The BBC had an evening "play" or feature length one off drama slot once upon a time, and "Money For Nothing" was one of the last ones made; that series had some excellent stories with "Trust Me", "Breed of Heroes", a story featuring Peter Bowles as a man having a really bad day and who realises he's actually dead at the end (sorry, can't remember the title but it was very good). The writing was strong, performances uniformly excellent and all well directed. "Money For Nothing" had the same writer as "Preston Front" (a very underrated talent) and was a great story about a teenager who has a bet with a friend that he can't be worth £1million in a week. The lad, played by Christien Anholt, manages to bluff everyone by getting a suit on loan, a car on loan, a phone on loan, sets up a bogus company, changes his name to sound more impressive, bids on property in auctions which he can't pay for, and tries to set up deals with various corporations in the hope that they will invest with him. Along the way there's romance and a threat of danger when he makes a deal with a ruthless American corporation. It should have launched Christien Anholt's career big time but didn't, alas, and it's an indictment of BBC policy since the early 90's that they've ditched an excellent showcase for talent in "Screen One".
Review of Money for Nothing
