The Street

This is without doubt deep & dark at times, but such a joy to watch with brilliant portrayals from everyone. Jimmy McGovern hits home with strong, gritty writing as usual, and the sheer class of the whole production is superb.Episode 3 has been the standout for me (I'm still watching the series in NZ). The story based around a teacher caught short in the park, and accused of "flashing" was performed with such intensity by Neil Dudgeon and Lindesay Coulson. It threw every emotion at you. The final scenes where he was finally vindicated, made you realize just how easy mistakes can be made, and how traumatic that can be for so many people-simply brilliant! No doubt our "astvshouldbe" is still happily watching reruns of Friends, along with the other myriad of American trash, that passes for entertainment in USA

This man cannot put a foot wrong. Cracker was/is one of my favourite TV shows ever. This show, however, is just too much for me. I find the music so sad it absolutely destroys me, and I've rarely got past it. Nonetheless, McGovern rocks.

There isn't a single episode of the Street that doesn't ring true. From brutal to heart rendering, we are treated to a feast of raw, completely believable emotions. The actors (who are a who's who of British theatrical royalty) step up to the plate and knock each role (no matter how large or small) out of the park.

Oftentimes, the episodes are rough and filled with violence but they never fell like they are pandering or gratuitous. Kudos for the directors who perfectly walked this fine line.

While I have no idea of the lives of the British middle class, I feel like a have been given a front seat to the daily lives of folks just trying to get by from day to day.

If your sensibilities tend toward the Hallmark Channel, this show may be unsettling to you, but, I guarantee that no matter what the ending (happy, sad or in-between) you will never walk away dis-appointed.

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 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!