Prospects (1986)

Genre

drama, comedy

Country

United Kingdom

Length

1 season, 12 episodes

Rating

7.0 of 10 from 4 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Two working-class friends in 1980s London try to get by through odd jobs and schemes. Their lives are touched by unemployment, poverty, and the social changes around them.

grittywryearthyunpolishedobservationalbleakly comicdatedsocially conscious

What happens

Prospects is a British television comedy-drama series written by Alan Janes and originally released on Channel 4 in 1986. The show was created by Euston Films, who were known for producing gritty dramas such as The Sweeney and Minder. Prospects followed the comic exploits of two East End 'geezer' characters, Jimmy 'Pincy' Pince and Billy 'Bill' Pearson, played by Gary Olsen and Brian Bovell respectively, Prospects showcases the pair's trials and tribulations of making a living in London's Isle of Dogs. Comprising 12 episodes, Prospects was delivered with a comic slant and dealt with many of the major issues affecting British society at the height of the "Thatcherite" '80s including unemployment, crime, poverty, regeneration, social change, and racism. The theme tune was written and composed by Ray Dorset. Although the vocals were meant to be sung by Roger Daltrey, the producers liked Dorset's demo enough that they asked him to do the vocals. The show featured actors such as Ken Jones (Porridge) and Billy Hartman (Emmerdale). Prospects gained a cult following and, rating-wise, it performed well above expectations for Channel 4. In 1986, Channel 4 received a large subsidy from the rival commercial network ITV in exchange for the right to sell airtime; this gave ITV significant input into the management of the station. The success of Prospects and the fact that it was produced by a subsidiary of the ITV network's largest station Thames Television meant it was moved to a 9 pm prime-time repeat slot on ITV in the Spring/Summer of 1987. This fueled rumours that the network wanted to develop Prospects into a long-running comedy-drama series, but ITV declined the opportunity to develop it beyond the original first 12-episode series. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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