Reflecting on '70 Up' and the 'Up' series

The cover of the Up series DVD released in 2019
when the series reached the 63Up milestone

I've been thinking about the 70 Up documentary series that concluded on television this month. 

It followed the lives of 14 children when they were seven, and reconnects with them every seven years. It started in 1963/4, and finally reached what is said to be the final installment with the remaining participants now 70. 

Before the final episode was shown, I decided to re-watch the entire series over the space of two weeks. It was a life-affirming experience delving into the lives of these ordinary people, and catching up with them at regular intervals (every seven years) to see how their life was unfolding, learn about their dreams and desires, the reality of life, the problems they faced, the loves and losses as they aged. 

And along the way most started families, and by the end of the series had children and grandchildren. 

It was striking to see personalities evolve and unfold as they grew older. It was a salient thing to see how short a human life is when encapsulated in bite-sized pieces, spread out in seven-year sections. Catching up on the whole series made it even more so, as in the space of two weeks entire lifetimes unfolded. 

The people themselves were wonderfully genuine, and most of them were committed - even if not totally happily - to see the project through. It did seem that as they grew older they were more relaxed and happier to share their thoughts. Perhaps that is something that comes with age; you no longer feel afraid to say what you think and you have greater perspective on many things. 

It was one of the participants who is no longer with us, Nick Hitchon, who perhaps said it best when he compared the series to a time-lapse film of a flower growing and blossoming, and then withering and dying. We watched him grow from a country boy to be a professor at a university in America involved in nuclear fusion research, and becoming a father before cancer caused him to become ill. 

Notably, he contacted the producers of the series and invited them to come and interview him one last time, which was three years before the 70 Up programme was due to be made. He reflected on his life and died three days after that interview.

Another who did not reach the end of the series was Lynn Johnson. She died in 2013 after a minor accident caused complications when she was in her 50s. 

The show can be viewed on many levels, but for me it is the stories of ordinary lives being played out, giving a chance to reflect, not only on the lives of the participants, but on my own. And seeing in some of them similar traits and ideals that I have had. 

Having now seen the series to its conclusion, I'm tempted to re-watch from the start with the added insight of knowing where life leads each one, and hopefully taking even deeper appreciation of their lives and of willingness to be part of such a unique project. Indeed, being reminded of just how short 70 years can be. One minute you're a schoolchild without the cares of the world, and the next you're a grown-up and then a senior looking at retirement and the years you have left. 

So thank you to everyone involved in the Seven Up series that became 70 Up. What a wonderful thing we have to look back on.