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    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Television»Shows by Decade»1980s Television
    1980s Television Drama Shows A UK TV 2 Mins Read

    Aerodrome, The

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    1 9 8 3 (UK)
    1 x 90 minute episode

    In a futuristic alternative England, the fascist leaders build a mysterious aerodrome near a quiet Cotswold village.

    The people in the village are free, imperfect and believe in – even if they don’t always obey – traditional Christian values. At the aerodrome, on the other hand, religion is abolished and harsh man-made rules are enforced by rigid discipline.

    Roy (Peter Firth), a naïve and likeable lad from the village, discovers on his 21st birthday that he was “found in a basket” and that the Rector (Richard Briers) is actually not his real father.

    Shortly thereafter, the Rector is machine-gunned to death at the village fete by Roy’s friend, Air Force man Flight Lieutenant Mark (Dominic Jephcott), who then – bizarrely – becomes the village’s new vicar and ravages Roy’s young lady, publican’s daughter Bess (Natalie Ogle).

    To forge a new sense of identity, Roy joins the dangerous and glamorous Air Force – with its futuristic jets and tempting new values – and rises rapidly through the ranks, working closely with the megalomaniacal Air Commander (Richard Johnson).

    Roy quickly learns to suppress the feelings he grew up with and to regard the villagers as ignorant and incompetent, while he begins to see women as simple prey. But as he witnesses more of the ruthless behaviour, moral corruption and cruelty of the Air Force, his conscience awakens.

    When Mark is murdered by the Air Force, Roy discovers that he and Mark are in fact the illegitimate sons of the Air Commander.

    In the end, he returns to life in the village and marries Bess, the woman he always loved.

    This outrageous black comedy from the BBC was based on Rex Warner’s 1941 novel.

    Roy
    Peter Firth
    Air Commander
    Richard Johnson
    The Rector (Gerald)
    Richard Briers
    Eustasia
    Jill Bennett
    Flt. Lieut. Mark
    Dominic Jephcott
    Bess
    Natalie Ogle
    Mary
    Mary MacLeod
    Florence
    Mary Peach
    Dr Faulkner
    Geoffrey Chater
    The Squire
    John Sharp
    Bess’s Mother
    Sheila Reid
    Fred
    Michael Percival
    Mac
    Phil Rose
    Provo Sgt. Peters
    Derek Martin
    R.W.
    Vass Anderson
    Flt. Lieut. Preston
    Stephen Riddle
    Visiting Vicar
    Norman Scace
    Village Constable
    Phillip Manikum
    Uncle Ralph
    Peter Carlisle
    The Carter
    Joe Ritchie

    Video

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