John P-W

I am proud to say that it was due to a letter that I sent to the BBC and which was published in the Radio times in February 2022 that this almost mythical series was finally unbanned and was announced that it was going to be shown just four or five weeks later, after more than 50 years of being hidden in the archives and prohibited from public view. It is a very brave attempt to show Sartre's concept of Existentialism and of one's Freedom to choose as shown in his literary masterpiece Roads to Freedom. However, with only four episodes covering each book, it cannot really go into the depth needed to really get to grips with Sartre's ideas. Everybody's favourite character seems to be the masochistic homosexual character Daniel but the central focus is around the often ineffectual teacher, Matthieu. If you have read the books then, you will either be thrilled by it's showing, or possibly a bit disappointed by its lack of depth but if you haven't read the books it is enjoyable for its own sake. Maybe, it will pique your interest in Sartre's fictional writing (although the characters are based on real people), as it did mine over 50 years ago and you will go on to read one of the most fascinating group of books that, I personally, have ever read.