Over how many years was Our Friends in the North filmed?
I just finished watching Our Friends in the North, which originally aired in 1991 and follows a group of working class friends in Newcastle, England over 30 years, with each episode being set in a different year. I was impressed at how well the aging was done, and I'm wondering whether the show had been filmed over a few years, a bit like the Hollywood film Boyhood but over a shorter period.
Is there any information out there on how long the show took the film and on how the aging was done?
Best Answer
Straight from Wikipedia, it wasn't the fastest production ever made, by a long chalk…
filming took place across 40 weeks, from November 1994 until September 1995.
Almost more fascinating than the show itself is the story of how long it took to get it made at all. The original play was first performed in 1982, the TV show was originally discussed in 82 and again in 89, finally agreed in 1992 & still took another two years before they filmed it - by which time the author had written the existing story right into the mid 90s, and also as there was a change of director part-way through filming, had chance to rewrite the first episode to change the pacing.
The show cost half of BBC 2's entire drama budget for that year.
As a personal note: I think it is one of the finest productions the BBC has ever made. Anyone who hasn't seen it ought to search it out. Google tells me several services have it available to stream.
I also think the inclusion of Don't Look Back in Anger in the final credits was a piece of sheer genius - it wasn't known that the song would be a single when it was originally used - it was released just a few weeks before the final episode and was a number one hit concurrently with the broadcast.
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Where was Our Friends in the North filmed?
Created by Jarrow-born screenwriter Peter Flannery, the nine-part series depicted the often difficult life journey of four friends from youthful mid-1960s optimism to middle-aged cynicism 30 years later. The show was largely set in our region and filmed at locations around Tyneside, Northumberland and County Durham.How did Our Friends in the North End?
Geordie walks off and the series ends with him heading off into the distance across the Tyne Bridge after looking down at Tosker playing with his grandchildren on the boat below. As Geordie walks away and the credits fade up, the music of "Don't Look Back in Anger" by Oasis is heard.Our Friends In The North E1 1964
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