My Critique of The Glory Boys
The Glory Boys wields its international star pairing effectively. Steiger and Perkins ground a sober procedural that draws anxious 1980s Britain into uneasy focus.
Its cat-and-mouse interplay unfolds with credible bureaucratic friction, yet the later feature recut flattens nuance for momentum. Compared with contemporaneous British thrillers, it leans political rather than purely procedural, but still prioritises suspense over polemic.
For modern viewers, it matters as a snapshot of pre-9/11 anxieties, its strengths in performance and urban texture enduring while pacing and dated production touchstones occasionally show. As a terrorism narrative, it remains admirably sober yet ethically ambivalent, marking a distinctive, if imperfect, artifact of its era.
Principal Characters & Performances
Professor David Sokarev (Rod Steiger)
Rod Steiger brings a formidable, weary gravitas to the role of Professor David Sokarev. He is not an action hero, but an Israeli nuclear scientist whose intellect has made him a target.
Steiger’s performance is central to the series’ moral weight.
He portrays Sokarev as a man burdened by the consequences of his work, aware that his very presence in London is a political lightning rod. The character is a figure of quiet dignity and simmering fear, caught in a trap of his own making.
Steiger’s scenes, particularly those with Anthony Perkins’ Jimmy, are dialogues of philosophy and pragmatism. He embodies the human cost of geopolitical conflict, making the abstract threat of terrorism painfully personal for the audience.
His presence elevates the material from a simple chase thriller to a drama about responsibility and survival. The success of the series hinges on believing in Sokarev’s importance, and Steiger’s committed performance ensures we never doubt it.
Jimmy (Anthony Perkins)
Anthony Perkins plays Jimmy, a British security agent tasked with protecting Sokarev. Perkins brings a distinctive, nervy intensity to the role, a man operating on instinct within a rigid bureaucracy.
His Jimmy is often isolated and frustrated.
He must navigate the scepticism of his superiors while racing against an unseen clock. Perkins excels at portraying this kind of intelligent paranoia, making Jimmy’s deductive leaps and growing desperation feel authentic.
The character’s personal life, through his relationship with Helen, is subtly woven into the professional pressure. Perkins shows us the toll the job takes, not through grand speeches, but through strained conversations and a relentless focus.
His performance creates a compelling anchor for the British security perspective. We follow his investigation, share his frustrations, and ultimately rely on his resolve to thwart the converging threats.
Notable Support and Guest Stars
Alfred Burke is perfectly cast as Jones, the head of British security. He embodies the bureaucratic mind, where political consequences and inter-agency protocol often weigh as heavily as immediate danger.
Burke provides the necessary counterpoint to Jimmy’s urgency.
Joanna Lumley plays Helen, who is both Jimmy’s girlfriend and Jones’s secretary. Lumley brings warmth and a grounded normality to the role, representing the everyday world that is endangered by these high-stakes events.
Her character is a vital human connection.
Aaron Harris and Gary Brown are effectively chilling as the terrorist duo, Cillian McCoy and Famy. Harris portrays the reluctant IRA gunman with a grim resolve, while Brown embodies the fanatical commitment of the Palestinian operative.
Their uneasy alliance drives the plot’s tension.
Sallyanne Law appears as Norah, a local woman who becomes an unwitting participant by sheltering a wounded terrorist. Her performance adds a crucial layer of domestic realism, showing how international conflicts violently intrude upon ordinary lives.
Iain Cuthbertson and Alan MacNaughtan round out the strong supporting cast, contributing to the series’ authentic depiction of the security and political establishment facing an unprecedented crisis.
Key Episodes & Defining Stories
Episode 1
The opening episode is where the complex machinery of the plot is meticulously assembled. We are introduced to Rod Steiger’s Professor Sokarev and the immediate threat against him in the Middle East.
The surviving gunman, Famy, sets his course for London.
Parallel to this, we meet Aaron Harris’ Cillian McCoy, an IRA man given a distasteful new assignment. Anthony Perkins’ Jimmy enters the fray, sensing the looming disaster but facing institutional inertia from superiors like Alfred Burke’s Jones.
Directed by Michael Ferguson from Gerald Seymour’s adaptation, this hour is less about action and more about establishing a pervasive sense of dread. It grounds the international thriller in the very real, rain-slicked streets of 1980s Britain.
Fans remember it for its sober tone and patient world-building. It refuses to rush, instead letting the audience understand the motivations and pressures on all sides, from the scientists and spies to the terrorists, making the coming collision feel inevitable and terrifying.
Episode 2
This is the tense core of the cat-and-mouse game. With the players established, the second episode tightens the noose.
Famy and McCoy are in London, refining their plan and navigating their own mutual distrust. The procedural detail of their preparation is compelling.
Meanwhile, Jimmy’s investigation gains traction but is hamstrung by bureaucracy and diplomatic caution. The intercutting between the hunters preparing and the protectors scrambling creates superb suspense.
Joanna Lumley’s Helen becomes more involved, raising the personal stakes.
The episode, produced by Michael Glynn, makes excellent use of its London locations. Seeing the terrorists blend into the urban landscape makes the threat feel immediate.
The suspense is built through intelligence work, surveillance, and the agonising wait for the attack to manifest.
It’s remembered for its masterful pacing and for showcasing the series’ strength: a believable depiction of how a modern city and its security apparatus respond to a hidden, patient threat. The drama is in the chase, not the shootout.
Episode 3
The finale brings the converging threads to a head at Sokarev’s public appearance. All the patient build-up pays off in a climax of sustained suspense.
Jimmy is forced into a final, desperate effort to intercept the assassins, operating at the edge of his authority.
Rod Steiger gets powerful moments as Sokarev confronts his mortality and the legacy of his work. The supporting roles, from Sallyanne Law’s Norah to Alfred Burke’s Jones, are drawn directly into the danger, emphasizing the human cost.
Edited by Elizabeth Kling, the conclusion stays true to Gerald Seymour’s morally complex source material. It avoids simplistic heroics, opting instead for a resolution that feels earned and grimly realistic.
The fates of the terrorist alliance are handled with a sober clarity.
Fans value this episode for delivering on the series’ promise without resorting to spectacle. It remains a character-driven thriller to the last moment, cementing The Glory Boys’ reputation as a thinking person’s suspense story, more concerned with consequences than catharsis.
The World of The Glory Boys
The world of The Glory Boys is a specific and anxious slice of the 1980s. It is not a glamorous spy fantasy, but a grounded portrayal of London as a battleground for imported conflicts.
The setting is all wet pavements, drab government offices, and anonymous suburban streets.
This is a Britain caught between its global role and domestic vulnerability. The Cold War backdrop is felt in Sokarev’s profession, while the very contemporary threats of the IRA and Palestinian militancy drive the plot.
The environment feels lived-in and real.
Cinematographer Alan Pyrah’s work captures this perfectly, using the UK locations to create a mood of pervasive unease. The score by Alan Parker underlines the tension without overwhelming it.
It’s a world where danger is methodical, bureaucracy is a formidable obstacle, and ordinary lives are the ultimate collateral.
Origin Story
The Glory Boys began as a novel by Gerald Seymour, who adapted it for television himself. Yorkshire Television produced the three-part miniseries for the ITV network, with Michael Ferguson directing and Michael Glynn producing.
Executive producers were Alan Landsburg and David Cunliffe.
It was first broadcast over three consecutive nights in October 1984. The production secured a notable Anglo-American lead cast with Rod Steiger and Anthony Perkins, supported by a strong British ensemble.
It was filmed in the UK, with locations including London and Leeds.
The series was later re-edited into a 104-minute television film for international distribution, a common practice for British serials at the time. This gave the story a second life in markets that preferred a feature-length format.
Narrative Style & Tone
The narrative style is procedural and patient. It intercuts calmly between the terrorists, the security services, and Sokarev himself, building a comprehensive picture of the impending crisis.
The pacing is deliberate, favouring suspense over sudden action.
The tone is sober and politically literate, refusing to sensationalise its subject matter. It is a dialogue-driven thriller where strategy and intelligence are as important as physical confrontation.
The style reflects the era’s television aesthetics, shot in 4:3 with a focus on location realism and character interaction.
This creates a slow-burn tension that feels authentic. The drama emerges from the clash of ideologies and the grinding mechanics of security work, making the eventual climax all the more impactful.
How is The Glory Boys remembered?
The Glory Boys is remembered as a solid, serious entry in the wave of 1980s British political thrillers. Its reputation rests on the strength of its lead performances by Rod Steiger and Anthony Perkins, and its uncompromising treatment of a tense subject.
While some production aspects are naturally dated, its core strengths—the intelligent script, strong cast, and realistic tension—remain effective. It has cultivated a modest cult following, appreciated by fans of the genre for its lack of glamour and its procedural honesty.
Its continued availability on streaming platforms like Amazon Prime Video allows new audiences to discover it. Retrospective views often highlight it as a compelling, if sometimes overlooked, example of ITV drama tackling international terrorism with a clear-eyed and sober approach.
The notable off-screen anecdote of Anthony Perkins’ legal troubles during filming sometimes surfaces in discussions, but the work itself is judged on its own considerable merits as a thoughtful and suspenseful miniseries.
In Closing
The Glory Boys stands as a testament to the power of a well-told, character-driven thriller. It offers a gripping, intelligent story anchored by superb performances, capturing a specific moment of anxiety with skill and resonance.