''Finney'' is a six-part British

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

series, written and created by David Kane and directed by

David Hayman David Hayman (born 9 February 1948) is a Scottish film, television and stage actor and director, known for his role as DCS Mike Walker in ITV drama ''Trial & Retribution'', as Jonas Franks in BBC period drama '' The Paradise'' and as Brace i ...

, that first broadcast on ITV on 17 November 1994. A television spin-off from the 1988 film ''

Stormy Monday "Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)" (commonly referred to as "Stormy Monday") is a song written and recorded by American blues electric guitar pioneer T-Bone Walker. It is a slow twelve-bar blues performed in the West Coast blu ...

'', ''Finney'' stars

David Morrissey David Mark Joseph Morrissey (born 21 June 1964) is an English actor and filmmaker. Described by the British Film Institute as "one of the most versatile English actors of his generation", he is noted for the meticulous preparation and research h ...

in the title role, taking over from Sting. The series was produced by

Zenith Entertainment Zenith Productions (later Zenith Entertainment) was a British independent film and television production company. Zenith created content for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky and UKTV, including a number of series such as ''Inspector Morse'' for ...

in association with

Tyne Tees Television ITV Tyne Tees, previously known as Tyne Tees, Channel 3 North East and Tyne Tees Television, is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. Tyne Tees launched on 15 January 1959 from studios at a converte ...

. The series was produced by

Nigel Stafford-Clark Nigel Stafford-Clark (born 12 June 1948) is a British film and television producer, and the brother of the theatre director Max Stafford-Clark. He was educated at Felsted and Trinity College, Cambridge, and worked in advertising and in sponsore ...

, who also acted as producer on ''Stormy Monday''. ''Finney'' co-starred

Christopher Fairbank Christopher Fairbank (born 4 October 1953) is an English film, stage and television actor. Career In 2010, he appeared as a detective in ''Five Daughters ''Five Daughters'' is a British television drama miniseries starring Ian Hart, Sar ...

Lynn Farleigh Marilyn J. "Lynn" Farleigh (born 3 May 1942) is an English actress of stage and screen. Early life Farleigh was born in Bath, Somerset on 3 May 1942 to Joseph Sydney Farleigh and his wife Marjorie Norah (née Clark). She attended the Redlan ...

Melanie Hill Melanie Jane Hill (born 11 January 1962) is a British actress, known for playing Hazel Redfern in '' Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' (1985–1986), Aveline in ''Bread'' (1986–1991), Rita Dolan in Kay Mellor drama '' Playing the Field'' (1998–2002), ...

Pooky Quesnel Joanna Gabrielle "Pooky" Quesnel (born 30 April 1966) is an English actress, screenwriter and singer. Early life Quesnel was born and raised in Eccles, Lancashire, along with her five siblings. Her father was born in Trinidad. She read English ...

Clive Russell Clive Russell (born 7 December 1945) is a Scottish actor. He is known for his roles as Chief Inspector Frederick Abberline in ''Ripper Street'', Angus O'Connor in ''Happiness'' and Brynden Tully in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones''. He also a ...

Andy Serkis Andrew Clement Serkis (born 20 April 1964) is an English actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his performance capture roles comprising motion capture acting, animation, and voice work for computer-generated characters such as Go ...

and

John Woodvine John Woodvine (born 21 July 1929) is an English actor who has appeared in more than 70 theatre productions, as well as a similar number of television and film roles. Early life Woodvine was born in Tyne Dock, South Shields, Tyne & Wear, Engla ...

in supporting roles, and follows the struggle for power between two rival crime families - the Finneys and the Simpsons. The series received critical acclaim, including ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', who commented "It's the real thing. The acting is terrific." and the '' Daily Star'', who called the series "addictive viewing" and commented that it was "nail-bitingly good." The complete series was released on Region 1 DVD in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

on 28 August 2007; but remains unreleased on Region 2.

Reception

Allison Pearson of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' reviewed the first episode of the series, writing, "Finney... is an everyday story of disorganised crime in which the

Corleone family The Corleone family are fictional characters in both the novels and the films created by Mario Puzo, first appearing in his 1969 novel, ''The Godfather''. They are an organized crime family originating from the Sicilian town of Corleone, and ba ...

has quit Long Island for

Whitley Bay Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around e ...

, changed its name to Tucker and been issued with Geordie accents that deliver lines of untold menace... With its designer violence, Finney is just what the network director ordered. Its main problem is perennial and insoluble: British villains are just not up to speed."

Cast

as Stephen Finney *

as Bobo Simpson Jr. *

as Mary *

as Lena Finney *

as Carol Finney *

as Tucker Finney *

as Tom Finney *

as Bobo Simpson Snr. * Michael Yeaman as Jimmy Spears *

as McDade * Brian Lewis as PawPaw * Angela Lonsdale as Suzie Finney *

Mark Benton Mark Benton (born 16 November 1965) is an English actor and television presenter known for his roles as Eddie in ''Early Doors'', Howard in '' Northern Lights'' and Martin Pond in '' Barbara''. Benton has also starred in the BBC One school-base ...

as Billy * Jonathan Magnanti as Iain *

John McArdle John McArdle (born 16 August 1949) is an English actor. He is most notable for playing Billy Corkhill in the soap opera '' Brookside'', with many other smaller appearances in other soaps and dramas. Playing a regular character in ''Brookside ...

as Louis Souter

Episodes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Finney (Tv Series) 1994 British television series debuts 1994 British television series endings 1990s British crime television series 1990s British drama television series ITV television dramas 1990s British television miniseries Television shows produced by Tyne Tees Television Television series by ITV Studios English-language television shows Television shows set in Newcastle upon Tyne Television shows set in Northumberland