[somethingbeautiful]

Did anyone see this? It's on ITV player (here: http://www.itv.com/itvplayer/video/?Filter=316919)

Spoiler:

Show

For anyone who hasn't seen it, it's a documentary which follows the lives of ordinary people and catches up with them every 7 years. So the participants have been involved since they were 7 years old (some of them dropped out for good and some of them dropped out and rejoined).

I thought that Neil - the guy who ended up being a Liberal Democrat was a really interesting character.

After watching it though I felt a bit down. It makes you realize how fast life goes and actually how predictable we are as individuals from an objective perspective. I've read some comments on newspaper reviews of the show and a lot of people seem to have picked up on it - the fact that you can predict how someone's life will pan out (not in all cases) while that individual never had any idea. I find that kind of uncomfortable - it means that I am predictable too! On the positive side though, it was nice that everyone seemed to be happy with their lives and that they were all successful in their own way.

Thoughts on the first episode (it's a 3 part documentary)?

[Mister Dead]

I'm going to stay in bed all day and watch the whole 7 up series after my exams. It's something i've been meaning to do for a long time. I will report back for a natter

[somethingbeautiful]

(Original post by Mister Dead)
I'm going to stay in bed all day and watch the whole 7 up series after my exams. It's something i've been meaning to do for a long time. I will report back for a natter

I'm going to do this too .

[neversurrender]

Our teacher showed us the first episode in school a few years ago and I've been fascinated by it ever since. I've seen bits and bobs of the various installments but never actually sat down and watched the entire series, although I have seen 7 Up, 49 Up and 56 Up in full. Neil's story always made me very sad. Particularly when they played back clips of him as a 7 year old - bright, happy, engaging, full of life, hope and optimism. It's incredibly hard to see what life did to him, even though he seemed a lot more accepting of his situation in 56 Up than he maybe ever had been before.

I will definitely watch them all when I have time. Such a unique project, it's hard to think they'd ever make something like that today.

[internet tough guy]

(Original post by neversurrender)
Our teacher showed us the first episode in school a few years ago and I've been fascinated by it ever since. I've seen bits and bobs of the various installments but never actually sat down and watched the entire series, although I have seen 7 Up, 49 Up and 56 Up in full. Neil's story always made me very sad. Particularly when they played back clips of him as a 7 year old - bright, happy, engaging, full of life, hope and optimism. It's incredibly hard to see what life did to him, even though he seemed a lot more accepting of his situation in 56 Up than he maybe ever had been before.

I will definitely watch them all when I have time. Such a unique project, it's hard to think they'd ever make something like that today.

what happened to neil?

[somethingbeautiful]

(Original post by internet tough guy)
what happened to neil?

He became homeless, in his 20's I think. He was treated for psychological problems too. But he seems to have dramatically turned his life around. It's sad to see how cruel life can be to someone who seems like a genuinely nice person.

[geetar]

I first saw this in a school lesson back in 2006. It was interesting to see this update, thanks for posting it here.

Neil seemed pretty resentful of the impact that the programme has had upon him.

[barnetlad]

I saw it and agree Neil's story is a sad one, though he seems to be happier and more fulfilled now. Given how rare any programme of its kind must have been when first shown or even 14up, 21up and 28up (no other reality programmes in the 1980s) anyone in it must have had a lot of unwanted attention.