After the end of the Second World War, to the victor go the prize, but what really was the cost of the war? For two northern families, the Warringtons and the Haywards, peace is just the start of another struggle for survival...

The Spoils of War: Series One (1980) was a seven part television series with a number of different directors and written by John Finch (A Family at War) and comes as a two DVD package.

For many people the cessation of hostilities held out a hope for a better world, the country would reject Winston Churchill and elect a Labour government under Clement Attlee, an election which would prove to be divisive in many communities. Great changes were brought about, the creation of the welfare state, the birth of the National Health System, the beginnings of the multi ethnic society and nationalisation of public utilities and some major industries. This led to an uneasy relationship with the British working classes and the aristocracy.

The Spoils of War examines this social conflict by using the Warringtons, owners of a coal mine, which like many would be enforcedly nationalised and the Haywards, staunch Labour supports. To further humanise the story the disruption, caused by the war, on the love lives of the younger members of the families is also examined.

The series is unremittingly grim, and justifiably so, as social tensions did not make this a happy period of our history. The cast do a uniformly great job at portraying their characters, which gives the show a gritty edge which some might find off putting. There are lots of political discussions and dissection of the meaning and effects of the war.

The 4:3 picture is a little soft and grainy, though for the most part there is little in the way of either print damage or artefacts. The whole seven episodes run to 360 mins.

Disc one has a number of extras in the form of text based filmographies, a biography of John Finch and a picture gallery.

If you like your social drama bleak and gritty then this show is for you.

6

Charles Packer