[go: up one dir, main page]

    Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    EmmysSuperheroes GuideSan Diego Comic-ConSummer Watch GuideBest Of 2025 So FarDisability Pride MonthSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
Episode guide
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

Blackpool

  • TV Mini Series
  • 2004
  • 1h
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
2.7K
YOUR RATING
Blackpool (2004)
Dark ComedyJukebox MusicalComedyCrimeDramaMusicalMysteryRomance

Soon after local entrepreneur Ripley Holden (Morrissey) opens his arcade in his beloved home town of Blackpool, a murder investigation makes tears at the fabric of his personal and professio... Read allSoon after local entrepreneur Ripley Holden (Morrissey) opens his arcade in his beloved home town of Blackpool, a murder investigation makes tears at the fabric of his personal and professional lives.Soon after local entrepreneur Ripley Holden (Morrissey) opens his arcade in his beloved home town of Blackpool, a murder investigation makes tears at the fabric of his personal and professional lives.

  • Stars
    • David Morrissey
    • Sarah Parish
    • Thomas Morrison
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.9/10
    2.7K
    YOUR RATING
    • Stars
      • David Morrissey
      • Sarah Parish
      • Thomas Morrison
    • 27User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 BAFTA Awards
      • 2 wins & 9 nominations total

    Episodes6

    Browse episodes
    TopTop-rated1 season2004

    Photos4

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster

    Top cast36

    Edit
    David Morrissey
    David Morrissey
    • Ripley Holden
    • 2004
    Sarah Parish
    Sarah Parish
    • Natalie Holden
    • 2004
    Thomas Morrison
    • Danny Holden
    • 2004
    David Tennant
    David Tennant
    • DI Peter Carlisle
    • 2004
    Georgia Taylor
    Georgia Taylor
    • Shyanne Holden
    • 2004
    Steve Pemberton
    Steve Pemberton
    • Adrian Marr
    • 2004
    David Bradley
    David Bradley
    • Hallworth
    • 2004
    Bryan Dick
    Bryan Dick
    • D.C. Blythe
    • 2004
    Kevin Doyle
    Kevin Doyle
    • Steve
    • 2004
    David Hounslow
    David Hounslow
    • DCI Jim Allbright
    • 2004
    Jacqueline Pilton
    • Ruth
    • 2004
    Lisa Millett
    Lisa Millett
    • Hailey
    • 2004
    John Thomson
    John Thomson
    • Terry Corlette
    • 2004
    Michelle McCaw
    • Chantelle
    • 2004
    Jim Whelan
    Jim Whelan
    • Deaf Barry
    • 2004
    Connie Walker
    • Karen
    • 2004
    Joe Armstrong
    Joe Armstrong
    • Mark Reed
    • 2004
    James Cartwright
    James Cartwright
    • Mike Hooley
    • 2004
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews27

    7.92.6K
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    hesketh27

    Unusual drama

    Blackpool is an unusual drama (with touches of comedy) which tells the story of an amusement arcade owner who finds himself and his family at the centre of a murder investigation when a body is found in his arcade. From time to time the actors burst into song (a la Singing Detective) & are transported into fantasy sequences which work quite well as an integral part of the plot. The actors' faces are well known to UK TV audiences from their regular appearances in supporting roles in other TV vehicles. As in all BBC productions, the performances are uniformly good. The real star of the show however is Blackpool itself. The wonderfully seedy holiday resort is well used as the backdrop and well known places/landmarks appear in most scenes. An enjoyable serial. (The soundtrack's pretty good too!)
    9kenj-3

    Wonderful, Quirky Murder Mystery

    I did not expect this to be anywhere as good as it turned out to be. I mean, who wants to see a murder mystery where the main characters break out into song every 30 minutes or so? Yes, they actually do sing in their own voices over recordings you will recognize.

    The songs are a perfect fit to the story, moving it along and providing a lot of context. My personal favorite was the head to head between David Morrissey and David Tennant, both singing "These Boots Are Made For Walking."

    Sarah Parish has always been a personal favorite, starting with "Cutting It" and doing a killer job as a lawyer in the short lived series "Trust". David Morrissey did a fantastic job. You'd swear he is a total sleaze in the beginning of the series, but by the end, your opinion will probably change. Likewise, David Tennant (the new Dr Who) seems to be the perfect cop, but is he really?

    PS - If you saw this on BBC America, you missed about 10 minutes out of every episode. Several songs were cut, as were a lot of key scenes that made the story much easier to follow, and also developed some of the the characters much further. Especially Hallworth, the character played by David Bradley who was protesting the conversion of the arcade into a casino.

    Do yourself a favor - get a multi-region DVD player, and order the DVD from the UK.
    10fredsawy

    Brilliant Outstanding Awesome

    I have to say when I first heard about "Viva Blackpool" I was very curious to see it. I missed the first episode and was upset but thank goodness BBC America showed a repeat of it a few days later the night before episode 2 so I taped both and watched the first two episodes back to back.

    I'll admit that when I first started watching it I was thinking "Ok maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all." But somewhere between that thought and the first 20 minutes of the show I got drawn in and found I couldn't wait to get to the second episode on the tape.

    It's slow moving at the start but once it kicks in it grabs hold of you and won't let go. I couldn't wait for the next week's episode and once it came I was never disappointed.

    Each episode ends with a brilliant cliffhanger done with a brilliantly done stage and well chosen song that fits the situation and mood. "These Boots Are Made for Walking", "Knock, Knock Who's there" just to name a few. Also the way all the songs through out the show are all staged you see how the lyrics really fits each and every character with what's not only going on with them, but all the small sub plots of the show as well. All perform them with great emotion and bring the lyrics to life and you can feel their pain, anger, joy , fright and love.

    The ending of the story is very well done I think and brought a few feeling good type of tears to my eyes as I sat and watched the show ended set to Burt Bacharach's beautifully done "Alway's something there to remind me." I've kept each episode on tape till it comes out on DVD here in the states. Which I hope will be very soon.
    10Elise120

    Blackpool

    Blackpool (released as Viva Blackpool in the US) is absolutely the best mini-series I've ever seen. It was unique, well written, directed and acted. Although both David Tennant and David Morrissey are wonderful actors, I felt that David Morrissey really stood out in his role of Ripley Holden. If anyone's seen any of his other work, they would see what an incredible actor he is!! And outrageously attractive as well. The musical numbers are well done. What a brilliant idea to have the actors sing along with the original artists, sort of like Karaoke. I was also impressed with new actor Tommy Morrisson, who played Danny Holden. I expect to see him in other films..he's very talented. Sarah Parrish is lovely and talented as always, and I'm looking forward to seeing David Tennant as Dr. Who. In conclusion, I highly recommend this series. I only wish that BBC would release the DVD for Region 1 soon, as my home VHS recording is getting worn from repeated viewings.
    10Cazanya

    Amazing

    This is absolutely brilliant!!! Only UK would do this kind of show and go all the way :-) I love Sarah Parish and she's just amazing in this. Oh and those who complain about the fact that it isn't dancers and singers that does the characters thank god for that! I think the point is that it isn't perfect, it makes it more real and what joy would it be watching perfect dancers who can't act!? No they did the right thing casting actors for it... Anyway this is funny,touching,dark and a bit disturbing aka everything you can possibly want in a TV program and I can just pray it's true they are planning a sequel.... UK are brilliant at making TV that stays with you long after it airs unlike US...

    More like this

    Recovery
    7.9
    Recovery
    Casanova
    7.7
    Casanova
    Takin' Over the Asylum
    8.5
    Takin' Over the Asylum
    Mad to Be Normal
    6.0
    Mad to Be Normal
    Single Father
    7.6
    Single Father
    Sourire en coin
    6.8
    Sourire en coin
    Espions de Varsovie
    6.7
    Espions de Varsovie
    Le mari de la ministre
    7.1
    Le mari de la ministre
    Much Ado About Nothing
    8.5
    Much Ado About Nothing
    Hamlet
    8.0
    Hamlet
    You, Me and Him
    5.9
    You, Me and Him
    There She Goes
    8.2
    There She Goes

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      David Tennant, David Bradley, and David Morissey have all played the role of the Doctor from Doctor Who, David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor from 2006-2010, David Morissey in The Next Doctor, and David Bradley playing William Hartnell as the First Doctor in An Adventure in Time and Space.
    • Quotes

      D.I. Peter Carlisle: Ah, Freud would say that your jokes reveal a truth buried in your subconscious.

      Ripley Holden: Oh, what do you know, a copper who's read a book.

      D.I. Peter Carlisle: Well, if I'd read two books, maybe I'd run an amusement arcade.

      Ripley Holden: Yeah, well I wouldn't know about that. I run a family entertainment arcade.

      D.I. Peter Carlisle: And I'm a crime-citizen-interface consultant.

    • Connections
      Followed by Viva Blackpool (2006)
    • Soundtracks
      Viva Las Vegas
      Written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman (as Mort Schuman)

      Performed by Elvis Presley, David Morrissey, Georgia Taylor Thomas Morrison and Sarah Parish

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ

    • How many seasons does Blackpool have?
      Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 11, 2004 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Official sites
      • BBC (United Kingdom)
      • BBC America
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Viva Blackpool
    • Filming locations
      • Blackpool, Lancashire, England, UK
    • Production company
      • British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Blackpool (2004)
    Top Gap
    What is the German language plot outline for Blackpool (2004)?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit pageAdd episode

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.