GRANGE HILL: SERIES 9 & 10 BOXED SET

After months of misery from the Covid lockdown we are being treated to a sparkle of light at the end of a long dark tunnel. This is something real special in the form of the long awaited DVD release of series 9 & 10 of Grange Hill.I honestly would not know where to start, writing a review about this box set. Grange Hill is still regarded as one of the most popular Children's dramas of British television. Phil Redmond's creation debuted in 1978 with a cast of unknown youngsters lead by the youthful Todd Carty.Fast forward to 1986 and the original cast had long gone along with the drab fashions of the 70s and the draconian school atmosphere of series 1.This was now a GH in a new more modern era, bringing a slightly different way of life for young people which brought together fashion, music & culture to the forefront of tea time television entertainment.Grange Hill was well into its stride by now and it captivated anyone below the age of 21. Ronald Smedley began his four year stint as producer in 1985, and his time at the helm is regarded as the pinnacle of Grange Hill's success.Series 9 was the year of Zammo's 'Just Say No' and anyone who grew up in the 80s will remember this just as well as Gordon the Gopher, Sony Walkmans and the Lookin Magazine. This story spawned a hit chart single and the famous visit to the White House with First Lady Nancy Reagan.This particular series was not just about the famous drug story - this year saw the introduction of the legendary Ziggy Greaves & the new 3rd year group, with both Ant Jones & Danny Kendall making a huge impact in their first few appearances. This was the only time in the show's 30 year history that a whole year group was introduced mid way through their high school life.Another newcomer - Imelda Davis - the unstable bad girl would provide some welcome relief from the drug stuff, but her story would also be a stark reminder of how 'difficult' pupils used to be dealt with in mainstream education. Again the wonderful partnership of Gonch & Hollo, provide amusement at times, and Mr Bronson is always enjoyable to watch thanks to the acting talents of the late Michael Sheard.One of the biggest, less obvious changes by the BBC, was the use of video tape for outdoor scenes which replaced the grainy film. It definately brought a sense of 'warmth' to the show when watching it in your living room.Series 9 had everything and the show was at the top of it's peak in popularity - all the cast were on fine form with some outstanding performances which blended strong drama with light hearted humour.Series 10 had a lot to live up to the following year but thankfully we get another great series, which perhaps not quite on a par with it's predecessor, managed to deliver enjoyable viewing with most of the same cast who were tailored for their characters.The weakest link of Series 10 was the donkey storyline which was cringe worthy at times - the writers made the mistake of dragging it out for most of the series. The strongest story for me belonged to 'one series wonder' character Mr Scott (Aran Bell). This dealt with a new in-experienced teacher being pushed to his limits by his troublesome class. Although not uncommon now, back then it was rare for children to verbally and physically abuse teachers, so this is a somewhat significant and often overlooked story by many.The only notable absence in 1987 was Mr Baxter (Michael Cronin), who bowed out after series 9. We see the story of Zammo's recovery and the conclusion to some other stories that had continued from the previous year. There is a feeling of nostalgia towards the end, as half of the cast would be gone by Series 11.Its fair to say, Grange Hill never reached the heights of this era again - it felt like it was all down hill by the start of the 1990s, when the show underwent a revamp which saw its style brought into line with some of the American dramas of the era.This DVD set is Grange Hill at the top of it's game with a powerful cast brought together to bring us an era of 1980s magic. This was an age long before the social distractions of the Internet and mobile phones, when being young felt much more fun.Both of these series run to 24 episodes, each making them the longest out of the show's run and the extra treat is the inclusion of the 1985 Christmas Special that serves as the appetizer to series 9.Even if you have not purchased the earlier sets - this DVD set can be bought on it's own just to saviour how good Grange Hill was in 1986/87.Powerful and striking.

Series 9 : The start of the "glory years" of Grange Hill in my opinion.Grange Hill went up a level this year with the great acting and fantastic story lines and the production values look like they went up as well.What is not to like about this series? My favorite character Ziggy appears for the first time. We get Imelda the nasty girl bully, we get Mr Bronson getting into his full "angry man" character and Mr Baxter turning into the more sympathetic teacher.For the next 4 or 5 years after this series Grange Hill was top of it's game as a TV series.I'm just glad I was at Secondary School when these series were broadcast and now I can own them on DVD.

Ah... good times...I emailed Eureka to inquire about more Grange Hill seasons last year, but got no reply, so I was thrilled to see they are continuing with the series and have now hit the most famous years. Unfortunately, the show is so addictive I've already burned through both seasons and have no more new GH to watch.Everybody seems to have their own 'definitive' era of Grange Hill, and it's usually tied to what age they were at the time. My years 'at' Grange Hill were from '87-'92, which followed on from the episodes in this set - though I watched a lot of older episodes on YouTube years ago.It's hard to dispute that the early years with Tucker Jenkins are 'definitive' if only for breaking the ground. Even as a young child I was vaguely aware of the show from cultural osmosis and lingering artifacts such as books and annuals. The mid-80's episodes are good, but are often overshadowed by the pop-culture success of the later Zammo drugs story line and it's concurrent 'Just Say No' campaign and hit single.Watching them again, I find the handling of the drugs story line to be somewhat ham-fisted (though I think the show was frequently clunky in that regard, owing to the age of the cast and the timeslot the show aired, it could never be too extreme), but I can see why it caused such a stir at the time. I find the everyday banter and to-ings and fro-ings of the cast to be more engaging than the excessively dramatic scenes, and that soap-opera quality is what draws me back.I know that many people consider the Just Say No years to be the shows peak (and commercially, it certainly was), but the show didn't suddenly become bad in the following years, and still had some good story lines and characters to go on with. I don't even mind the synthy replacement to the classic bouncy comic / chicken man intro that appeared in the later years, just like when 'The Wizard' replaced 'Yellow Pearl' as the theme to Top of the Pops, it wasn't as good - but it did the trick.Some people have said they're going to stop collecting with season 9/10, but I for one will certainly keep going - through my childhood years, and perhaps beyond. If only to try and appraise the show fairly as a whole - and not just through my own nostalgic lens. I genuinely hope Eureka don't stop with these 2 season sets, as there's a lot of Grange Hill, both 'classic' 80's, and 90's, left to go, and I could happily sit through at least 4 more seasons next year... or, frankly, as many as they can release...

For me personally series 1to 10 are the classic series, after that i started to lose interest, though in 1987 when series 10 aired i was 22. If anyone has never watched Grange Hill i highly recomend you buy them and immerse yourself in some classic kids tv.

So loved watching grangehIll when i was younger ..i was lucky as my stepdad workrd on the set at the bbc so he used to take me down there when they wasn't filming ...it funny walking around the set then watching it a few weeks later thinking i was there not so long ago..... i would love to have them all on dvd ....