TV series

Hard Times

Name: Hard Times
Released: 1977
Cast: Patrick Allen, Timothy West, Jacqueline Tong, Richard Wren, Rosalie Crutchley

1977· 1 season· 53 min episodes★ 6.5Ended

On ITV1 — From Granada Television · The WNET Group

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Synopsis

Hard Times is a four-part British television drama miniseries based on Charles Dickens' 1854 novel of the same name, a survey of English society and a satirisation of 19th century social and economic conditions. Wealthy, retired Coketown merchant Thomas Gradgrind devotes his life to a philosophy of rationalism, self-interest, and fact. He raises his eldest children, Louisa and Tom, according to this philosophy and never allows them to engage in fanciful or imaginative pursuits.

Themes

based on novel or book miniseries period drama

Episodes

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E1 Episode 1Next upOct 25, 1977 · 53 min
Synopsis
Thomas Gradgrind, a leading citizen of Coketown, raises his daughter Louisa and son Tom to prize hard facts above soft sentiment. His friend Josiah Bounderby, shares the philosophy and applies it to running his bank and textile mills. But when a circus comes to town, it introduces the Gradgrind children to a new world of imagination, and a new companion—Sissy Jupe, a young performer whom their father adopts.
Guest stars: Alan Dobie (Stephen Blackpool), Ursula Howells (Mrs Gradgrind), Barbara Ewing (Rachel), Harry Markham (Sleary), Sean Flanagan (Bitzer)
E2 Episode 2Nov 1, 1977 · 53 min
Synopsis
Encouraged by her father, Louisa reluctantly accepts Bounderby's marriage proposal. Enter Captain James Harthouse, a glib Parliamentarian offering Louisa relief from her loveless household. Meanwhile, Bounderby unfairly fires the honest Stephen Blackpool, who resolves to build a new life elsewhere. Before Stephen departs, Louisa visits, and Tom throws him a lifeline.
Guest stars: Edward Fox (Captain James Harthouse), Alan Dobie (Stephen Blackpool), Ursula Howells (Mrs Gradgrind), Barbara Ewing (Rachel), Sean Flanagan (Bitzer), Peter Martin (Waiter), Patrick Durkin (Slackbridge)
E3 Episode 3Nov 8, 1977 · 53 min
Synopsis
Bounderby and Gradgrind's fact-bound worlds come crashing down. After Bounderby's bank is robbed, the investigation focuses on the 'fugitive' Stephen Blackpool. However, Louisa suspects a perpetrator closer to home and closer to her heart. Then, Harthouse makes more than friendly advances toward Louisa, creating a profound crisis for her and a painful confrontation with her father.
Guest stars: Edward Fox (Captain James Harthouse), Ursula Howells (Mrs Gradgrind)
E4 Episode 4Nov 15, 1977 · 53 min
Synopsis
Louisa's breakdown forces her father to reevaluate his worldview. From love for Louisa, Sissy delivers Harthouse an ultimatum. From rage, Bounderby delivers a different ultimatum to Louisa and Gradgrind. The town's search for Blackpool ends in tragedy. When the circus returns to Coketown, it is the setting wherein truth can finally emerge and Gradgrind can find hard-won wisdom.
Guest stars: Edward Fox (Captain James Harthouse), Alan Dobie (Stephen Blackpool), Barbara Ewing (Rachel), Harry Markham (Sleary), Peter Martin (Waiter)