The Beiderbecke Connection four episodes are titled by incipit, that is, the title is simply the first spoken words heard in each episode. The Beiderbecke Connection The Beiderbecke Connection is a four-part British television serial written by Alan Plater and broadcast in 1988. It is the third and final part of "The Beiderbecke Trilogy" and stars James Bolam and Barbara Flynn as schoolteachers Trevor Chaplin and Jill Swinburne. Now with a baby in tow, Jill and Trevor are asked by Big Al to look after a refugee called "Ivan". Trevor Chaplin teaches woodwork and likes to listen to jazz. Jill Swinburne teaches English
Only When I Larf shared experiences contribute to the humour. This unreliable narration adds to the atmosphere around deceiving "the marks", but the characters' different perspectives on their mutual relationship (interspersed with Silas's day-dreams of a dishonourable wartime incident) look more like self-deception and often add a poignant note. The title is explained in a variety of unlikely anecdotes where in each case a critically injured third party bravely replies this when asked "Does it hurt?" A film adaptation of "Only When I Larf", directed by Basil Dearden, was released in 1968 starring Richard Attenborough as Silas, David Hemmings as Bob and Alexandra Stewart