Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

I really did want to like 'Howards' Way' very much but sadly I just came away feeling bored and disappointed. As unfair as it sounds, I was unable to even get past the first episode. I do not normally give up quite so quickly on something, but the wafer-thin plotting and one-dimensional characters did nothing to endear itself to me.'Howards' Way' follows the struggles of the Howard family. Tom Howard is an aircraft designer who is made redundant after twenty years of loyal service. He then invests his money in the Mermaid boatyard ( as he has a passion for ships and vessels ), which is on the brink of ruin. The owner of the boatyard, Jack Rolfe is an alcoholic who does not get on with Tom at all. Jack's daughter and secretary, Avril, however has a soft spot for Tom.Tom's wife Jan however does not have faith in Tom's risky enterprise and so decides to take a full time job in a marine boutique.From the little I have seen, 'Howard's Way' looks like a dramatised version of the equally awful BBC sitcom 'The River' ( which starred David Essex ). Maurice Colbourne is unbelievable and wooden as Tom and Jan Harvey, who played his wife Jan, is equally as stilted. Glyn Owen also failed to convince as the dishonest Jack. Though to be fair, 'Howard's Way' did have some decent performers, such as Susan Gilmore's Avril and Patricia Shakesby's Polly.The end credits of each episode would have the camera close up on a statue of a female bust, whilst the Simon May composed theme tune ( which is also one of the very few decent things about the show ) played over the credits. This was parodied in the very first epiosde of BBC Scotland's 'Naked Video' in which a hand appeared and proceeded to grope the breasts on the statue.

Thirty odd years down the road and I still have a strangely soft spot for this - not always well written, with annoying contradictions, baffling plots and some hurried directing leading to some rather indifferent acting - yet highly entertaining series.As the title implies, the series depicts the progress of the Howard family through a colourful multitude of sub-plots, ranging from believable, interesting and touching to baffling, infuriating and preposterous. The central theme is the collapse of the marriage of Jan and Tom Howard, who - despite their difficulties - continue to be devoted to each other. I believe that the producers' original intention was to show their passage from divorce through a variety of affairs back to reconciliation.The second and parallel theme of the series is the story of Jan and Tom's upstanding son Leo Howard and his touching on-and-off relationship with a girl from the neighbourhood, Abby Urquhart. If Jan and Tom were to be reunited despite all the ups and downs, then it would be logical to expect a similar conclusion for the younger couple. Unfortunately in the aftermath of the sad demise of Maurice Colbourne who played Tom Howard, the production suffered from chaotic, hastily rewritten ideas. Jan was paired off with some other, less exciting partners, while Abby inexplicably morphed from a relatively level-headed albeit dour young woman into a devious business tycoon and a total monster. The story of Leo and Abby begins as perhaps the most heart-warming thread in the series. How could the scriptwriters let us down so badly?I still believe that, had the series continued, the final outcome could have somehow brought these two together again - slowly and painfully (can you imagine all those other delicious twists and turns?), but eventually for good. After all, somewhere half way through the series, Abby states quite resolutely that Leo is her ideal partner for life - and throughout Series 5 and 6, there are strong hints that she does not trust Orrin after all and may even be double-crossing him... oh, bliss! I like to think there was going to be more to the story than we were allowed to see. The creator of the series, Gerard Glaister, left some notes in which he envisaged series 7, which did not materialize. Thus it is reasonable to believe that the actual story remains unfinished and the aim of the last series was to prepare the viewers for more twists and surprises. I cannot resist imagining something like a collapse of the Hudson empire, Abby's return to England with her sons and her attempts to win Leo's trust and affection back. That way the final toast to the Howards would have been so much more satisfying.

I followed Howards Way from its original pilot, to its final show and I loved it. You must remember that when it was aired it was gripping stuff (and still is in my opinion), great scenery and fantastic music score, in my mind a classic series and one proud to stand there tall in the BBC library. For those interested, I have checked DVD online web stores, and the cheapest at present is with HMV where Season 1 and Season 2 retails for £15.99 each (as at 31.08.06), the link is here: http://tinyurl.com/oofue If this link fails to work, go to http://www.hmv.co.uk/ and search for Howards Way, this brings the total to about £32 for both the 1st and 2nd Season, I am a registered user of HMV and on checkout got a £5 discount. This in my mind, is great series, and one I love, and will enjoy watching again - to all those who have never seen it, its worth watching! brilliant stuff!!Chris

It was a highly entertaining show, with excellent characterisation. Very well written and kept the viewer in suspense throughout. The setting, in the Solent was fantastic, and the scenery in much of the filming was stunning. The "at sea" footage was especially good. It had all the right story lines, and a good number of "baddies" to boot. The show should have run longer and it could have been made into a lasting "soap" in the form of Eastenders, but with much better scenery. It was a shame that the main character, played by Maurice Colbourne, died so early in the series, but the scriptwriters recovered it well. My favourite character was Jack Rolfe. The biggest disappointment I have had is that it isn't available on DVD or video. We can get Dallas on DVD now, so why not Howards' Way ? Does anyone agree with me on this ?