The Street

Just watched the last episode of series two. My thought's?..Stunning! This is not cobbled together tacked on drama this is seminal in the context of British drama. You are drawn in to each character whether that character be good or bad, wrong or right, lucky or unlucky. We see the effects lifelike individuals can have on others. Even on people they have never met. The acting from well known to lesser known actors in each episode is consistently compelling. The presence from each of these, perfectly cast actors, fully compliments each episodes script. The subtle episode plot joins assist the viewer in quickly settling into each story lending more credibility to each new characters situation. Sure there are some weaknesses however, this is as good as British drama gets so don't miss out just because of bad (or good!) reviews. Settle down and enjoy the drama!

Just when it seems that almost the entire world is churning out small-screen drama the televisual equivalent of Danielle Steel's finest, or buying in formulaic, standardised American drivel, thank God for the likes of Jimmy McGovern and the BBC for producing something so classy and original as 'The Street'.

Beautifully written, superbly acted and tightly directed - a glimpse into a real world, populated by real people, that just about any cogent Brit will empathise with.

Yes it aims high, but that is no bad thing: real quality, in anything, is never destined for either mass consumption, or appreciation.

The bar has been raised again; by the only ones who seem to know how.

Just watched series 1 episode 1 of this drama. This episode right off the bat commenced in a furious argument, (or row as the Brits call it) between husband and wife while the young children are listening in the background frightened. Without giving the plot away the story contained scenes of adultery and violence with some f bombs thrown in. The violence is graphic , you cringe and can almost feel the punches yourself as you are watching. There is no way this show would make it past American censors. I was drawn in quickly from the first scene until the conclusion. A tragic occurrence caused by one of the characters happens about 15 minutes into the episode. After the tragedy each character swings back and forth from blaming someone else to blaming themselves. They all have feeling of anger. Sadness , and guilt. The director does a magnificent job showing close ups of the guilt ridden angry and sad faces of each character. The actors were all superb, each one did a great job portraying their angst delivering their lines and in their facial expressions. There were no wasted scenes throughout the entire hour long episode. I was very moved by this episode and it compelled me to do some research into the program. First of all I enjoyed the outdoor scenes of the gritty titled street of the show. I would not exactly call it a slum. But it looks like the type of street that has seen its share of late night boozy brawls. This street is inhabited by tough, hard nosed working class Brits. No Little Lord Fauntleroys or Lady Chatterleys live here. Evidently there were many well known stars of British cinema and telly that starred in some episodes. I recognized the lead from the one I watched as Jane Horrocks the ditzy blonde from AbFab. She did a great job in her lead dramatic role. One of my all time favorite British actors Bob Hoskins is in another one. Can't wait to see that!

I literally devoured this when it came out and then forgot about it. Then ... remembered it and it took me ages to find a copy, but I eventually did and it was better than I remembered. I loved the story telling. The dark, gritty UK dramas are the best and this one is up there. Shame they don't make TV like this anymore.

This is without doubt deep & dark at times, but such a joy to watch with brilliant portrayals from everyone. Jimmy McGovern hits home with strong, gritty writing as usual, and the sheer class of the whole production is superb.Episode 3 has been the standout for me (I'm still watching the series in NZ). The story based around a teacher caught short in the park, and accused of "flashing" was performed with such intensity by Neil Dudgeon and Lindesay Coulson. It threw every emotion at you. The final scenes where he was finally vindicated, made you realize just how easy mistakes can be made, and how traumatic that can be for so many people-simply brilliant! No doubt our "astvshouldbe" is still happily watching reruns of Friends, along with the other myriad of American trash, that passes for entertainment in USA