''Sam'' is a television drama series written by John Finch and produced by Granada Television between 1973 and 1975 for broadcast on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

. Finch also created and wrote '' A Family at War'' for Granada. The series is based on fact, with Sam as a boy growing up in

Featherstone Featherstone is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, two miles south-west of Pontefract. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, in 2011 ...

. It was initially set in the

coalfield A coalfield is an area of certain uniform characteristics where coal is mined. The criteria for determining the approximate boundary of a coalfield are geographical and cultural, in addition to geological. A coalfield often groups the seams of ...

s of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

in the

inter-war In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relative ...

period but eventually progressed to the modern (then) era. Interior scenes were recorded at Granada's studios in Manchester, while many of the exterior scenes were filmed in Lancashire. For example, the

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

used for filming was

Garswood Garswood is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of St. Helens, Merseyside, England. The village is within the civil parish of Seneley Green. The parish was historically part of Ashton-in-Makerfield until 1974 boundary changes. History Within ...

, near

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

. Local dialect is used, e.g. top-at-knob referring to North Featherstone. The series was made in a video/film hybrid format, which was common at the time.

Episodes

Series 1: 1973

With

Kevin Moreton Kevin Moreton (born 19 January 1959) is an English actor, best known for his portrayal of Kevin Marsh in ''Coronation Street'', the British prime-time soap opera set in the fictional town of Weatherfield, made by Granada Television (now ITV St ...

as Sam aged 11 to 14. It's 1934. Sam Wilson's mother Dora has been left by her husband and taken Sam to her hometown of Skellerton, a Yorkshire mining village.

Series 2: 1974

This series is set in the post war period; the main character is played by

Mark McManus Mark McManus (21 February 1935 – 6 June 1994) was a Scottish actor. He has played roles in British television series '' Sam,'' '' Bulman, The Brothers, Strangers,'' and ''Dramarama'' and starred in the feature film '' 2000 Weeks''. He was ...

.
'Episodes' # A New World (Original Air Date—16 May 1974) # Legacy (Original Air Date—23 May 1974) # Shape Yourself Round It (Original Air Date—30 May 1974) # Under a Cloud (Original Air Date—6 June 1974) # Head and Heart (Original Air Date—13 June 1974) # Stay Single and Live for Ever (Original Air Date—20 June 1974) # Credit (Original Air Date—27 June 1974) # Sins of the Fathers (Original Air Date—4 July 1974) # The World as It Is (Original Air Date—11 July 1974) # Land (Original Air Date—18 July 1974) # Half a Loaf (Original Air Date—25 July 1974) # Two Steps Forward, One Step Back (Original Air Date—1 August 1974) # Moving On (Original Air Date—8 August 1974)

Series 3: 1975

'Episodes' # God Sent Sunday (Original Air Date—2 June 1975) # In the Midst of Plenty (Original Air Date—9 June 1975) # Compensation (Original Air Date—16 June 1975) # Bonfire Night (Original Air Date—23 June 1975) # The Difference Between Us (Original Air Date—30 June 1975) # What You Care Is What You Do (Original Air Date—7 July 1975) # Gains and Losses (Original Air Date—14 July 1975) # The Honest Generation (Original Air Date—21 July 1975) # Opting Out (Original Air Date—28 July 1975) # Home Thoughts from Abroad (Original Air Date—4 August 1975) # The Next in Line (Original Air Date—11 August 1975) # Proposals (Original Air Date—18 August 1975) # Ends and Means (Original Air Date—25 August 1975)

Video and DVD release

All three series were issued by Acorn Media UK in 2003.

External links