Now I've not watched he show for the last twenty-odd years, but like so many others of my generation I have great memories of watching the early incarnation. The likes of Tucker Jenkins, 'Gripper' Stebson, and many many more were a staple of my childhood days... and who can forget that great opening sequence?
...of course hindsight is a wonderful thing, and there's a chance that the show was nothing like as good as I remember it being (certainly watching old episodes of 'The A Team' can be slightly painful now). I also have little doubt that I would have found nothing of value in the last fifteen years or so of its history, but that's missing the point - it's a show about schoolkids, for schoolkids, and for me it was one of the best things on the goggle-box back then.
Today the BBC, over at their 'Have Your Say' site, asked the question 'What are your memories of Grange Hill?'. Here's how they put it...
The last episode of Grange Hill will be shown on BBC One on Monday. What are your memories of the series?
The school drama was first broadcast in 1978 and over the years has tackled controversial issues such as drugs and teenage pregnancy.
However, TV bosses decided to cancel the series as they said that it not longer reflected the lives of modern children.
Over the years, Grange Hill has been a nurturing ground for young talent including Todd Carty who is expected to repeat his role of Tucker Jenkins in the final episode.
What is the legacy of Grange Hill? Was it an accurate reflection of school life? Do you have a favourite story or character? Did you work on the series or meet any of the actors?
...now the HYS site is famous for being populated by some of the most moronic examples of 'citizenry' that you could hope to meet, just take a look at the fantastic spEak You're bRanes if you want to get a feel for how bad it gets. A word of caution though, the guys there pull NO punches, and the language can be colourful in the extreme - this is not a site for the faint of heart.
So, where was I? Ah yes, 'Have Your Say'. I won't pretend that I don't have an occasional overlap with the opinions of some on that site - but where I do it's very slight indeed. Calling us one and the same would be like suggesting that my friend (who shall remain anonymous), who has a thing for tall blondes, shares the opinions and goals of those Nazi extremists who set out to populate Europe with an Aryan master-race.
Surely, however, the subject of Grange Hill couldn't bring out the worst in the HYS tribe? They would all be filled with warm memories, as I was, of burger chips and beans and watching one of Darth Vader's ruthless admirals dispense justice to the scamps of the school?
Not a bit of it, within a matter of a couple of hours here's what was appearing by way of response to the BBC's question:
"Quite funny if it was to reflect school life today in that part of London Gripper would become a gay Asian that stabbed people for drug money"
"Of course Grange Hill no longer reflects the lives of english children today, probably because just about every school in the country is awash with immigrants who can barely speak a word of english"
"Grange Hill: that was the trigger for the breakdown of British society as we used to know it."
The mind boggles, it really does. Do some people have a life that is that empty? I can hardly talk, I spent most of this weekend (at least Sunday) frittering my time away playing Football Manager - although, to be fair, I was sticking close to Jude to make sure she wasn't struggling too much with her dose of the lurgy - but even I don't reach the point of sheer boredom and bloody mindedness where my only response to a question about a childhood staple is to hijack the issue with yet another rant about immigrants, multiculturalism, and the impending decline if western civilisation!
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