G. F. Newman

G.F. Newman
Born (1947-05-22) 22 May 1947
Kent, England
Occupation Writer and television producer
Nationality British
Period 1970s–present
Genre Crime fiction and politics

Gordon Frank Newman (born 22 May 1947)[1][2] is an English television producer and writer. He is known for his two series Law and Order and The Nation's Health, each based on his books.

Recent TV series created by Newman include Judge John Deed and New Street Law. He is currently working on a follow-up to Law and Order, and a series of single plays for the BBC.

Newman's first book, Sir, You Bastard was a bestseller on publication in 1970. It was to become the first in a series of 3 works featuring the character of Terry Sneed, an unscrupulous Scotland Yard inspector. The second of these is You Nice Bastard and the third You Flash Bastard/ The Price. Other books he has written include Billy, The List, The Men with the Guns, Charlie and Joanna, Three Professional Ladies, Trading the Future, Circle of Poison, Law and Order, The Nation's Health, and his 2009 novel Crime and Punishment.

Together with screenwriter and novelist Matthew Hall he owns and runs the production company One Eyed Dog Ltd.

Writings in relation to personal views

Newman has very strong and sometimes controversial views on a variety of subjects, and these are reflected in his choice of subjects for writing.[3] He has little faith in conventional medicine, believing that alternative therapy is far more effective. He claims that doctors are not interested in prevention, and are too close to the interests of the major pharmaceutical companies in just releasing ever more powerful drugs. He does acknowledge the benefits of nursing though, and in The Nation's Health, a newly qualified doctor goes to work at an NHS hospital- with her training taking her through the hospital's various departments, her idealistic aspirations come under threat.

He is also not impressed by the police service. He joked that he would rather see community members wearing pink uniforms working to prevent disturbances in their own areas.[3]

He is also a devout vegan, and when producing or directing television programmes insists that no meat at all is consumed on the sets. He says he has no problem with the act of eating flesh in itself, but it is the attitude that because one species is stronger or more sophisticated than another it has the right to kill it which he is strongly against. Therefore, if an animal died of natural causes and someone wanted to eat it he would have no problem with that.[3]

Having no political allegiance to either left or right wings, he once considered starting his own party on his passionate issues, but realized that getting over 600 strong candidates who completely agreed with all his views would be too tough.[3]

Bibliography

Terry Sneed trilogy

  1. Sir, You Bastard aka Rogue Cop (1970) ISBN 9780491002547 -Adapted as a film called 'The Take' (1974)[4]
  2. You Nice Bastard (1972) ISBN 9780450011993
  3. You Flash Bastard aka The Price (1974) ISBN 9780450021114

Law & Order

  1. Detective's Tale (1977)
  2. Villain's Tale (1977)
  3. A Brief's Tale (1977)
  4. Prisoner's Tale (1977)

The Nation's Health (Channel 4, 1983)[5]

  1. Acute
  2. Decline
  3. Chronic
  4. Collapse

Number One (1984, 1985 according to IMDB), about the exploitation of a snooker player by a professional promoter[6]

Screen One

Series One

Series Four

Screen Two

Series Five

For the Greater Good (3 Episodes, BBC, 1991):[6][7]

And

10x10

Series Eight, Episode 9[9]

Judge John Deed

  1. Pilot (2001)
  2. Series 1 (2001)
  3. Series 2 (2002)
  4. Series 3 (2003–2004)
  5. Series 4 (2005)
  6. Series 5 (2006)
  7. Series 6 (2007)

New Street Law (2006-2007)

  1. Series 1 (2006)
  2. Series 2 (2007) NB IMDB credits Newman as 'co-creator' of 4 of the 6 episodes of Series 2.[11]

The Corrupted[12]

Series 1, a 10 part radio drama, was the first part of an adaption of his Crime and Punishment novel. Broadcast on BBC Radio 4's afternoon play slot (2013).[13][14] Series 2, a further 10 part radio drama, formed the second part, first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 starting 19 January 2015.[15]

List of Episodes of 'The Corrupted' [16]

Series Episode Synopsis Date First Broadcast
1 1 As London celebrates the 1951 Festival of Britain, a boy witnesses a murder. 21 Oct 2013
1 2 While Jack dodges his call-up, Joey is desperate to start his own business. 22 Oct 2013
1 3 Jack is reluctant to leave the house after the Krays' attack, but Billy has other plans. 23 Oct 2013
1 4 Jack is riding high with his first taste of crime - but then his mother falls ill. 24 Oct 2013
1 5 Jack is forced into completing national service, but he refuses to box for his regiment. 25 Oct 2013
1 6 While working in a shoe shop, Brian meets the MP Tom Driberg and embarks on a new course. 28 Oct 2013
1 7 Joey is determined to find a way for Brian to avoid National Service. 29 Oct 2013
1 8 Joey starts investing in property in rundown Notting Hill Gate. But who will live there? 30 Oct 2013
1 9 Brian is seriously hurt in gangland warfare and not sure if he can return to his old life. 31 Oct 2013
1 10 Brian and Jack harbour rival feelings for Leah, and Joey makes deals to secure his future. 01 Nov 2013
2 1 Joey finds a gun Brian has hidden at his house, panics and calls the police. 19 Jan 2015
2 2 Joey borrows a lot of money to invest in the Minister of Transport's road-building company 20 Jan 2015
2 3 Jack goes to prison with help from Joey and Cath, who plant Brian's gun at his flat. 21 Jan 2015
2 4 Joey is approached by the police to fence a lot of money from the Great Train Robbery. 22 Jan 2015
2 5 An elite band of policemen is formed to tackle the 'firms' and corrupt police officers. 23 Jan 2015
2 6 Jack gets paranoid as Brian and the firm plot against him over a robbery they have planned 26 Jan 2015
2 7 Councillor Margaret Courtney helps Joey corrupt officials, while continuing their affair. 27 Jan 2015
2 8 Brian gets scared of Jack's madness and asks his dad Joey to help him escape his influence 28 Jan 2015
2 9 The police are trying to arrest Jack and put pressure on Brian to turn Queen's Evidence. 29 Jan 2015
2 10 Tony Wednesday manoeuvres Jack and Brian into court, then gets a big surprise from Joey. 30 Jan 2015

Other Novels

Plays

Genre Fiction

The Nation's Health

The Nation's Health is a 4 episode series written by G.F.Newman, originally broadcast on the fledgling Channel 4 UK TV channel in 1983.

The series consists of four episodes that are, in order, titled: Acute, Decline, Chronic, and Collapse. In it we are faced with a maelstrom of political issues, illnesses, fatalities, personal greed and professional vanities. As may be clear from these titles, the series draws a relentlessly bleak view of the NHS in 1980s Britain.[19]

While each episode stands alone, the hospital, characters, and some strands of the stories are common through the series. The series presents a view of the NHS through the eyes of Dr. Jessie Marvill (Vivienne Ritchie), a young doctor at a fictional inner city teaching hospital, St Clair’s, who at this stage of her life is trying to work out what career path to take within the NHS.[20]

Reception

Sherryl Wilson[21] writes: Although the series is a negative critique of the NHS staff in general, it does also offer a damning insight into the policies that were seen to be disabling the NHS.[19]

In a BMJ abstract[20] one can read: How “little relation to reality” these programmes bore to the NHS in the early 1980s is up for debate, but something in these programmes smacks of truth, raising questions that still need to be asked of the NHS and its staff. Sherryl Wilson draws a comparison with conclusions from the 2009 enquiry into Stafford Hospital.[19] The BMJ abstract continues These programmes make fascinating if difficult watching, because they do not show the deference towards the medical profession and the NHS shown by previous British dramas such as Doctor Finlay’s Casebook, General Hospital, and Emergency—Ward 10. Their gritty influence on later British medical dramas, such as Casualty can be seen clearly.[20]

Credits

See [5]

For the Greater Good

A three-part Whitehall drama series, with the titles (Member, Mandarin, Minister) reflecting the perspectives of the three principal protagonists (a British Member of Parliament, a Whitehall Civil Servant, and a Government Minister, respectively).[7][22][23]

Member

With the prisons seething, Aids apparently out of control, and the Government nowhere in the opinion polls, a Tory back-bencher has to make a crisis choice between ambition, conscience and a questionable private life.

Mandarin

A high-flying civil servant ('mandarin') discovers a conspiracy at the Home Office. She must choose between loyalty to her leader and leaking to the press.

Minister

Before the politicians can reform Britain's brutal prison system by privatisation, the tabloid press destroys their careers by publishing exposés of their sex lives.

References

  1. ↑ MR-GORDON-FRANK-NEWMAN listing at companycheck.co.uk/director/913086726
  2. ↑ MR-GORDON-FRANK-NEWMAN listing at companycheck.co.uk/director/903014292
  3. 1 2 3 4 Hattenstone, Simon (30 December 2000). "Natural lawman". The Guardian. Saturday Review. Retrieved 21 September 2007.
  4. ↑ IMDB page about 'The Take'
  5. 1 2 Screenonline page re the Nation's Health
  6. 1 2 3 4 Screenonline page for Newman, G.F.
  7. 1 2 IMDB page re 'For the Greater Good'
  8. ↑ IMDB page re 'The Healer'
  9. ↑ IMDB page re '10x10' Series 8
  10. ↑ BFI page re 'Woe to the Hunter'
  11. ↑ IMDB page re 'New Street Law'
  12. ↑ BBC page covering 'The Corrupted' Series 1
  13. ↑ Goodreads page with Series 1 of 'The Corrupted' available as an AudioBook
  14. ↑ The Stage page with preliminary review of 'The Corrupted' Series 1/
  15. ↑ Radio Times Listing including first episode of Series 2 of The Corrupted
  16. ↑ BBC schedule listing including all of first and second series of The Corrupted
  17. ↑ IMDB Page for Billy on Play for Today
  18. ↑ Guardian Article re GFN, 'Dark Heart', and Self-Publishing
  19. 1 2 3 Sherryl Wilson Paper referencing The Nation's Health
  20. 1 2 3 BMJ 2011;342:d2682 -BMJ Article Referring to 'The Nation's Health'
  21. ↑ Sherryl Wilson staff page at UWE website
  22. ↑ Screenonline page re 'for the Greater Good'
  23. ↑ Judicial Images page re GFN

External links

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