Bootleg

I have read this book numerous times to my students and only just discovered this adaptation. While it stays true to the essence of the main story line, I was disappointed that some of the plot details were changed, especially the ones that were so much a part of the humour in the book. I was also disappointed in the casting of Frankie Crawley who in my vision should have been much smaller and meeker only puffing himself up to match his 'authority'. His and Myrtle Perkin's (another name change) storylines were not well developed in this adaptation either. However, the retelling of this story grew on me and I think it was quite well done overall.

I have only seen the first two episodes of this series so far, but one thing that has stuck in my mind is the similarities between this miniseries and the book '1984' by George Orwell. Since I enjoyed that book, I have found myself greatly enjoying this series.

The way I see it, the Good for You party (great name by the way) is like INGSOC in 1984, and the methods used against people who like chocolate are very much like the methods used by the Thought Police and the Ministry of Love. The preview shown for the third episode seems to confirm this.

However, Bootleg seems to be a lot more optimistic than 1984, although this may change later.

One thing that lets this series down is that it is supposed to be set in England, as shown by the use of pounds for money, but it is quite clearly filmed in Melbourne, Australia, and makes use of many Australian actors with obvious accents. This is really my only serious problem with this series.

Overall, this is a good series, and well worth a look if you have read 1984. If you enjoyed this series, I recommend obtaining a copy of the book 1984, so you can see where the writers got their ideas.

8/10

Having only seen a small amount of this when it was first shown I decided to give the repeat a go and sat and watched it in one solid 3 ½ hour session. I have to say that it was a really nice family movie. Despite having a serious message it works as simply a wholesome story of two boys attempt to fight the system. There may be a few plot holes as to why exactly chocolate was banned, and the rather annoying question of where it is supposed to be set (I'm guessing England, based on the fact it was English money although why they didn't just set it in Australia I'm not sure), but these are overcome by the acting and the warm feeling the film creates. Special note I think has to go to Anthony Hammer, (the only one of the Hancock family in Neighbours who could actually act) who should have been given a much better role in Neighbours, this at least demonstrates how underused he was. I challenge anyone to watch this film (especially the credits) without wanting to eat chocolate. Overall well worth a look especially on a cold winter afternoon.

I can't seem to find anything that is good about this miniseries. Why the hell would you ban chocolate when u could ban something far more practical like smoking or alcohol? Also the fact that its an Australian program and its all set in england and everyone is faking british accents is stupid. Overall i think that this show is Unrealistic and cheap.

This is an interesting TV show, but I found it annoying that they made Melbourne look like it was England or something... the Victorian number plates on cars made it a bit obvious. For such a politically charged show show, i wouldn't think that ethnicity would be such an issue, and being Australian such a 'liability'.