The following is commentary on Episode No. 34 ("For the Duration") from members of AFAMILYATWAR-LIST. If you wish to add your thoughts to what is being said on this page, become a part of our discussion group by clicking the "Join" button.
Richard Veit
This is John Porter’s story all the way. Even the intriguing subplot, a return visit to Liverpool by the disgraced Gwyn Roberts, ties directly into John’s recovery from psychological trauma.
In the span of a fast-moving fifty minutes, we witness the healing process that rescues John from the abyss of mental darkness. I am impressed by how well writer David Weir is able to import his narrative into the existing Ashton saga, seamlessly and without a false step. Indeed, I sense John Finch’s guiding hand here, for the characterisations ring true throughout, betraying no shift in gears as the series creator’s pen is passed along to another. The quality control of “A Family at War” truly is remarkable.
Actor Ian Thompson shines in his difficult role, imbuing it with virtually every conceivable emotion and yet never resorting to the shallow tricks of melodramatic posturing. His pivotal scenes with Lesley Nunnerley (Margaret) are quite compelling, and the final frames are poignant enough to bring tears to the eye.
A turning point in John’s struggle for equanimity is when he stands up to the tyrannical Mr. Temple, exposing him for the paper tiger that he really is. Director Baz Taylor’s depiction of a claustrophobic bureaucracy suggests Terry Gilliam’s Brazil, while of course stopping far short of that film’s surreal satire.
Some random comments about “For the Duration”...
The effective use of flashbacks, nicely photographed in black-and-white, is unquestionably one of this episode’s strengths. Adding a further dramatic touch to these Antwerp sequences are the sound effects (dripping water, ticking clock), not to mention that harsh percussion track that fascinates with its grotesquerie.
I very much enjoy watching actor Robert Hartley in his small but important role of Temple. This screen character comes to life as a real person -- domineering, to be sure, but with a three-dimensional element of human weakness that make us feel a certain amount of pity for him.
Fine writing is much in evidence when Margaret fears that her husband has come face to face with conscientious objector Michael Armstrong in the pub, when actually John’s new acquaintance is Gwyn Roberts. I like the way Freda begins to tell Gwyn that she once knew a CO, but then (with a glance toward John) thinks better of elaborating.
What a wonderful actor Ioan Meredith is. Most would agree that Gwyn is not a very likeable character, but Meredith brings just enough humanity to the screen to make us sympathise with Philip’s college friend, whom Edwin called the “Welsh gas bag.” We glimpse the sensitive side of Gwyn’s persona upon his belated realisation that the promiscuous “widow” is none other than the young woman to whom he is speaking, Margaret Porter.
There are two cast members named Keogh, and I wonder if they are perhaps husband and wife in real life. John Keogh plays the office role of Haydon (who impersonates Temple to hilarious effect), and Christine Keogh appears in the sensuous but non-speaking part of the girl in the cellar.
John Finch
Since I created the characters and the story it was inevitable that I would be asked to edit the series, though I did so reluctantly. And in fact the editing on "A Family at War" was a pretty full-time job if we were to retain the unity and quality of the series, no matter how illustrious the other writers employed. There were times when it could lead to a re-write of more than half the script (in one or two cases all the script).
I hated messing about with other writer’s work, however necessary. In fact I disliked it so much that at the end of the series I told Sir Denis Forman, then Managing Director at Granada, that I could never contemplate being an editor ever again. Consequently I was faced with having to write all the scripts for my next series, "Sam," myself, from the start. It extended to 39 hours over 2-3 years. I believe this is still a record. It is likely to remain so, since no one is likely to be so stupid as to attempt it.
