Olympic TV Review – Bert and Dickie

If you’re not excited about the Olympics yet then Bert and Dickie is perfect viewing for you. If you suspect you’re not capable of ever being excited about the Olympics, Bert and Dickie is perfect for you, too. If you fear that London 2012 will make us Brits into a global joke, when compared to games hosted in Sydney, Beijing and the like, Bert and Dickie will remind you that in 1948 we did it on a far slimmer, literally rationed budget, and still managed to impress. And while they were at it, our ancestors managed to enjoy themselves too. 

A sense of fun and enjoyment is what really makes Bert and Dickie a pleasure to watch. Of course there are more sombre, serious moments when all kinds of pressures are troubling the unlikely pair, thrown together just weeks before the start of the double sculls competition. At first their differing social backgrounds clash, with Bert resenting Dickie’s silver spoon upbringing, and Dickie not taking Bert’s sense of sporting pride very seriously. Then Bert’s love interest disappears to Scotland, apparently to allow him to concentrate on training. And finally the failures and successes of their fathers are piled on to the weights of expectation slung around their shoulders. I haven’t even mentioned the moments when a sense of national pride suddenly hits them like a misplaced oar in the face. 

You don’t need to be a die hard sport fanatic to be swept up in this drama, as it mostly tells us a personal story. The focus is almost exclusively on Bert and Dickie and their family members, apart from a handful of scenes when we follow the Prime Minister Clement Atlee making it crystal clear to those in charge of putting on the games that the Treasury is absolutely bare. These moments could feel rather random and at odds with the main storyline of rowing and annoying relatives. However, they are played with such a lightness of touch that they simply make you smile and leave you longing to know more about the 1948 “austerity games”, which came at such a fascinating and difficult time in our history. The “Keep Calm and Carry On” spirit, whilst obviously a nostalgic caricature, is nonetheless inspiring and amusing when it emerges that the government were determined to stop the Americans stepping in to “help out”. 

As I’ve said, it’s the lighter moments that hold Bert and Dickie together as a drama. Without them the somewhat wishy washy message of “pulling together” would seem patronising and sickly sweet. Highlights include members of a community combining their meagre rations to provide a steak dinner for an American athlete and then watching him eat it, claiming they had already eaten. Best of all is a Scottish policeman commentating on the boat races to a crowd outside a television shop; this scene had me laughing and on the edge of my seat at the same time (even though I knew what was going to happen!). 

This is a thoroughly British drama, executed exceptionally well with a solid British cast. Matt Smith is a world away from his performance in Doctor Who as the gangly, awkward and working class Bertie, whilst Sam Hoare does what is required of him as Eton boy Dickie. Arguably the emotionally repressed fathers, Geoffrey Palmer and Douglas Hodge, steal the show. Crucially though, it looks like this was fun to make for all involved.

Bert and Dickie is not exceptionally original or bold, but is absolutely appropriate this week. Even the cold hearted will listen to some of its emotional notes. Olympic sceptics may even feel the lure of at least one event after watching this, as it certainly gets the juices of history flowing.