[Afamilyatwar-list] Episode 18

[Veit, Richard]

Episode No. 18, "The Forty-Eight Hour Pass"

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Episode No. 18, “The Forty-Eight Hour Pass,” raises the dramatic stakes in several ongoing threads of the Ashton saga. There is the war itself, of course, and how Liverpudlians deal with the nightly air raids. We see the effect of Margaret’s conspicuous condition on various members of the family (particularly Jean, Sefton, Robert, and David). We begin to detect Michael’s questioning of his own opposition to the war. Sheila continues to receive letters from a mysterious informer who claims that David Ashton has made a girl pregnant. And Margaret must make an impossible choice between scandalous co-habitation with the father of her unborn child and forlorn hope for husband John’s return. All of these story lines are interwoven and advanced simultaneously by writer John Finch.

Some random comments about “The Forty-Eight Hour Pass”…

With hindsight, it is sad to see how Jean Ashton involuntarily locks her feelings inside, much to the detriment of her mental health. Even Margaret confesses, “I wish she’d just shout or something.”

Ted Fiddler’s petty dabbling in the black market is revisited, with sugar and a dozen eggs going to someone named Jack and a half-pound of bacon slipped to Edwin (for a small charge).

I find Doris to be an enjoyable, carefree character, at least at this point in the story. That will change in due course, as we know, but until then her presence brings a welcome sense of fun and comic relief. She offers a fresh perspective of life during the war (lower class socially, and quite perceptive).

This episode contains one of the funniest scenes in the entire series. David comes home, undresses, and then, quite innocently, proceeds to climb into the Morrison shelter with Doris, whom he mistakes for his wife.

Again we witness Sefton’s blunt, unthinking commentary at public gatherings. This time, with most of the family (including poor Jean) as a captive audience, he asks Robert, “Catch sight of any submarines, lad?”

A dramatically charged scene occurs when the pregnant Margaret arrives home, to the disbelief of brothers Robert and David. Then an indignant Sefton departs with the dismissive words, “Well, I’ll leave you to it,” and Michael Armstrong chooses this very moment to make his appearance. This is fine writing, ratcheting up the tension at every turn.

“The Forty-Eight Hour Pass” closes with a memorable shot that serves as an effective cliff-hanger for the ensuing episode, when Margaret and Michael are trapped beneath the collapsed ceiling of his flat. That bombing sequence was accomplished with a combination of lighting, sound effects, a single heavy, wooden beam, and a goodly supply of stage dust. According to John Finch, "There could only have been one take, as there just wouldn’t have been time, with our schedule, to set it up again."
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