious fascination with her. “It feels like I’ve been picked for something – but I don't know what it is yet,” he said.
With both Glenister and White playing main parts, in a historical setting of Manchester, From There to Here carries memories of Life on Mars. Let’s hope it improves on that drama’s high-concept idea, low-concept ending. This opening episode showed it definitely has the potential to be a memorable series about looking for more in life.
Original article can be found here.
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