GrahamEngland I just about remember this as a child, In was at 11-12 too young to really get it, though the limited understanding I had, was enough to stay in the memory as sinister.It was a product of the time in that it took what some saw as the post war advance of 'big government' to one possible conclusion. Just like the best sci-fi, of the best, understated British kind, with the pessimistic view of a future inherent in this genre.But I cannot agree with the idea that this series foretold today, the recent, under the previous government (though some may cite the handling of the 1984/5 miners strike by the government of the day as well) questioning of civil liberties, the expansion of a 'police state', all the CCTV, the DNA database, the (latterly) unsuccessful attempts to lengthen detention of terrorist suspects, were not, unlike in '1990', the systematic work of a very authoritarian regime. Rather it was driven by fear. Fear of hostile media on crime, fear of, if a massive '9/11' style attack happened, being thought of any neglect that allowed an attack. An obsession to meet targets to produce evidence of 'fighting crime'.Reality check - most CCTV systems in the UK are not controlled by the police, the state in general, rather they are operated on private premises, shops, shopping centres, business parks etc. Central control only exists in the third Bourne movie.For all that, it does now seem that the coalition are going to roll back many of the controversial changes of the last 15 years or so. Because in a democracy, a change of government can do this. Unlike the world depicted in '1990'.Still, I would love to see a DVD release, it was a superior series which did make for useful comment of a possible future, some of which did occur, though not so far in the all encompassing way of '1990'.

aejm I remember this one as a kid as well.It was very creepy .. I remember in hindsight being totally terrified by this one ... in retrospect I still don't quite understand what my parents were thinking, letting me watch all of this type of stuff as a kid ...Some of my most vivid memories are of shows like this and Secret Army etc.1990 as anyone reading this will know, is based on 1984, in which Edward Woodward plays a journalist. Unfortunately, I cant remember exactly what happens, although I still have a vivid memory of some of the scenes: Edward Woodward (Kyle I believe the character was called) meeting his informant in a little beat up car; the guy in charge fleeing when the government starts breaking down.They do bring these programs out on DVD eventually. Capital City is out now, and they have recently released the 1977 BBC adaptation of Dracula in the US (I also saw that as a kid !!!). Hopefully we will see it soon.

Tim "1990", along with "The Guardians", represents great British "political" sci fi from the 1970s. I heartily agree with the previous commentator who looked forward to a "1990" DVD reissue. Let's hope they do a double with "The Guardians".The real innovation of the show was not the police state future conjured up, that's been done before, but the fictional dictatorship's use of "Authorised Systematic Harassment". This amounted to essentially the use of all the mundane irritating rules and regulations we are familiar with today, in a systematic, targeted and tyrannical way.1990 was a lot more innovative and chilling than modern movie treatments like "V".

HyperPup It only takes a show like this to show us how much freedom we take for granted. I have never seen this series, I merely stumbled upon it while doing a search on Edward Woodward, but I had to stop and pause. How prescient it is that I would find this. Many will scoff and say hey it cannot happen here. I beg to differ, it was only a few short years ago when President Clinton proposed the national Identity Card, think about how many times your Social Security number is used for things other than its intended purpose. Soundex number on a drivers license, school ID number. What else? Camera's are going up everywhere and who really gets the video feeds from all these CCtv devices? And don't even get me started on Verichips and Digital Angel. It only takes a few of us to sit by, stop thinking and do nothing for this to happen. I personally wish the BBC woud bring this series to DVD both for sale at home and abroad, we need it. To remind ourselves, that one man's security is another man's prison.