Taylor Downing - The World at War

BFI TV Classics

BFI TV Classics is a series of books celebrating key individual television programmes and series. Television scholars, critics and novelists provide critical readings underpinned with careful research, alongside a personal response to the programme and a case for its classic status.

Editorial Advisory Board:

Stella Bruzzi, University of Warwick

Glyn Davis, Glasgow School of Art

Mark Duguid, British Film Institute

Jason Jacobs, University of Queensland

Karen Lury, University of Glasgow

Toby Miller, University of California, Riverside

Rachel Moseley, University of Warwick

Phil Wickham, University of Exeter

Taylor Downing 2012

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Images from The World at War, FreemantleMedia

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First published in 2012 by

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on behalf of the

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ISBN 9781844574834

Preface

The World at War is unique in factual television. Forty years after its first transmission it is as popular, possibly even more popular, than it was when first shown. Factual channels that were not in existence when the series was made eagerly compete to show it today. This is as true in the US and in many other major television markets, as it is in the UK. No other factual series can claim this. On a personal level, the series has exerted an immense influence over my career. I joined Thames Television as a researcher in the Documentary Department to work on history programmes about five years after the series was first shown. Many of the key people from the series were still there and those of us who had not worked on it regarded the series in awe. Then, years later, when I was producing my own history documentaries through Flashback Television for Channel 4 and later for American television, The World at War again cast its shadow. Although I was now more critical of the series, it still represented a pinnacle of film-making we all tried to aspire to, even if we wanted to move on from its format of intercutting talking heads with archive film. Later still, in the mid-90s, I had the opportunity to work with Jeremy Isaacs, Martin Smith and some others from The World at War on the series made for Ted Turner, Cold War. Turner once told me he had watched The World at War three times (78 hours of my life watching that series as he put it) and he wanted Cold War to be made to its template.

So, it has been a real joy to research the making of this series and to look again critically at how the programmes work. It has been a pleasure to meet and interview many of the key members of the original production team, some of whom I have known for years, others of whom I have met for the first time. I have credited all these interviews in the Notes. I hope I have not been overexaggerated in my praise, for I do believe that praise is due overall despite certain aspects that may not come across well today. The series was made with an ambition that it is impossible to find in television production today. And it was made in an era when programme makers rather than accountants and marketing people ruled the roost in television companies.

The Imperial War Museum has a superb archive of paper documents relating to the making of the series and access to these records has been invaluable. First, there are the personal papers of Noble Frankland, Director of the IWM at the time but also principal adviser to Jeremy Isaacs on the series. I thank Dr Frankland for access to his papers and for permission to quote from them. Second, there are the central archives of the museum that hold all the records chronicling the fascinating negotiations that went on during the setting up of the series which resulted in one of the most remarkable deals ever done in television production (see ). Third, there are the production records held by the film archive of the IWM. The team at Thames deposited all their production files with the IWM after completing the series and access to these records enables the student of television production to follow in dramatic and gripping detail the daily ins and outs, the ups and downs of making the series. I am grateful to IWM staff for giving me access to these files, including Sarah Henning, the museum archivist, and Jane Fish and Paul Sargent of the film archive. Today, these records more than make up for the sad lack of any existing Thames Television archive with its own production documentation. Finally, many of those whom I interviewed for the writing of the book were generous not only in their time but also in loaning me their own personal files and papers from the making of the series. Again, all these are credited in the Notes. All this adds up to a rich treasure trove of material.

I have been privileged to meet and spend time with the makers of the series. This book is dedicated to them and especially to the memory of those who have died over recent years, particularly Phillip Whitehead, Sue McConachy and Isobel Hinshelwood.