At the end when Rudyard Kipling has been called to see King George V (Julian Wadham), who is a very dear friend and who has just lost a son of his own, Kipling recites his famous poem from which this screen adaptation takes its title. I literally held my breath as David Haig recited the lines.

“Have you news of my boy Jack?”
Not this tide.
“When d’you think that he’ll come back?”
Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.

“Has any one else had word of him?”
Not this tide.
For what is sunk will hardly swim,
Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.

“Oh, dear, what comfort can I find?”
None this tide,
Nor any tide,
Except he did not shame his kind—
Not even with that wind blowing, and that tide.

Then hold your head up all the more,
This tide,
And every tide;
Because he was the son you bore,
And gave to that wind blowing and that tide!

It is evident that a lot of detail and thought went into the television production of My Boy Jack. Such attention to detail as costume and settings you expect, but such touches as the camera going out of focus when Jack removes his glasses to take an eye exam for the military are brilliant. It truly elevates this from being just another made for television drama into something that should be required viewing for any fan of period drama.

My Boy Jack is perfect and in my opinion one of the better productions released this year by Masterpiece Theater. There is nothing here to find fault with; script, acting, and directing are beyond reproach. I will give you one warning however; make sure you have a box of tissues. You are going to need them.