The Strike (also known as Strike!, although this is more properly the title of the fictitious Hollywood movie featured in the episode) is one of the short comedy films – written by Peter Richardson and Pete Richens, and directed by Richardson – which made up the long-running Channel 4 television series The Comic Strip Presents.... First aired in January 1988,[1] it also received a limited theatrical release, and won the Golden Rose of Montreux for the same year.
However, the Hollywood production company that gets hold of his script turns it into a ludicrously sensationalist and anachronistic action film, starring Al Pacino (played by Richardson) as Arthur Scargill, and Meryl Streep (Jennifer Saunders) as his wife.
The film also stars Robbie Coltrane, Nigel Planer and Keith Allen (all of whom play multiple roles), in addition to fleeting appearances from most of the regular Comic Strip performers, including Adrian Edmondson, Rik Mayall and Dawn French.
Its subject matter, cinema release, and prestigious award success all contributed to making The Strike one of the most famous of all the Comic Strip films.
Concerned with the direction the film is taking, and the studio's desire to cast Al Pacino as Arthur Scargill despite the two having little in common, Paul expresses dissatisfaction with his friend who set up the meeting, but is told to trust him.
On the film set, Golden Pictures tears up the modern mining town to create the image they want and turning down actual miners because they don't match the stereotype they have in mind.
He reads a modern copy of Das Kapital in a tavern while the townspeople (including stereotypical miners who wear old-fashioned mining helmets in town) berate him for not having the courage to lead a strike.
Meryl Streep is the invented wife of Arthur Scargill who believes his commitment to the miner's rights is straining their marriage and taking a toll on their daughter.
Watching a film reel of more footage, Paul looks in anguish as he sees that the stereotypical miners have physically abused Scargill's wife to send a message to him.