Oil Strike North

 

The North sea oil boom was a huge thing in the 1970s. In theory it was supposed to make the UK self-sufficient in oil supplies instead of relying on the Arab countries who dominated the market. It was controversial in many ways. There were suggestions that Scotland, off whose coast the oil fields sat, did not receive enough of the profits while others argued that the environmental cost was not worth it. For a period, the industry thrived and there were benefits for the communities adjacent to the fields. Given such topicality it is no wonder a tv drama was commissioned in the form of Oil Strike North. The name sounds exciting and the series suggests that oil companies competed, sometimes ruthlessly, over the fields and there was much wheeling and dealing. It also depicts the pressurised environment on the rigs themselves, cut off from land amidst harsh weather

 

Oil Strike North seemed to be a series the BBC had high expectations for giving it a Radio Times cover (albeit shared with Quiller) and launching it in a prime-time evening slot  starting on 26 August 1975 at the beginning of the prestigious Autumn Season. Created by Gerard Glaister and NJ Crisp, the idea was that in contrast to the BBC’s previous hit The Troubleshooters, which was set amidst power struggles in corporate offices and boardrooms, Oil Strike North would take the viewer to the working heart of a big company, called Triumph Oil, on the Nelson One oil rig in the North Sea. It was mainly about the harsh challenges and how both that and the isolation affected the workers and their families.  This reflected a general feeling at the Corporation that Seventies drama needed to connect more with working families rather than be solely concerned with rich or powerful individuals.  To make the scenario more dramatic the narrative included the fact that the company only had three months left to find oil before their government funded concessions ran out. The series was filmed in Peterhead and the regular cast includes several well-known names from British tv drama of the 1970s including Nigel Davenport, Barbara Shelley, Glyn Owen, and Maurice Roeves.

Born in 1915, Gerard Glaister had been working mainly in the theatre when he undertook a BBC directors’ course in the late 1950s and made his tv debut directing in January 1957. Over the next three decades he would work both as a director and/or producer on a number of flagship series including Maigret, Dr Finlay’s Casebook, The Expert, The Brothers, Colditz, Secret Army and Howard’s Way. The idea for Oil Strike North was pitched to the BBC by Glaiser along with NJ Crisp, a writer with whom he had frequently collaborated. The two had undertaken two years’ worth of research into the industry visiting coastal towns in North Scotland, oil rigs and the ships that serviced them as well as talking with oil company executives. They wanted the series to show how people dealt with the difficult weather conditions envisioning a series that used divers, helicopters and supply ships emphasising the remoteness of their location. The series would show fearsome storms as well as the drilling operation itself making the whole thing look hard and uncomfortable work to an audience sitting in the comfort of their home.

Gerard Glaister

Glaister told Radio Times: "We wanted to show that the battle for oil in the North Sea is not just about priceless hardware, but about people at every level, from the government official down to the rig-men and roustabouts (drilling labourers)". He also highlighted what he felt was the importance of the industry: “We think it's the most important economic development since the Industrial Revolution. People do not seem to have grasped how totally we have become an oil-dependent country. As one of our characters says, "Oil doesn't just drive power stations and ships, and heat factories … it's in the clothes you wear, the shoes on your feet, the paint on your house, the carpet you walk on, plastics, chemicals, fertilizers…".

The more conventional drama of the series was largely provided by Michael Whitney’s Frank Ward and his wife Julia played by Angela Douglas. While he faced the pressures of the job she was seen to struggle with no sense of direction while he was away. Crisp told Radio Times: "(Ward) is particularly obsessive about his work. He likes the uncertainty of never knowing what may happen next or where he's going to be sent. His wife ……is on the other hand, like many wives both in and out of the oil industry, a person who finds it nerve-wracking to have no permanent, settled home, and not to know with any degree of assurance when her husband will walk in through the front door." The environmental concerns raised by oil were also included in the programme, as Glaister told Radio Times "We aim to present both sides of the passionate argument about oil and its effect on the environment. Angus Gallagher, who's the editor of our fictional Muirport Gazette, is rigidly devoted to the old culture and to his native part of Scotland. He uses his position to crusade against what he sees as the roughshod methods of the oil companies”

The series opened with `Deadline` penned by Ken Hughes and directed by Peter Cregeen which is a feature length introduction running one hour seventeen minutes and thankfully someone has uploaded it to YouTube. A year ago, I’d watched (and enjoyed) The Rig, a series also set in the North Sea albeit in the declining days of the oil boom. Comparing the two shows how television has changed. Nowadays if a series is set in a work environment like this that is merely a backdrop to something else- a thriller or a romance or, in the case of The Rig, a science fiction adventure. Back in the 70s they made a drama out of the work itself and watching `Deadline` it was with the expectation of some strange happening that did not occur. I am too used to modern drama I suppose. Instead, Peter Cregeen manages to squeeze enough tension from matters with directorial flourishes mixed with a lot of real North Sea footage. Because all the outdoor material was shot on film this mixes with the other scenes perfectly. You don’t always know what is going on but it is suitably windswept and metallic to work effectively in conveying the difficult environment. A sequence when a ship almost crashes into the rig is particularly well conveyed using only editing, camera tricks and sound work. No model shots here.

The other thing I noticed is that the lead characters are all older, white men. There’s no attempt to shoehorn a younger or more diverse character in to be a conventional hero- instead the drama comes from the dilemma that Nigel Davenport’s character Jim Fraser faces. To trump an opposing company Triumph, he must move a rig to a remote field and start drilling within the three months left of the option, so Fraser needs to recruit the best to make this seemingly impossible thing happen. The script does have plenty of technical jargon and business meetings but it’s always delivered in a manner that is understandable to the viewer.

The man he calls in for the job is American Frank Ward who clashes right away with Maurice Roeves' character McGraw. Their arguments form the majority of the more dramatic moments in the episode. Ward wants to do something while they are towing the rig, McGraw says it can’t be done and in the end it is done.  Angela Douglas adds the human side to things as Julie struggles with the loneliness and Scottish gloom. She runs away to go to New York (though as far as I can tell she’s English) and Frank has to rush to the airport to stop her. He takes a helicopter by the way! There’s a silent passport control officer we keep cutting back to who would be played by a comedian in a modern series but Oil Strike North does not do jokes so the opportunity is not fully taken.

There is a hardbitten pioneer spirit to these characters as if they’re hewn from those explorers of yore. When they get home they reach for the drinks cabinet rather than the kettle and they always think they are right. I suppose this had more appeal in the Seventies which was not a period for much gender subtlety on the whole. I do think though that the portrayal of the lonely wife is reasonably well written even if it becomes rather melodramatic. It’s an otherwise emotional part of a strangely emotionless drama.

To be honest Nigel Davenport looks a bit ill at ease in this part, perhaps reflecting the rigours of the character’s job or maybe he felt it was a role with alot of dialogue little of which was character based. He seems to wince at each setback. It is actually not clear why his senior character is in situ, surely he would remain back at the base? Though the actor was in his forties he gives the impression of a much older man. An actor who’d appeared in a variety of stage, film and tv roles I wonder if he recalled this series as a highlight or a role soon forgotten?

Across the board the episode shows efforts made by actors and director Peter Cregeen to pump pace along with oil but it’s a dry subject and thirteen episodes of this would be likely see a fall off in viewing figures. In the end it looks like the boardroom sparring was simply replaced by engineers arguing. Compared to the varied locales and better weather of Warship or the more melodramatic likes of The Brothers and Sutherland’s Law, spending a lot of time in the company of gruff characters arguing over technical issues intercut with bad weather and lots of machinery is not compelling viewing. Yet I did quite enjoy this one episode for its laudable attempts at authenticity and giving space to the debate over the benefits and otherwise of the North Sea oil boom. Also some of the synopses for the other episodes look promising.

To work better for an introductory episode I think the series needed to start from a different place making the main characters inhabitants of the village some of whom end up working for the oil company, others who lose their livelihood because of it. Instead of being a show about drills, moving rigs, tugboats and rough seas, it then becomes a drama about radical change in traditional communities. Some younger cast would also make it less of a staid drama. As it is I can’t imagine which section of the viewing public the series was aimed at though perhaps it offered a window into the North Sea oil boom which was a contemporary topic people were aware of but knew little detail about.

None of the other twelve episodes appear to be available though a torrent site may have them. There was someone advertising them on DVD but without any idea of quality and in any case the link doesn’t work. I’m not sure I could sit through all of them though. There is no sense of this being a treasured archival show as many other Seventies programmes are treated. You’d have thought it would have been a good release for Network when they were going but as far as I can tell it was never considered.

Despite (or perhaps because of) all the effort that went into giving the series authenticity, it was not renewed for a second season. It may be that ultimately the series was just too realistic and hard bitten lacking a tv `glamour` aspect to counterpoint all the metal, high waves, frowns and big coats. The location may just have been too far removed from the cosiness of people’s living rooms- after all who would look at the stormy North Sea and wish they could visit the location! Another BBC series of the time set mostly at sea, Warship, enjoyed more success as the weather and conditions were considerably more telegenic and probably far more aspirational. I’d doubt if anyone watching Oil Strike North would be inspired to sign up for a job in the North Sea…

Broadcast 26 August – 18 November 1975, Created by Gerard Glaister, N.J. Crisp, Tom Veitch, Joan Veitch / Producer: Gerard Glaister

Regular Cast: Nigel Davenport: Operations Area Manager Jim Fraser, Michael Whitney: Frank Ward, Angela Douglas: Julie Ward, Andrew Robertson: Donald Cameron, Angela Cheyne: Shona Cameron, Glyn Owen: Jack Mullery, Callum Mill: Angus Gallacher, Barbara Shelley: Elaine Smythe, Richard Hurndall: Charles Wayman, Maurice Roeves: McGraw

Episodes (broadcast date)
Deadline (26 Aug 75) Jim Fraser's company Triumph Oil has just three months to find oil in the North Sea. Texan Frank Ward is brought in as Operations Manager to make it happen..

Quiet Day (2 Sep 75) A lorry carrying pipes for the oil rig is involved in a fatal road crash which causes negative press from local journalists. Ward attempts an emergency helicopter lift to get the pipes to their destination.

Storm Clouds (9 Sep 75) Triumph Oil start a PR campaign to counter stories by local newspaper editor Angus Gallacher who stirs up MP Calvert. Ward and McGraw's relationship reaches breaking point when they disagree about policy.

First Lion (16 Sep 75) A diver embellishes his experience as a diver in order to earn big money on the oil rig. On his first dive, loosening cables from a fallen pylon, he panics, causing serious injury to a colleague.

The Decision (23 Sep 75) With the three-month deadline imminent, Triumph is running behind in the search for oil and gas and the government is threatening to go to rivals President Oil. Frank Ward's past comes back to haunt him.

The Floating Bomb (30 Sep 75) A Russian trawler is abandoned after an explosion and is now heading towards to North Sea oil field. Triumph wants the ship sank because it is carries sodium nitrate but there might be an injured sailor on board.

It Depends Where You Stand (7 Oct 75)Newspaper editor Angus Gallacher starts to campaign against local residents, who are selling their property to the highest bidder. Frank Ward receives an offer from President Oil.

Shore Leave (14 Oct 75)The oil rig workers bad reputation ashore is tarnished by the newspapers. Ward is sued over an injury on the rig.

Workhorse (21 Oct 75) A storm has damaged Triumph's supply ship and Cameron pulls the crew from a wedding to get a replacement to the rig as soon as possible.

Time of Hazard (28 Oct 75) Jim Fraser wants Frank Ward to be less cautious while drilling and push on regardless of the risk. Julie Ward goes missing while horse riding near cliffs

Headhunters (4 Nov 75) With Triumph close to production, Jim Fraser's stock has never been higher, so when a vacancy appears on the board he should be favourite. Meanwhile, the French oil industry looks to recruit Frank Ward.

The Fatal Hours Part 1 (11 Nov 75) Frank Ward decides to remain in Scotland but wants a better deal. With everybody waiting for the predicted oil output, Shona uses her friendship with Donald to get an exclusive for the Gazette.

The Fatal Hours Part 2 (18 Nov 75) A heavy storm arrives, and a Met Buoy has come loose from its anchor and is trapped between the legs of the rig. Frank Ward has to get seventy men to safety in case the weather causes a collapse.