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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 333378" data-attributes="member: 23">Last night I watched some of the bonus features on the Up discs. 7 Up & Me wasn't what I'd expected. I didn't read any blurb about it, so I'd expected it to be the participants speaking about the series. Instead it was talking heads of "celebs" (as usual mostly people you'd long forgotten or people you'd never heard of to begin with)  speaking about their relationship with the series. Some seemed to be genuine fans, while others seemed far less so. It had the low-rent feel of a Channel 5 thing, but was presumably made by Granada as they wheeled out the usual suspects from that stable: Bill Roache and Rula Lenska (they came as one unit);  Matthew Kelly; the one who was on Corrie for five minutes before moving on up to Loose Women and The Celebrity Chase; the flamboyant comedian; the one best-known for marrying high profile pop stars and actors; Eamon Holmes; Lord Sebastian Coe; Eamon Holmes; Even Boris Johnson's father (this was filmed before allegations of spousal abuse and spanking female colleagues came to light). The celebs wave pictures of their young selves at 7, 14 and 21 at the camera with most talking through their lives, some frequently becoming tearful as they shared their painful memories with the camera. We see them watching scenes from the series, emoting with self-conscious intensity: smiling; wiping away tears (which they ensure the cameraman captures in close-up) and even speaking to the characters on screen.  I appreciate that watching Up does invite the audience's reflection on their own lives and thinking about our own lives in terms of those seven year cycles can be a fascinating experience (and yes, not always a painless one), but the fact is that the film is ostensibly about the Uppers, but ends up being a veiled excuse for the celebs to promote their own stories of perseverance, survival and true grit. I found this aspect incredibly indulgent. It wasn't without its interest. In some cases, much of their interest in the series does seem genuine. Seb Coe draws an interesting parallel with his own story and Tony's infamous go on the track with Lester Piggott, wondering what his own path might have been had he not enjoyed such success early in his running career. But it's definitely one for either hardcore Up fans or those particularly interested in any of the celebs. The Michael Apted interviews were more interesting. Even though it was just a dry, talking head, he speaks well and really got across the exciting energy at Granada and the then fledgling ITV. He talks about his time on Corrie and The Lovers.  His symbiotic working relationship with Jack Rosenthal. His faux pas directing a live news programme where he forgot to place the sound man and ended up transmitting a silent report. He mentions a gritty crime series called Big Breadwinner Hog on which he directed, which contained levels of violence never seen in a tv series before (the first episode featured an acid attack) and which drew in complaints for its graphic violence and amorality. Naturally, it's now on my radar. And he talks about Up: How it was only ever meant to be one film. How the powers that be really thought he wouldn't return to it every seven years once he had huge success and moved to America. How he was willing to be the bad guy for the sake of such an important document (refusing, for instance, to edit out something a participant regretted saying). He also speaks a little about the process, with Uppers contacted late summer the year prior to the next film, the films shot early in the year to usually air in late spring or early summer. With my current thirst for all things Up, this hit the spot nicely. It's a shame there wasn't more about the participants, but I suppose everything we need to know is in the films themselves. Which means I'll have to be patient and wait four years for 70 Up.</blockquote>

Verification: Who played Sue Ellen in Dallas?