Another series from the Guardian's top 50 shows of 2021 was the three-part BBC documentary "Gods of Snooker" which the Guardian unironically referred to being Britain's answer to "The Last Dance". Despite not having the same international appeal, the shows exploration of characters make the comparison not as far fetched as it sounds.
The arrival of colour television and the introduction of the BBC Show "Pot Black" leads to a boom in the popularity of Snooker in 1980's Britain. At the forefront of this popularity is a charismatic, but erratic Northern Irishman, Alex Higgins, whose mercurial talent is undone by his daring, maybe even suicidal style. A young Londoner, Steve Davis, is Higgins opposite - a snooker metronome and Mr consistency. As Davis wins championships though never the adoration of the crowd, his friend, Sports agent Barry Hearn sets up a snooker agency, designed to dominate the sport and earn lucrative sponsorship deals.
Though they never received in world acclaim like Michael Jordan, scaled down to the UK audience at the time, the stars of Snooker were a big deal for that period of the 80's. Though, at the time, people may have chosen to see their favourites are heroes and their opposition as villains, the documentary does try - on the whole - to present all the people involved as real life human beings. I say "on the whole" as there is a real love affair with Higgins and his people's champion narrative. It's easy to understand why though, as his is a story is one of massive highs and devastating (and public) lows.
Pretty much all of the characters who are still with us were interviewed and most get to put their point across in a series of funny, and sometimes pointedly honest interviews, such as Jimmy White who discusses how drug abuse blighted his career too.
Does it perhaps hold that much appeal to anyone without at least a passing interest in Snooker? Maybe not, but it's a thorough and compelling story of the games relatively recent past.
The arrival of colour television and the introduction of the BBC Show "Pot Black" leads to a boom in the popularity of Snooker in 1980's Britain. At the forefront of this popularity is a charismatic, but erratic Northern Irishman, Alex Higgins, whose mercurial talent is undone by his daring, maybe even suicidal style. A young Londoner, Steve Davis, is Higgins opposite - a snooker metronome and Mr consistency. As Davis wins championships though never the adoration of the crowd, his friend, Sports agent Barry Hearn sets up a snooker agency, designed to dominate the sport and earn lucrative sponsorship deals.
Though they never received in world acclaim like Michael Jordan, scaled down to the UK audience at the time, the stars of Snooker were a big deal for that period of the 80's. Though, at the time, people may have chosen to see their favourites are heroes and their opposition as villains, the documentary does try - on the whole - to present all the people involved as real life human beings. I say "on the whole" as there is a real love affair with Higgins and his people's champion narrative. It's easy to understand why though, as his is a story is one of massive highs and devastating (and public) lows.
Pretty much all of the characters who are still with us were interviewed and most get to put their point across in a series of funny, and sometimes pointedly honest interviews, such as Jimmy White who discusses how drug abuse blighted his career too.
Does it perhaps hold that much appeal to anyone without at least a passing interest in Snooker? Maybe not, but it's a thorough and compelling story of the games relatively recent past.