After years of waiting, one of the greatest children's series ever to be written has finally been released on DVD. Well, only the first series, but hopefully the rest will follow, because its great to see one of the most brilliantly written, witty and intelligent TV series on our screens again, Press Gang.
Press Gang was one of my favourite series to watch as a child, and I am happy to say it has withstood the test of time. All 12 episodes of Series 1 are excellent, and it manages to cover hard hitting issues such as solvent abuse and teen suicide that other children's series of the time were afraid to touch.
For anyone unfamiliar with Press Gang, I will bring you up to speed on the series and the plot lines of the episodes.
A top journalist, Matt Kerr (Clive Wood) moves to a new town to become the editor of a newspaper. He also sets up a paper called the Junior Gazette, "a paper about youth, by youth." A newspaper to be written by teenagers might seem a little unusual, but in the case of this series it works. This is mainly down to the Junior Gazette having a great editor, Lynda Day (the magnificent Julia Sawalha).
Lynda is bright, intelligent, wise far beyond her years (which is also a general summation of the series too!) and is the perfect choice for editor. She is completely devoted to the Junior Gazette, and wants to get the paper off to a great start with a "grabber" story. But before she can do that, she needs a team.
The staff all come from different walks of life, but are from Norbridge High like Lynda. Some people are forced to join or risk being kicked out of school. Spike Thomson (Dexter Fletcher) fits into this category.
The school troublemaker, Spike "the American" wants nothing to do with the paper, that is until he meets Lynda. He falls for her instantly, much to Lynda's disgust. The chemistry between the two actors is electric, and the sexual tension is so thick you would have to cut through it with a chainsaw.
Helping Lynda to run the paper is Kenny Phillips (Lee Ross) as the assistant editor. Kenny is the mild Yin to Lynda's abrasive Yang. He is the voice of reason, and tries to keep a lid on Lynda's rage in the newsroom, with limited success. Kenny is so mild mannered he could wrest the title from Clark Kent.
Sarah Jackson (Kelda Holmes) is one of the paper's top reporters, but is more concerned with her academic success than the paper at times. This is especially true in Episode 9 "Both Sides of the Paper."
Providing the comedy element to the series is Colin Mathews (Paul Reynolds) who is the financial brain behind the Junior Gazette. His never ending get rich quick schemes always end in disaster and humiliation, particularly in Episode 5 "A Night In."
There are other characters out of the staff but these are the main ones, and there is a real sense of camaraderie between them. Even after just watching the first couple of episodes, you already feel like you've known them for years.
Nick Stringer makes a good character as Mr Sullivan, the Deputy Headmaster, who often finds himself in the position of confronting Lynda over her obligations to the paper taking precedent to her schoolwork.
Written by Steven Moffat, he manages to make the dialogue sharp, the characters involving, and story lines bitingly original. One thing I especially liked about Press Gang is the way it wasn't afraid to take risks. It confronted controversial issues head on, and handled them in a mature manner. This often got the programme into trouble because it was supposed to be a children's series. The truth is, the audience it attracts is much broader, because my parents and grandmother enjoy them immensely.
Some of the episodes are quite touching such as Episode 3 "One Easy Lesson" where Sarah wants to help Mr Knowles (Adrian Edmondson), a teacher who is given a hard time by his students. Another story like this is Episode 6 "Interface" which is great for two reasons. It covers things like the Internet which was still in its infancy in 1989, and because of casting Andy Crowe as part of the news team even though he is a quadriplegic. This was a highly ambitious decision, and a brilliant idea.
Some stories like "How to Make a Killing" are ground breaking because it illustrates the dangers of solvent abuse. This is a great way of showing how much good the Junior Gazette can do. The first series ends with a brilliant climax, where Lynda nearly quits because of her part in a teenager's suicide, even though it wasn't her fault. Spike proves how his character has evolved from a reckless troublemaker to a thoughtful young man when trying to convince Lynda to come back. The closing scene at the end of the episode is touching and gives a satisfying sense of closure to the first series.
Press Gang is so good, and is on a par with teenage series today like Buffy and Smallville. Brilliant innovative ideas such as the characters comments over the end credits are always a joy to listen to, and there are always subtle gags in each episode.
Press Gang is an inspiration to other television series, because it doesn't patronise its viewers like a lot of them do.
Press Gang rules!
Press Gang was one of my favourite series to watch as a child, and I am happy to say it has withstood the test of time. All 12 episodes of Series 1 are excellent, and it manages to cover hard hitting issues such as solvent abuse and teen suicide that other children's series of the time were afraid to touch.
For anyone unfamiliar with Press Gang, I will bring you up to speed on the series and the plot lines of the episodes.
A top journalist, Matt Kerr (Clive Wood) moves to a new town to become the editor of a newspaper. He also sets up a paper called the Junior Gazette, "a paper about youth, by youth." A newspaper to be written by teenagers might seem a little unusual, but in the case of this series it works. This is mainly down to the Junior Gazette having a great editor, Lynda Day (the magnificent Julia Sawalha).
Lynda is bright, intelligent, wise far beyond her years (which is also a general summation of the series too!) and is the perfect choice for editor. She is completely devoted to the Junior Gazette, and wants to get the paper off to a great start with a "grabber" story. But before she can do that, she needs a team.
The staff all come from different walks of life, but are from Norbridge High like Lynda. Some people are forced to join or risk being kicked out of school. Spike Thomson (Dexter Fletcher) fits into this category.
The school troublemaker, Spike "the American" wants nothing to do with the paper, that is until he meets Lynda. He falls for her instantly, much to Lynda's disgust. The chemistry between the two actors is electric, and the sexual tension is so thick you would have to cut through it with a chainsaw.
Helping Lynda to run the paper is Kenny Phillips (Lee Ross) as the assistant editor. Kenny is the mild Yin to Lynda's abrasive Yang. He is the voice of reason, and tries to keep a lid on Lynda's rage in the newsroom, with limited success. Kenny is so mild mannered he could wrest the title from Clark Kent.
Sarah Jackson (Kelda Holmes) is one of the paper's top reporters, but is more concerned with her academic success than the paper at times. This is especially true in Episode 9 "Both Sides of the Paper."
Providing the comedy element to the series is Colin Mathews (Paul Reynolds) who is the financial brain behind the Junior Gazette. His never ending get rich quick schemes always end in disaster and humiliation, particularly in Episode 5 "A Night In."
There are other characters out of the staff but these are the main ones, and there is a real sense of camaraderie between them. Even after just watching the first couple of episodes, you already feel like you've known them for years.
Nick Stringer makes a good character as Mr Sullivan, the Deputy Headmaster, who often finds himself in the position of confronting Lynda over her obligations to the paper taking precedent to her schoolwork.
Written by Steven Moffat, he manages to make the dialogue sharp, the characters involving, and story lines bitingly original. One thing I especially liked about Press Gang is the way it wasn't afraid to take risks. It confronted controversial issues head on, and handled them in a mature manner. This often got the programme into trouble because it was supposed to be a children's series. The truth is, the audience it attracts is much broader, because my parents and grandmother enjoy them immensely.
Some of the episodes are quite touching such as Episode 3 "One Easy Lesson" where Sarah wants to help Mr Knowles (Adrian Edmondson), a teacher who is given a hard time by his students. Another story like this is Episode 6 "Interface" which is great for two reasons. It covers things like the Internet which was still in its infancy in 1989, and because of casting Andy Crowe as part of the news team even though he is a quadriplegic. This was a highly ambitious decision, and a brilliant idea.
Some stories like "How to Make a Killing" are ground breaking because it illustrates the dangers of solvent abuse. This is a great way of showing how much good the Junior Gazette can do. The first series ends with a brilliant climax, where Lynda nearly quits because of her part in a teenager's suicide, even though it wasn't her fault. Spike proves how his character has evolved from a reckless troublemaker to a thoughtful young man when trying to convince Lynda to come back. The closing scene at the end of the episode is touching and gives a satisfying sense of closure to the first series.
Press Gang is so good, and is on a par with teenage series today like Buffy and Smallville. Brilliant innovative ideas such as the characters comments over the end credits are always a joy to listen to, and there are always subtle gags in each episode.
Press Gang is an inspiration to other television series, because it doesn't patronise its viewers like a lot of them do.
Press Gang rules!