Entertainment For Lively Minds
State of Play
Posted by Charlie Gordon on 15 July 2009 - 10:16am.
Currently steaming through this extraordinary series from 2003 which seems to have been a breeding ground for every fashionable British actor.
John Simm
David Morrissey
Kelly Macdonald
Bill Nighy
Philip Glenister
James McAvoy
Mark Warren
It is so well written that I can't believe I missed it first time.
Can the Massive suggest any other landmark British productions in recent years that I may have missed or have we all been too busy SopranoWiring?
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Early Doors
Superior to The Royle Family and even Phoenix Nights. And cheap if you look around t'internet.
Early Doors
...is fantastic.
Great characters and very well written
It's utterly brilliant and
It's utterly brilliant and still a bit of an undiscovered gem. Get the 2 series box and you'll be sorted.
The last episode of Early Doors
is very moving and shows how much you have become involved with the characters during the two series.
Breeding ground?
All these actors were already well-established back then.
I used to really enjoy Playing The Field about the women's football team set in a northern town. Great cast, including Ricky Tomlinson, Lesley Sharp, Lee Ross, Elizabeth Spriggs, Nicholas Gleaves, Debra Stevenson. Out on DVD.
You beat a bit of the hammy yet gripping Waking The Dead.
British drama is actually quite good.
Yes..
I agree that many were established but all have gone on to more high profile starring roles in Life on Mars, Red Riding, Ashes to Ashes, Harry Potter, Hustle, Valkyrie and of course David Morrissey in the incomparable Basic Instinct 2.
Thanks for the tip on Playing the Field.
All Quiet On The Preston Front
was very good I recall.
have just ordered this myself
3.98 on amazon!
Our Friends In The North
Not exactly recent (1996) but it does have "Dr Who and James Bond, the Early Years" going for it.
Just don't get me thinking about Geordie, the bridge, and "Don't Look Back In Anger" or my eyes will well up, again.
Dang..
seen it, loved it...still love Gina McKee
Could fancy seeing that again actually
Daniel Craig and all.
it doesnt appear to be on dvd???
can that be correct - they only have very old used copies on amazon
Have a poke round eBay and
Have a poke round eBay and you'll see OFITN goes for silly money on DVD - it was deleted some time ago. As with most things, I'd expect a reissue fairly soon. I still have some dusty VHSs in the loft as I wisely decided to tape them all on 1st transmission back in 1996, little realising what a landmark series it would be.
I remember the writer Peter Flannery being interviewed at the time in Radio Times warning that the inevitable election of New Labour in 1997 would be a false dawn . . . . . .
Completely agree
This was a fantastic series.
The Cops
A great police drama that only lasted 2 series in the late 1990s early 2000's. A Tony Garnett production I think. It was filmed using "hand held" techniques before they became commonplace, the actors were great and the representation of the modern policng world was actually quite realistic.
Not sure if it is available on DVD, but if anyone can find it let me know.
Agreed
that was a great series. Couldn't figure out why it didn't last longer.
The State Within...
...is worth watching as well.
A conspiracy thriller with Jason Isaacs, Sharon Gless and Neil Pearson.
Bought it fairly cheap on ebay a few weeks back.
I missed State Of Play first time round as well, bought the series off the back of the film and also couldn't understand how I'd missed something so good.
Umm, well
Was State of Play really that good? Now two things might go against it in how I came to see it:
(1) It was the DVD me & MrsDrJ got after finishing the Wire, how come no-one here mentions how good that was?
(2) We accidentally put in disc two first, so saw the 4th episode first, trying to put everything together thinking that they really were making you pay attention by introducing all these characters without any context. Then we watched the 5th episode. By the end of the 5th we realised our mistake, watched 1,2 & 3 even though we knew what was about to happen, then watched episode 6. Not the best way to enjoy the series.
***spoilers ahead***
The problems I had with it were that the relationship between Cal and the wife seemed ridiculous and unbelievable. The murder of the policeman in the hospital didn't really seem to be as big a deal as I though it should have been. Kelly MacDonald kept wearing the same jumper. That PA guy was just a dopey cartoon character.
James McAvoy & Bill Nighy were good though, as was the guy who was also in the Joe Meek film.
We're now watching MadMen, in the right order. That's great.
A mad, mad world
Yes, I and the GLW are also currently mainlining the utterly brilliant Mad Men, in the right order. Had the strange experience of watching an episode from series 2 the other night, then turning the DVD off only to discover Baltimore's finest on Beeb2 (the demise of Stringer Bell episode, no less). Can't possibly say which is the 'better' of the two, as they are both equally brilliant at evoking their respective worlds.
Umm..
Dear Doc
I did specify British..
Ooops
Me bad.
A Very British Coup
I remember this as a great 80's drama. Like OFITN above it is not currently avilable on DVD. Shocking...that tail aint very long
Still works
Taped it on VHS yonks ago, and watched it again last year, when deciding if any of the old VHS tapes were worth saving. Still brilliant - Ray McAnally is spellbinding.
I remember the last speech being electrifying
A real call to arms.
A Very Peculiar Practice
which should be kicking around on DVD somewhere
Bodies
was brilliant. British medical drama (definitely not to be confused with Casualty/Holby).
And the complete set is £15 from Amazon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bodies-Complete-BBC-Collection-Box/dp/B000GUJZR8...