The Crow Road

I remember watching a tape of "The Crow Road" lying on a sofa in some friends' flat on a New Year's Day in Edinburgh in the late Nineties and being captured by the whole "feel" of the mini series. Everything seemed to work beautifully: the cast (including actors who shot to fame later like Dougray Scott), the story (a brilliant family tale/coming-of-age/detective story), the setting... Unfortunately, my friends hadn't taped the end of the series, but luckily there was a BBC video out that I got a few weeks later in addition to reading the book at the first possibility. Every year, I make sure that I watch the mini series at least once, because it is the best adaptation of the many brilliant books by Iain Banks.

'The Crow Road' came out at a time when gritty dramas were flavour of the month like 'The Lakes', 'This Life', 'Shockers' etc. but, for me, this was the big stand-out. Mainly because it was so well adapted from the book and because of the great cast. Joseph McFadden, who plays the lead (Prentice McHoan), was relatively unknown at the time, but more than held his own alongside established actors like Bill Paterson & Peter Capaldi. Also the young support cast of Dougray Scott, Valerie Edmond & Simone Bendix play their parts very well. Dougray Scott, in particular, is perfectly cast as Prentice's swaggering, comedian brother.

The director keeps the suspense and mystery going throughout, allowing the story to come together a little at a time, leading on to an explosive finale that I found genuinely surprising.

I don't think I've seen anything else like it.

10/10 Outstanding.

Excellent mini-series about a young man's search for the truth in his family's past and what it had to do with his uncle's disappearance some years before. It is about closure but also growing up and moving on in one's life. Hard to pick a stand-out in a cast that fits the characters with great precision.

Perhaps the real star is the landscapes of Argyll in Scotland. I was always disappointed when filming went inside, except that the script was so strong and acting so meticulous, you were always entertained and stimulated.

Peter Capaldi and Dougray Scott went on to bigger things. Bill Paterson and Stella Gonet are solid,established Scottish actors whose standards never drop and Valerie Edmond has always been a shining light. The younger actors were excellent as well.

I saw the crow road when it first aired and it was the first BBC drama that I never expected to like but really enjoyed, I could wait to see the next part. Years later when I went to Uni I became friends with a lad who reminded me so much of Prentice and fortunately UK gold began running the series and it has not lost any of the original spark. I would definitely encourage anyone to see the Crow Road, it is both funny and captivatingly mysterious, containing excellent performances from all the cast especially Prentice.

An excellent adaption. Charismatic and convincing cast. Captures the spirit of the source book as well as any adaption I've seen.