G. F. Newman

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

• Nineteen 96 (1989) ^[6]

Series Four

• Black and Blue (1992)

Screen Two

Series Five

• Here is the News (1989)^[6]

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

• Member (1991)
• Mandarin (1991)
• Minister (1991)

And

• The Healer (2 Part TV Movie, BBC, 1994)^[8]

10x10

Series Eight, Episode 9^[9]

• Woe to the Hunter (1996)^[10]

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]

Other Novels

• Billy (1972) ISBN 9780722163542 (Broadcast, adapted for TV, in BBC's Play for Today: Season 10, Episode 6, -1979)^[17]
• The abduction (1972) ISBN 9780450012716
• The Player and the Guest (1972) ISBN 9780722163566
• Three Professional Ladies (1973) ISBN 9780722163535
• The Split (1973) ISBN 9780450014772
• The Streetfighter (1975) ISBN 0352398337
• The Guvnor (1978) ISBN 9780246108852
• The List (1979) ISBN 9780436307003
• The Obsession (1980) ISBN 9780246110626
• Charlie and Joanna (1981) ISBN 9780586051849
• Men with the Guns (1982) ISBN 9780722163689
• Set a Thief (1986) ISBN 9780718126704
• Testing Ground (1987) ISBN 9780718128685
• Circle of Poison (1995) ISBN 9780671852115 -Originally published as Trading The Future (1992) ISBN 9780356200200
• Crime and Punishment (2009) ISBN 9781849160124
• The Exorcist (A trilogy- part one, 'Dark Heart' ISBN 9781493634606)^[18] (2010)

Plays

• Operation Bad Apple (1982) ISBN 9780413502704
• An Honourable Trade (1984) ISBN 9780413578105

Genre Fiction

• Trading the Future (1992) ISBN 9780356200200

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

External links

• G. F. Newman at the Internet Movie Database
• The author's site
• 'one-eyed-dog' (film company) site