John Byrne wrote a Scottish version of a Greek tragedy, structured very much like a play. The main characters are a group of ageing local rockstars who epitomise the US rock and roll explosion of the 1960s that ingrained itself working class British lives.
One of the central figures is Vincent Diver, a destructive, hedonistic rocker exploiting the lifestyle for the pleasures it brings. He has a tragic arc that goes from one disaster to the next. He is written and portrayed in a number of scenes that are pretty dark, but with a humorous edge due to Byrne's witty dialogue and Maurice Roëves committed performance.
Danny McGlone is the new band member, returning from a failed art career in America for his brother's funeral. He meets up with former college acquaintance Suzi Kettles and the two have a compelling romantic arc. Robbie Coltrane and Emma Thompson embody the characters and have epic screen chemistry.
Another strong double act is Richard Wilson and Katy Murphy, who are consistently funny as Eddie and Miss Toner, with great banter in numerous situations.
Other band members and supporting characters contribute well, such as Bomba, Fud and the two ladies in Vincent's life. Another noteworthy role for me is the play's chorus which comes in the form of roadie Dennis.
There are plenty of interesting themes on show such as the toxic masculinity of the Scottish hard case stereotype present in several characters. This goes hand in hand with the progressive attitude towards gender roles, as the treatment and objectification of "dolls" and "burds" is generally lampooned and contrasted well by some quite strong female characters.
The impact of American culture is shown by characters who identify far more with US pop music, movie stars and bohemian New York lifestyle than the drab everyday existence of working class Glasgow.
My favourite episode is the 4th "Don't You Rock Me Daddy-O", which flows beautifully towards a dark, but hilarious conclusion. Closely followed by the 5th "Love Hurts", that has some of the show's toughest moments.
It is not perfect, as I think there is a pretty slow build up in the first three episodes to the main events. Byrne was obviously given the freedom to write it his own way, so we have lots of long scenes of dialogue with characters he clearly loves. These are all well written scenes, but some feel slightly overlong if you are not fascinated by the characters and entertained by everything they say. All scenes involving McGlone and Kettles are top drawer though for me.
The production values have aged, but if you consider what was norm for the BBC in 1987, they cinematography and editing is pretty strong. I love the art direction for most scenes, particularly how certain environments are designed to reflect the characters.
For me it is 8.5/10, but I round upwards.
(I have also reviewed each episode individually on this site)
