Screenplay

- Season 1

(1986)

The weekly brass band rehearsal is an enjoyable, light-hearted occasion. Then Mathew, the conductor, introduces James, a newcomer to the village, who is an enthusiastic bandsman from the north, where they do these things properly.

Neglected by her family, kept apart from her grandchildren, desperately short of money, Bea begins to gamble - at first for small stakes, but ultimately for the highest stake of all: revenge for the past.

'Bricks have a future, Mr Clark - you can count on that. They're out there waiting to be taken!' 'There is one small problem.' 'What's that?' 'Well - they're still attached to buildings, most of them, aren't they?' Steve thinks there is a fortune in reclaimed bricks. But how will his ambition affect his girlfriend, Maureen, and his mates, Brad, Dez and Snapper?

Graeme has musical talent and is struggling to be allowed to express it. Lois is being pushed by her mother into solo parts in the girls' choir. Together they have to perform at a competitive concert while parents and supporters keep score.

'I don't think at first I thought at all. I had a nice house, lovely kids. I didn't think about blacks at all. I should've done, but I didn't. They were just there.'

Five blacks in South Africa end up in jail - for crimes which range from shooting a security policeman to sleeping with a white boss's wife. What they all share is the conviction that the 'Day of Reckoning' is at hand.

Matters are bad enough when Mr Gentle tries to commit suicide. They are even worse when the attempt fails. Worst of all is being confined to a hospital bed when a bunch of juvenile delinquents are sent to visit you.

Mozart's death in 1791 is surrounded by mystery. What are the secrets of his burial in an unmarked grave? Was he poisoned or did he die of natural causes? Now, almost 200 years later, an inquest is convened to examine the evidence both original and new. A team of real barristers confronts key witnesses from the period, in this unscripted spontaneous event. You and the invited studio jury will decide the outcome.

In an unscripted inquest, three practicing barristers interrogate actors portraying relevant figures of the 16th century in order to determine what really happened to the playwright and poet, Christopher Marlowe.

'Is this the judo place?' 'Dojo, yeh.' 'Wants a chuffin' coat of paint, if you ask me.' 'What is it you want?' 'Self-defence thingy.' That's all judo is to Louise and hundreds like her. It doesn't take long to change her mind. And then there's the small matter of a black belt..

Black comedy. Julie (Maureen Lipman), a cab driver, collects a fare from the local airport one evening. Unfortunately he dies of a suspected heart attack on his way home in her taxi and Julie has to decide how best to handle the situation.......

Spend some time in the company of the guests at 'Wentworth' - all taking the waters except for the Colonel and Miss Howard, who has some leisure for the beginnings of a late romance. Gossip, bicycle rides, rounds of golf, bridge in the evenings and preparations for the charity concert all make time pass most pleasantly - don't they?

Miss Howard's exhibition of water-colours at the Green Salon falters but then takes off. The season at 'Wentworth' is now drawing to a close, peoples' plans for the winter unfold. Florence, for the first time in her life, refuses to go off with her selfish old father. Miss Howard has some momentous news, and the Colonel must make a very brisk about-turn.