Title: Where the difference begins
Description: Mercer came from a northern working-class family, but his interest in the arts and in politics began after World War II when he was able to take advantage of the extension of new educational opportunities. This experience was central to his first television play, 'Where the Difference Begins' (1961), originally written for the stage but accepted for broadcast by the BBC as the first of a trilogy 'The Generations'. The 'difference' in the title referred to the younger generation's break with traditional socialist values.