[Afamilyatwar-list] Interview in Norway

[Veit, Richard]

Thank you very much indeed, Knut, for the Norwegian TV interview. It was exciting to see and hear members of the cast just being themselves -- and at the same age as when they were appearing in the series.

It strikes me that they must have imparted a great deal of their own personalities into the production of A Family at War because they acted very similarly in this studio before a live audience. It was almost like Edwin, Freda, Margaret, and David were there, casually chatting with Erik Bye!

Some random thoughts . . .

Colin Douglas seemed soft-spoken but wonderfully kind and patriarchal (that is, like Edwin Ashton himself).

Barbara Flynn was sweet and playful, with a beautiful smile. I loved seeing her interact with little Paul Brett, Lesley Nunnerley's restless son.

Lesley Nunnerley was rather serious for the most part, like Margaret, but still found ample time to chuckle at the antics of her son. I enjoyed hearing her sing, too.

Colin Campbell was exactly as I expected to see him, the most charismatic of the group and flashing a wealth of the fabled David Ashton charm.

As for the youngest of the cast, Paul Brett's unpredictability is always fun to watch, just like in his eight appearances on AFAW. (One of the funniest moments in the entire series comes in "The Lost Ones" when John Porter and John George are sitting at a table, working on a model airplane. John says, “All right. Last stretch in the masterpiece,” and the boy responds, “What masterpiece?” This well-intentioned remark cracks me up, and it seems to have the same effect on actor Ian Thompson. Watch him closely, just before the cut to Margaret. Then, only a moment later, the boy is yawning on camera and playing with the telephone. Ian Thompson is up to the challenge, remaining fully in character as he ad-libs, “Please, Johnny. We’ve got a crisis.”)

And finally, very nice that John Finch was given his due credit. I was hoping that this brilliant writer would not be neglected (which happens all too often in the cinema and television). After all, were it not for John Finch, none of the AFAW characters would ever have existed.

Richard Veit





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