''Perfect Strangers'' is a television drama first aired in 2001, produced for BBC Two. It was written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff, and starred Michael Gambon, who won a British Academy Television Award for his performance,

Lindsay Duncan Lindsay Vere Duncan (born 7 November 1950) is a Scottish actress. On stage, she has won two Olivier Awards (for ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' and ''Private Lives'') and a Tony Award (for ''Private Lives''). She has starred in several plays by Ha ...

, Matthew Macfadyen,

Claire Skinner Claire Skinner (born 1965) is an English actress, known in the United Kingdom for her television career, particularly playing Sue Brockman from the BBC television series '' Outnumbered''. Early life Claire Skinner was born and brought up in ...

, and

Toby Stephens Toby Stephens (born 21 April 1969) is an English actor who has appeared in films in the UK, US and India. He is known for the roles of Bond villain Gustav Graves in the 2002 James Bond film ''Die Another Day'' (for which he was nominated for th ...

. The drama received two Royal Television Society awards and a Peabody Award. The action takes place during a large family reunion at a hotel. It aired on BBC America under the title ''Almost Strangers''.

Summary

The series is set over a three-day family reunion of considerably more than a hundred guests, that draws together the extended branches of the Symon family. Raymond Symon ( Michael Gambon) reluctantly attends with his wife Esther (

Jill Baker Jill Baker (born 1952) is a British actress who has worked extensively in theatre and television for 50 years. Personal life Baker is a graduate of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She and actor Bob Peck were married for 17 years, from 19 ...

) and son Daniel ( Matthew Macfadyen), who was not aware of the sprawl of his extended family because of his father Lionel's (

Jay Simon Jay Simon (born 17 December 1966) is an English actor best known for screen roles including: Doug in '' The Royal Treatment'', Alan Griever in '' Filthy Rich'',Senator Regulus in ''Roman Empire (TV Series) '' , Papa Monster and Edisson in '' The ...

) estrangement from his relatives. The stories Daniel learns about his family's past are episodic and non-linear, from his mysterious presence in a photograph taken at a children's party that he can't remember attending, to the wartime experiences of three distant elderly cousins. An important plot strand concentrates on a rift between two cousins (

and

) and their aunt (

) that has grown since the sudden death of the cousins' brother and Daniel's attempts to reunite the trio. An early incident of Raymond suffering a stroke while giving a withering speech to the reunion-goers and his subsequent bedridden state force him to appreciate the character of relatives that reflect his. Poliakoff's use of old photographs to unlock the intricacies of individuals' lives is prolific.

External links

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SFGate review "A brilliant family plot from Britain"
2001 British television series debuts 2001 British television series endings 2000s British drama television series 2000s British television miniseries BBC television dramas Television series by Fremantle (company) English-language television shows Television shows set in England Films directed by Stephen Poliakoff {{BBC-tv-prog-stub