If you’ve spent any time scrolling through the endless, glossy catalogs of modern streaming services, you've probably noticed something. Everything looks a bit too clean. Even the "gritty" war dramas often feel like they’ve been scrubbed with a digital sponge. That's exactly why going back to the Enemy at the Door TV series feels like such a slap in the face—in the best possible way.
It’s raw. It’s uncomfortable.
Produced by London Weekend Television and airing between 1978 and 1980, this show tackled a piece of history that a lot of people in the UK and Western Europe still found deeply painful at the time: the German occupation of the Channel Islands during World War II. It wasn't about grand battlefield maneuvers or Churchill’s speeches. It was about what happens when your neighbor is suddenly forced to house a Nazi officer. It was about the slow, soul-crushing erosion of "normal" life. Honestly, it’s some of the most claustrophobic television ever made.
What Enemy at the Door TV Got Right (and Why It’s Still Hard to Watch)
Most war shows want to give you a hero to cheer for. You want a clear line between the "good guys" and the "bad guys" because it makes the narrative easy to digest. Enemy at the Door basically laughs at that idea.
The show focuses on Guernsey.
The central tension revolves around the relationship between the island's authorities—specifically Dr. Philip Martel, played with a sort of exhausted dignity by Bernard Horsfall—and the occupying German forces led by Major Dieter Richter (Alfred Burke). This isn't a show about "The Resistance" blowing up trains every five minutes. It’s about the "Policy of Model Occupation." The Germans wanted to show the world that they could govern British subjects peacefully. But peace is a relative term when there’s a Swastika flying over the local post office.
The Moral Gray Zone
You’ve got to appreciate the nuance here. Major Richter isn't a mustache-twirling villain. He’s a professional soldier, cultured, and often seemingly reasonable. That’s what makes him terrifying. He represents the "polite" face of an inherently evil system. The show forces you to watch Dr. Martel collaborate with Richter just to keep the islanders from starving or being deported.
Is Martel a traitor? Or is he a hero for keeping the peace?
The series never really gives you an easy answer. It highlights the "grayness" of survival. You see islanders trading on the black market, others falling in love with German soldiers, and some just trying to keep their heads down while their world shrinks. It’s messy. It’s human.
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The Casting Brilliance of Alfred Burke and Bernard Horsfall
Honestly, the show wouldn't work without the chemistry—or lack thereof—between its leads. Alfred Burke, who many might recognize from Public Eye, brings a cold, intellectual precision to the role of Richter. He’s not a fanatic. He’s a bureaucrat with a Luger.
Then you have Horsfall.
He plays Martel as a man who is slowly dying inside. Every time he has to shake Richter's hand or negotiate a new set of restrictive laws, you can see the toll it takes on his face. It’s a masterclass in understated acting. Unlike modern dramas that rely on screaming matches and heavy-handed soundtracks, Enemy at the Door leans into the silence. The tension comes from what is unsaid during a dinner party where the guests are technically enemies.
Why the Channel Islands Setting Matters
Geographically, the Channel Islands are unique. They were the only part of the British Isles to be occupied by the Third Reich. This wasn't some distant colony; it was British soil.
The show captures that sense of isolation perfectly.
- You can't run away because there's nowhere to go.
- The sea is a barrier, not a path to freedom.
- Resources were finite, leading to genuine starvation as the war dragged on.
The production design, while limited by a 1970s TV budget, uses the actual locations of Guernsey and Jersey to great effect. Seeing German uniforms against the backdrop of familiar-looking British pubs and stone cottages creates a jarring cognitive dissonance. It hits home in a way that Band of Brothers or Saving Private Ryan—as great as they are—simply can't, because those are about soldiers in foreign lands. This is about civilians in their own backyards.
The Reality of the "Model Occupation"
A lot of people think the occupation was just a quiet stand-off. It wasn't. The Enemy at the Door TV series doesn't shy away from the darker elements that eventually crept in. As the tide of the war turned against Germany, the "politeness" evaporated.
The show touches on:
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- The arrival of the OT (Organisation Todt) slave laborers.
- The deportation of islanders with English roots to camps in Germany.
- The brutal crackdown on any sign of dissent.
- The psychological warfare of living under a curfew for years.
The series also gave a young Anthony Head (later of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame) one of his early roles, and you can see the high caliber of British acting talent that moved through the scripts. The writing stayed consistently sharp because it was based on the actual memories and historical records of those who lived through it. It wasn't "inspired by true events" in the way modern Hollywood uses that phrase to make stuff up; it felt like a documented testimony.
Comparing Then and Now: The 1978 Series vs. Island at War
In 2004, there was an attempt to revisit this era with a show called Island at War. It was fine, I guess. It had a bigger budget and better cameras. But it lacked the grit.
The 1978 original feels more "real" precisely because it was made closer to the actual events. In the late 70s, the people making the show—and the audience watching it—often had parents or grandparents who had lived through the war. The trauma was still a living memory, not a historical curiosity. That proximity to the source material gave the Enemy at the Door TV series an edge that's hard to replicate today.
There's a specific episode where a local girl is caught "fraternizing" with a German soldier. In a modern show, this would be a sweeping romantic tragedy. In Enemy at the Door, it's treated with a cold, hard realism. You see the community's disgust, the soldier's conflicted loyalty, and the girl's desperate need for some semblance of happiness in a miserable situation. Nobody wins.
The Controversial Legacy of the Show
When it first aired, not everyone was a fan. Some survivors felt it was too "soft" on the Germans by making characters like Richter sympathetic. Others felt it opened wounds that were better left closed.
But that's the mark of important art, isn't it?
It should provoke. It should make you question your own morality. If you were in Dr. Martel’s shoes, would you have resisted and risked the lives of the entire village? Or would you have played the "long game" like he did? The show is basically one long philosophical trolley problem set in 1940.
How to Watch It Today
Finding the show isn't as easy as it used to be. It’s not exactly a staple on Netflix or Disney+. However, for the dedicated viewer, it’s a goldmine.
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- DVD Box Sets: Network Distributing released the complete series on DVD in the UK. These are often the best way to see the episodes in their original, unedited form.
- Streaming: Occasionally, it pops up on BritBox or specialized archival streaming services, depending on your region.
- YouTube: You can often find low-quality uploads of individual episodes if you just want a taste of the atmosphere.
Honestly, the slightly grainy, 16mm film look of the outdoor scenes actually adds to the experience. It feels like you're watching recovered footage from a time that shouldn't have existed.
Actionable Insights for Fans of Historical Drama
If you’re interested in diving into the world of Enemy at the Door TV, don't just binge it like a mindless sitcom. To get the most out of the experience, you should approach it with a bit of context.
Read the real history first. Look into the "Organisation Todt" in the Channel Islands. Understanding the scale of the fortifications they built—which are still there today—makes the show's depiction of the occupation feel even more claustrophobic.
Watch for the subtext. Pay attention to the background characters. The show is great at showing how life continues in the periphery—people still have to farm, still have to go to church, still have to deal with everyday petty grievances, even while an invading army is walking the streets.
Listen to the theme music. The haunting theme by Wilfred Josephs sets the tone immediately. It’s not a "march" like most war themes; it’s a lament.
Visit the locations (if you can). If you ever find yourself in Guernsey or Jersey, many of the locations used in the filming—and the actual events—are preserved. Seeing the German Underground Hospital or the bunkers helps bridge the gap between the TV drama and the reality of 1940.
The Enemy at the Door TV series remains a vital piece of television history because it refuses to simplify the human experience. It reminds us that war isn't just about the soldiers on the front lines; it's about the impossible choices made by ordinary people behind the wire. It’s uncomfortable, it’s slow, and it’s absolutely essential viewing for anyone who wants to understand the true cost of occupation.