The Smoke

I was a firefighter in the States for 18 years. Imagine my excitement to see such a high quality show where they clearly strived to make the calls and the station life so realistic. They nailed it on both counts! This show is very well crafted and the acting is superb. Everyone involved does an excellent job, especially Taron Egerton. This puts other modern-day series about the fire service to shame. My only regret is that there aren't more episodes. A very big "Thank You" to everyone who worked on this, you've successfully captured what it's like to work in the Fire Service, and you've done so with honor by showing that every person alive has their own demons to battle as well.

Being someone who lamented the loss of Sirens recently, I was hoping for another take on the emergency services, as anything which pays testament to their duty in a tasteful way has my complete blessing.

The Smoke did not disappoint.

Opening with a darkened set for a dark plot moment, the visual effects were more than eye-catching and bestrewed realism from the off. This is matched by a shocking moment near the pilot's end (you'll know it when you see it), with both of these moments being sandwiched by some truly brilliant acting. Jamie Bamber is as good as ever, but his supporting cast has proved in only forty minutes that they are up to the task of making this show high-quality in all departments for, hopefully, a long time to come. The humour and playful banter was rife, but easily replaced by a realistic notion of severity when on-the-job.

The job of a fireman itself is portrayed as brutal in many aspects, with evidence proving that the oh-so important work isn't always respected by pedestrians, and with the possible injuries sustained being showcased as truly horrific. The Smoke pulls no punches in this regard, and it certainly fits its 9PM time slot. But I have no complaints. I don't shy from what some may label 'gratuitous' threat, as it smacks of the realism I want the entire show to be associated with.

Although there is much more to come, this one episode has given me hope for the future. If the rest of the series lives up to what I've just watched, we're in for a dramatic roller-coaster of a show.

10/10

Honestly, I found this because of Taron Egerton and I wasn't planning on making it past episode one, but wow. Binged the whole thing. I'm not even a fan of medical/firefighter dramas, but what can I say, I loved it. Unique plot with suspense, excellent acting (especially between Asbro + Kev). All the characters had dimension, which is probably not easy to do with only 8 episodes, and it wasn't predictable, not at all. It's too bad there isn't more.

What can I say, well first off more please.

The Smoke is brilliant, great cast and good story lines. Asbo – Taron Egerton plays his part so well and its great to see the action between him and Kev – Jamie Bamber develop.

Realistic on screen scenes and shows the type of injuries our firefighters can suffer while doing their dangerous job. We have to remember that while most of us our running out of a burning building, they are going in.

Episodes 1, 6 and 7 are for me the best episodes, the scenes in the tunnel with the tanker were excellent.

Please do series 2, can't wait to watch what happens next.

Jamie Bamber gives a fantastic performance in "The Smoke," which was either a miniseries or a regular series that didn't last long.

I can tell you that firefighters loathed this show so we can assume it was highly inaccurate.

Bamber plays a firefighter, Kev, trapped in a building with a baby and told an aerial ladder is en route. It never comes - the baby dies, and Kev suffers catastrophic burns and is out of commission for a year.

His wife is played by Jodie Whittaker, the next Dr. Who, so it was heavily promoted. She loves her husband and vice versa, but due to his injuries, he can't have sex. In a graphic scene, we see what has been done to his body.

Now he's back on the job and determined to find the people responsible for the fire, which he can't stop watching on his computer.

I thought the firefighters were very unlikeable and acted like children. Very annoying.

Bamber adopted a low-class accent for the role, and he is wonderful. But I can't say I liked the series.