What Was "Shine On Harvey Moon"� About?

The first Harvey Moon series appeared in 1982 and was set in the immediate aftermath of world War II. Harvey (Kenneth Cranham) returns from serving in the RAF to find that his house has been bombed and his wife has had numerous affairs during his absence. His teenage daughter is also going out with his best friend. The series continued for 3 years, charting Harvey's efforts to rebuild his marriage and find a new role in life. Among other things, he starts an affair with the headmistress at his son's school, much to the latter's embarrassment, and goes into politics, eventually becoming elected as a councillor. The postwar setting proved appealing to viewers, and much later, in 1995, the show's creators Marks and Gran ("Birds of a Feather," "Goodnight Sweetheart") made a new series set in the early 1950s. The characters and many of the cast were the same, although a new actor (Nicky Henson) played the title role.