Buried

Channel 4 stuck this gem on late at night for students and the unemployed. Never has a greater gift been bestowed upon the wasters and insomniacs. This was a great series full of great scripts and above all a stand out performance from Lennie James in the lead role as a guy sent to prison for beating up a guy who had tried to rape his sister (if i remembered it correctly) I can understand why it was only one series because not a lot of people saw it. But there are still three letters i need to say to channel 4, more of a request than a quandary, DVD? This prison drama was probably the best drama of the year and its a wonder why Lennie James is not more famous. Someone give him a lead..please!

If you have enjoyed quality HBO drama then you recognise what makes a good series.

Like the British brother to the impeccable 'Oz', 'Buried' is sadly gonna end up exactly as its title suggests.

Tense, unpredictable, harsh, violent, and probably the best single piece of drama on British TV in the last 10 years. Ever piece of acting is flawless and from start to finish you care about the weak and revile those who exploit.

Poor viewing figures did for it but if ever it becomes available (or repeated even!) you will do no worse than attune yourself with the magnificent and sadly missed 'Buried'.

this was a great show, lenny james was brilliant as lee kingley, with a real camera view that takes u into the prison not just as a veiwer but as if you are there living the nightmare itself, wonderful cast, great direction and brilliant script makes this one of the best british dramas of its time, very true to life all i can say now is ten out of ten and im looking forward to seeing more lenny james in the future.

Criminaly ignored this was well written, superbly acted and not seen by as many people as it should have been. Hidden away on a Monday night at 22.30, it was hardly advertised by Ch4. If it had a 21.00 or even 21.30 slot, it could have really taken off.Set in a high security prison, it featured upon the trauma's of a variety of characters coping with incarceration. Lennie James, in the lead role was excellent and he was ably supported by many others. I really enjoyed this series, although it wasn't always easy to watch.It was very gritty and dark and often quite disturbing. Ch 4 could have easily had scope for making a second series but despite rave reviews from several leading critics, poor ratings put them off. This is damned annoying, I really believe the time it was shown put people off. Ch4 spend too much dough on reality rot and not enough time pushing drama's like this , which they are often very good at. Everyone who didn't see it , missed a treat. For those who didn't see it, it can't even be bought on DVD. You can buy a DVD of Big Brother highlights ( is there such a thing! ) but they never released Buried on DVD, citing a lack of interest from viewers. They and they only, are to blame for this.

I agree with the other reviews, this was an excellent series that despite the stellar cast and writing, was broadcast almost as an afterthought. Or was Ch4 just worried that bringing more attention to this uncompromising drama would have generated too many complaints?

Hang on? Wasn't that sort of thing part of the remit that brought Ch4 into being in the first place? Be controversial and brave.

My own gut feeling with 'Buried' was that between the time of writing and being approved, then to casting, filming, editing, Ch4 just changed in it's priorities. Now, the more low rent idea of new and 'challenging' programming, which had always been a legitimate part of Ch4, took precedence over the quality side of this remit. Being cheaper to do and more likely to attract viewers from a broader base.

So we went from stuff like 'The Word', on one night a week as post pub TV, in the 1990's, to the endless sink hole that is 'Big Brother'.

Back to 'Buried', I'm been watching it again on 4oD, being surprised to see it there (well it was, with another another lost classic 'North Square', the first searches I did on this new service!)

This is perhaps the future for shows that do not get either the attention when broadcast or DVD release.

I highly recommend Buried, get over to 4oD and treat yourself to very high quality drama that is all too rare.

If British channels are envious of critical successes from the US like 'The Wire', they have to step up the quality to match it. It can be done, it's not and never been a matter of talent, just will. (Then maybe some of our best actors need not spend as much time in the US, when they go due to lack of quality work here).