No Offence

This took me by surprise. I didn't expect any of this. I thought it was a conventional detective, procedural series. And I was very delightfully impressed. The storyline is original, gritty, very well developed in terms of thriller and crime situations. The humor is really great, twisted but really refreshing. But the best of it, the characters! A very welcome show!

It's dark comedy, and I find it amusing. It's not supposed to be overly serious and factual, just entertaining (although there are some serious parts that I also find well done). A lot of people seem to be over-thinking it. One reviewer likened it to the car crash channel, shocktainment and carried on about mangled bodies; they have apparently confused this with some other show, because I didn't see anything like that. Nothing even close to the violence and gore on say "Criminal Minds" or even the beloved "NCIS". I take offence at the reviewer who said "only childish adults who never left the playground" would find it funny. Lighten up people, this isn't Shakespeare, it's a TV show, and not everyone's cup of tea. Criticize the show but you don't need to slam everyone who enjoys it; just makes you sound sanctimonious and arrogant. I hope the show continues, and I personally will continue to enjoy it.

I have noticed a couple of bad reviews for this show but, all I have to say in response to these is, take a look for yourself. No, it may not be to everyone's taste but, tell me something that is? Personally, I love it! I've now watched the first 3 episodes aired on C4 and the kind of 'gallows humour' contained therein really is appealing to anyone who works in an industry that is, oftentimes, so dire and dreadful that humour is the only coping mechanism left open to you. But, that said, as my title implies, this show has been created for ENTERTAINMENT purposes only! If you aren't entertained, then watch something else, it's that simple. However, that said, I would like to point out that not everyone was initially impressed with Paul Abbot's other creation, Shameless, and now look what's happened there! A great deal of the population are being entertained by that one, from OAP's to indolent teens, it's a winner across the board without doubt. If these two shows are examples of what Mr Abbot is capable of then I say "create away Paul, you damn genius!" I would like to point out here that yes, I am a child from a school playground put into an adult's body, as are we all, and anyone so full of their own self importance to say they are not, needs to take the stick from out their a**e! Tee hee! Puerile enough for you? ;-)

Just to strike some balance against the review titled 'total trash'. (Written by someone in the US two days before the UK show premiered in the UK??)

It's not 'shocktainment.' I have no idea which scene that's supposed to relate to, if any. The only body you see is on a mortuary slab: just the face, rest beneath a sheet. There is a mildly gross X-ray image in the background, relating to an, er, unusual car crash. You might not like the humour, but it is included AS humour.

If he/she means the 'splat' moment at the start, it only lasts a second and you don't see anything, really. It's no worse than any of the deaths in Midsomer Murders, and no one compares those to torture TV.

It's a black comedy. And if some of the humour seems, as another reviewer says, to 'belong in the playground,' well, the clue is in the title of the series. People say 'no offence' when they are about to say something awful. It's meant to be outrageous in places.

It parodies the standard police drama, while still being one. Turns a few clichés on their heads. And adds some realism: a heroine jumping in a city river to save someone probably does need antibiotics more than a medal afterwards.

Can't wait to see where it goes from here.

I dispute the IMDb tagline, "Follows a group of police officers on the front line wondering what they did to end up where they are now, on the ugly side of Manchester." This seems written offhand by someone not in the know who didn't actually watch the series. One of the most distinguishing features of this fictional police unit is its being led by an intelligent, funny, high-spirited woman who is confident, with reason, and doesn't conform to the image stereotype of women on TV. She doesn't care about her body type and doesn't care about anyone who does. The bonding among the female and the male members in the unit is more convincing and appealing than in other police dramas I've watched. The humour is just plain fun. I've been thoroughly entertained watching the first 3 series on Acorn TV here in Canada and I really hope there'll be a 4th series.