RaspberryLucozade I really did want to like 'Howards' Way' very much but sadly I just came away feeling bored and disappointed. As unfair as it sounds, I was unable to even get past the first episode. I do not normally give up quite so quickly on something, but the wafer-thin plotting and one-dimensional characters did nothing to endear itself to me.'Howards' Way' follows the struggles of the Howard family. Tom Howard is an aircraft designer who is made redundant after twenty years of loyal service. He then invests his money in the Mermaid boatyard ( as he has a passion for ships and vessels ), which is on the brink of ruin. The owner of the boatyard, Jack Rolfe is an alcoholic who does not get on with Tom at all. Jack's daughter and secretary, Avril, however has a soft spot for Tom.Tom's wife Jan however does not have faith in Tom's risky enterprise and so decides to take a full time job in a marine boutique.From the little I have seen, 'Howard's Way' looks like a dramatised version of the equally awful BBC sitcom 'The River' ( which starred David Essex ). Maurice Colbourne is unbelievable and wooden as Tom and Jan Harvey, who played his wife Jan, is equally as stilted. Glyn Owen also failed to convince as the dishonest Jack. Though to be fair, 'Howard's Way' did have some decent performers, such as Susan Gilmore's Avril and Patricia Shakesby's Polly.The end credits of each episode would have the camera close up on a statue of a female bust, whilst the Simon May composed theme tune ( which is also one of the very few decent things about the show ) played over the credits. This was parodied in the very first epiosde of BBC Scotland's 'Naked Video' in which a hand appeared and proceeded to grope the breasts on the statue.

pauluscuteboy35 I never really bothered with Howards Way on its original run i thought it was a lame,cheaply produced British rip off of Dallas,Dynasty,Falcon Crest and the like which i loved watching back in the eighties. But since the re-runs on UKGold i've become hooked, okay its still got the wooden acting,the slightly scary eighties fashions and hair don't's but all this adds to the charm which partly comes from the nostalgia buzz of times past. But in a decade when all we are subjected to in the way of televised entertainment is reality dross and x-list celebrity talent(less)shows or soaps that make the performances in Howards Way look like Oscar contenders then i'll take the nostalgic look back to times when entertainment was exactly that and not the twisted view of what producers consider reality to look like on todays airwaves.

vchablani Sunday evenings in England, circa 1985-89 - my daughter doing her flute practice, me sharing a glass of wine with handsome Charles Frere. I was so thrilled to discover this series is finally being released on DVD, but DEVASTATED to learn it is only formatted for Region 2, as I now live in U.S. Region 1. Please, please, please.......we want it too! If they can trot out dopey, tired old Britcoms like Are you Being Served and Keeping up Appearances, SURELY we can have this gorgeous, lush drama on this side of the pond to combat the reality TV flotsam we are bombarded with? Howard's Way is a classic, it deserves a space on my shelf along with Masterpiece Theatre dramas, and better Britcoms.

skepticphil Howards Way was the greatest television series of all time and i am sick of continuing to enquire as to why this series is not released on DVD. No one can give a definitive answer if it were on DVD it would be an instant hit. Tony Anholt was by far my favourite character, an extraordinarily handsome man the epitome of suave. I still cannot believe that he is no longer with us, Tony was brill!! Its just wonderful to see him again on the re runs on UK Drama. It seems more interesting now than it did then. i would dearly like to know where all the locations were on the filming of the series. I just wish the series had continued beyond the 6 series.