TV series

Fame Is the Spur

1982 · 1 season

A stately, talky period chronicle that rewards patience with rich character arcs and quiet moral disappointment.

Overview: A chronicle of three working-class Manchester lads and their descendants spanning from 1877 to the onset of the Second World War. Hamer Shawcross' youthful socialist zeal soon converts to personal ambition, exploiting the Labour movement to become an MP, marrying well and eventually entering the House of Lords. Arnold Ryerson is the sensitive and courageous pioneer of Trade Union growth. Tom Hannaway is a perky opportunist who progresses from rag-and-bone man to tycoon and a knighthood following his own self-help philosophy.
How it feels: Earnest, melancholic, cynical and tense. Measured and needs your attention.
About: Ambition, betrayal, class, politics
Content: Mild violence, sexual content and language. No gore.
Note: Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Full breakdown

Tone: earneststrength 3 of 3
melancholicstrength 2 of 3
cynicalstrength 2 of 3
tensestrength 1 of 3
Pacing: measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: ambition
betrayal
class
politics
loyalty
Places: big city
countryside
Era: period
Audience: adult
Form: serialised
ensemble
Content intensity: Gore none
Language mild
Violence mild
Sex mild