Prospects (TV series)

Prospects is a British television comedy-drama series written by Alan Janes and originally released on Channel 4 in 1986. The show was created by Euston Films, who were known for producing gritty dramas such as The Sweeney and Minder. Prospects followed the comic exploits of two East End 'geezer' characters, Jimmy 'Pincy' Pince and Billy 'Bill' Pearson, played by Gary Olsen and Brian Bovell respectively, Prospects showcases the pair's trials and tribulations of making a living in London's Isle of Dogs.

Comprising 12 episodes, Prospects was delivered with a comic slant and dealt with many of the major issues affecting British society at the height of the "Thatcherite" '80s. Such issues included unemployment, crime, poverty, regeneration, social change, and racism.

The theme tune was written and composed by Ray Dorset. Although the vocals were meant to be sung by Roger Daltrey, the producers liked Dorset's demo enough that they asked him to do the vocals.

The show featured actors such as Ken Jones (Porridge) and Billy Hartman (Emmerdale).

Prospects gained a cult following and, rating-wise, it performed well above expectations for Channel 4. In 1986, Channel 4 received a large subsidy from the rival commercial network ITV in exchange for the right to sell airtime; this gave ITV significant input into the management of the station. The success of Prospects and the fact that it was produced by a subsidiary of the ITV network's largest station Thames Television meant it was moved to a 9 pm prime-time repeat slot on ITV in the Spring/Summer of 1987. This fueled rumours that the network wanted to develop Prospects into a long-running comedy-drama series, but ITV declined the opportunity to develop it beyond the original first 12-episode series.

Cast

 * Gary Olsen as Pincy
 * Brian Bovell as Billy
 * Peter Lovstrom as Mickey Smith
 * Chrissie Cotterill as Mona
 * Ben Howard as Halforth
 * Mike Savage as Del
 * Treva Etienne as Horace
 * Eddie Tagoe as Stretch
 * Nigel Davenport as The Governor
 * John Benfield as Kev
 * Peter Bayliss as Mr Frobisher
 * Eve Bland as Maude
 * John Forgeham as Jock
 * Billy Hartman as Mr Innes
 * John Hallam as Tubby Rawlinson
 * Tony Haygarth as Alf
 * Bernard Hepton as Hymie Peters
 * Hazel O'Connor as Bev Reid
 * Malcolm Tierney as Ralph Finchley
 * Kate Williams as Bess
 * Ken Jones as Mr Lambert
 * Glen Murphy as Ron
 * Ken Campbell as George
 * Paul Mari as Slimey Keith

DVD release
All 12 episodes were given an official Region 2 DVD release by Network on 25 March 2013.