Together (1980 TV series)
Together is a daytime soap opera made by the ITV franchise Southern Television. The two series were broadcast twice weekly for 13 weeks apiece in 1980 and 1981. One episode from each of the two series is considered "missing" and is not known to be held in the archives. The second series, in 1981, was transmitted live. Its theme song was written by John Dankworth and sung by Cleo Laine. Synopsis. The series concerns the residents of a fictitious housing association block of flats named Rutherford Court. Actors featured include Raymond Francis, Carol Hawkins, Margaretta Scott , Kathleen Byron, Victor Maddern, and Sarah Greene. Episode writers include Rosemary Anne Sisson, Adele Rose, Phil Redmond and Alfred Shaughnessy. The series covers issues including abortion and homosexuality. It contains some (mild) swearing, but there are also instances of censorship, by the removal from the soundtrack of language which is now regarded by some as unacceptable. Brief references to events close to the time of broadcast such as inflation rates, a steel strike, Cheltenham races and the Oxford-Cambridge boat race were often made, reinforcing the greater topicality of the show compared to other soaps which tended to be produced  weeks before broadcast. Production. A letter addressed to Charlene in episode 21 of Series 2 gives the address of Rutherford Court as in Basingstoke, Hampshire but no footage of the town is shown and indeed every scene across the two series takes place inside Rutherford Court or just outside its front entrance (a studio set). Some fleeting references to the Southern TV region appeared such as Mike Gowers having a picture of the Southampton F.C. squad in his flat while Trevor Hastings wore the club's scarf in one episode. Significant changes were made to the series format between the  first and second series: a number of characters from the first series are absent in the second, with no explanation given for most of them. A number of the characters that continue from the first series into the second have quite a different personality, and the layout of the Rutherford Court building is different - for example a laundry / freezer room and a hairdressing salon feature occasionally in Series 1 only while a boiler room in which Duggie Webber sometimes invites his friends for drinks appears only in Series 2. Perhaps to highlight that episodes were airing live in Series 2  that day's newspapers were often visible in scenes although even in Series 1 newspapers from only a few days before transmission were seen, indicating that production was very close to the date of broadcast. Series 2 ended in April 1981 and after the producers of the programme Southern Television lost their franchise it did not return. The final episode ends in unusual fashion - the final scene takes place at a party and the camera slowly pulls away from the characters to show the crew at work on the concluding shots and credits. Re-releases. "Together" has been shown again  on Talking Pictures TV in 2016, 2020, and 2021, with captions explaining the action within the two missing episodes. Some language now considered offensive, especially with regard to homosexuality, was removed. In July 2020, the series was released - including the dialogue removed from the repeat transmissions - on DVD by Renown Pictures, the parent company of Talking Pictures and owner of much of the Southern Television archive.