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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 333076" data-attributes="member: 23">Last night saw me watch two-thirds of 56 Up.This seems a period of great stability and relative happiness for everyone so far. So much so that there's very little I feel I want to say about much of it, other than it's always a treat to spend time with them.At risk of sounding harsh, I'm glad Neil appeared early rather than building up with the same "is Neil still roaming the country?" type blurb we've seen. He continues to be a particularly interesting individual, and it's obvious why there will be interest in his story but, had the episode structure continued it risked making everyone else feel like the appetisers and Neil the main event. It's good to see he's still a Lib Dem councillor and heavily involved in the community tending to others' spiritual needs.Nick and Suzy made an interesting pair and have been in touch since one of the 40s episodes. But the roots of their connection seem to run deeper. Suzy says Nick was about the only person to whom she felt she could relate when they all got together for 21, so seeds have been planted for a long time. There seemed to be an ease between them that would have been almost unthinkable watching their vasty different lives in 7 and 14. Nick has a little more of a trace of a Mid-Atlantic accent each time he appears, but (pleasingly) far less than most would after living in the States for so long. I'm glad Suzy reconsidered quitting the series. Her comment about feeling loyalty to the series even though she hates it - likening it to reading a bad book to the last page - made sense. Perhaps the most interesting moment came when Nick said he would have worked in the UK in a heartbeat instead of leaving for America if it hadn't been for Thatcher's government having a stranglehold on the universities at the time. Suzy's response was neutral, and it got me wondering about her political stance. Everything about her feels true blue, but she did also have her rebellious phase circa 21 and has spoken about becoming more open minded as she got older. Interesting.It was very (pleasantly) surprising to see Peter back, not having seen him since 28, half a lifetime ago.Peter confirmed he'd not returned since 28 because of the response from the press and the public after his comments. Seems he was given a very hard time. He did leave teaching shortly afterwards, but says it was unrelated. All the same, I'm sure it must have few raised eyebrows among his colleagues. It did irk slightly that his main reason for returning was to plug his band (similar to John's return to promote his charity, but at least that was for a good cause and not self-gain), but having some time to catch up with him was appreciated.</blockquote>

Verification: Who played JR Ewing?