Fox - Complete Series [1980] [DVD]

i recently purchased this offering from the brilliant network dvd company.to be honest,i didn't really know what to expect,as i had not seen this series,when it was first aired in 1980.the old saying "they dont make them like they used to",is an understatement,as this show is far superior to the fare,that is served up this day and age.a real strong cast of characters permeates the show from start to finish,most of the actors in this show have gone on to be household names in britain,and also on the international stage.the drama unfolds in clapham south london,and tells the epic saga of the fox family,led by the "larger than life",hardman and respected architypal patriarch,"king billy fox",played by the evergreen peter vaughan.vaughan plays billy with a warmth and honesty,rarely seen on t.v today,a man who stands for the importance of family,which meets with some oppostion from his intellectual and socialist son phil,played by manchester born actor eammon boland.billy is real old school,and along with his old fashioned values,tries to keep his boys on the straight and narrow,in an ever changing landscape of early "thatcher era",great britain.behind every great man,there is a great woman,billy's second wife connie,played by elizabeth spriggs,who hangs on the every word of her husband.connie though,is nobody's fool,and she is not backwards in coming forwards,if she sees anything she doesn't agree with.she is a formidable woman in her own way,and a very capable second in command.the oldest of the fox clan children is,hardworking familyman vin,played by bernard hill,who would go on to star in another gritty 80's british drama,boys from the blackstuff,playing the iconic yozzer hughes.in this instance though,his character is that of a level headed family man,struggling with a deaf son,and a demanding wife,who wants to climb the social scale.then we have lovable rogue and night club manager ray,played by derrick o'connor,i have to say at this point,that derrick o'connor steals the show for me as ray.ray is a complex character,who is separated with a sixteen year old daughter,and a long suffering girlfriend,played by trudie goodwin aka "wpc june ackland" of the bill.ray plays by his own rules,which stray well beyond legality,you may not agree with it,but he lives by a moral code,and is loyal to his friends and family.then we have the whimsical lothario taxi driver joey fox,played by larry lamb,who was recently seen as archie mitchell in eastenders.a softhearted and well meaning man,who always gets himself into trouble with members of the opposite sex.he does come across as a bit of a "jack the lad",but underneath it all,is a hopeless romantic,who just wants to be happy.he is also a lot like his father billy,and shares his dads views on family.then we have phil,who i've already mentioned,who is a "left wing firebrand",who seems to have become a bit of a snob,since he's been at university,and tends to keep his distance from his family.he is at odds with billy's ideals,and the two bang heads on a regular basis.although phil is much more like his father,than he would care to admit.finally we have the youngest member of the clan,kenny,played by the mercurial ray winstone,ray winstone would have been cast in the role not long after starring as carling,in the cult borstal film,scum.kenny is a talented professional boxer,who has a shot of becoming a british champion,down the track.another of the family who,shares billy's sentiments of family loyality,he's a tough young lad,but is also like his brother joey,has a soft heart,and also a sensitive soul.the series follows the trials and tribulations of the fox family,as they battle,grief,heartache,their relationships with their partners,and their outside friendships and business dealings.the series also deals with,human frailties,as we see these characters strippped back to the bare bones,and we see them as they truly are.it is as though you the viewer,are transported into the living room of the fox family,and we share every raw emotion with them.by the end of the thirteen 50 minute episodes,you will feel like you are one of the family.if you are looking for a plethora of extras,you will be disappointed,as there is only some commentry by the director,and some script you can view via a p.c.all in all an exceptional drama,it will make you laugh,it will make you cry,and you will be hooked as you go on the rollercoaster of emotions,that this dynastyesque drama has to offer.i cannot recommend this dvd highly enough.

I remember seeing parts of a couple of episodes of this series when it was first broadcast in 1980, and thinking it a compelling story. Later on, I picked up its novelization (issued as a couple of paperbacks) in a second-hand bookshop; memories of reading that made me buy this box set last year. It's a 13-episode saga about the eponymous Fox family living in South London at the end of the 1970's, highlighting the relationship between a redoubtable father and five sons who are all very different from each other. I've seen it referred to elsewhere as " The Godfather  of Clapham", which is understandable when you consider the strength of the characters, the realistic portrayal of tensions within the family and the added dash of criminality in their backgrounds.Although the story is indeed gripping, watching it after all these years shows it hasn't dated well in its production. It seems to come from a time when TV producers were trying to break away from using studio sets for interiors, switching to location shooting throughout. It's a laudable attempt, but doesn't look good here - mainly because of the way the interior scenes are lit. Parts of rooms (and of some of the characters) are invariably in shadow, while the actors often appear to be squinting because of the brightness of the lights.These glitches, coupled with a surprising degree of woodenness in the acting of some very emotional scenes, interfere with today's enjoyment of what would otherwise be a classic piece of TV. On the other hand, the breadth and depth of the cast provide the viewer with some surprising opportunities to spot those members who would find fame in other roles in later years - specifically, Theoden from  The Lord of the Rings , Eileen from  Jam and Jerusalem , Gal from  Sexy Beast , Mr Carson from  Downton Abbey , Mick from  Gavin And Stacey  and Bill Nighy from just about everywhere.

Don't be fooled, by anything or anyone, 'Fox' was trendy rubbish. Let's face it, though, most TV - in common with most films and books - is scarcely worth the while of anyone. It simply helps pass the time.It has an excellent cast - Elizabeth Spriggs is a stand-out - and Peter Vaughan was generally worth watching. But it irritated me almost from the word go with its rotten music (which later, only adds to the air of self-conscious pretentiousness. 'Out' had similar faults).The plot involves a family from Clapham, ruled - with a rod of sentimental iron - by 'King Billy' (Vaughan), a Covent Garden market porter who earned enough to buy himself a lovely big house with a great big garden to match. There are five sons, all about equally worthless, and the usual collection of female doormats plus Maggie Steed playing a weirdo who briefly hooks taxi driver Larry Lamb. The more interesting characters - mostly villains and bent cops - come and go (and one often wishes they'd hung around longer). So, it's basically a soap with odd flashes of violence.Trevor Preston is highly regarded - but here he fancied himself as a kind of social commentator (of the most obvious kind, left-wing), and writer of dodgy lyrics (bit of a mix of The Who, Madness, Squeeze and The Kinks going on).We watched it till the end and was glad when it was over.