I've now finished watching all five seasons of "Wind At My Back" on DVD. There is a sequel, "A Wind At My Back Christmas," which I will purchase when I am able. "Wind At My Back" is an excellent series. I highly recommend it. Set in a mining town in Northern Ontario, Canada, in the 1930's, it focuses on the lives of members of the Bailey family, a fictitious family with both wealthy and impoverished branches. Out of a possible five stars, I would award the series four and a half stars. I'll relate here the positives and the negatives.
The positives:
First of all, it is a compelling story. Through all of the episodes (each episode lasts forty-five minutes), my interest was keenly held. Even though I had seen most, though not all, of the episodes when they were broadcast as reruns recently on BYU-TV, I was still riveted. The creators of the series knew how to spin a good yarn, believable, containing depth and compelling human interest.
Clearly, a lot of research was done into the styles and history of the 1930's, clothing styles, auto styles, architectural and other styles. The dominant historical background was the Great Depression, which, as in the United States, was keenly felt in Canada and led to much hardship and suffering. Thus, this series has more in common with a Theodore Dreiser novel than "Father Knows Best" or "Leave It To Beaver." Not every story has a happy ending. Serious problems are addressed, big struggles are shown.
The characters portrayed are very believable. Some of them were likable, some were not. Much of the focus was on the growing young Bailey boys, "Hub" (Hubert) and "Fat" (Henry) who grow from childhood into adolescence. They have struggles, strengths and weaknesses, triumphs and defeats. Both are very engaging, both are at times infuriating, and both are credibly played by the actors portraying them. Their stepfather, Max Sutton, teacher, coach, and later mayor of the town, is nearly perfect as a mentor and guide.
There are two o...
