Line #6 Series/BoysFromTheBlackstuff


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/boysfromtheblackstuff.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''Gis a job, I can do that.''[[note]](top left-right: Loggo, Chrissie; bottom left-right: Yosser, George, Dixie, Kevin)[[/note]]]]A British KitchenSinkDrama[=/=]BlackComedy written by Alan Bleasdale and shown on Creator/{{BBC}} as part of the ''Series/PlayForToday'' anthology. It originated with a 1978 television play, ''The Black Stuff'' (though it wasn't actually broadcast until 1980), and was followed by five episodes of ''Boys from the Blackstuff'' in 1982.
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4	Mostly set in UsefulNotes/{{Liverpool}}, the series focused on a group of unemployed tarmac layers (tarmac being "the black stuff") as they struggle to support their families during a depression whilst avoiding the attention of benefit fraud officers. The show is often seen as a critique of the economic policies of UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher's Conservative government and their consequences for ordinary people.[[note]]Though in fact Bleasdale had written most of the series before Thatcher became Prime Minister.[[/note]]
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6	The ensemble includes: Chrissie (Creator/MichaelAngelis) and his wife Angie (played by Creator/JulieWalters in an early role); Chrissie's friend Loggo (Alan Igbon); Dixie (Tom Georgeson) and his son Kevin (Gary Bleasdale); George (Peter Kerrigan); and Jimmy "Yosser" Hughes (Creator/BernardHill). Each episode focused on one of the main characters. The most famous story/character was undoubtedly Yosser, whose mental health disintegrates under the strain of having no work and no money and ultimately loses everything. His oft-repeated remarks "gis a job" ("give us [me] a job") and "I can do that" entered the popular lexicon in Britain.
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8	----
9	!!Gis a trope:
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11	* AccidentalMisnaming: Malloy keeps getting Chrissie's name wrong. The priest at George's funeral refers to George as Patrick.
12	* AlliterativeName: Dixie Dean.
13	* BritishBrevity: There were only six episodes in total.
14	* TheCameo: Footballers Graeme Souness and Sammy Lee (both of whom played for Liverpool FC), appear in Yosser's Story.
15	* {{Catchphrase}}:
16	** "Gizza job", "I can do that" (Yosser).
17	** "Shake hands" (Shake Hands)
18	* {{Confessional}}: A despondent Yosser visits a priest looking for help, resulting in this exchange in the confessional box:
19	-->'''Yosser:''' I'm desperate, father.
20	-->'''Priest:''' Please, call me Dan.
21	-->'''Yosser:''' I'm [[ComicBook/TheDandy desperate, Dan]].
22	* CrushingHandshake: Shake Hands likes to deliver these, hence the nickname. Things don't go as well when he invites Yosser to shake hands though.
23	* DeadpanSnarker: There's a lot of this:
24	-->''Shake Hands has just given Loggo a CrushingHandshake''
25	-->'''Shake Hands:''' What can I get you?
26	-->'''Loggo:''' An ambulance!
27	* DownerEnding: At the end of ''The Black Stuff'', they all lose their jobs and get scammed by the Irishmen. At the end of ''Jobs for the Boys'', Snowy Malone gets killed. George dies in ''George's Last Ride''.
28	* DrivenToSuicide: After losing everything, Yosser tries to drown himself in a lake. He doesn't succeed though.
29	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: ''The Black Stuff'' is LighterAndSofter compared with ''Boys From the Blackstuff'', they all still have jobs, and Yosser is not as unhinged as he became later.
30	* HumiliationConga: Yosser progressively loses his job, his wife, his children and his house.
31	* KnownOnlyByTheirNickname: Yosser, Loggo, Snowy, Shake Hands.
32	* MuggingTheMonster: Shake Hands makes a big mistake when he invites Yosser to shake hands.
33	* NotActuallyHisChild: Yosser's estranged wife reckons none of their children are actually his, noting that they all have blonde hair while she and Yosser have dark hair. The real father might be a German sailor ("he was blonde").
34	* OhCrap: This is the general reaction whenever Yosser shows up.
35	* OopNorth: The setting, specifically Liverpool. A lot of the original play is set in [[UsefulNotes/NorthEastEngland Middlesbrough]].
36	* PoliceBrutality: Yosser gets a beating from ''four'' police officers.
37	* RotatingProtagonist: Most episodes focus on one particular character, to the point where the rest of the ensemble cast are either reduced to extras or absent altogether.
38	* ScreenToStageAdaptation: A stage version was announced in 2022.
39	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After the men at the pub decide to throw an annoying patron through the window, the landlord pours himself a scotch and walks out.
40	-->It's either them or me, and it's them!
41	* ShoutOut: Yosser claims that he and Graeme Souness look like [[Creator/TomSelleck Magnum]].

Context Series / BoysFromTheBlackstuff