Blackpool

I have to say when I first heard about "Viva Blackpool" I was very curious to see it. I missed the first episode and was upset but thank goodness BBC America showed a repeat of it a few days later the night before episode 2 so I taped both and watched the first two episodes back to back.

I'll admit that when I first started watching it I was thinking "Ok maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all." But somewhere between that thought and the first 20 minutes of the show I got drawn in and found I couldn't wait to get to the second episode on the tape.

It's slow moving at the start but once it kicks in it grabs hold of you and won't let go. I couldn't wait for the next week's episode and once it came I was never disappointed.

Each episode ends with a brilliant cliffhanger done with a brilliantly done stage and well chosen song that fits the situation and mood. "These Boots Are Made for Walking", "Knock, Knock Who's there" just to name a few. Also the way all the songs through out the show are all staged you see how the lyrics really fits each and every character with what's not only going on with them, but all the small sub plots of the show as well. All perform them with great emotion and bring the lyrics to life and you can feel their pain, anger, joy , fright and love.

The ending of the story is very well done I think and brought a few feeling good type of tears to my eyes as I sat and watched the show ended set to Burt Bacharach's beautifully done "Alway's something there to remind me." I've kept each episode on tape till it comes out on DVD here in the states. Which I hope will be very soon.

Blackpool (released as Viva Blackpool in the US) is absolutely the best mini-series I've ever seen. It was unique, well written, directed and acted. Although both David Tennant and David Morrissey are wonderful actors, I felt that David Morrissey really stood out in his role of Ripley Holden. If anyone's seen any of his other work, they would see what an incredible actor he is!! And outrageously attractive as well. The musical numbers are well done. What a brilliant idea to have the actors sing along with the original artists, sort of like Karaoke. I was also impressed with new actor Tommy Morrisson, who played Danny Holden. I expect to see him in other films..he's very talented. Sarah Parrish is lovely and talented as always, and I'm looking forward to seeing David Tennant as Dr. Who. In conclusion, I highly recommend this series. I only wish that BBC would release the DVD for Region 1 soon, as my home VHS recording is getting worn from repeated viewings.

I did not expect this to be anywhere as good as it turned out to be. I mean, who wants to see a murder mystery where the main characters break out into song every 30 minutes or so? Yes, they actually do sing in their own voices over recordings you will recognize.

The songs are a perfect fit to the story, moving it along and providing a lot of context. My personal favorite was the head to head between David Morrissey and David Tennant, both singing "These Boots Are Made For Walking."

Sarah Parish has always been a personal favorite, starting with "Cutting It" and doing a killer job as a lawyer in the short lived series "Trust". David Morrissey did a fantastic job. You'd swear he is a total sleaze in the beginning of the series, but by the end, your opinion will probably change. Likewise, David Tennant (the new Dr Who) seems to be the perfect cop, but is he really?

PS - If you saw this on BBC America, you missed about 10 minutes out of every episode. Several songs were cut, as were a lot of key scenes that made the story much easier to follow, and also developed some of the the characters much further. Especially Hallworth, the character played by David Bradley who was protesting the conversion of the arcade into a casino.

Do yourself a favor - get a multi-region DVD player, and order the DVD from the UK.

No warning. Just zapping through Dutch and Belgian TV channels when I stopped by chance at 'Blackpool'. I don't know what held me - perhaps the sublime acting in the three main roles. David Morrissey plays the the cheap shallow amusement arcade owner - or so he seems at first! His protagonist is a sharp police detective played so convincingly by David Tennant. Detective inspectors don't usually fall in love with the wives of their chief suspects but David is the exception. He falls completely for Sarah Parish who plays the wife of Ripley Holden, the arcade owner. Of course David has to fall in love with Sarah. After all, she plays an intelligent emotionally honest woman with depth of character to such perfection that it is almost impossible to distinguish between the actress and the role she depicts. Three incredibly good actors develop through six episodes of a gripping story with moments frozen in brilliantly selected popular song. How could Natalie Holden ever have fallen for the the sleaze boss Ripley? You begin to understand when you realize that Ripley is also a human being with ambition, depth,intelligence and charm. The characters scintillate through the episodes first of all showing one side and then another. My only criticism was that it was impossible for the sixth episode to meet the expectations built up during the previous shows. It very nearly succeeded however. There is a fine balancing line between drama and soap. Although all the ingredients for soap were there in the story line, this movie never once strayed over the line. My congratulations to the writer and the actors - a fantastic production which I shall remember for a very long time.....

As a huge fan of David Tennant, I had watched clips of "Blackpool" before. Mostly the musical bits. I had just never gotten around to watching the whole thing before. And here's my verdict. I absolutely loved it. The story itself was very well written. Half-way through, though, you realise that it's more about the growth of the characters and about the changes in their relationships, than about the unsolved murder or Ripley's money troubles.

I loved that the three main characters were nicely complex: they are broken in some ways but very good people in others. That is, Ripley isn't just a gambling bastard out to make a profit, Peter isn't just an officer intent on nailing him and his son because he falls in love with Natalie, and Natalie isn't JUST a bored, unhappy woman. Part of it, of course, is the writing. We see Ripley's adoration of his children, and even his tense relationship with his wife shows that he really loves her. He is also fiercely independent, and seems to care about the economic future of his town. As for Peter, we see how gone he is for Natalie almost at once, but we also see that his moral compromise and his obsessive investigation is something he is pulled towards slowly, not something inherent in him. There is a lot more to him: determination, and copious amounts of charm, cleverness and sarcasm. As for Natalie, she is, besides a wife and mother unhappy in her marriage, an altruistic woman who, despite having fallen in love with Peter, has the strength of character to break it off and decide she won't leave Ripley until Ripley gives her his blessing. The two children were also nuanced. Danny isn't just a troubled teenager who deals drugs and has trouble with the police. He is also very depressed and starving for affection from his father. He's also possibly the bravest of the bunch. And Shyanne isn't a brat marrying an older man to spite her father. She genuinely loves Steve AND adores her father.

The acting was phenomenal. No matter how much I try, I cannot seem to find a bad thing to say about David Tennant's acting. He is wonderfully nimble, enormously charming, endlessly magnetic, and the way he conveys the emotions of his character is beautifully clear. He is quite simply a dream. David Morrissey shined through and through. He was perfect for the part, especially in portraying the contrast in the different sides to Ripley. It wasn't hard to buy what a good father he can be and what a bastard he can be as well. Very well done on his part. Sarah Parish was measured and explosive when she needed to be. She played the moral dilemmas very, very well, but also clearly let us see how her marriage has affected Natalie before she met Peter. Great acting over all from all of the cast.

The music choices were a few times in complete disharmony with the story, but most of the time this served to get further inside the characters' minds. Loved how surreal the sequences were sometimes. My favourites were "Should I Stay or Should I Go," "Cupid," "The Boy with the Thorn In His Side," and "Viva Las Vegas."

I recommend this mini-series to everyone. It is a great story that is a lot of fun to watch, and a refreshing departure from the usual TV crime-fiction.