Johnny Jarvis: The Complete Series

This acclaimed six-part drama superbly captures the mood of late seventies/early eighties Britain, charting the fortunes of two school-leavers trying to find their place in the adult world. Powerfully written by Emmy and BAFTA-winning Nigel Williams, Johnny Jarvis confronts the major issues of the day unemployment, racial tension, drugs and family breakdown and features memorably gritty performances from Mark Farmer and Ian Sears as the two friends who find their youthful optimism challenged by the harshness of real life. Hackney, 1977. Johnny Jarvis and Alan Lipton become unlikely friends in their final year at school: Jarvis is the class clown, a popular lad with a talent for welding, while Lipton is a bookish dreamer who spends his time fabricating impressive exploits, pondering the future and fantasising about the father he's never met. As they leave school and anxiously embark on an uncertain future, can their friendship survive?