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Never watched this until now. I'm pleasantly surprised because I thought it would be something I would have on in the background while I was on my phone. Turns out I really like the characters! Some good actors in the programme and likeable characters. Mostly all abit fantastical but fun nonetheless. You get to love the characters and feel joy and sadness with them, feel like you know them. Lots of stuff happening all the time, people coming and going. David threllfall is very good.

I've seen every episode, accepted the downturn in quality (you have to, it's inevitable standards will fall after 9 years… ) but still enjoyed most of it. The finale was OK, nothing more than that. They whitewashed Franks character; growth would have been OK if they hadn't tried to do it within the space of a third of an episode…

… and as much as people felt like the supporting characters were unnecessary, they still deserved a proper send-off. The series might have started off about the Gallaghers, but it wasn't always like that, and the last episode shouldn't have pretended any different… It all felt a bit rushed. You have a whole series to say goodbye, and yet you leave the majority of your wrapping up 'til the last episode? Just saying, i've seen the winding down of televisual institutions done better, before. If i hadn't been prepared for the last episode before it aired, i might not have guessed it had reached the end.

It's amazing how quickly TV evolves and its easy to forget the trailblazers who lead the way. Paul Abbots Shameless hit UK homes in the early noghties on typical Channel 4 audience figures. By the last episode everyone was talking about it. People at least had a peak at it. It received admiration as much as it received complaints, fact was the perfect portrait of the northern underbelly.

Series 2 Would build on the success that had been left but a darkness loomed, not the silly OTT story plots that provided comedy. Nope the departure of Fiona and Steve was near. And although the addition of Marty was a plus the maguire clan was something that would haunt this show in the latter years. With their ever changing cast playing different brothers who never speak and then later turning Shameless into the Mimi Maguire show.

But for now the seasons passed on with great one of stories and longer term events, The Amazing Christmas Special, Sheila vs Monica, Marty and Sue, Kelly Ball, The knockin shop all great additions.

But the drip drip of main cast, Lip, Ian, Sheila, Vee, Kev start to become a gap to big to fill, especially with the Maguires who now have names.

The inconsistently with the story lines of this family from major players to murderers to people selling second hand out of date lettuce to make money. The Maguires are as scary as a Substitute teacher on her first day on the job. Micky is a great character however and could be a son of anyone.

By the time Libby arrives (Go ooooon Go ooooon Go oooooon) The show is finished but instead of DNR they try this, end up with another kid in the house. Stella disappears at some point and there's an old crow that gets overplayed time and time again.

I guess the main problem is Debbie as now left to join the Army something never discussed before, her friend maxine is still around but moves out. Ian and Carl fall out, Ian leaves.

Only Carl and invisible Stella remain. But the show switches to maguire plot lines..... No this was based on Frank Gallagher and his shameless way of living.

Season 9 is hard to view and 10 is no better but 11 OMG now that is SHAMEFUL. The last episode is OK but 5 cast members return.

Should have been one of the best ever but ruined by too many seasons

Once in a while, there comes along a TV drama series that makes you glad the medium was invented. A series that makes you glad to be alive; a series that breaks your heart that you have to wait a whole week to see the next episode. Shameless is such a series.

The Gallagher family consists of dad Frank and his six children (their mum apparently abandoned them years ago). Frank spends most of his time out drinking, only returning to the family's council house on a run-down Manchester estate when he's dragged home comatose by the police in the early hours of the morning. The result is that the six kids more or less bring themselves up, with the eldest - 20-year-old Fiona - acting as the token mum.

From all this, it should make for depressing viewing. But the beauty of Paul Abbott's semi-autobiographical drama is that it's not even remotely depressing. The six Gallagher kids, their friends and neighbours form an extended family where everyone loves and supports everyone else; and the result is bawdy, rude, but above all uplifting, heartwarming and fun. The performances are uniformly excellent and to single anyone out would be unfair. The first episode does a wonderful job of introducing the large cast of characters - not just in a cursory way either, but in sufficient depth to make you care about this assortment of misfits enough to want to tune in next week to see what befalls them next.

This is what TV should be. Watch it.

I'm not a great authority on this, as I hardy watch TV any more. If they came up with more stuff like this, I would be addicted to the Box. Fantastic script, characters and acting and the funniest, freshest British made comedy I've seen since Spaced and (to a slightly lesser extent) The League of Gentlemen.

Although I come from the north of England and lived in Manchester for two years and therefore, through direct association, find I can relate very naturally to this humour, it must surely transcend 'northern' taste and appeal, in the same way that Phoenix Nights did, to absolutely anybody who sees it.

It's no wonder Channel 4 are taking the unusual step of running the whole series again, as I think media interest/hype came too late this time round. It's the only British thing to come remotely close to challenging the HBO stable (6ft Under/S.A.T.C) stuff that has attracted TV's biggest plaudits in this last 4/5 years. I think it will go down as being an important landmark in British comedy broadcasting and gain cult status for years to come.

Commissioning a series two is a must - it was just hitting full speed last night with the closing episode of this first run.

I happened upon this show one afternoon while nursing a hangover and have been hooked ever since. I was also lucky that BBCA was playing the entire series 1 as a marathon that day. This show blows away any of the lame crap that they call TV over here and is another testament to the vastly underrated talent of the UK. The only way a show this ballsy would be shown over here would be on a pay channel like HBO or Showtime. I am fast becoming a huge fan of British TV (Eastenders, The Office, Coupling, Father Ted, The Green Wing, ABFAB) and hopefully the DVD will be available to us yanks soon. Let's just hope some stupid network (NBC) doesn't get ahold of it in an attempt to "Americanize" it like they tried with Coupling and The Office.

Co-written by the writer behind 'Clocking Off', This is one the most stand-out, must-see series British television has produced. The exploits of the Gallagher family are no-holds-barred and guaranteed to either offend the viewer, or cause them to slide off their chair and roll around the floor, laughing their behinds off.

Or both.

If you're offended by social depravity, bad hygiene, lawlessness, homosexuality, heterosexuality - any kind of sexuality, or Mancunians then be warned. If not then watch this comedy/drama and prepare to laugh like a drain.

"Shameless" began a couple of nights ago on SBS TV - supposedly an ethnic channel (are Mancunian's ethnic, then??) - in Australia, with no warning, no fanfare. I was blown fair out of my chair by this show, and possibly appreciated it all the more because I had no expectations, although once I noted Paul Abbott's name under 'writer' I knew I was in for something special. His scripts for 'Clocking Off' and 'Linda Green' were, like 'Shameless', both sharp and original. Dialogue is quick and relevant, characters are drawn immediately, and altogether the script treats the viewer as an intelligent participant in the hilarious, and often poignant, exploits of the Gallagher family. Dad Gallagher, always a bit the worse for wear on drugs or alcohol (or both) is raging around the room talking rubbish, and Fiona, eldest child, explains to her posh boyfriend that her Dad's ecstasy dealer is a schizophrenic, like that explains everything. Perhaps it does...... If you get the chance to see this, then don't miss it.

I can't comprehend how people can give this a bad review. It is without doubt one of the best shows on the TV and is comparable to Nighty Night, League of Gentlemen and possibly Little Britain, when it comes to blacker than black humour. The characters are sublimely developed with Frank, the hapless father being one of, if not the main character. He is a horrible man with questionable morals and less than a day's work behind him in his life. He has 8 children to support and is supported himself by his beautiful yet eccentric wife. It is Franks tale of partying, avoiding work and generally being the worst father in the world. If you don't like this, you don't know what's funny.

Definitely the best series i have ever seen on TV. Non stop Laughing all the way through. the realism of the program is great and allows a lot of people to actually relate to it. i would recommend everyone should watch this and hopefully enjoy it as much as i have. the characters are fantastic, frank is hilarious! there are also the characters who you befriend throughout the series, like Lip and Ian. the story lines have been fantastic and each one has left you wanting to see what happens in the next episode. this program is a definite 'thumbs up' and hopefully there will be a second series with all the same characters, because i am sure people would welcome the return of the show.

What I am doing reviewing each series for how they did and their downfalls. I will be deeply analyzing Shameless, and the end I'll simply place a verdict.

Series 1: It was the most intriguing entry of the series because of the raw power/tenacity of the actors, the way certain scenarios were built on (example, Karen and Frank's affair) and how various situations of a dysfunctional family living on the breadline would affect viewers to think. How could we believe in the decision making of how this family would survive whilst the mother was on a run-about and the father was a layabout. Overall, series one was the most realistic because themes involving poverty, sex and alcoholism played major factors in how the characters acted upon certain situations.

Series 2: This was quite an excellent continuation from where the first series left off. We look through the lives of Frank and his dysfunctional clan. Again, quite relatable with audiences who are/were experiencing what the Gallagher family go through or even those who didn't live a lifestyle like this (I relate to the series through not living like the Gallagher's but instead deeply thinking about what they're experiencing and how certain situations impact them). I love how the Gallagher's are pounded with new situations to deal with. I also really enjoyed the way the cinematography was boosted up in color toning and brightness. It gave off the intention of a more tense feel.

Series 3: I would say that this was the last strong entry because after this, things started heading downhill. I believe that without Fiona and Steve, series 3 was still quite a grand look into how the children would survive without their eldest sister. I found at times I related to this one a little bit more than the first two. I enjoyed many of the new ideas that the creators dwelled upon. I found that series 3 set up chronological story lines for how plot lines would turn out (example, Frank not going through with divorce w/Monica and he still marries Sheila, what a coincidence?) However, those episodes about the two set up greatly for how series 4 evolves. Overall, genius.

Series 4: This is where I found Shameless would start taking a continuous root into recycling ideas. With the Maguire family being introduced, things would ultimately start to change greatly. Even though these were the cases for what some of the later entries turned out to be, I actually liked it. Still has a great cast, the Maguires are a laughable yet scary bunch of people who almost control the Chatsworth estate. I still found many of the episodes interesting, however I never liked the idea of Kev and Veronica leaving.

Series 5: I found this to be the last good entry in my opinion. I thought that even for 16 episodes, I thought it was a mighty effort to keep the hype of the show going extensively to engage audiences for one final time until it would slowly start to crumble and become a repetitive mix of mess. I have to say I was disappointed with the departure of Lip (who was my favorite character!). Despite that, I loved the way the show still casted some drama, keeping good contrast between the Gallagher's and Maguires. Their issues and troubles were presented realistically.

Series 6: This is where things started to really fall down the drain pipe. I don't think it was too bad, but I felt that Shameless was starting to run low on fuel to keep "continuous addiction". Story lines just felt a little over the top. I still liked the contrast between the two families and some of the humor was still up to scratch.

Series 7: I would say for a this series; it was probably the most darkest I had ever seen of it. Affairs, drug abuse, etc. which made Shameless compelling were taken to a new level , where I found most scenarios color coated grimly. I hardly found any humor at all. Honestly though, I found it a great turning point. Sure, some stupid story lines but it was different in a great way.

Series 8: This is when I really started dreading the series! Too many episodes! It was quite stupid as I found that most of the content which we had seen happen to characters in the past was happening all over again (example, Frank screwing a woman to make Libby break up with him) We've seen that before! I will admit there were some funny parts but I found that good characters were only tossed in whenever creators wanted them in! No good!

Series 9: I'd say it was a slight improvement over the 8th series but it had no redeeming qualities. We lost Carl and Mickey who were fantastic characters. We also ended up with idiotic characters like Billy and Domenic. Why??? The eviction part was interesting though.

Series 10: Well, it was awful. Zero develop and effort to achieve any realism whatsoever. It was sloppy. *I could note that it took me nearly a month to get through, come on!*

Series 11: I didn't mind this one. The final entry series has it's stronger traits (episodes 8, 13, 14) whilst it too had it's weaker episodes (7, 10, 11). Overall, I thought that the last series was a major improvement over some of the previous. Bringing back old characters such as Lip and Fiona were positive steps forward. It was good for the most part.

Verdict: Series 1: 10/10 Series 2: 10/10 Series 3: 9/10 Series 4: 8/10 Series 5: 8/10 Series 6: 6/10 Series 7: 6.5/10 Series 8: 5/10 Series 9:5.5/10 Series 10: 3/10 Series 11: 6/10

Overall Shameless is a series not to be missed. If you're a person of variety, give each series a try. If you're specific with you're material, stick with the trilogy. 10/10

First 3-4 seasons were great but as main characters started leaving the show and new additions weren't able to fill their gap, the show quickly turned from Gallagher story to Macguire story where Gallaghers became side characters in a show where they started out as main characters.

Also, the first 3-4 seasons were really funny but the show turns into a drama show after 5th season and jokes became rarer and rarer while sad/tearful moments take bigger and bigger chunk of each episode. The first several seasons were a good mix between comedy and drama but later seasons completely lost the comedic aspect and characters became increasingly dry and boring.

This is what happens to a show where all main characters leave the show one after another and they get replaced by dry boring characters that fail to replace them.

From the very first episode you will be drawn into the lives of each of the principal characters - warts and haloes and all. Each is fully realized with a light and dark side, shown incrementally and alternately through their actions and their reluctantly expressed concerns. The story lines are both outrageous and – once you spend a few minutes with this family – absolutely believable, and move at an enervatingly brisk while gratifyingly even pace. I'm so glad I found out about it when Series II had already completed, and could enjoy it from episode 1.1 through the end of series II. While it seems evident that Series III will commence with casting changes, this production is so incredibly well planned (unlike most U.S. series - Lost, I'm looking at you) that the story arc girds you quite well for even fundamental shifts, and instills great anticipation. The show addresses immediate, on-the-ground social issues like complacency vs. poverty, avarice vs. honor, cheating vs. work (and stealing vs. profit), lust vs. love, and 9 times out of 10 the virtuous parts of humanity are exemplified and enjoyed (but always with the other side engaged and/or confronted in the process). That 10th time is where Frank comes in. Paul Abbott is a brave artist, a brave man, and a brave son. Never has such a reluctant father been so well-realized and so generously presented. Now. When do we get Series III?

After clicking on this website and reading the completely rubbish review by someone which everyone supposedly must read before doing anything else-I thought I better tell everyone that it is completely wrong! Shameless is brilliant, series 2 has just started and I recommend everyone to watch it.

Yes it contains swearing and other things but if you don't want to watch that don't. Above all this is comedy at its best. I'm a 14 year old girl and I think its one of the best shows I have seen-it will make you laugh hysterically.

Watch it you might be surprised-if nothing else it will give you the feel good factor.

Paul Abbott's last drama, 'State of Play', was an ultra-serious (and ultra-good) political thriller. For this, his follow-up, he has made what at first viewing appears to be a bizarre choice, making a drama about working class life that superficially resembles an extended version of Harry Enfield's 'Slobs' sketches, only with added sex and violence. But as you get used to the program, its appeal grows. Human stain Frank Gallacher, the awful family patriarch, rumbles on in the background, pretty much ignored by everyone else, who've all rumbled that he's just a waste of space. Meanwhile, they try to make the best of what he has left of their lives. Fast paced and funny, it's infinitely more entertaining than stolid dramas like 'Family Business' (screened at the same time on another channel).

Still, 'Shameless' is a hard series to place. It's not exactly social commentary, less sentimental in its portrayals of working class life than the films of Ken Loach, but also, one suspects, less accurate; there are some echoes of 'The Royal Family', albeit with a totally different vibe. But when a drama doesn't fit a preconceived box, that's a plus not a minus. 'Shameless' won't change your life: but it is quirky, original and fun.

The original and best version of Shameless is of course the British version. Frank Gallagher will be remembered as one of the best UK TV show characters ever. It's maybe not on the top with the likes of The Royle Family, Only fools ect but it just thithers underneath it. The first 5-6 seasons are brilliant but as they usually do it starts to fall off at the end..it did go on for 11 seasons which is a tad long for what it is but non the less a great series that the US version couldn't hold a candle against.

This is the original Shameless, its so good. I was hooked on this and binged through it. I tried to watch the US version and it just doesnt compare. The UK version is so much better and Frank is a legend!

"Tickets this way for the Chatsworth Express Come and watch pikey's making a mess Of the lives they were given by him upstairs And kids they're convinced aren't actually theirs

What sound on earth could ever replace Kids needing money and wives in your face Cos this, people reckon, and me included, Is why pubs and drugs were kindly invented

To calm us all down, stop us going mental These are Chatsworth Estate's basic essentials We are worth every penny, we're grinding your axes You sit on our head, but you pay the taxes

Imagine a Britain without Chatsworth buccaneers We'll come on your face for the price of a beer Make poverty history, cheaper drugs now Make poverty history, cheaper drugs now!"

Shameless is the funniest show on TV. The Gallagher kids have a chronic drunk as a father and a self-pitying mother who deserted them, instead of falling apart they have successfully stayed together and retained a close bond. It would be so easy to have made a show using the same characters and turned it into some sad soap opera portraying them as depressed poverty stricken people who would never achieve anything, instead all the characters are intelligent, extremely funny, creative and determined to succeed. Reading this back it doesn't do the show justice - you need to see it to appreciate it. Its hard to even to be mad at Frank who can be such a jerk but obviously loves his kids and Sheilia who is very kind and as nutty as a fruit cake. The neighbours Kev, Veronica and Marty are the best neighbours you could get (I'd love to live in their neighbourhood). People who are offended by bad language, sex and naked bums should go and get a life. You can not miss this show its the best of the best of the best.

I think the only thing that can be said about Shameless is that it is simply THE best Drama that has been on TV in years. America has produced TV shows which have bowled over audiences for years, such as The Sopranos, Oz and Homicide whilst we have to put up with year upon year of rubbish, with the odd classic such as Robbie Coltrane's Cracker to relieve the banality. From the first episode of Shameless I was hooked. The Characters, humour, acting, stories, script and dialogue are fantastic, and I cannot understand how anyone can slag this excellent show. I was so looking forward to the Christmas special, and whilst there was a serious tone with Ian's plight, I think there was always a serious undertone to the whole 1st series, and that is what makes good comedy drama, rather than just comedy.

I personally cannot wait for series 2 which starts Tuesday 4th January 2005 @ 10:00pm on Channel 4, and judging from the trailers I don't think I will be disappointed.

Marc.