The History Man Ep 1 of 4 - starring Antony Sher - Malcolm Bradbury novel - BBC2, 1981

I was surprised to discover, before uploading this, that it doesn't seem to have been previously available on YouTube, so I hope this will please those with fond memories of watching The History Man first time around. I also hope it might find some new viewers. I was at university myself when this came out, with no TV in the accommodation I shared with seven others. There was a block in the halls of residence containing two soulless rooms with TVs in, which is where I watched this. Having already read the novel by Malcolm Bradbury, I loved this adaptation (by Christopher Hampton) and especially loved Antony Sher's incredible tour de force performance. I'd not seen a character like Howard Kirk before - completely selfish, egotistical, energetic, charming and brilliant. And a complete dick. There was also quite a lot of sex, which is why YouTube have given this episode an 18 rating. There are a couple of songs in the original which breach copyright regulations - one had been muted, and the other has been replaced by music suggested by YouTube to be enable it to be available in all territories. Sadly, this has replaced a small amount of dialogue. This opening episode was first broadcast on BBC2 on January 4th, 1981. The second episode has already been uploaded here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOOuHZ4PZZ0 Please subscribe to my channel https://www.youtube.com/@billbobmatthews, which is home to many rarely seen comedy and drama gems, mostly from the 1980s, when only early adopters had VCRs – as well as my own work as a writer and producer in TV and radio since that period. There are also riches from other decades too. The best way to navigate all the videos on the channel is via the Playlists... https://www.youtube.com/@billbobmatthews/playlists