Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2455 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-08-07
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Formats: Digital Sound, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, PAL, Surround Sound
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 22
• Running time: 2563 minutes

Synopsis
Contains all 50 episodes ever made of the story of the Ashton family during the Second World War.

Customer Reviews

Totally hooked!
I saw this series when it was first broadcast and was totally hooked from the very first to the very last episode. I was born during the war and can remember very vaguely some bits, although I was only a toddler when it was all over and my Dad came back from the RAF. However, this series gave me a better insight into what it must have been like to have been caught up in it all - all the privations, the worry for the wives and sweethearts left at home, the blackmarket stuff, the rationing (I played with used ration books after the war, up until 1954 when the last things -sweets - were to come off ration and the only thing left in the sweet shops was crystalised ginger - can't think why - I love it!) and the odd little things I remember like blackout curtains that (hopefully) kept people safe. This DVD is a really useful comment on an age that has gone by (thankfully) and is also a really absorbing story of a fairly typical family as well. I loved it when it first came out and am so very glad that it's still available to buy. Do buy it, watch it and learn! We are so lucky nowadays because the situation in which those people found themselves is never likely to return, times having changed so much. The quality of the writing as well as the acting is superb. Well worth the price!

"This Happy Breed" - in Soap Form!
The saga of the Ashton family who live in Liverpool before, during and after the second world war. Edwin and Jean Ashton have 5 children - sensible teacher Margaret, caddish scoundrel David, idealist student Philip, flirty Freda and youngest son Robert - whose lives will all be touched by the second world war. Edwin works for his brother in law, the wealthy would-be-tyrant Sefton, whose own son Tony much prefers to spend time at the home of his Uncle Edwin and Auntie Jean. David is married to down trodden Sheila - a girl with a kind heart but perhaps too forgiving a nature?

The early episodes are slow to introduce us to the characters. Margaret brings a boyfriend, John, home to meet the family - but just after their marriage he is sent abroad with the Territorial Army. How will his new wife cope with a child on the way and her husband reported missing? Her bossy Mother in law will be no help! David is a natural in the RAF - but his cheating may prove the last straw for Sheila, who agonises about sending the children away to Wales for safety. Philip saw action in the Spanish Civil War - but will he encounter old foes when he joins up? Freda sets her sight on becoming a nurse - and catches the eye of a handsome young surgeon. Robert is in the sea cadets - but will his father Edwin sign the permission forms to allow this 16 year old to fight at sea, against the wishes of Jean, his wife?

Air raids, rations, gas masks, fake stockings, black outs - all the features of WW2 on the home front are illustrated through one family. Add in the board room battles of Sefton and his long suffering brother in law Edwin (who runs the family print works single handed)and you have a cracking soap style drama with excellent attention to detail, fully rounded characters and scenes of loss in battle that will take your breath away. The action scenes are well done with army hospitals, troop trains, navy battles and RAF stations featuring in episodes - but the emphasis is on the home front and the Ashton's house remains central to the plot. Relationships in wartime are shown evolving in the strain of the circumstances and characters develop new strengths as the years go on.

Star-spotters will love seeing soap favourites including Coronation Street's Alf Roberts, Percy Sugden, Julie Goodyear and Fred Elliot. A young Linda Bellingham is an RAF secretary and John Nettles is a hospital love interest for Freda, played by Barbara Flynn.

Spoil yourself with this ITV treat - and prepare to watch more than 1 episode per evening. A complete classic for all the family.

gripping!
I first saw this series as a young lad back in the early '70s. I had forgotten how compelling and gripping it is, from the haunting theme tune to the high quality of the acting. Good to see familiar faces who went on to star in other things such as 'The Sweeney' and 'Coronation Street.' Due to an industrial dispute in 1971 several episodes are in black and white but this does not spoil one's enjoyment. One disappointment though: for a series set in Liverpool none of the main actors seem to possess a Scouse accent! The other attraction for purchase is the price. Can fully recommend. Pure entertainment!