The Problematic Gaze

Click here to watch the episode of Bread discussed in this show on YouTubeThis week we're heading to Liverpool to revisit Bread, Carla Lane's hugely popular BBC sitcom about the Boswell family. First broadcast in 1986, Bread became one of the defining British sitcoms of the decade, following formidable matriarch Nellie Boswell and her Catholic, working-class Liverpool family as they navigated love, money, unemployment and an impressively creative relationship with the DHSS.We're focusing on Series 1, Episode 6, first broadcast on 15 June 1986, and there's an extraordinary amount going on.Joey is dealing with his father's gambling debts—and some men with a suspicious interest in fur coats—while Adrian loses his job, Jack handles stolen goods and Billy discovers that his girlfriend Julie is pregnant. Their discussions about abortion, marriage and finding somewhere to live give us a glimpse of some very real pressures facing young couples in 1980s Britain.Meanwhile, Aveline gets her topless photographs published, Grandad struggles with depression and the Boswells continue their elaborate attempts to stay one step ahead of the benefits system.We look at the sitcom's portrayal of working-class Liverpool, Catholicism, unemployment, benefit fraud and petty crime, and ask whether the Boswells are affectionate comic creations or part of a much less comfortable tradition of stereotypes about people living on benefits.Has Bread aged surprisingly well—or does its politics look very different nearly 40 years later?Then it's off to Culture Corner, and this time we're going properly 1986.We're flicking through an original Smash Hits to discover the pop gossip, celebrity nonsense and surprisingly serious nuclear-war debate occupying British teenagers that year. We revisit the UK Top 10 singles from the week this episode aired and then take a dangerous trip into the 1986 Argos catalogue to see what Britain apparently considered the height of domestic sophistication.Come for the Boswells, stay for the 1980s home furnishings.On with the show, la!GAZER HOMEWORK: Next week we focus on the film 'A Taste Of Honey' from 1961. Click here to watch on YouTube

Welcome Gazers to this weeks Gazette! This week we're dealing with some of the social-media reaction to our Dam Busters episodes. We're also returning to The Dam Busters' extraordinary influence on Star Wars, including just how closely George Lucas's climactic Death Star attack echoes moments from the 1955 film. Once you start spotting the similarities, they're rather difficult to unsee. Click here to watch Star Wars Vs The Dam Busters on YoutubeListener Ruth then introduces us to the world of white poppies, the Peace Pledge Union and the UK Peace Museum, which leads us into the perennial British tradition of the "poppy wars" and the arguments over what different coloured poppies actually represent.Elsewhere, Dave encounters a director whose treatment of runners and PAs leaves rather a lot to be desired, and we somehow end up discussing the military drinking game known as the Dance of the Flaming Arseholes. We promise these two subjects seemed connected at the time.Then comes a genuinely important public-service announcement: if that bowel cancer screening kit drops through your letterbox, do it. We discuss why the NHS test matters, what it involves and why embarrassment is a considerably worse reason for avoiding potentially life-saving screening than you might think.We're also recommending the extraordinary Naudet brothers' 9/11 documentary, filmed alongside New York firefighters as the attacks unfolded. Click here to watch the 9/11 documentary on YouTubePlus: a wonderfully strange story involving the Ghostbusters theme, schoolgirls who apparently didn't receive quite the credit they deserved, British weather performing its traditional overnight transition from drought to deluge, questionable vocal warm-ups and all the usual nonsense from PG Manor.GAZER HOMEWORK: In our nest main episode we look at Bread, a UK sitcom from 1986. Click here to watch our chosen episode on YouTube

This week we're heading back to 1955 for bouncing bombs, stiff upper lips and one of the most famous pieces of music in British cinema as we revisit The Dam Busters.Based on the true story of Operation Chastise, the film follows engineer Barnes Wallis as he develops his extraordinary bouncing bomb and Wing Commander Guy Gibson as he leads 617 Squadron on the daring 1943 raid against Germany's Ruhr dams. But more than 70 years after the film was released, how much of The Dam Busters is history—and how much is British myth-making?We explore why the film became such a national institution, from its famous Dam Busters March and innovative special effects to its portrait of heroism, masculinity, class and that quintessentially British determination to face potentially catastrophic situations while displaying approximately three-and-a-half emotions.We also look beyond the legend to the reality of Operation Chastise: the aircrew who never returned, the civilians killed by the resulting floods, and the continuing historical debate over how strategically successful the raid actually was.And then there's the dog.We discuss the racial slur used as the name of Guy Gibson's black Labrador, how later television broadcasts and releases have attempted to deal with it, and the difficulties it presents when showing a much-loved 1950s film to modern audiences. We also look at the long-discussed Peter Jackson remake and the extraordinary influence The Dam Busters had on later filmmakers—including some very familiar moments in Star Wars.In Culture Corner, we're exploring Britain in 1955, a year in which Winston Churchill resigned, Anthony Eden became Prime Minister, ITV arrived to challenge the BBC, television advertising began, Dixon of Dock Green hit our screens, the first Guinness Book of Records appeared and Birdseye introduced Britain to the fish finger.We also revisit Ruth Ellis becoming the last woman executed in Britain, the Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend controversy, the suspiciously well-timed demise of Grace Archer, Cardiff becoming the capital of Wales, and some of the biggest films of the year.And next week we're making quite a leap: from bouncing bombs and Barnes Wallis to Bread (1986).Now that's what we call range.Next week we deep dive into Bread, a UK TV sitcom from 1986. Click here to watch our chosen episode on YouTube

Hello Gazers! We watched three episodes of Grange Hill discussed in this podcast:Click here to watch the Racism episode from 1983 on YouTube Click here to watch the first Zammo Heroin episode from 1983 on YouTubeClick here to watch the second Zammo Heroin episode from 1983 on YouTube Get your school bags ready because this week we're going back to Grange Hill—the BBC children's drama. Created by Phil Redmond and first broadcast in 1978, Grange Hill broke new ground by putting ordinary comprehensive-school pupils at the centre of children's television. We explore its 30-year history, its changing filming locations, its commitment to working-class and multicultural characters, and the controversy that followed its determination to tackle subjects other children's programmes often avoided.Then we're revisiting three episodes from the show's classic era.First, we head to 1983, where notorious school bully Gripper Stebson targets Sikh pupil Randhir Singh in a disturbing storyline about racism. More than 40 years later, we ask how well it holds up and consider just how unusual it was for children's television to confront racial prejudice so directly.Then it's 1986 and arguably the most famous Grange Hill storyline of them all: Zammo's heroin addiction. We revisit two episodes depicting his increasingly desperate behaviour, the damage his addiction causes to the people around him, and the moments that shocked a generation of young viewers.We also look at what happened when the storyline escaped the television screen. Just Say No became a real-life anti-drugs campaign and Grange Hill cast single, eventually taking its young stars all the way to America and the White House.Along the way we discuss the programme's battles with critics including Mary Whitehouse, the sometimes astonishingly harsh school discipline, classic characters and behind-the-scenes stories from three decades of Grange Hill.And in Culture Corner, we're investigating that peculiar period in pop history when children's choirs kept appearing on enormous hit singles. Who were all these singing children, and why were they apparently everywhere?Nostalgic, funny and occasionally much darker than we remembered, Grange Hill wasn't afraid to tackle racism, drugs, class and social inequality while still being unmistakably children's television.More than 45 years after those famous school gates first opened, we're asking what made Grange Hill so groundbreaking—and whether today's children's television would dare to do the same.

It's been quite a week. We've survived biblical weather, failed to see The Human League and said goodbye to two absolute legends: Tim Curry and Dolly Parton.We begin back at PG Manor with the tale of the concert that never was. Plans to see The Human League, Toyah and Roland Gift were scuppered by a spectacular storm and eventual cancellation, leaving us with no synth-pop whatsoever but at least a reasonably dramatic story to tell.We also catch up on your reactions to our Saturday Night Fever episode. It turns out quite a few of us had remembered John Travolta, the white suit and the Bee Gees while somehow forgetting just how extraordinarily bleak the rest of the film is.Then we remember two much-loved stars we've sadly lost this week.First, Tim Curry, whose extraordinary career gave us Dr Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Pennywise in It and a wonderfully scene-stealing Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island. We celebrate his unique talent, his resilience following his stroke, and why so many of his performances became permanently lodged in popular culture.We also pay tribute to Dolly Parton—singer, songwriter, actress, philanthropist, businesswoman and owner of perhaps the most recognisable hair in showbusiness. Beyond Jolene, 9 to 5 and I Will Always Love You, we look at some of the stories that made us love Dolly quite so much and celebrate the extraordinary generosity that accompanied her extraordinary career.There's plenty of listener mail too, including a recommendation for the gloriously gender-bending Goodbye Charlie, one listener's determination never to watch Crocodile Dundee, and the suggestion that we turn our attention to Priscilla, Queen of the Desert instead.Plus, we're watching Widow's Bay, discovering that apparently crows can hold grudges, discussing The Traitors: Canada, Reacher, Channel 5's Number 1 Fan and some intriguing casting news from Only Murders in the Building.And finally, sharpen your pencils, straighten your tie and try not to get sent to Mr Bronson because we're going back to school. Next time we're taking a nostalgic trip to Grange Hill to discover just how much trouble there really was at that particular comprehensive.

Pull on your flares, practise that pointing pose and dust off that Bee Gees soundtrack because this week we're revisiting Saturday Night Fever—although the film we actually watched is a lot less glittery than popular culture would have us believe.Released in America in 1977 and arriving in UK cinemas in March 1978, Saturday Night Fever gave us John Travolta in the white suit, one of the biggest-selling soundtracks of all time and some of the most iconic dancing ever put on film. But strip away the disco lights and this is a surprisingly bleak story about working-class young people who don't see much of a future ahead of them.We follow Tony Manero through the streets of Brooklyn, where his dead-end job, troubled family life and deeply troubled group of friends contrast dramatically with the glamorous world of the 2001 Odyssey nightclub. On Saturday night, Tony can become somebody—and Travolta's extraordinary dancing shows us exactly why.But then there's everything else.We tackle the film's toxic masculinity, misogyny, casual racism and homophobia, as well as its treatment of women, sexual violence, teen pregnancy and tragic deaths. We also discuss the dance competition and the moment Tony himself begins to recognise that the world he inhabits—and some of his own behaviour within it—isn't quite as straightforward as he thought.In Culture Corner, we're heading to Britain in 1978, when disco was everywhere. We revisit the year's chart hits and youth culture while digging beneath the mainstream disco explosion to explore the Black musical traditions and Black, Latino and queer communities that helped create the culture—roots that Saturday Night Fever's overwhelmingly white version of disco largely leaves out.And yet, despite everything that's difficult about the film, there's plenty to celebrate. Travolta gives a remarkable performance, the dance sequences remain electrifying, the soundtrack became a cultural phenomenon, and beneath Tony's swagger is a young man desperately trying to work out whether life might offer him something more.So forget the fancy-dress version of Saturday Night Fever. It's angry, uncomfortable, occasionally shocking and far darker than its glitterball reputation suggests.

To watch the first series of Prime Suspect discussed in this episode, click here to watch on YouTubeGrab your notebook, light another cigarette and prepare for some extremely grim early-90s police station décor, because this week we're investigating one of the most acclaimed British crime dramas ever made: Prime Suspect.First broadcast on ITV in 1991, Prime Suspect gave Helen Mirren one of her defining roles as DCI Jane Tennison, an ambitious, formidable detective trying to solve a brutal murder while surrounded by male colleagues who seem almost as determined to undermine her as they are to catch the killer.We revisit the first series, where Tennison finally gets her chance to lead a major murder investigation after the original senior detective suddenly dies. Unfortunately, inheriting the case also means inheriting a squad of deeply unimpressed men, led by DS Ottley, who respond to having a female boss with sexism, obstruction and some good old-fashioned workplace sabotage.At the centre of the investigation is George Marlowe, an apparently respectable family man whose private life brings him into contact with sex workers. As the evidence mounts, we explore how the drama plays with the idea of the seemingly harmless "nice guy" while also examining the appalling attitudes faced by the women involved in the case.But Prime Suspect isn't simply a murder mystery. We look at the sexism surrounding Tennison, the misogyny directed towards sex workers, the pressures her career places on her relationship, and the extraordinary forensic detail that helped make the programme feel so different from the cosy television detective dramas that had come before.In Culture Corner, we're travelling back to 1991 to revisit the year's biggest-selling albums and look at the women who had already been solving crimes on British television—from Juliet Bravo and The Gentle Touch to the wonderfully glossy C.A.T.S. Eyes. So just how revolutionary was Jane Tennison?We also explore Prime Suspect's extraordinary legacy, its awards and reputation for realism, and the influence it had on the crime dramas that followed.More than 30 years later, Helen Mirren's Tennison remains complicated, difficult, brilliant and utterly compelling. The hairstyles may have changed, the offices are considerably less smoky, but some of the workplace politics feel rather less historical than we'd like.Join us as we reopen the case and discover why Prime Suspect still deserves its place among the great British television dramas.

Something strange is happening to the water, Ingrid Pitt may have had an even more extraordinary life than we realised, and Lee has travelled all the way to Tooting Common to stare at... some clouds. It can only be another Problematic Gazette.We begin with the important question of the week: why does the tap water suddenly taste sweet? With drought conditions, a hosepipe ban, Victorian cast-iron pipes and two very visible bursts on the road, we investigate what might be going on underground. We also discover that people secretly watering their gardens at night aren't just being naughty—they can apparently make it harder for water companies to detect leaks. Who knew hydrology could be so scandalous?Then we return to The Vampire Lovers and the extraordinary life of its star, Ingrid Pitt. Lee has been digging through contemporary interviews and uncovers Pitt's remarkable accounts of escaping with her mother from Nazi persecution as a child and, years later, fleeing East Germany by swimming across the River Spree—an adventure that eventually led to meeting the American serviceman whose surname she would keep throughout her career.Back in considerably less dramatic circumstances, we report on our eclipse expedition to Tooting Common. Expectations were high. Nature had other ideas. We also cast an eye over this year's Strictly lineup and discover that our excitement levels may need professional resuscitation.There's a more serious moment as we mark World Humanitarian Day, looking back at the 2003 bombing of the Canal Hotel in Baghdad that led to its creation and remembering the aid workers who continue to lose their lives while helping others around the world.Plus: we tease our next main episode, when we're heading into considerably darker territory with Prime Suspect.The Gazette is taking next week off while Dave goes on holiday, so enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts.