Truelove

This UK Channel 4 series starts well but tails off somewhat as it progresses. Certainly a difficult, painful and controversial subject is handled competently without bias and at times with some delicacy. The fact that a retired senior copper is a main player in the deployment is of some interest, given the nature of the law on this subject. The cast was well chosen and mostly very convincing in their portrayal of a group of old friends facing stark choices in their declining years and how to deal with them. I have one reservation - the later stages of this drama tended to stretch credibility, and the ending is - well, frankly - a little disappointing.

This was a very good little miniseries, except for that one character that you always hate. That is the young female detective Ayesha Kareem, who cannot mind her own business. Her character is annoying from the first time you see her to the end of the series. The minute you see how aggressive she is to try to do things she's not paid to do. It just drives me nuts. You never wanna work in an organization with people like her always minding everyone else's business not doing what she's paid to be doing I don't know why they put character characters like this in series because it's just annoying beyond belief. Every time they show up on the screen, you dislike them. You shut the TV off then you come back. See it again shut it off again.

Truelove starts with a question that nobody wants to answer - could you and should you kill a friend if they asked you to? But it doesn't linger. The story moves forwards at a pace that keeps the weight of its moral quandary off of the shoulders of the viewer. It's comical, nostalgic, heartwarming and fun despite its subject matter.

The story, told through a stellar cast, is well balanced and constantly developing through each episode. It resists the temptation to be carried too far into any specific genre whilst giving the audience enough familiarity on which to hang their reference points. Police procedural, thriller, drama, it has hints of each without compromising on its highly original concept. The show strikes a pleasing balance between entertainment and stimulation whilst opening up discussion with viewers both young and old(er).

I'm disappointed but not flat out shocked at the number of reviewers here who seem to view any treatment of end of life subjects played by actual oldsters as depressing.

This isn't -- not a bit. Instead, it's a very twisty take on the subject of assisted suicide with plenty of nuance and a lot of surprises you won't see coming.

One of the biggest surprises is someone actually turned out a script about old people that isn't solely comprised of patronizing stereotypes. These folk all feel very real -- the unique distillation of their own complicated (and often compromised) lives and careers.

It's fun to watch, despite the subject matter -- more police procedural in tone and content than dark night of the soul.

A group of old friends meet up after a funeral and drunkenly promise each other to help end their lives when it becomes too insufferable to continue.

And then this inevitable question crops up when one of them is diagnosed with cancer.

It may sound depressing but it's tackled in a dark humour and down to earth way and I love how it portrays these older people as part of the sixties generation who really were the first to be so free spirited.

There are twists and turns throughout and it highlights the issue and its pitfalls as well as the sympathetic portrayal of those suffering. Bit of a twist too!

A unique well performed drama with excellent casting.

Well worth a watch.