jeremyscholes1200
Joined Jul 2005
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jeremyscholes1200's rating
Difficult to say whether this series set in an under-achieving inner-city comprehensive is meant to be a comedy, a drama or a comedy-drama as there are elements of all three. Jamie Glover as Andrew plays the ex fee-paying school English teacher who comes to Waterloo Road as Deputy Head and initially he's coming over as a cold fish though with indications that he will develop into the saviour of the school. Ex Coronation Street actress Angela Griffin is the pick of the bunch as the very human and humane humanities teacher and in fact the show seems to be a haven for ex-Corry actresses with Jill Halfpenny, Denise Welch and Judith Barker (the second Mrs Ken Barlow) joining Ms Griffin and I see from IMDb that Chloe Newsome will soon make it 5 unless she was in the first episode and I missed her.
This kind of drama is really done much better by US producers these days though enough was going on for me to tune in and see how it progresses.
This kind of drama is really done much better by US producers these days though enough was going on for me to tune in and see how it progresses.
It shows how far behind my video watching has got that I just got around to watching this film which I had taped around 9 months ago.
The plot revolves around a real-life event a few years ago when a group of British plane spotters fell foul of the Greek authorities and found themselves in jail and then sent for trail on espionage charges. The Greeks simply could not believe or understand that writing down plane details was a hobby and were convinced their motives were more sinister.
The chief spotter is played by Mark Benton who is presently starring in an ITV series "Northern Lights" as well as in several TV commercials. He is making a bit a name for himself as a leading TV comedy actor and you can see why with a strong performance here that captures both the humour and bathetic seriousness of the situation he finds himself in. The ever-reliable Lesley Sharp plays his wife brilliantly and they are surrounded by a group of character actors who convey the stunning anal concentration of the group to the fore. (Examples include cell talks on the history of RAF Brize Norton whilst they are banged up and STILL spotting plane numbers from their cell windows).
In reality it is simply a tale of a group of eccentric underdogs battling against the odds in a strange land (apart from the fact it is based on reality the subject could have formed the foundation of an Ealing comedy 50 years ago) and is well worth watching should the opportunity come your way.
The plot revolves around a real-life event a few years ago when a group of British plane spotters fell foul of the Greek authorities and found themselves in jail and then sent for trail on espionage charges. The Greeks simply could not believe or understand that writing down plane details was a hobby and were convinced their motives were more sinister.
The chief spotter is played by Mark Benton who is presently starring in an ITV series "Northern Lights" as well as in several TV commercials. He is making a bit a name for himself as a leading TV comedy actor and you can see why with a strong performance here that captures both the humour and bathetic seriousness of the situation he finds himself in. The ever-reliable Lesley Sharp plays his wife brilliantly and they are surrounded by a group of character actors who convey the stunning anal concentration of the group to the fore. (Examples include cell talks on the history of RAF Brize Norton whilst they are banged up and STILL spotting plane numbers from their cell windows).
In reality it is simply a tale of a group of eccentric underdogs battling against the odds in a strange land (apart from the fact it is based on reality the subject could have formed the foundation of an Ealing comedy 50 years ago) and is well worth watching should the opportunity come your way.
For some reason the cast list here on IMDb shows only a secondary portion of the cast.
Stephen Tompkinson stars as the nervy teacher with a vulnerable family and a mysterious missing woman in his past. As is usual with Tompkinson his performance seems wooden and simplistic at the start but before too long you begin to empathise with his predicament and by the second half the strength of his performance comes out.
Owen Teale is the villain of the piece. Can't say too much without spoiling but a truly creepy performance.
Kelly Harrison plays the Marian of the title. An excellent performance showing her as a vibrant young teenager in flashback and an automaton under the control of Teale in the present time. All her body language conveys the anguish of captivity so well.
Samantha Beckinsale (still ever reminiscent of her father the late Richard Beckinsale - so much more so than sister Kate) is standard fare as Tompkinson's wife but does a sound job at showing an increasing unease at the revelations emerging.
Special mention must be made of the young actress who played daughter Olivia who had to show both as a normal 13 year old and some rather unusual goings on later.
All in all a very tense piece. So many of these ITV 2-part, 3-hour TV Drama Marathons leave you waiting for the end. In this one the 3 hours passes quickly and it's well worth catching up on if you can.
Stephen Tompkinson stars as the nervy teacher with a vulnerable family and a mysterious missing woman in his past. As is usual with Tompkinson his performance seems wooden and simplistic at the start but before too long you begin to empathise with his predicament and by the second half the strength of his performance comes out.
Owen Teale is the villain of the piece. Can't say too much without spoiling but a truly creepy performance.
Kelly Harrison plays the Marian of the title. An excellent performance showing her as a vibrant young teenager in flashback and an automaton under the control of Teale in the present time. All her body language conveys the anguish of captivity so well.
Samantha Beckinsale (still ever reminiscent of her father the late Richard Beckinsale - so much more so than sister Kate) is standard fare as Tompkinson's wife but does a sound job at showing an increasing unease at the revelations emerging.
Special mention must be made of the young actress who played daughter Olivia who had to show both as a normal 13 year old and some rather unusual goings on later.
All in all a very tense piece. So many of these ITV 2-part, 3-hour TV Drama Marathons leave you waiting for the end. In this one the 3 hours passes quickly and it's well worth catching up on if you can.