Perfect Strangers Details

Ab Fab

I really don't know how to express our total enjoyment of this film - the acting, filming, settings - everything was superb. We watched both discs, one after the other when we really ought to have been doing other things, so engrossed were we. A total treat!

[Highly rated reviewer]

Every family has its good stories!

Yet another masterpiece from the pen of Stephen Poliakoff, this production is certainly on a par with 'Shooting the Past' and 'The Lost Prince' and therefore well worth watching.

Not only does the plot have a group of themes that would strike a chord with most people, the stories are intertwined to present a tapestry of the history of a family and its component members. As is usual with Poliakoff, there is the setting the scene to establish the various relationships between the characters, combined with some tempting information and tit-bits, which in some cases only becomes relevant to the audience well into the final episode.

Like a Magician, gradually performing his tricks, the author/ director builds up to the final reveal which establishes the relevance of all the other cameos. It is similar to watching Sherlock Holmes explain one of Moriarty’s schemes to a baffled Inspector Lestrade and a bemused Doctor Watson.

With a cast that included Michael Gambon, Lindsay Duncan, Matthew Macfadyen, Claire Skinner, Toby Stephens and Timothy Spall this three part tale was all set to win its fair share of Baftas (Five out of Nine nominations). What also made this an excellent cast was the quality of the secondary roles which made the whole story so believable. It was particularly heart-warming to see veteran sirens Kathleen Byron, Muriel Pavlow and Sheila Burrell as the elderly sisters, all of these beauties broke hearts in the 50s & 60s and their performances glistened like diamonds in the sunshine.

This was classic BBC Television Drama at its best, which makes paying the Licence worthwhile, unlike some of the reality rubbish, property prattle and culinary chat that passes for entertainment.

Was this worth the cost of a rental? Of course it was! It was even worth the wait for the second disc.