Brass - The Complete Series [DVD]

One of the wittiest television shows ever created. Magnificent acting from amazing talents, such as Timothy West as Bradley Hardacre, Caroline Blakiston as his long-suffering wife and the Voluptuous “Red Agnes” played by Barbara Ewing.The characters also include “Young Scargill”, “Skinner” Guy Buggers, Kim Philby, Donald Maclean and Tony (Blount).The only niggle I have is Geoffrey Hinsliffe’s character George, a man who left the womb wringing his flat cap and tugging his forelock, is replaced in the third and final series by another actor who is not up to the part.If you are have never seen “Brass” Buy it.11/10.

Bradley Hardacre has risen from poverty to become the wealthy owner of mine, mill and munitions works in the Lancashire town of Utterly. The Fairchild family live in a poor home, so what is their connection to Bradley and why does he wants to destroy the Cottage Hospital?A splendid, barbed and witty pastiche of both soap operas and the gritty realism of period Northern dramas, Brass stars Timothy West as Bradley Hardacre – a self-made man who is ruthless, cunning, rampantly sexual and as blunt as can possibly be. His plans for expansion and domination are hampered by his gin-sodden wife (Caroline Blakiston) and the rest of his dysfunctional family, as well as local firebrand Agnes Fairchild (Barbara Ewing) and her dense husband George (Geoffrey Hinsliff), who features large in Bradley's plans as an unwitting guinea pig for his new invention - an anti-tank boot...

Burlesque is one of the hardest forms of comedy to get right, and in the first two series, Brass succeeded brilliantly. The allusions to every cultural and political icon of the period, the mention of many historical figures (especially those yet to be famous, Scargill, Thatcher, Oppenheimer etc) and the merciless assault on the sacred literary cows of the early 20th century are all part of it. Forget mocking Catherine Cookson, that's an easy target! Will we ever take D.H. Lawrence seriously again?It's part of a noble tradition -- Stella Gibbons' "Cold Comfort Farm" sending up the rural misery novels of Mary Webb and Thomas Hardy, Radio 4's "Gloomsbury" skewering the set around Virginia Woolf, and even Mel Brookes' films, which actually showed some respect and affection for their targets.Brass also burlesqued the TV fashions of the time, from gritty Northern drama to precious Brideshead, all delivered in deadly and hilarious earnestness.Sadly the attempt to revive the brand after 7 years was a well intentioned but rather dismal failure. Series 3 is perhaps worth watching once for a few good ideas early on. But you can see the quality, the "gag-rate", and also the actors' confidence dissolving as it limps to its end. The focus of parody got lost when the background period moved to the start of World War 2. There were no recognisable literary or TV drama genres to satirize.But we still have the glory of those 26 episodes in Series 1 and 2.

Bradley Hardacre is determined that the Lancashire town of Utterley shall not fall victim to the Great Depression. This is because he owns it - from the cottage hospital (the former cottage workhouse where he grew up on a diet of kicks and gruel) to the crutch factory where he first began to master the dark arts of capitalism and, finally, to the mine, the mill and the munitions factory from which he has earned a fortune. Now, having married a neurotic aristocrat and developed an abiding hatred of the working class among whom he spent his early years, Hardacre plans to climb to the pinnacle of British society - no matter what the cost (to be paid by others, naturally).This is the premise of a inspired comedy from the early 1980s (apart from the final series, which was broadcast in 1990). The 32-episode series follows the fortunes of the Fairchild and Hardacre families as the relationships between their respective sons and daughters become intertwined in ever more bizarre ways. The whole thing is played very straight and deadpan, with suitably dramatic music and lots of theatrical touches.Writers John Stevenson and Julian Roach hilariously exploit and discard one cliché after another, sending up Brideshead Revisited, Sherlock Holmes and Private's Progress among many other classic genres. In addition to the outrageously stereotyped characters themselves, brief glimpses of supposedly historical figures are also seen - `Murdoch' from the Utterley Bugle, `Fleming' in the laboratory and `von Braun' the fireworks engineer, among many others.Quick delivery and sheer wealth of material means more than one viewing is needed to spot all the cultural and historical references. The acting is a delight throughout and the plot is enjoyably complex. Only the third series (in which Hardacre is determined that Britain should resist the Nazi onslaught for as long as he can turn a profit) shows hints of weakness, with some repetition of jokes and unresolved plot elements.However, I would unreservedly recommend Brass to anyone who appreciates good verbal comedy and has some familiarity with the numerous genres on which the series is based (or debased).

This review is based on what I remember from seeing Brass on TV many years ago (a British series, it's not available in a format compatible with US DVD players, and I haven't yet purchased the machine that will play it). But what a screamingly funny show, way ahead of its time for outrageousness (though delivered with subtlety), wit, and innuendo. Great performances from a splendid cast. A classic.

These series were the wry british response to american series like Dallas or Dinasty: the result is a hidden treasure of british comedy

Liked it when it was new. Thought I'd enjoy seeing it again. Didn't, seems silly and foolish.

the item did not work in US had to send it back...Amazon handeled it great