ALMOST STRANGERS {PART 1 OF 3} {PERFECT STRANGERS} {2002 INTERNATIONAL EMMY NOMINEE} (TV)
Summary
Part one of this three-part drama about a family reunion where long-held secrets are revealed and puzzles unraveled after old photographs lead an outsider on a mission to learn more about his mysterious and glamorous family. Raymond, his wife Esther and their son Daniel -- the long-isolated suburban branch of the wealthy London Symon family -- attend a family reunion organized by Raymond's cousin Alice at Claridge's hotel. At the reunion Daniel meets his extended family, including his cousins Rebecca, Charles, Irving and Alice, for the first time. The family archivist, Stephen, reveals photographs of Raymond and Daniel as young boys that leave both father and son bewildered -- neither one remembers the events described in the photographs and none of the family seem to have any information relating to them. As Daniel grows closer to Rebecca and Charles, he begins to find clues about his photograph and becomes further intrigued by his upper-class cousins who seem desperate to make him a part of their exclusive circle of two. In the meantime, Raymond becomes frustrated at not being able to make sense of the photographs he received, which showed him laughing as his father -- who he remembers as a gruff, humorless man -- dances; his mood is only worsened by his relatives' pity toward him for his less-than-stately lifestyle, which he reacts to with alcohol-influenced belligerence. At the reunion weekend's climatic banquet, Raymond collapses after giving a drunken, impassioned speech. As a doctor rushes to Raymond, Sidney tells Daniel that he might have to stay in London and warns him to beware the family's lies.
Details
- NETWORK: BBC America
- DATE: April 13, 2002 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:31:23
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:76454
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; She Made It Collection (Judith McHale)
- SERIES RUN: BBC America - TV, 2002
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Peter Fincham … Executive Producer
- David M. Thompson … Executive Producer
- John Chapman … Producer
- Stephen Poliakoff … Director, Writer
- Adrian Johnston … Music by
- Terry Davies … Conductor
- Jill Baker … Cast, Esther
- Marianne Borgo … Cast, Nazik
- Sheila Burrell … Cast, Grace
- Kethleen Byron … Cast, Edith
- Michael Culkin … Cast, Sidney
- Lindsay Duncan … Cast, Alice
- Michael Gambon … Cast, Raymond
- Peter Howell … Cast, Ernest
- Kelly Huter … Cast, Poppy
- Anton Lesser … Cast, Stephen
- Matthew Macfadyen … Cast, Daniel
- Tony Maudsley … Cast, Peter
- Muriel Pavlov … Cast, Violet
- Camilla Power … Cast, Martina
- Jay Simon … Cast, Raymond's father
- Claire Skinner … Cast, Rebecca
- Timothy Spall … Cast, Irving
- Toby Stephens … Cast, Charles