Blackpool

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.

I was flicking through the channels on TV slightly bored had not a lot to do until i came across a program that was just starting. I didn't know what it was about but it was called Blackpool. It seemed pretty good nothing more than you normal melodrama and about five minutes in they burst into You Can Get It If You Really Want (Jimmy Cliff) and to my amazement i found it hugely captivating.

The musical choruses are great through out the series ranging from Gabrielle to The Clash i think that you don't have to be into musicals to appreciate the bursts of songs as they almost fall into a category of music video within the program having there own dance routines even little fantasies they help a great deal to build the plot.

Apart from the music the program takes very sinister turns that make very significant changes to the plot throughout and as the truth gradually seeps out you will begin to see darker secrets and darker changes in the characters Which after every episode had me eager for more. From watching the casino owner Ripley opening his brand new casino to have his whole world fall apart in 6 episodes will bring out many emotions but inevitably entertain you throughout.

The cast is brilliant The chemistry between David Morrisey (Ripley Holden) and David Tennant (D.I. Carlisle) they have a great passion to hate each other although will stop at nothing to get one over on the other one. Tennant however falls in love with Sarah parish (natalie Holden) and the romance between them is great along with the music you can really feel a great passion between them which on screen is captured so well the rest of the cast really pull the whole thing together and ensure a great performance on the whole.

This program is well worth a watch to anyone who enjoys being entertained. The blend of music great characters and a superb and captivating story all set on the back drop of the sunny seaside resort of Blackpool will have you wanting more.

This program gets my vote i hope it gets yours.

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.....

Blackpool is an unusual drama (with touches of comedy) which tells the story of an amusement arcade owner who finds himself and his family at the centre of a murder investigation when a body is found in his arcade. From time to time the actors burst into song (a la Singing Detective) & are transported into fantasy sequences which work quite well as an integral part of the plot. The actors' faces are well known to UK TV audiences from their regular appearances in supporting roles in other TV vehicles. As in all BBC productions, the performances are uniformly good. The real star of the show however is Blackpool itself. The wonderfully seedy holiday resort is well used as the backdrop and well known places/landmarks appear in most scenes. An enjoyable serial. (The soundtrack's pretty good too!)

I just bought the DVD of this series, as I have recently become a huge fan of David Tennant. I was planning to watch it in 6 installments, but by the end of the first episode, I was intrigued by the story and ended up watching it all in one session. The writing is excellent, with fine performances, and the use of popular songs as part of the narrative works well. David Morrissey plays the central character of Ripley Holden, who is essentially quite hard to like because of his attitudes and practices, but he manages to create sympathy for him by the end. David Tennant shows his fine acting skills (and his lovely Scottish accent), and is particularly winning in his scenes with Julie Parish. All in all, a very fine production.