Grange Hill : Complete BBC Series 1 & 2 Box Set [DVD]

I began at the local comprehensive school in September 1977, and Grange Hill first appeared on TV in 1978. So I am Tucker and Trisha generation.

The series was terrific, right from the first. Times were hard and often brutal in the 1970s - this was the era of Punk, Sid and Nancy and the Winter of Discontent and Grange Hill never shied away from the realities of life.

The Benny Green/Michael Doyle racism storyline was absolutely groundbreaking in children's drama.

Grange Hill was a tremendous influence on schoolchildren across the land, I remember my own school set up a school council, based on the Grange Hill model, in 1980!

The militancy of the kids as they confronted the school uniform issue in series 2 was another sign of the times.

Whatever type of child you were - a jack-the-lad Tucker Jenkins, studious Justin, up-front Trisha or terrified Judy, this show is for you. And the setting is not a pretend, romanticised 1970s - it IS the 1970s. So much has changed - back then there was no World Wide Web, no mobile phones...

But the adventures of Trisha, Tucker and co in the big bad comprehensive school are as compelling now as they were way back then!

More please!

Surely one of the longest-awaited DVD releases of the last fifteen years, the seminal school drama created by Phil Redmond is a nostalgic treat for anyone of a certain age - even those whose parents wouldn't let them watch the first time around! The first few bars of the iconic theme tune (in all its quirky glory) set the tone, and you are instantly transported back to the fag-end of the 1970s when Thatcher first set out her stall, Punk was in its prime and Tom Baker was saving the universe as Doctor Who.
Series one looks and feels fairly dated but despite this the context is recognisable to anyone who has ever started secondary school and to the legions of bullies' victims and angst-ridden pubescents down the ages (so basically most people over eleven!) The fashions, transport and mannerisms may be archaic but Peter `Tucker' Jenkins, Benny Green, Alan Hargreaves (later Humphries), Trisha Yates and Justin Bennett are, and always have been, in every school throughout the land. The series' first proper bully - the odious Michael Doyle - wheedles and whines his way throughout, whilst the teachers are also well-represented by the legendary `Bullet' Baxter, too good to be true form master Mr Mitchell and soppy music teacher `Sooty' Sutcliffe. Other notable characters from the first series are the hilarious Hughes, prototype-Imelda Davies Jackie Mann and thoroughly wet girls Ann Wilson and Judy Preston, both with RP accents to die for. Interestingly, seemingly key characters have been weeded-out by the second series; sadistic games master `Doctor' Foster and sensitive art teacher Mrs Preston disappear without mention whilst Judy moves to Brookdale and Ann is dismissed by Trisha as having `moved away' during half-term. Original headmaster Mr Starling is replaced by Mr Llewellyn and Tucker's sidekick Watson also just fades away. This is one of the things that kept the programme fresh and by the end of the second series Grange Hill was clearly here to stay.
Playground `high-jinks' are mixed with more serious issues such as racism and theft, generally in a non-patronizing way and with all credit to the raw cast. Series 2 is definitely more confident in its approach and gives Tucker and co. less exposure in favour of other characters such as the dull Andrew Mann and half-Greek Antonio. Cathy Hargreaves and Suzi McMahon are brought on board to replace Ann and Judy and Justin is gradually relegated to a supporting role, dozy Simon Shaw rising to prominence in his stead. Series 2 focuses on the new Head and his controversial timetable reforms as well as bringing tragedy and pyrotechnics to `The Hill' in what would set the tone for series' to come.
Overall this is a great buy and I can't wait to get hold of series 3 & 4. Let's just hope that further series are forthcoming on DVD with the anticipation of Gripper, Roland, Zammo and Precious Matthews lying tantalisingly around the corner...

Naturally viewing this series as an adult is not the same as when I saw it as a child. Back then the thought of going to a "big" school was scary and grown up and Grange Hill managed to both frighten and entertain me back then. Watching this DVD, not only did numerous plots come back to me, two other things struck me, the first no doubt a cliche by now:
1 Things were easier back then. Parents used more discipline, teachers were more respected and children were better behaved. In many ways, the Grange Hill of 1978 was an almost twee institution compared to a typical school and it's problems today. It's funny to think that 30 years ago many of the issues raised in this show were seen as too controversial and gritty for child viewing.

2 Certain curios on the show, long forgotten, zoomed me back in an instant to when I was very young - the leather purse necklace worn by Madeline Tanner. I had one, I'd totally forgotten about it and seeing them again brought fresh memories of when I'd purchased it as a 6 year old. I could even smell the texture of it. The shopping mall scene - kitsch plastic fountains, garish public seating and facades of shops no longer in existence.

I would highly recommend this dvd - the plotlines are enjoyable and the timeline a nostalgic treat. Tucker Jenkins and Trish Yates became household names and deserve to be brought to a new generation of schoolkids.