Peaky Blinders begins on BBC Two on Thursday, 12 September at 9pm.
Birmingham, 1919. Thomas Shelby is a war veteran, and head of feared gang, the Peaky Blinders. Named for their practice of sewing razor blades into the peaks of their caps, they make money from illegal betting, protection and the black market.
When he comes into possession of a crate of guns from the local arms factory, Thomas sees an opportunity to increase the gang’s power and move up in the world. Meanwhile, tough Belfast copper Chief Inspector Campbell arrives in town, tasked with the recovery of the guns by none other than Winston Churchill. Will Thomas listen to the Peaky Blinders’ family matriarch, Aunt Polly, who instructs him to ditch the weapons rather than take on the police?
At the same time Thomas incurs the wrath of his older brother, Arthur, when he stages ‘the powder trick’: a magic spell which will encourage the locals to bet on a horse. It’s the first step in fixing a race, but Thomas did it without the permission of Billy Kimber, the kingpin who runs the racetracks.
Thomas’s younger sister Ada, meanwhile, is secretly having a relationship with his former best friend and the man who saved his life in the trenches, Freddie Thorne. Freddie is a Marxist, encouraging workers to strike over their recent cuts in pay.
Like Thomas and the Peaky Blinders, Freddie and the Communists are on Chief Inspector Campbell’s list of suspects: organisations he intends to decapitate in his ruthless search for the missing guns.
Check out the picture gallery below (click on the thumbnails to enlarge).
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One thought on “‘Peaky Blinders’: Episode 1 – Info & pictures”
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Dorothy Langman
Episode 1 A viewer’s thoughts…
Sam Neill’s performance as CI Campbell was nigh on ‘perfect’…his Belfast accent was ‘spot-on’ – thanks Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt for friendly coaching! Jeez…he has psychotic tendencies, interrogating Arthur Shelby with chilling edginess..this is a man ‘on a quest’, who will rid the streets of this vermin…his performance was ‘stand-out’ for me,
Helen Mc Crory as the strong matriarch ‘Aunt Polly’ overseeing events with a steely eye gave a convincing introduction, I have no doubt, she will inhabit her character with considerable aplomb as the story unfolds.
Cillain Murphy’s acting is ‘under-stated’ and as a result, his, is a magnetic performance. We never really know what to expect from him..it’s clear he is the one with the brains, playing the long-game. His execution of Danny Whizz Bang was expedient but ‘compassionate’ and right up until the event, I thought Tommy might turn the gun on the Italians and …yet, more twists to follow…
Annabelle Wallis as ‘Grace’ the gentle bar-maid with the voice of an angel singing Carrick Fergus in the Bar and duplicitously meeting Sam Neill in St George’s Hall, reveal her as the daughter of a murdered police officer, ‘dropped in’ to infiltrate the Blinders. Clearly, Grace has an agenda of her own to expedite. What’s in store?…it looks like Tommy Shelby is ‘attracted’ to her…a possible ‘Good Girl meets Bad Boy’ scenario. Could Campbell have designs on her too? which may not wholly ‘fit’ his puritanical views. Overall, the sets were atmospheric, almost eerie, reminiscent of Ennio Morricone’s ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ western type feel. I was ever cognisant of the sparks/ash heavy in the air from the furnaces of the Industrial city and the shadow of the Great War looming large over events. We see Iddo Goldberg ..Freddie Thorne as the activist communist ‘whipping up’ sentiment on the streets amidst the working class masses…He looks like TROUBLE, running alongside the main plot as Tommy Shelby’s younger sister is romantically involved with him. It won’t be a happy ending…
I found the plot line a little laboured, in fact, slow, but I attribute this to establishing the backdrop, introducing the main characters and setting the scene..there are many thematic threads running throughout.
The Brummie accent seemed to have a smattering of scouse ‘in the mix’ (I am from Liverpool, so could distinguish this distinctly). However, I am not a purist on this, but, I note many Brummies are. No doubt, accents changed over the years with differing cultural effects.
I eagerly await episode 2 for developmental twists and whatever happens… it’s gonna be bloody! and razor-sharp with Campbell and Shelby at each other’s throats.