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Enemy at the Door was devised by Michael Chapman and chronicled, sometimes in
exacting detail, the effects of the Nazi invasion of the Channel Islands between
1940 and 1943. It was hastily labelled by some as ITV's answer to Secret Army
(BBC, 1977-79), as both looked at Nazi occupation from the twin perspective of
the invaders and the civilian population and shared many of the same writers,
including John Brason, N.J. Crisp, Robert Barr and even Chapman himself.
In fact, it probably has more in common with Chapman's melancholy Public Eye
(ITV, 1965-75), recruits from which include lead actor Alfred Burke, writers
John Kershaw and James Doran and directors Bill Bain and Jonathan Alwyn. Enemy at the Door's achievement, however, is entirely its own, presenting stories and characters that explore the complex issues of alienation and wartime
collaboration in a multi-faceted and surprisingly subtle fashion.
Most of the episodes spring from minutiae and expand exponentially, usually
ending tragically. 'After the Ball' (tx. 4/2/1978) strangely but effectively
links the requisitioning of a father's Rolls Royce with the daughter's claim of
rape against an amorous Nazi soldier who she followed to a dance. The Nazis
return the car and execute the soldier, though clearly her claim is mainly about
saving face. 'The Polish Affaire' (tx. 4/3/1978) starts with a request for 150
bicycles, before surprisingly twisting into an espionage story worthy of John le
Carré, an inspiration signalled to alert viewers by naming a central figure
after Jim Prideaux, a major character from le Carré's Tinker
Tailor Soldier Spy (later filmed by the BBC).
'The Jerrybag' (tx. 18/3/1978), by N.J. Crisp, probably represents the
highpoint of series 1. A love affair blooms between a young German officer
(David Beames) and a lonely Island woman (Norma Streader), both of whom are
eventually cut off from their own respective societies when she becomes
pregnant. This powerful storyline, unusually spread over a whole year, was
continued into the darker second series, which also introduced a real-life
character.
While 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. Had a third series continued after 1943,
it would have had to face up to the appalling privations that everyone on the
islands endured when all supplies were cut off after the Normandy
landings.
Sergio Angelini
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'The Jerrybag' Part 1 (18:58)
