Screw

I spent 25 years as a correctional Officer in the US so I figured to check out a show about prison in England to see how they would portray the environment. I am amazed that half way across the world and a different culture would portray the same environment and problems facing correctional staff as in the US. I guess we are not as different as we would like to think. The show might not be for everyone, but those of us that work in this environment will find a kinship and familiarity with the officers in this show no matter what part of the world you find yourself.

I can fully understand why people aren't liking this but there is something I find quite enjoyable about it. I wish it was more of a serious drama without the forced unfunny comedy bits in though.

An interesting watch.

The first couple of episodes present a rather believable picture of a male prison wing, coupled with a serious attempt to present the punishment vs rehabilitation conundrum.

Then things take a sharp turn downwards with the drive towards excitement straining credibility.

But then things pick up again. The final episode offers us a believable explanation for the wing boss's behaviour that goes some way towards regaining credibility.

Overall this is a credit-worthy series and certainly worth watching.

Cong. To Jamie-Lee O'Donnell for good start as leading actor :) along with Nina Sosanya who got her own series, finaly!

Writers should do more plot in first episode so people would understand that is show about day by day life of C block and not Orange New Black sitcom.

I quite enjoyed this TV series as the central premise is a novel one, prison dramas from the perspective of prisoners have been done before but not really from the perspective of prison guards. This progression in ideas is similar to how programmes like 'Grange Hill' and 'Byker Grove' led to 'Teachers' and 'Waterloo Road' and I expect several similar dramas about prison guards will now follow. Another plus is that it stars Nina Sosanya and the upcoming starlet that is Derry Girl's Jamie-Lee O'Connell who are both great actresses, in fact all the cast acts well. The problem is this show doesn't know whether it's meant to be a comedy or a drama and it relies on implausible behaviour by its often unlikeable and unremarkable characters to move the story forward, not only that but the viewer is often expected to find these things plausible and the characters likeable and relatable. I'd say it could be a 10 but the writing brings the score down a couple of points to a still respectable 8.