Marks (1982)

1982 | UK | Alan Bennett | ★★★

Produced for the BBC2 Playhouse strand and shown during the Objects of Affection season, Alan Bennett's bold and unusual Marks is a visually interesting and well-acted though only mildly engaging television drama that just about gets by on ambition and moxie.

---

"Les is an aimless young man, unemployed and still living with his mother. He decides to give her a present – her name tattooed on his arm…" BBC


See also:
BBC2 Playhouse (1973–83)
Objects of Affection (1982)

Say Something Happened (1982)

1982 | UK | Alan Bennett | ★★★★★

Alan Bennett's gently funny, quietly affecting Say Something Happened is a small, beautifully crafted BBC play, featuring fine photography, wonderful scripting, and a trio of adroitly observed performances (Thora Hird, Hugh Lloyd, Julie Walters).

---

"Mr and Mrs Rhodes have a caller - a social worker pestering them about hypothermia. Unfortunately June isn't a very good social worker." BBC


See also:
BBC2 Playhouse (1973–83)
Objects of Affection (1982)

Stotty's 1980s Favourites

Rolling Home (1982)

1982 | UK | Alan Bennett | ★★★★

Shown during the Objects of Affection season, Alan Bennett's melancholically witty Rolling Home is a beautifully written, sensitively acted BBC2 Playhouse drama, packed with mordant social commentary, thoughtful characterisation, and potent symbolism.

---

"Dad has ended up in a corporation home - nice food, good grounds, but Dad simply gazes at the outside wall. Donald, the nurse, knows what's on the other side but he's not telling." BBC


See also:
BBC2 Playhouse (1973–83)
Objects of Affection (1982)

Kevin Turvey: The Man Behind the Green Door (1982)

1982 | UK | Rik Mayall & Colin Gilbert | ★★★★

Rik Mayall & Colin Gilbert's plotless, episodic Kevin Turvey is an unaccountably hilarious faux documentary, featuring wonderfully stupid characters, the unlikeliest of gags, and a star-making central performance from Mayall, himself.

---

"A week in the life of Rik Mayall's fearless and clueless investigative reporter, Kevin Turvey, as he breaks open the non-events of Redditch." BBC

Cheers (1982-93)

1982-93 | USA | James Burrows, Glen Charles, & Les Charles | ★★★★★

Set in a lively Boston bar owned by a former sportsman, James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles's rightly venerated Cheers is a consistently warm and witty sitcom, packed with memorable episodes, cracking dialogue, and decidedly loveable characters.

---

"Laid-back Sam Malone, a former relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, owns and runs Cheers, a cozy bar in Boston. He hires smart, uptight -- and jilted -- Diane Chambers as a server, out of sympathy, but their attraction causes constant bickering. Wacky characters fill the bar: sarcastic waitress Carla, beer-loving accountant Norm, know-it-all postman Cliff. When Diane leaves Boston much later, Sam sells the bar, buys a boat and sails the world, but his boat sinks, so he returns. New, ambitious manager Rebecca Howe hires him back, but they love to hate each other too." IMDb

See also:

Stotty's 1980s Favourites