Thanks to Netflix I have been able to watch again a TV series (or, more like a series of related plays written for TV) that I loved in the late 1970s. It's called The Glittering Prizes and I don't think many people remember it.The focus is on a group of friends who meet at university in Cambridge in the 1950s. We then follow them for 20 years, into the 1970s. I am sure I liked the series when I was young because it gave me an idea of what growing up might be like. I also loved the romance of British university life.
What struck me when I watched it again was that I still like it. The actors are good, and for the most part the stories are interesting. I also liked the feeling of watching plays rather than TV. It had to do with the lighting and the writing, and how the tension is allowed to build. Very cool, and very unlike American TV of today.
One thing that surprised me was how all of the actors were super skinny, men and women both. Apparently that was the ideal in the 1970s. Skinny, no muscles. People today are much more toned. Gives a very different feel.
The sad part: I remember the main character, played by Tom Conti, as witty and funny. Now I found him slightly annoying. I guess my taste has changed. I also wonder why wikipedia's only photo of him in his older years is this one:
In a robe? Who took that photo? Apparently someone very short who didn't want to do him a favor. Disgruntled grandkid mailed it in?
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