Seems a long time ago now but there was an era when the BBC was quite radical in its choice of drama and didn't go chasing ratings. And so, back in 1970, along came this masterpiece of ambiguity. George Cole, best known for his comedic roles but here giving vent to depths I certainly didn't know he possessed, highlights this piece as Douglas Willetts, a shrew of a man, mid-40s, barely able to communicate and renting a bedroom in a typically working-class two up-two down. Only he has a bit of a past. Possibly. For Douglas, every day is just a question of getting through it as painlessly as possible – and that usually means retreating to his bedroom. In order to escape the mundanities of the present? Or to ruminate on his past? I had a feeling something was going to happen in that house and certain now that the author of this piece was well versed in the Lizzie Borden legend! The staid pace of the drama and lack of incidental music, the banal detail highlighted in both the house and Willetts' office, all these are a perfect suburban backdrop for what's really going on in Willetts' mind. His subsequent actions are never truly explained and the drama is all the better for that as the viewer needs to think. And think hard. Such a shame the BBC don't credit we viewers with the same patience these days. Annette Crosbie is excellent as the secretary with just a hint of a crush on a man she senses is as lonely as she, herself is. The Braziers' – who Willetts lodges with – are all splendidly portrayed. The fussy matriarch who can't see past a mucky kitchen table as the ultimate in disaster. The slobby patriarch whose idea of exercise is falling asleep in front of the telly. The slobby lecher of a son who belongs more in the 50s than the swinging 60s. They all meet their comeuppance. The question for the viewer is a simple one – why? All in all, a splendid slice of BBC drama and, with the decor, Totopoly and It's A Knockout on the box, a marvellous curio too!!
Review of Killing Time
