I never saw Goggle Eyes when it was first broadcast. Indeed, it was only by chance that I came across it on Youtube a couple of years ago. But those who remember it still rave about it even now and no wonder. Quite frankly it is one of the best children's drama series ever made, yet it has never been repeated since it's broadcast in 1993. It doesn't even get a mention in the book "The Hill and Beyond: Children's Television Drama - An Encyclopedia!"
Adapted from the 1989 novel by Anne Fine, it begins with pupil Helly Pearson (Alexandra Milman) running distraught from the classroom and her teacher asking Kitty Killin (Honeysuckle Weeks) to go after her. Discovering that Helly is upset about her mother's relationship with a new man, Kitty relays her own experiences of when her divorced mother Rosie (Lesley Manville) started dating a older man called Gerald (Alun Armstrong) - a man Kitty dubs Goggle Eyes, due to his habit of oogling her mother. Kitty takes a immediate dislike to Gerald and decides upon a campaign to get rid of him by any means, fair or (usually) foul. After imagining various ways to dispose of Gerald (toxic waste, dynamite, machine gunned via the TV, and stuffed on a bonfire just a few from Kitty's imagination) she sets more realistic plans into action, even at one point bribing her young sister Jude (Victoria Shalet) in her campaign, though Jude is happily accepting of Gerald.
Like the novel, the story is told mainly via flashback, which is remarkable in itself for a children's drama. Mother Rosie is an environmentalist and animal activist who has raised her daughters in much the same way, so when she picks up with conservative, fussy, middle aged Gerald her daughter Kitty cannot believe it. She takes against him due to his politics, his age, and his pinickety behaviour, such as his habit of turning off the lights to preserve energy - the irony being that they share much of the same environmental concerns without realizing it. But Kitty has already set against him before they meet, due to the fact that her regular habits with her mother are disrupted, such as their regular meeting at a restaurant to discuss their campaign against animal testing - another subject that she clashes with Gerald about.
But what I love about this series is that all four characters have their points and their flaws, and the clash of beliefs make this series really stand out. Honeysuckle Weeks is astonishing in her debut role as Kitty, especially as her character is not an easy one to like at times. She is often selfish, stubborn and intolerant of other people's views, but as the drama progresses we see that is also reflective of her mother Rosie. But although Gerald is far more measured and articulate in his views he also has his flaws, such as stating out to Kitty the scientific advances in animal experiments without considering alternatives to this. And there are rare moments when you can understand Kitty's irritation of Gerald, such as deciding what programmes they can watch before he has even moved himself in yet. Even sweet Jude has her faults, such as avoiding doing any household chores because she is the youngest.
But it is mother Rosie's character that is the catalysis for the turn of events in the story. Like Kitty she is stubborn with a set form of principles and beliefs and a intolerance to anyone or anything that challenges it. When Gerald accompanies the family on a environmental protest at some marshland for a proposed building of a leisure centre, he is shocked when she tells Jude off for "whining" after a few hours blockading the area. When he tells Rosie she is only little and probably cold she lashes out that she should tolerate it for the good of the cause, leading him to remark on her bossiness and inconsideration for other people. Like many things in this drama, there is a measured argument on the development on the marshland site, with Rosie despairing of a part of greenland countryside being concreted over, while Gerald argues that it is a deprived area that could benefit from the lesiure centre, as well as the jobs it would provide to locals in the area (this was 1992/93 recession era, remember). But Rosie's inconsideration for others is apparent when she damages one of the building notices after being riled by one of the workmen, leading to her being arrested and carted off by the police. While she glorifies in being arrested, she never gives one thought to what will happen to her daughters.
It is here that Gerald comes to the fore, taking them home and looking after them, cooking for them and making sure everything is as normal as possible while Rosie is in custody. Kitty begins to see Gerald in a new light, and these scenes are touching as she finally begins to thaw towards him. However, the twist in this tale is that it isn't Kitty that threatens this new happy arrangement but Rosie, who arrives home on bail at night and is stunned that Gerald has sent the kids to bed, and even more stunned by his admonishment of her irresponsible behaviour as a parent. The resulting argument sees Gerald depart, but while Kitty has finally got her wish, she now desperately wants him to stay. There is some irony in this, but can anything be done to put things right?
Weeks' performance as mentioned is superb in her debut. The fact that Weeks was in the middle of her own parents' divorce when filming this must of been particularly conflicting for her, but is so naturalistic in what is a lead role. But she is matched by her co stars, with Alun Armstrong giving a intelligent and likeable performance as the patient, articulate, 'boring' Gerald, while Lesley Manville, despite a somewhat unsympathetic character at times, is never less than thoroughly convincing as the girls mother Rosie. But the biggest revelation is Victoria Shalet, who gives an astonishingly performance as young Jude, who is happy to accept Gerald into her family as all she wants is some stability in her life. Apparently director Carol Wiseman was so impressed by her that she kept her in mind for her next project, which turned out to be The Queen's Nose. And she certainly impresses in this, sometimes just by her facial reactions (the look she gives Honeysuckle Weeks in episode 3 when asked to do the washing up is priceless). Alexandra Milman (who seemed to be in everything in the 1990's) also shines in the smaller (but important) role of Helly, whose own situation is the trigger for the story.
It has to be said that despite this being a children's series, there are some remarkably risque and fruity dialogue in this that somehow avoided the censor. When Jude asks Gerald if she can do the washing up tomorrow, he replies "Only sluts and drunks leave things until tomorrow," while Weeks accuses her mother of looking like a hooker when she dresses up for Gerald the first time he arrives, leading to Jude to ask "What's a hooker?" Not to mention the comments by the workmen on the lie down protest at the development site, with one quipping "That's how I like to see my women - flat on their back." How did that get past censors? There's also a somewhat saucy rhyme that Gerald relays to Jude to use as a school project for her teacher, while in one scene early in episode 4 when Kitty and Helly try to persuade a group of schoolgirls to vacate their regular meeting place to continue their story, they are told in no uncertain terms to "piss off!" However, nothing can detract from what is a superb children's drama - not even the twittering biology teacher in ep 3 that is the one false note in this series. The characters feel real, the dialogue is natural and the story is compelling from beginning to end. It is astonishing that it has never been repeated since it's broadcast, but thankfully it is available to see on Youtube. If you want to see how good children's drama used to be, you'll find few better ones to start with than Goggle Eyes.
