Quarter 4 Reviews - 006 Contemporary Drama - Old

006 Contemporary Drama – Old 

I’m not used to hearing Anton Lesser in contemporary dramas, and he excelled as the put-upon Adam in Melissa Murray’s Pass the Parcel.  Adam wants to join a genealogy course, but at the last minute, he decides not to attend.  It’ too late, as he’s already been introduced to the damaged, spiky Alison (Carolyn Pickles) and the annoying, intrusive ex-copper Mark (Gerard McDermott at his best).  In spite of himself, Adam is interested in Alison, and the feeling is mutual, despite the fact that his ancestor may have committed a crime that caused her ancestor to be convicted of murder.  Alison is having trouble reconciling with the past, and Adam is having trouble getting over his emotional ex-wife Frances (Nathasha Pyne).  Mark is bored and lonely and left the police force after anti-corruption investigations were making him distinctly uncomfortable.  It’s hard to believe, but a series of events causes Adam to reconcile with Frances, and he and Alison start dating.  They also get over their initial frustration with Mark, who seems to have solved the case of the ancestors.  I knew from previous experience that Melissa Murray wrote good scripts, and this was well-written and well-acted.  It was directed by Cherry Cookson in 2005.

Also by Melissa Murray was the earlier, and more painful, The Inheritance.  I found it so painful to listen to, in fact, that I was honestly surprised when it managed to come up with a happy ending.  Simone (Kate Buffery) has been estranged from her family for many years after she took part in a Channel 4 documentary where she came out as gay.  Her parents disowned her, and she was only told about their death in car crash in Spain by her sister-in-law Imelda (the chameleon-like Carolyn Pickles).  At the funeral, her brother Peter (Roger Allam) called her unspeakable names and punched her partner Claire (Stella Gonet) in the face. What a difference twenty years has made to society, that fortunately this kind of bald-faced prejudice is (mostly?) absent.  Simone’s leukemia has not responded to chemo, so she needs a bone marrow transplant.  However, she doesn’t want to tell Peter.  When Claire finally forces her to go ask him, in the way that most family communication goes, Peter and Simone can’t speak plainly to each other.  It looks like Simone is going to die, having sold the bookshop she used to own, and Derek (Charles Simpson) used to manage.  However, might Imelda come to the rescue?  This drama featured superb performances in really challenging roles. It also starred Priyanga Alan, David Allister, Amelia Taylor, and Ben Crowe.  It was also directed by Cherry Cookson in 1999.