TV series of our times
GIVE me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man... Inspired by this Jesuit motto and a growing awareness of Britain’s rigid class system, the landmark UP documentary series launched on ITV in 1964.
A new DVD/Blu-ray compilation box set, 7-63 Up (1964-2019), is released today.
Over 56 years in the making, the series has become an historical snapshot of British society through the decades and a unique perspective from which to reflect on our own lives.
The original Seven Up, broadcast in 1964, brought 14 children from widely different social backgrounds together to share their hopes and ambitions, as well as their fears, for the future and set out to discover how far children’s lives were pre-determined by their backgrounds.
In the original Seven Up series, the narrator declared: “We brought these children together because we wanted a glimpse of England in the year 2000. The union leader and the business executive of the year 2000 are now seven years old.”
Television audiences in the North East and around the country have seen Andrew, Charles, John, Suzy, Jackie, Lynn, Sue, Tony, Paul, Symon, Nick, Peter, Neil and Bruce (not all of whom have returned for every series) discuss race, religion, class, gender, education, relationships, health, freedom, discipline, workers rights, money, politics, prejudice and more – they delve into every aspect that makes up their lives.
Picking up with them every seven years provides not only a welcome update on the group, but a truly insightful look at how and why their opinions and outlooks have altered and how their interactions with each other have changed and matured over time.
The latest instalment, 63 Up, was screened earlier this year, but interestingly director Michael Apsted said: “It was only ever supposed to be one film.”
Apsted has returned every seven years since 1964 to chart the group’s progress, documenting the participants as they have meandered through their teenage years, grown into adults and most recently reached retirement age, while capturing them dealing with everything life has thrown at them in between – with life-changing decisions, shocking announcements and joy and tears in equal measure.
He says: “The Up films had a modest beginning. The first was just an episode in the groundbreaking, in-your-face World in Action series. It had a sly, ingenuous surface, the charming and amusing thoughts of a group of sevenyear-olds ruminating on sex, money, school, race, love, mum and dad, the future and each other.
“The velvet glove of the early films hid a fierce indictment of the British class system but as the series got older it changed. It became less about a system and more about the drama of everyday life – marriage, children, holding down jobs, success, failure, love and loss; things we all relate to. Those in it have become part of the culture, a piece of all our lives.
“Some enjoy being in the film and claim it as a thing to treasure. Others take part under sufferance, persuaded that the films are unique and we should finish what we started. I thank them all for their generosity and courage in making these films possible. For me, the ‘Ups’ are a priceless gift.”
■■A Blu-ray and DVD box set, 7-63 Up (1964-2019), is released today by Network Distributing. RRP £24.99.