The play activities of seven children living in the countryside during the summer of 1943 end in tragedy; the children were played by adults in childrens clothing. The title is taken from A.E. Housman's 1896 poem: "Into my heart an air that kills; From yon far country blows; What are those blue remembered hills..." It's 1943 on a summer's afternoon and 7 children play in the fields & woods of old England. The children's roles are all played by adults to act as "A magnifying glass to show what it's like to be a child." "When we dream of childhood," said Dennis Potter, "we take our present selves with us. It is not the adult world writ small; childhood is the adult world writ large." Since Potter viewed childhood as "adult society without all the conventions and the polite forms which overlay it," he repeated the device he had introduced 14 years earlier (in "Stand Up, Nigel Barton"); children's roles were cast with adult actors in this naturalistic memory drama of a "golden day" that turns to tragedy. On a sunny, summer afternoon in bucolic England of 1943, seven West Country children (two girls, five boys) play in the Forest of Dean. Their games and spontaneous actions (continuous and in real time) reflect their awareness of WWII, but no adults are present to intrude. As the group moves through the woods and back to the grassy hills, their words and actions illustrate how "childhood is not transparent with innocence." When the two girls push a pram into a barn to play house, the casting concept is heightened, doubling back on itself in a remarkable moment: adults are suddenly seen to be acting as children who are pretending to be adults, and lines from Housman echo across the years: "That is the land of lost content/I see it shining plain/The happy highways where I went/And cannot come again."
| Title | Play for Today - Season 9 Episode 14 : Blue Remembered Hills |
|---|---|
| Alternative Titles | |
| Subtitle Available |
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| First Air Date | 1970-10-15 |
| Last Air Date | 1985-02-05 |
| Number of Episodes | 314 |
| Number of Seasons | 14 |
| Genres | Drama, |
| Networks | BBC One, |
| Casts | |
| Plot Keywords | , |
Episodes List
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Play for Today Season 9 :Episode 1 Nina Nina
1978-10-17Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more...
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Play for Today Season 9 :Episode 2 Victims of Apartheid Victims of Apartheid
1978-10-24Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more...
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Play for Today Season 9 :Episode 3 A Touch of the Tiny Hacketts A Touch of the Tiny Hacketts
1978-10-31Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more...
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Play for Today Season 9 :Episode 4 Dinner at the Sporting Club Dinner at the Sporting Club
1978-11-07Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more...
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Play for Today Season 9 :Episode 5 Donal and Sally Donal and Sally
1978-11-14Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more...
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Play for Today Season 9 :Episode 6 Sorry Sorry
1978-11-21Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more...
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Play for Today Season 9 :Episode 7 Butterflies Don't Count Butterflies Don't Count
1978-11-28Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more...
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Play for Today Season 9 :Episode 8 Soldiers Talking Cleanly Soldiers Talking Cleanly
1978-12-05Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more...
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Play for Today Season 9 :Episode 9 One Bummer Newsday One Bummer Newsday
1978-12-12Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more...
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Play for Today Season 9 :Episode 10 The Out of Town Boys The Out of Town Boys
1979-01-02Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more...
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Play for Today Season 9 :Episode 11 Vampires Vampires
1979-01-09Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more...
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Play for Today Season 9 :Episode 12 The Chief Mourner The Chief Mourner
1979-01-16Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more...
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Play for Today Season 9 :Episode 13 Waterloo Sunset Waterloo Sunset
1979-01-23Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more...
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Play for Today Season 9 :Episode 14 Blue Remembered Hills Blue Remembered Hills
1979-01-30Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more...
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Play for Today Season 9 :Episode 15 Who's Who Who's Who
1979-02-06Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more...
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Play for Today Season 9 :Episode 16 The Last Window Cleaner The Last Window Cleaner
1979-02-13Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more...
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Play for Today Season 9 :Episode 17 Ploughman's Share Ploughman's Share
1979-02-27Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more...
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Play for Today Season 9 :Episode 18 Degree of Uncertainty Degree of Uncertainty
1979-03-06Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more...
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Play for Today Season 9 :Episode 19 Light Light
1979-03-13Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more...
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Play for Today Season 9 :Episode 20 Coming Out Coming Out
1979-04-10Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more...
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Play for Today Season 9 :Episode 21 Don't Be Silly Don't Be Silly
1979-07-24Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more...