In 1991, Patrick Malahide starred in “Children of the North“, one of those series about which maddeningly little information is available. However, I did manage to stumble across a publicity still:
Patrick Malahide as Col. Mailer (left) and Michael Gough as Arthur Apple in “Children of the North”
(Source: www.anp-archief.nl/page/216733/nl)
A little more digging revealed that Mr. Malahide’s character, Colonel Mailer, is an MI5 agent whose chauffeur is killed during an IRA assassination attempt on Mailer himself. According to a Sydney Morning Herald review, Mailer is “nearing retirement from a shattering life in military intelligence”, while Arthur Apple (Michael Gough) “runs a bookie’s shop and launders money for the IRA”.
I also discovered that the four-episode miniseries was based on a book by the same name by M.S. Power, consisting of three volumes: The Killing of Yesterday’s Children, Lonely the Man Without Heroes, and A Darkness in the Eye. The story deals with characters caught up in the conflict in Northern Ireland among the IRA, RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary), and the British Army – and, it seems, MI5 as well – during “The Troubles“. People who’ve seen the series describe it as a complex political drama with many interconnected plots; some go on to speculate that its hard-hitting, violent storylines might be why the BBC has never re-broadcast it, nor made it available on DVD.
I don’t know why the BBC never re-released the series, but just based on that photo, I wish they would. It looks as if a very intense conversation is taking place between Mailer and Apple; I’d like to find out what that conversation is about and how the two are involved with each other. I’m especially interested in Mr. Malahide’s performance, since it looks like it was a somewhat different role for him. What sort of man is Col. Mailer? Why did the IRA try to kill him (besides the obvious)? How does he affect the story as a whole? And did he manage to emerge from the conflict alive? I would love to see this series remastered on DVD so we could find out.
This was a brilliant series. Very intense, but no more than many things the BBC has done and repeated, released on VHS/DVD.
I’d love to see it again.
I would love to see it for a first time, so I’m envious. 🙂 But a lot of Mr. Malahide’s older work is sometimes hard to find. I do wish the BBC would see fit to put it on DVD.
I remember it favourably too. I’m reminded of it every time I see Adrian Dunbar in “Line of Duty”.
I can only assume that it has sunk without a trace for political reasons.
According to the Lost U.K. TV Shows database (https://www.tvbrain.info/) it’s still out there somewhere and complete. I do wish it would be released on DVD.
You will be happy to know that all four episodes of this show were uploaded to Youtube earlier this year by somebody who recorded the original broadcast on VHS. Just search for “Children of the North.”
Thanks! Admin and I noticed that the episodes had been uploaded and we’re getting ready to post recaps. We are indeed very glad that someone uploaded them.