First viewed : Uncertain
This comedy drama series was a cross between Boys From The Blackstuff and Auf Wiedersehn Pet. It centred on a group of binmen led by Nev ( Edward Woodward ) and was written by William Ivory, a former binman himself whose inside knowledge of local government was evident. It was filmed around Oldham and Manchester.
The casting was interesting as it featured a number of comedians ( Roy Hudd, June Whitfield, Paul Shane, Alexei Sayle ) in straight parts. It also had Lesley Sharp in a rare unsympathetic role.
I only watched it sporadically but a couple of blokes in the office where I worked were very keen on it. I had two main problems with it. One is that the comic element was both crude - one episode involved fixing a greyhound race by wanking the favourite - and superficial, a layer of fairy dust on a very sour piece of work. The other is that you were supposed to sympathise with these characters against the evil machinations of their management and the "foreign element" i.e. private contractors looking to take over the service and yet they were just as corrupt, doing foreigners and sneaking off to the pub at any opportunity. No thought for their obligations to the council tax payers who ultimately paid them.
There were two seasons in 1994 and 1997. The second followed the mens' fortunes after being made redundant.
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