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Product Description
Book Description
With an audience of countless millions in more than 80 countries around the world, the Thames Television series Minder was one of Britain's top television programmes of the 1980s. The show ran for 15 years and 108 episodes, and is still gaining new fans as it is released on video and DVD.
Conceived by veteran script-writer Leon Griffiths as a crime show with a sprinkling of humour, the razor-sharp scripts, crisp direction and on-screen chemistry between George Cole as Arthur Daley and Dennis Waterman as Terry (who was later replaced by Gary Webster) saw the humour gradually overtake the crime. With the added appeal to the female audience of Dennis Waterman as the minder, the programme became a feel-good icon, and turned such expressions as "a nice little earner" and "'er indoors" into national catch-phrases.
What made the programme tick? Who were the people involved? Who played whom in a particular episode? The answers are all here in Brian Hawkins' entertaining and comprehensive look at The Phenomenon that was Minder.
Praise for The Phenomenon that was Minder:
"The only guide to Minder you'll ever need."
--George Cole ("Arthur Daley")
"Hugely entertaining and informative -- the essential Minder companion."
--Patrick Malahide ("Sergeant Chisholm")
About the Author
Brian Hawkins is a medical scientist now living in Hong Kong. Of Cockney origin himself, his fascination with rhyming slang piqued his interest in Minder. As he studied the programme in more detail he found very little reference material, and so he wrote this book to chronicle this important chapter of British television history.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Very disappointing,
By
This review is from: The Phenomenon That Was Minder (Paperback)
Given the very positive reviews other people have offered, I found this a crushing disappointment.
The second half of the book - over 100 pages - is just an episode guide. There's lots of those on the 'net, and most are better than this one. Directly before that, from page 85 to 128 is a reference section: lists of who wrote and directed which episodes, stuff like that. If you really want to know it, it's on the 'net. It's hard to see why anyone would want to read it in a book. The 'Artist Index', for example, is a 15 page list of people's names. Before that in the book is a 12 page section on rhyming slang. Once again, it's all on the 'net and it's hardly the sort of content you'd want to settle down to read in a book. The section on what the actors are doing now is at least worth reading, but since it was written in 2002 it's already completely out of date. That leaves the real meat of the book, the 50 pages from 11 to 61. Unfortunately this is largely a rehash of the episode guide, described series by series. The author mostly just describes his favourite episodes from each series. There's precious little analysis on the characters or their development, the locations, the weightiness of the storylines. Aside from a few nice quotes from the actors (not Waterman, I notice), it's hardly worth reading. The title of the book, describing the programme as a phenomenon, would imply Minder had an impact on the society of the day and the people, like me, who grew up in those years. It did, but this book pays the phenomenon precious little regard. I get the impression the book was written by a fan. The writing style is amateur, and the content thin. I'm as big a Minder fan as anyone else who might have written a review of this book, but I honestly can't recommend it.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant,
By Paddy Best "Belfast Boy" (Camden) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Phenomenon That Was Minder (Paperback)
A fitting tribute to the greatest TV series of all-time.
Arthur Daley is the best fictional character since Robin Hood - and George Cole deserved a KNIGHTHOOD for his performances. I have every episode on video - and still watch them - my kids say I am like Arthur Daley - and I cannot think of a better compliment.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good but could have been better,
This review is from: The Phenomenon That Was Minder (Paperback)
A great little book for fans of Minder. The only downside is that it is sparce with actor interviews and does not feature information on important actors that were guest stars or re-accuring actors in the series. This would have made the book far more comprehensive and should be considered if another edition is produced. Overall though a good book to be purchased from the marketplace.
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