Enemy at the Door

*Enemy at the Door*
Enemy at the Door
Genre	Drama
Created by	Michael Chapman
Written by	Robert Barr; John Brason; N.J. Crisp; James Doran; James Andrew Hall;
Starring	Alfred Burke; Simon Cadell; Bernard Horsfall; Richard Heffer; Simon Lack; John Malcolm; Emily Richard;
Theme music composer	Wilfred Josephs
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	26
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Production company	London Weekend Television
Release
Original network	ITV
Original release	28 January 1978 –; 29 March 1980

Enemy at the Door is a British television drama series made by London Weekend Television for ITV. The series was shown between 1978 and 1980 and dealt with the German occupation of Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands, during the Second World War.^[2] The programme generated a certain amount of criticism in Guernsey, particularly for being obviously filmed on Jersey despite being ostensibly set on Guernsey.^[3] The series also marked the TV debut of Anthony Head as a member of the island resistance. The theme music was composed by Wilfred Josephs.

Plot[]

The islanders were chiefly represented by the respected local doctor, Philip Martel (Bernard Horsfall), who struggled to maintain the peace while the Germans were led by Major Dieter Richter (Alfred Burke), a peacetime academic who was inclined to be lenient on the Guernsey populace but whose approach was challenged by his more conventionally nasty SS counterpart Hauptsturmführer Klaus Reinicke (Simon Cadell). Rounding out the principal German characters were Major Freidel and Oberleutnant Kluge, a former policeman still more inclined to act as a policeman rather than a soldier.

Many episodes portrayed the balance of power and fragile harmony between the islanders and the German occupying forces, and how it was threatened by either resistance action or over-zealous clamping down by the Germans.

A precursor to his role as Bergerac in the detective series set on Jersey, John Nettles played a police detective ordered to work for the Germans and anguished by the conflict between his duty and collaborating with the enemy.

The series' narrative ended in 1943 with the Germans still occupying the island.^[1]

Cast[]

Bernard Horsfall as Dr. Philip Martel
Alfred Burke as Major Richter
Simon Cadell as Hauptsturmfuhrer Reinicke
John Malcolm as Oberleutnant Kluge
Simon Lack as Major Freidel
Richard Heffer as Peter Porteous
Helen Shingler as Helen Porteous
Antonia Pemberton as Olive Martel
Emily Richard as Clare Martel

Reception[]

The review on the Screenonline website by Sergio Angelini describes Enemy at the Door as featuring "stories and characters that explore the complex issues of alienation and wartime collaboration in a multi-faceted and surprisingly subtle fashion." However, "[W]hile striving for a sense of day-to-day reality, the series was shown well before the 9 o'clock watershed, consequently holding back from showing too much of the grim reality of the situation."^[1]

The series was re-broadcast in the UK by Talking Pictures TV from September 2020.

Episode list[]

Series One (1978)[]

No	Title	Original Airdate
1	By Order of the Führer	21 January
2	The Librarian	28 January
3	After the Ball	4 February
4	Steel Hand from the Sea	11 February
5	The Laws and Usages of War	18 February
6	V for Victory	25 February
7	The Polish Affaire	4 March
8	Officers of the Law	11 March
9	The Jerrybag	18 March
10	Treason	25 March
11	Pains and Penalties	1 April
12	The Prussian Officer	8 April
13	Judgement of Solomon	15 April

Series Two (1980)[]

No	Title	Original Airdate
1	Call of the Dead	5 January
2	Reception for the General	12 January
3	Angels That Soar Above	19 January
4	No Quarter Given	26 January
5	Committee Man	2 February
6	Post Mortem	9 February
7	The Raid	16 February
8	Jealousy	23 February
9	War Game	1 March
10	The Right Blood	8 March
11	From a View to a Death	15 March
12	The Education of Nils Borg	22 March
13	Escape	29 March

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Angelini, Sergio (2003–2014). "Enemy at the Door (1978-80)". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
^ Christopher, David (2002). British Culture: An Introduction. Routledge. p. 120. ISBN 9781134766826. Secret Army (BBC, 1977–9) and Manhunt (ITV, 1970) depicted the heroic efforts of the resistance movement in occupied Europe, and Enemy at the Door (ITV, 1978–80) showed tense relationships between Germans and the local people of the Channel Islands
^ Ramsey, Winston (1981). The War in the Channel Islands: Then and Now. London: Battle of Britain Prints International. ISBN 978-0900913228.

External links[]

[BFISc-1] Angelini, Sergio (2003–2014). "Enemy at the Door (1978-80)". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 10 June 2021.

[2] Christopher, David (2002). British Culture: An Introduction. Routledge. p. 120. ISBN 9781134766826. Secret Army (BBC, 1977–9) and Manhunt (ITV, 1970) depicted the heroic efforts of the resistance movement in occupied Europe, and Enemy at the Door (ITV, 1978–80) showed tense relationships between Germans and the local people of the Channel Islands

[3] Ramsey, Winston (1981). The War in the Channel Islands: Then and Now. London: Battle of Britain Prints International. ISBN 978-0900913228.

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