''Oasis'' is a short lived

CITV CITV is a British children's morning programming block on ITV2 and formerly a free-to-air channel owned by ITV plc. CITV, then Children's ITV, launched on 3 January 1983 as a late afternoon programming block on the ITV network for children aged ...

drama series which was about a group of children who ran an inner city farm. It is best known for featuring

John Simm John Ronald Simm (born 10 July 1970) is an English actor, director, and musician. He is best known for playing Sam Tyler in ''Life on Mars'', the Master in ''Doctor Who,'' and DS Roy Grace in ''Grace.'' His other television credits include '' ...

and

Dean Gaffney Dean Martin Gaffney (born 14 February 1978) is an English actor, best known for his role as Robbie Jackson on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 1993 to 2004 and 2017 to 2019; he also made guest appearances in 2004, 2010 and 2015. In 2006, ...

. It was set in a wasteland site in south London. The drama series ran from 5 January to 9 March 1993 for 10 episodes, made by Zenith North, the team behind ''

Byker Grove ''Byker Grove'' is a British teen drama and coming of age television series which aired between 1989 and 2006 on BBC One. The show was set in Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne and was filmed in nearby Benwell. It was created by writer Adele Rose a ...

'' for Carlton; their first children's drama series for the ITV network.

History

''Oasis'' is

Carlton Television Carlton Television (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties from 9.25am every Monday to 5.15pm every Friday. The company is now managed with London Weekend Tele ...

's first significant television series for children and has 10 episodes. Barry Purchase, whose previous writing credits included ''

Tucker's Luck ''Tucker's Luck'' is a British television drama series made by the BBC between 1983 and 1985. The series is a spin-off from the school drama ''Grange Hill'' and capitalised on the popularity of one of the series' original characters – Peter " ...

'' and ''

Grange Hill ''Grange Hill'' is a British Children's television series, children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical Comprehensive school (England and Wales), comprehensive school. The show began its ru ...

'', is the ''Oasis''s writer. Produced by John Price, it was directed by Chris Clough and Joanna Hogg. Peter McNamara whose past roles have been the antihero or a goon, plays a completely different role as "a loveable down-and-out who becomes a kind of hero to local children he meets in an inner city wilderness". McNamara, who has asthma and a horse allergy, filmed multiple shots with the horses.

Plot summary

Appalled by the animal cruelty, Jimmy Cadogan, a rodeo clown, leaves his job and directs his efforts towards starting a city farm that serves as a sanctuary for animals he saves. He works with a learned drifter and dropout, Posh Robert, and children to transform The Jungle, a

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

wasteland, into a farm, against the wishes of the council and the antihero Bob Bulger.

Cast

*Peter McNamara - Jimmy Cadogan *Ray Armstrong - Graham Robbins *Sarah Carver - Jane Durant *Daniel John - Ian Finton *

George Russo George Russo is a British actor, screenwriter and producer. Early life and education Russo was born and raised in London. Russo trained at the Anna Scher Theatre School in Islington. In 2005, he took time away from acting to concentrate on a ...

- Johnny Mandell *

- Posh Robert *Kelly Frost - Skates * Bill Stewart - Bulger *Peter Russell - Leonard *

- Mickey Drake * Daniel Brown - Georgie McNiven

Reception

In a critical review, Pat Moore wrote in ''

The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. Founded in 1880, ''The Stage'' contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at thos ...

'', "I hope this series will be popular with children because the plot seems plausible and city-kids can at least identify with the problem of having nowhere safe to play. Some of the older cast members do seem to be overacting, however, a fault I've noticed before in children's productions. Kids are far quicker at detecting a baddie or the untrustworthy than many adults, so snarling a lot just looks daft." Maggie Drummond of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' stated, "There is a sad lack of useful factual programmes for teenagers; even worse is the lack of drama redeemed only by the new 10-parter ''Oasis'' (Carlton) set in a south London wasteland inhabited by youngsters who behave like mini

Arthur Daley ''Minder'' is a British comedy-drama series about the London criminal underworld. Initially produced by Verity Lambert, it was made by Euston Films, a subsidiary of Thames Television, and shown on ITV for ten series between 29 October 1979 a ...

s." ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

''s Melinda Wittstock called the television series "a ground-breaking children's drama".

References

External links

''Oasis''
on the

BFI The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, d ...

database * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oasis (TV Series 1993) 1993 British television series debuts 1993 British television series endings 1990s British children's television series Carlton Television British English-language television shows ITV children's television shows Television series about children Television series by ITV Studios Television shows set in London Television shows set on farms