Boys from the Black Stuff is more than just a story. It's a snapshot of a special time in a special place. Liverpool in the 1980's could be a bleak and despairing place, with only the common threads of unemployment and humour keeping spirits alive. The story centres on the struggle of a ragged band of workers trying to make ends meet. On the way we see scams, subterfuge, corruption and the ongoing battle between the workers and the 'sniffers' (welfare benefit fraud investigators).
The locations are superb, painting a grisly accurate portrait of the time, with much of the filming done in Liverpool 8.
The language and dialogue also help capture the spirit of the time, with idiomatic 'scouse' used without apology.
Perhaps the best summary of the whole series is encapsulated in a line from the opening scenes in the first episode. Whilst establishing the number of dependents a claimant has, he is told that his grown up children who are 'on the dole' don't count. His response: "Nobody on the dole counts,love".
Recently released on dvd, this series is a documented history of the sharp end of 'Thatcher's Millions' - watch it if you can.
