This Is England '86

I'm an ex-pat Brit living in the us.

and i can tell you most American viewers wouldn't last past five minutes into this show.

the cast is below average in looks, some are deformed, they talk funny; the characters are a mixture of the depressed, depraved, the thick and the stupid. the acting can only be described as a work in progress, and they lead dead end lives in dead end places. there ain't no glamor here.

all this will repel viewers whose identity is cast by fashion and t.v. programming. this show could never find a spot anytime on a us network. episode four would send middle America into a terminal tale spin--but it's not their fault. we don't get this kind of material because the money men who run us television only care about the cash--the baby faced producers would say, "who wants to watch a show about ugly losers?".

and if you want to hold up PBS as a daring non-commercial network, then drink some more koolaid. their emphasis is Lawrence welk for the primary, grey haired donors, and pimping a brainwashing liberal agenda through their political programming. they might find the balls to show a program like this around the 23rd century.

but i love it.

the original film, and this following series, seems to take a cast of mostly inexperienced actors, who may have lived the parts, and coaches them through a working class reality which at its core is full of camaraderie, loyalty, forgiveness and love. not the prettified sitcom love, but a love grown through lifelong community and shared pain, a love of real sacrifice.

these people are flawed like the rest of us, but they are not us. at first we reject their world as alien, but we see, through time, they share all our fears and traumas. we too are all common.

and thank god someone is making something about real people.

the great shame is: only a few Americans will ever see this show. we need to raise the bar, and flush out the cobwebbed hierarchy at PBS. i just hope we don't have to wait until the 23rd century for our programming to catch up. i don't think i can wait that long.

You won't be disappointed by this sequel and continues the story . A must see .

This show (Episode 1) was such a great surprise to me. I fell upon This Is England the movie by mistake, and loved it. Just as with the movie, I fell upon the series by mistake as well. After downloading the first Episode (As I live in the US and it's not shown over here), I had very little hope for this show. In the US, movies that then become shows (and usually the other way around too) are done very poorly, with no real connection to the original.

Seeing the original cast return was amazing, as I don't think they could find people to replace those actors that would do any justice. I took me a second to recognize the older Shaun, and wasn't 100% sure it was the same Woody right away with his new mop-top hair style he sports in the first episode. The show takes place 3 years after the movie ends, and as another reviewer posted, it's like checking in with old friends. Although (and I don't believe this is a spoiler) there is very to little no action between Shaun and the gang together in this episode, I feel it will get to that point, and with the end of the movie being it what it was, am glad they didn't just jump into "Yay everyone is here, times are great, on with the show" mentality. Over all so far, even after one episode, I give it a 10 out of 10. If you liked the movie, you are sure to love the show!

What an incredible follow up to the movie which was also excellent.

This Is England '86 is even more moving and gripping. It was also in turns intense, tragic, funny and incredibly sad. The characters are engaging, fascinating and original. Their friendships and relationships are so well portrayed, there is nothing Hollywood about this, it's real life. The stories that weave them together through this short series are real and believable. Some moments I was holding my breath in anticipation of what was coming - there is nothing predictable in this story line. I lived through this period and felt the series captured it authentically. I want to especially pay tribute to the music chosen in this series. Some absolutely astonishing songs that add to the pathos of the story and characters, in particular songs by Paul Weller, The Jam and Fleetwood Mac that I had not actually heard before. This series has sent me down a few rabbit holes trying to find more about the soundtrack.

Thank you to Shane Meadows for writing and creating this and to all involved in it, it's tough and gritty but real and rewarding, it's eye opening and it's art damn it!!

I am so looking forward to watching the next series This is England '88.

The only negative I have to say is that the movie and the other seasons are not available. Excellent gritty(in a need to shower after a couple episodes good way) series that is still relatable today. Filming and acting is top notch. Highly recommend.