The episode opens in 1891 Yorkshire on the docks where fish workers are hard at work. Sam Hardacre (Liam McMahon) shouts out orders while walking around. After dropping a basket into a boat, he turns to look at Mary Hardacre (Claire Cooper) who views him as the finest Irishman in Yorkshire. Lena Temple (Siobhan O’Kelly) offers to take him off her hands whenever she wants. Sam empties his basket of fish into Mary’s barrel and kisses her. Little Pete (David O’Reilly) alerts Sam of a damaged crane. Liza Hardacre (Shannon Lavelle) assures the women that there is more to life than man. Sam warns Mr. Shaw (David Pearse) of utilizing the crane in its current condition. Shaw questions how they will load his fish without it. Sam insists loading the fish onto Lady Jane by hand. Shaw stops to compliment the women degutting the fish. Liza sarcastically mocks him when he is out of earshot. Sam emerges from a building to see Albie (Paul Ward) directing a crate of fish attached to the crane. He orders him to not use it. Albie claims Shaw threatened to fire them if they refused. The crane cracks. Sam races to push Albie out of harm’s way before the crane breaks. Mary rushes over to check on Sam who sustained an injury to his hand but Albie is injured. A short time later, Dr. Mason (Chris McHallem) treats Sam’s injured hand. Mary asks if he can give Sam some pain medicine. Mason offers him laudanum for two shillings. Lena sarcastically suggests shooting Sam in the head instead. Mason says Sam possibly suffered nerve damage and a severed tendon. Sam asks when he will be cleared to return to work. Mason warns him that he may never work again but he will have his hand. Mary pays him.
Liza comforts Sam. Joe Hardacre (Adam Little) urges her to leave Sam alone. Sam assures them that his hand will mend. The next morning, Mary tells her family that Sam’s hand is paining him. Mr. Gibbons (Andrew Bradley) stops by to collect the rent. Realizing there isn’t enough to pay the rent, Mary tells him about Sam’s accident. He reminds her of the no-credit policy. She says they have never been late before and refuses to let him evict them. Sam vows to pay him when he returns to work in a few days. Ma (Julie Graham) scoffs across the room. Gibbons agrees to wait. Upon arriving at work, Lena tells Mary that she and Betsy (Temple) would like to help but they are barely scraping by. A speeding horse and carriage nearly hits them. Mary imagines what it would be like to have money and no worries. She visits Shaw to ask him for a payroll advance. He says if he did it for Sam, all the other workers would expect the same. She reminds him of how dedicated has been to his job. Shutting the door, he grabs her around the waist, and says she would have to do him a favor. Wrapping her arms around him, she whispers in his ear that she wouldn’t touch him with a bargepole before kneeing him. Grimacing in paid, he falls to his knees, and vows to make sure she never works there again. She informs Liza, Joe, Betsy, Lena, and Ma of what happened and warns them against telling Sam. Liza and Ma quit as well. Joe stays to work for Shaw.
Sam reaches for the teakettle with his injured hand but it falls to the floor. While cleaning up the water, Mary admits to quitting after Shaw refused her payroll advance request. He asks where they are supposed to get money for the rent. She promises to find them work. The next morning, Mary, Liza, and Ma walk to Thornton Hall. Mary tries to convince Liza that it is an opportunity for her to travel and live in a mansion. Ma says they will be lucky to get jobs cleaning the privy. Mrs. Dryden (Ingrid Craigie) answers the door. Liza tells her that they are looking for work. Mary says they are hard workers. Getting a scent of fish, Dryden asks if it is them. Feeling insulted, Ma says money couldn’t get her to work for her. Dryden asks them to leave. Over dinner, Harry Hardacre (Zak Ford-Williams) suggests selling the pony and cart but Ma refuses because she will need to them for her old smuggling scheme. Mary reminds her of how the run was too much for her. Liza offers to help Ma. Mary asks if she wants to go to jail. Liza expresses her desire to be independent. Mary says they could establish a fried herring stall. Sam insists she speak to Shaw because he will be returning to work in a few days but she refuses.
The next morning, Ma and Eliza slip out of the house and head toward the docks. Harry and Mary attend an herring auction. She bids 27 shillings and wins Lot 27. He asks a guy for help loading the fish on her cart. At The Lucky Sailor, Ma and Big Jonesey (Eddie Capli) agree to a 70/30 split, spit on their hands, and shake on it. Ma ties the illegal goods to Liza’s leg. At the racetrack, Mary and Harry are having trouble selling their fried herring. She begins to question if it was a bad idea. Harry urges her to show some enthusiasm. They sell their first fried herring to a gentleman. Two other gentlemen place their orders. At the docks, Albie thanks Sam for keeping him from getting injured. Sam tells Shaw that he is ready to return to work. Shaw tosses him a herring. When Sam misses it, a smirking Shaw says he is no use to him. Sam walks away disappointed. At the racetrack, Harry counts their earnings – two pounds and six. The Wilson boys watch them from a short distance away. Elsewhere, Liza and Ma make their first delivery to Chinny the Butcher (Stuart Wolfenden). Liza demands to turn away while she fills his cup with smuggled gun. He says she is definitely Ma’s kinfolk. At the racetrack, Harry and Mary boast of their earnings while loading their wagon. Paddy Wilson (Ben Carolan) and his brother approach and demand their cut. Harry tells them to leave. One of the boys twists his arm. Fearing for Harry’s life, Mary hands over all their earnings and rushes over to Harry.
Harry tells Sam and Ma about the thieves taking their two pounds and six. Ma gives Mary their cut from the smuggled gin. Mary says she risked Liza for a few shillings. Ma tells her to come off her high horse. Mary blames herself for not returning to the docks. Ma asks how she could even consider after what Shaw did. Irate, Sam demands to know more. A short time later, he takes their pay from Shaw and threatens to him if he ever looks at Mary again. He orders Joe to go home. Tossing the money on the table, Sam says it is from Shaw who also sends his apology. He admits his hand is worse than what he wanted to believe and insists she utilize what is left after the rent is paid to buy herring. The next morning, Harry creates a sign for their fish stand. Joe sarcastically says they won’t need it. Harry accuses him of looking out for himself while he helped Mary. Joe claims to have thought Sam would have wanted it. Joe feels he left Mary down. Sam tells him about his troubled relationship with his alcoholic father. Joe apologizes and Mary embraces him. At the racetrack, the Hardacre family work together to prepare and sell fried herring. Their day’s earning is four pound, six shillings, and five. Mary sees the Wilson boys threatening a man. Everyone leaves except for Mary and Ma. Paddy Wilson (Ben Carolan) demands they pay up. Ma threatens to tell their father if they don’t return Mary’s three pounds and six. When Paddy argues, Ma increases the amount. He hands over the money. She introduces them to Joe and Sam.
Sam and Mary seek financial advice from Callum Saunders (Taheen Modak), Mr. Pearson’s successor. Callum urges them to open a bank account and if they hire him, they will have full control over their monies. Mary dumps the bag of money on his desk. He suggests they expand. Later, they open their own restaurant, Hardacre Herring. They drop their earnings off with Callum and continue to expand their business. Ma and Liza continue to run their smuggling business. When Sam and Mary drop their earnings off with Callum, they receive their shares for the Grand Junction Canal. They continue to sell friend herring, expand their business, and buy shares in various companies.
Joe asks for an advance on his wages. Mary says he has been out three nights in a roll and declines his request. Eliza confronts Ma about receiving a lower cut than her. Ma says she is in training and quit if she doesn’t like it. Eliza quits. Callum stops buy to update Sam and Mary on their stock. Ma accuses them of scolding her for gambling when they are doing to same. Callum says the South African mine that they invested in struck gold and suggests they acquire a home that better suits their new circumstances. Sam and Mary are now worth 249,146 pounds and 16 shillings. The family celebrate their success. Mary gives Callum a big kiss. Later, Sam is feeling down about his background. Mary tells him that Harry can finally get a proper education. Ma insists Mary will need her to deal with the elite. Later, Mary gives Lena an envelope. Lena reluctantly accepts it. Betsy tells Joe to not forget them. He promises to try not to.
Dryden, Mr. Harker (Graeme Coughlan), Maggie (Ella Maria Carmen), Mrs. Henderson (Paula Wolfenden), and the other servants wait on the new owners of the manor. The Hardacre family arrive in their horse and cart. Frantic, Dryden orders them to leave. Mary reminds her of how she refused them work and walks past her. Dryden asks who they think they are. Mary says they are the Hardacres and she can call her mam. The episode ends.
The Hardacres Synopsis
Sam and Mary are barely scrapping by when he suffers an injury and cannot return to work. Mary requests a payroll advance but Shaw has something else in mind. She quits and invests their remaining money in a lot of herring. Ma returns to her old smuggling job along with Eliza. Mary and Harry earn over two pounds on their first day but the Wilson brothers rob them. Ma and Eliza earn only a few shillings. Sam becomes irate when he learns Shaw made an advance at Mary.
Profits from the fried herring stall begins to add up. Sam and Mary invest a portion of their proceeds in stock. When one of their investments, a gold mine, strikes gold, they finally have enough money to live in luxury.
The Hardacres Review
The plot is striking similar to that of The Beverly Hillbillies. The Clampetts are a poor family living in Ozark Mountains when they discover oil on their land. They become millionaires and move to a mansion in Beverly Hills. We know C.L. Sketon’s 1974 novel series isn’t based on a true story. The Beverly Hillbillies debuted in 1962 and ran through 1971 on CBS. The similarities are too close to ignore.
The story progresses quite quickly, maybe too quickly. Nothing really stands out about the acting. There is no character development and the characters are one-dimensional. The cinematography is decent for the most part. The writing is weak and very often, cringeworthy. The first episode deserves a 5.2 out of 10.
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Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
