This Is England '88

Carrying on from This is England this continues the lives of the characters portrayed in the first movie . Fantastic film

Forget all the Christmas specials and seasonal 'bumper' editions of your favorite shows that usually fail to live up to the hype. This is the real deal.

In my opinion this is the finest ensemble cast to grace the small screen, offering us devastating highs and lows (cleverly, in some instances within the same scene) to send your emotional levels into overdrive. Vicky McLure continues her incredible portrayal as Lol, but bolstered by an incredible cast of English actors. Jo Gilgun, surely now part of the English comedy drama culture since picking up the mantle in Misfits is still firing out his deadpan comic delivery, tinged with a subtle cringing irony which is surely going to explode in future episodes. The haunting presence of Johnny Harris is still lingering in this show despite the incident last time, as the direction flashes on the verges of psychological horror. The rest of the flawless cast just shine without effort, and you wish you could spend all your time in their company despite the downbeat nature of the era.

Unsurprisingly the writing is assured, and the direction is awesome. For me though, It's McLure all the way. The performance of the year (again). Surely more awards are pending for this splendid programme and long may England live.

Get ready to cry, laugh and tie curling awkwardness. Just when you let your guard down and laugh. The next scene leaves you in anguish or tears. It's a master class in tragicomic relief. The settings put you right back in the 1980's, where kids and youth Rommedahl the streets. There are some absolute architectural "beauties" and prime 1980's dekor, That curbs any lurking nostalgia.

Loved every single moment of the film Shane meadows is a legend

In 'This is England 88', Shane Meadows picks up the story of the group of young people whose lives he previously chronicled in a feature film and an earlier TV series. If I have to criticise this work, it's that it's structure is that of an extended coda to its predecessors; there's not much in the way of novel plot, and perhaps too many emotional "payoff" scenes, something Meadows does well but they have more impact when set at the end of a tauter, more defined story. But of course, such scenes are not the only thing that Meadows is good at. As usual, he gets great performances from his (mostly unprofessional) cast, and manages to make the bleak surroundings of working class England almost unbearably beautiful and affecting. This it top class television; but I also feel these characters, as brilliantly as they have bee brought to life, are now done.