Compact
Overview
Compact was a British television soap opera shown by the BBC between 1962 and 1965. The series was created by Hazel Adair and Peter Ling, who together went on to devise Crossroads. In contrast to the kitchen sink realism of Coronation Street, Compact was a distinctly middle-class serial, set in the more "sophisticated" arena of magazine publishing. An early "avarice" soap, it took the viewer into the business workplace, and aligned the professional lives of the characters with more personal storylines. The show was scheduled for broadcast on Tuesdays and Thursdays, thus avoiding a clash with ITV's Coronation Street on Mondays and Wednesdays. When Compact began, the editor was a woman, Joanne Minster, yet it was not long before she was replaced by Ian Harmon, the son of the magazine's owner. Despite being largely criticised by reviewers, Compact was popular with the general public, and in 1964 a regular omnibus edition was introduced, broadcast on Sundays. Morris Barry, a some-time actor and BBC director – he directed several Doctor Who stories in the 1960s – took over as producer and was given a brief to spice the series up in view of the criticism it had received from the national press. But the BBC, never comfortable with the concept of soap opera, quietly dropped the series in 1965.
About Compact (1962)
First broadcast in 1962, Compact is a drama and soap show aired by BBC One. It was created by Peter Ling. The main cast includes Vincent Ball, Robert Desmond, Rachel Gurney, Clinton Greyn and Carmen Silvera. The show has 4 seasons and 373 episodes and is currently listed as "Ended" with the most recent episode airing on July 30, 1965. Viewers rate it 5.0/10 on TMDB from 3 votes.
Every season and episode of Compact is available to stream free in HD on MyFlixer. Pick a season and episode above, press Watch Now and choose a server. Fans of the show also watch Guiding Light, Tyler Perry's The Haves and the Have Nots and Sunset Beach.
