''Perfect Strangers'' is a television drama first aired in 2001, produced for

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

. It was written and directed by

Stephen Poliakoff Stephen Poliakoff (born 1 December 1952) is a British playwright, director and screenwriter. In 2006 Gerard Gilbert of ''The Independent'' described him as the UK's "pre-eminent TV dramatist" who had "inherited Dennis Potter's crown". Early ...

, and starred

Michael Gambon Sir Michael John Gambon (; born 19 October 1940) is an Irish-English actor. Regarded as one of Ireland and Britain's most distinguished actors, he is known for his work on stage and screen. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivi ...

, who won a

British Academy Television Award The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the BAFTA. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories. Until ...

for his performance,

Lindsay Duncan Lindsay Vere Duncan (born 7 November 1950) is a Scottish actress. On stage, she has won two Olivier Awards (for ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' and ''Private Lives'') and a Tony Award (for ''Private Lives''). She has starred in several plays by H ...

Matthew Macfadyen David Matthew Macfadyen (; born 17 October 1974) is an English actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he gained prominence for his role as Mr. Darcy in Joe Wright's ''Pride & Prejudice'' (2005). He currently stars as Tom Wambsgans ...

Claire Skinner Claire Skinner (born 1965) is an English actress, known in the United Kingdom for her television career, particularly playing Sue Brockman from the BBC television series ''Outnumbered (British TV series), Outnumbered''. Early life Claire Skin ...

, and

Toby Stephens Toby Stephens (born 21 April 1969) is an English actor who has appeared in films in the UK, US and India. He is known for the roles of Bond villain Gustav Graves in the 2002 James Bond film ''Die Another Day'' (for which he was nominated for the ...

. The drama received two

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

awards and a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

. The action takes place during a large family reunion at a hotel. It aired on BBC America under the title ''Almost Strangers''.

Summary

The series is set over a three-day family reunion of considerably more than a hundred guests, that draws together the extended branches of the Symon family. Raymond Symon (

) reluctantly attends with his wife Esther (

Jill Baker Jill Baker (born 1952) is a British actress who has worked extensively in theatre and television for 50 years. Personal life Baker is a graduate of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She and actor Bob Peck were married for 17 years, from 198 ...

) and son Daniel (

), who was not aware of the sprawl of his extended family because of his father Lionel's (

Jay Simon Jay Simon (born 17 December 1966) is an English actor best known for screen roles including: Doug in '' The Royal Treatment'', Alan Griever in '' Filthy Rich'',Senator Regulus in ''Roman Empire (TV Series) '' , Papa Monster and Edisson in '' The ...

) estrangement from his relatives. The stories Daniel learns about his family's past are episodic and non-linear, from his mysterious presence in a photograph taken at a children's party that he can't remember attending, to the wartime experiences of three distant elderly cousins. An important plot strand concentrates on a rift between two cousins (

and

) and their aunt (

) that has grown since the sudden death of the cousins' brother and Daniel's attempts to reunite the trio. An early incident of Raymond suffering a stroke while giving a withering speech to the reunion-goers and his subsequent bedridden state force him to appreciate the character of relatives that reflect his. Poliakoff's use of old photographs to unlock the intricacies of individuals' lives is prolific.

External links

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SFGate review "A brilliant family plot from Britain"
2001 British television series debuts 2001 British television series endings 2000s British drama television series 2000s British television miniseries BBC television dramas Television series by Fremantle (company) English-language television shows Television shows set in England Films directed by Stephen Poliakoff {{BBC-tv-prog-stub