The Street

Well thank goodness the reviewer "howTVshouldbe" doesn't have a say in how TV should be, quite frankly though an American calling this series "a dud" can only be a ringing endorsement for how good this show is.

Mcgovern has done it again, with a breathtakingly honest and sometimes brutal portrayal of the lives of ordinary people in an ordinary town. I found each episode absolutely compelling viewing. I did not find it overly depressing at all, many of the episodes are very heart warming with satisfying endings.

I especially like episode 2 & 3. Broadbent is excellent as a disillusioned man finding himself suddenly retired.

I thoroughly recommend this series to anyone that likes a well written, gritty, British drama.

Nobody does drama like the British. Their use of "real people" like Timothy Spall and other character actors make the stories more believable and plausible. Not all actors look like they've stepped out of the pages of a prominent fashion magazine. I would imagine that many of those offering negative criticism were brought up on mass-produced, pasteurised, plasticised, sanitised, computerised and irradiated drivel, and were shocked at being exposed to real life. Real life, ad-lib, spontaneity, remember that? Not everything comes with a step-by-step instruction manual, so try not to get too disappointed when you can't guess the end 5 minutes into the show. That's what story telling is all about. Dud? I don't think so mate.

Just when it seems that almost the entire world is churning out small-screen drama the televisual equivalent of Danielle Steel's finest, or buying in formulaic, standardised American drivel, thank God for the likes of Jimmy McGovern and the BBC for producing something so classy and original as 'The Street'.

Beautifully written, superbly acted and tightly directed - a glimpse into a real world, populated by real people, that just about any cogent Brit will empathise with.

Yes it aims high, but that is no bad thing: real quality, in anything, is never destined for either mass consumption, or appreciation.

The bar has been raised again; by the only ones who seem to know how.

Just watched the last episode of series two. My thought's?..Stunning! This is not cobbled together tacked on drama this is seminal in the context of British drama. You are drawn in to each character whether that character be good or bad, wrong or right, lucky or unlucky. We see the effects lifelike individuals can have on others. Even on people they have never met. The acting from well known to lesser known actors in each episode is consistently compelling. The presence from each of these, perfectly cast actors, fully compliments each episodes script. The subtle episode plot joins assist the viewer in quickly settling into each story lending more credibility to each new characters situation. Sure there are some weaknesses however, this is as good as British drama gets so don't miss out just because of bad (or good!) reviews. Settle down and enjoy the drama!

I literally devoured this when it came out and then forgot about it. Then ... remembered it and it took me ages to find a copy, but I eventually did and it was better than I remembered. I loved the story telling. The dark, gritty UK dramas are the best and this one is up there. Shame they don't make TV like this anymore.