| The Brothers(tv Series) |
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SYNOPSIS The series was based around conflict within the Hammond family over the direction of the family firm, a road haulage business called Hammond Transport Services, after the death of patriarch Robert Hammond. The eldest son, Edward (played by Glyn Owen during the first series and by Patrick O'Connell for the remainder of the show's run), prepares to take over the running of the business, only to find that his father has left equal shares to his two other sons, Brian ( Richard Easton ), a dull accountant and David ( Robin Chadwick ), a young graduate - and to his mistress, company secretary Jennifer Kingsley ( Jennifer Wilson ). Storylines throughout the series dealt with plans to expand the business into an international concern, coupled with more family-oriented plots as Edward and Jennifer fall in love and marry. Other prominent characters included Hammond's hard-faced widow and the mother of the three brothers, Mary ( Jean Anderson ), who is determined to continue exercising her own influence over her family, Brian's shrewish wife Ann ( Hilary Tindall ) and David's girlfriend then wife Jill ( Gabrielle Drake ). Later cast members to join the programme included Colin Baker as the villainous financial whizzkid and proto- Yuppie Paul Merroney, Liza Goddard as his secretary then wife April Winter and Kate O'Mara as Jane Maxwell, the tough female boss of an air freight business. The show also featured Mike Pratt playing the character Don Stacey (1975 - 1976). This was the final role that he played before his untimely death. ANALYSIS ''The Brothers'' could be considered a prototype "supersoap" since the series defined a successful format that would later be used by the American series '' Dallas '', '' Dynasty '' and '' Falcon Crest '' as well as the British serial '' Howards' Way ''. The use of a family as the central focus of the drama, introducing conflict between the men and having their lives directed by ambitious, formidable women acting as the power behind the throne, and storylines involving the scheming for status and acquisition of wealth and power against a corporate backdrop. Although it is highly doubtful that this 1970s BBC family drama had any genuine influence on the glossy American Capitalist fantasies of the 1980s , the thematic links between ''The Brothers'' and many of the "avarice dramas" that followed on both sides of the Atlantic are undeniable. Created and produced by Gerard Glaister , who would go on to produce the popular BBC drama '' Secret Army '' as well as ''Howards' Way'', ''The Brothers'' became a highly popular Sunday night favourite with BBC viewers throughout the early 1970's. EXTERNAL LINK |
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