System, The

1 9 6 8 (UK)
6 x 60 minute episodes

Premiering on Tuesday 30 July 1968, this anthology series of hour-long plays from Granada Television – a follow-up to the City ’68 anthology series – explored the fact that we are ruled in our daily lives by “the system”, an intangible but rigid code of social conduct – The code which says that it is better to be financially embarrassed than to fail to keep up with the Joneses; that you must save for your old age even though you may not live that long; and that the strong shall survive and the weak shall go to the wall.

The opening play, ‘The Flea Pit’ (written by Anthony Skene), tells the story of students in revolt against military power. They waylay and kidnap Major General “Bull” Atherton (Anthony Bate), a visiting VIP, and hold a mock trial in which they ask him to plead “guilty” or “not guilty” to electing to become a soldier.

‘Penny Wise’ (written by Julia Jones) refers to Nathaniel Prescott (Billy Russell), an old man of 80 who lives alone in the north of England. He is visited every Sunday by his loving daughter, Ruth (Pauline Yates) and her family. To keep up a good fire for the afternoon and contribute his share to the meal she brings, Nathaniel stints on coal during the week.

Penny (Katherine Baker) – a new recruit to the Meals-on-Wheels service – decides to take matters in hand but in doing so, jeopardises Nathaniel’s pride and dignity.

in ‘Keep Out Of Sight’ (by Hugh Forbes), Labour Councillor Susan Walton (Elizabeth Weaver) opines that private school education “gives an unfair advantage, is greedy in teachers and creates social arrogance”. But Susan’s own son, David (Paul Guess), is a pupil at a private school, even though she is fighting tooth and nail to destroy them.

Under pressure to transfer him, Susan insists on her right to put her family’s needs first, even though she is mocked for her refusal to go all the way with her principles by Tory Councillor Sir Alan Dix-Perkin (Richard Hurndall).

An emergency at David’s school turns up some irregularities in its running by the headmaster, Dermat (Peter Copley), and produces the sort of ammunition needed by the abolitionists. It also brings Rackham (Laurence Hardy) – an unwelcome visitor from the Ministry of Education.

Harry H Corbett, Wilfred Pickles, Doris Hare and Clare Kelly star in ‘The House That Jigger Built’, a story by John Finch (who also produced the series) revolving around upwardly-mobile get-rich-quick builder Jigger Barrett (Corbett) who believes money can buy anything and anyone.

As a sharp operator, Jigger believes that dodgy property deals and shoddy workmanship can be covered by a bribe. His father (Pickles) is a miner capable of shrewd judgements of his fellow men and disapproves of his son’s entrepreneurialism. Richard Butler appears as a local clerk of works who provides a match for Jigger’s wiles.

Another John Finch play, ‘Victims’ – a story relating 15 years of incompatibility in marriage – stars Anthony Bate as Stephen – anxious to justify himself but unable to disguise his weakness of character – and Libby Glenn as Katherine – driven to the last resort by her inability to take further self-deception from her husband. The story – unrelieved by any lighter moments – ends with her leaving him to find consolation elsewhere.

‘Them Down There’ (again written by Finch and directed by Mike Newell) was filmed entirely on location at a remote farmhouse in the middle of the Yorkshire Moors and was the first all-film drama to be transmitted by Granada.

Cuff (Morris Perry) – who is confined to his room, having been crippled by an overturned tractor many years before – and his wife Sheila (Patrica Haines) live in their isolated farmhouse with Baxter (Michael Turner), who works on the farm and is secretly having a relationship with Sheila.

Into the ménage comes a carpenter and his mate (Martin Shaw and John Ronane), hired by Sheila to do some work, with tragic consequences – ending with Cuff shooting Baxter before turning the gun on himself.

“Them down there” was the expression used by Sheila Cuff to refer to the villagers further down the valley, who she viewed with some disdain.

John Finch died on 13 February 2022, the day after his 97th birthday.