Enemy at the Door

*Enemy at the Door*
Enemy at the Door
Genre	Drama
Created by	Michael Chapman[1]
Written by	Robert Barr; John Brason; N.J. Crisp; James Doran; James Andrew Hall[1];
Starring	Alfred Burke; Simon Cadell; Bernard Horsfall; Richard Heffer; Simon Lack; John Malcolm; Emily Richard;
Theme music composer	Wilfred Josephs
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	26
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Production company	London Weekend Television
Release
Original network	ITV
Original release	21 January 1978 –; 29 March 1980

Enemy at the Door is a British television drama series made by London Weekend Television for ITV. The series was shown between 1978 and 1980 and dealt with the German occupation of Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands, during the Second World War.[2] The programme generated a certain amount of criticism in Guernsey, particularly for being obviously filmed on Jersey despite being ostensibly set on Guernsey.[3] The series also marked the TV debut of Anthony Head as a member of the island resistance. The theme music was composed by Wilfred Josephs.

Plot

The islanders were chiefly represented by the respected local doctor, Philip Martel (Bernard Horsfall), who struggled to maintain the peace while the Germans were led by Major Dieter Richter (Alfred Burke), a peacetime academic who was inclined to be lenient on the Guernsey populace but whose approach was challenged by his more conventionally nasty SS counterpart Hauptsturmführer Klaus Reinicke (Simon Cadell). Rounding out the principal German characters were Major Freidel and Oberleutnant Kluge, a former policeman still more inclined to act as a policeman rather than a soldier.

Many episodes portrayed the balance of power and fragile harmony between the islanders and the German occupying forces, and how it was threatened by either resistance action or over-zealous clamping down by the Germans.

A precursor to his role as Bergerac in the detective series set on Jersey, John Nettles played a police detective ordered to work for the Germans and anguished by the conflict between his duty and collaborating with the enemy.

The series' narrative ended in 1943 with the Germans still occupying the island.[1]

Cast

Alfred Burke as Major Richter
Bernard Horsfall as Dr. Philip Martel
Simon Cadell as Hauptsturmfuhrer Reinicke
John Malcolm as Oberleutnant Kluge
Simon Lack as Major Freidel
David Waller as Major General Müller
Richard Heffer as Peter Porteous
Helen Shingler as Helen Porteous
Antonia Pemberton as Olive Martel
Emily Richard as Clare Martel

Reception

The review on the Screenonline website by Sergio Angelini describes Enemy at the Door as featuring "stories and characters that explore the complex issues of alienation and wartime collaboration in a multi-faceted and surprisingly subtle fashion." However, "[W]hile striving for a sense of day-to-day reality, the series was shown well before the 9 o'clock watershed, consequently holding back from showing too much of the grim reality of the situation."[1]

The series was re-broadcast in the UK by Talking Pictures TV from September 2020.

Episode list

Series overview

Series	Start date	End date	Episodes
1	21 January 1978	15 April 1978	13
2	5 January 1980	29 March 1980	13

Series 1 (1978)

No	Title	Original Airdate
1	By Order of the Führer	21 January 1978
2	The Librarian	28 January 1978
3	After the Ball	4 February 1978
4	Steel Hand from the Sea	11 February 1978
5	The Laws and Usages of War	18 February 1978
6	V for Victory	25 February 1978
7	The Polish Affaire	4 March 1978
8	Officers of the Law	11 March 1978
9	The Jerrybag	18 March 1978
10	Treason	25 March 1978
11	Pains and Penalties	1 April 1978
12	The Prussian Officer	8 April 1978
13	Judgement of Solomon	15 April 1978

Series 2 (1980)

No	Title	Original Airdate
1	Call of the Dead	5 January 1980
2	Reception for the General	12 January 1980
3	Angels That Soar Above	19 January 1980
4	No Quarter Given	26 January 1980
5	Committee Man	2 February 1980
6	Post Mortem	9 February 1980
7	The Raid	16 February 1980
8	Jealousy	23 February 1980
9	War Game	1 March 1980
10	The Right Blood	8 March 1980
11	From a View to a Death	15 March 1980
12	The Education of Nils Borg	22 March 1980
13	Escape	29 March 1980

References

Angelini, Sergio (2003–2014). "Enemy at the Door (1978-80)". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
Christopher, David (2002). British Culture: An Introduction. Routledge. p. 120. ISBN 9781134766826. Secret Army (BBC, 1977–9) and Manhunt (ITV, 1970) depicted the heroic efforts of the resistance movement in occupied Europe, and Enemy at the Door (ITV, 1978–80) showed tense relationships between Germans and the local people of the Channel Islands
Ramsey, Winston (1981). The War in the Channel Islands: Then and Now. London: Battle of Britain Prints International. ISBN 978-0900913228.

External links

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[BFISc-1] Angelini, Sergio (2003–2014). "Enemy at the Door (1978-80)". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 10 June 2021.

[2] Christopher, David (2002). British Culture: An Introduction. Routledge. p. 120. ISBN 9781134766826. Secret Army (BBC, 1977–9) and Manhunt (ITV, 1970) depicted the heroic efforts of the resistance movement in occupied Europe, and Enemy at the Door (ITV, 1978–80) showed tense relationships between Germans and the local people of the Channel Islands

[3] Ramsey, Winston (1981). The War in the Channel Islands: Then and Now. London: Battle of Britain Prints International. ISBN 978-0900913228.