Hulu’s offering of Rivals is all about shagging and a nod and wink to 1980’s talk shows. Declan, the Irish darling of the Beeb, appears to be an amalgamation of Terry Wogan, Michael Parkinson and Russell Harty.
If there is any question about references, one only has to watch the Declan montage of interviews. There is a Rod Hull moment (Harty)and what could be a Dame Helen Mirren moment (Parkinson).
Episode one of Rivals ended in a sexual montage to end the ages. All the main, and not so main, characters wind up shagging enthusiastically at the episode’s end. The Russell Harty connection has not yet been made though.
*In real life, Harty started on LWT (commercial television) and then wound up on the Beeb (BBC). In Rivals; Declan, the Harty/Wogan/Parkinson of this world, starts off on Auntie Beeb. Wogan, the Irishman who could, started and stayed on the BBC. Michael Parkinson bounced from commercial television to the BBC and back again.*
The story
The “commercial” television producers must compete with one another to keep their franchises. The 1980’s was a fierce time of competition. Tony Baddingham is struggling to keep Corinium Television the production company of the Cotswolds on air. He poaches Irish talk show host Declan O’Hara from Auntie Beeb to this end.
Lady Gosling tells Baddingham he needs to beef up his board with a lord or two. He is told to woo aristo Rupert Campbell-Black. The notorious ladies man and, rumoured, lover extraordinaire to the ranks. Campbell-Black refuses.
Declan’s talk show takes off and Campbell-Black continues to make a name for himself between the sheets.
Dame Jilly Cooper
The Hulu series of Rivals is taken from Dame Jilly Cooper’s book of the same name. *It is also known as Players.* Cooper is the more English version of Jackie Collins OBE. Both English women’s books feature a lot of sex, infidelity and “upper class” shenanigans.”
Collins (1937 – 2015) is the sister of award winning actress and novelist Joan and she, along with Dame Jilly, were top of the charts for sexy novels. Cooper started with non-fiction. Her breakout fiction international best seller Riders was followed by Rivals. The books are part of her “The Rutshire Chronicles. “
Cooper is an English Icon of sorts.
Rivals: The Main Cast
David Tennant is Tony Baddingham
Aidan Turner is Declan O’Hara
Alex Hassell is Rupert Campbell-Black
Emily Atack is Sarah Statton
Katherine Parkinson is Lizzie Vereker
Danny Dyer is Freddie Jones
Nafessa Williams is Cameron Cook
Bella Maclean is Taggie O’Hara
Claire Rushbrook is Lady Monica Baddingham
The United Kingdom and ’80’s tV
Rivals is a snapshot of England in the 1980’s. Sex, booze, parties and television franchises. Commercial tv was coming into its own and it was a time of fierce competition. The country had three television channels until 1982. Two of those channels were BBC. Channel Four started broadcasting in 1982 an addition to ITV. It is certainly fitting that Cooper chose this backdrop for her novel.
The Verdict
Rivals is good tawdry fun. It may all be about shagging but that was the ’80’s in England. At least according to Dame Jilly Cooper. Rivals is a Hulu property and therefore can be streamed on their platform. Head on over and check this one out.
It may just be your “cup of tea.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.