"and then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like... I... like you?" This episode is an instant classic and possibly the best of the first series. If you're giving Peep Show a watch f...
The opening scene for the very first episode of Peep Show is quite an usual one, it very much risks the viewer turning off with an annoying sequence of Jez (Robert Webb) dancing in a mirror to a st...
Following an uneventful but entertaining first episode, the second chapter of This is England 1990 (Summer) proves to be the calm before the storm.
Original Broadcast Date: 20th September 2015
The story of these young adults and their lives in an unnamed industrial town somewhere above Birmingham, continues with humour and a happy-go-lucky adventure. Shaun - still pining for the series-absent Smell - joins Harvey, Gadget, Trev and Kelly on a road trip to find a Rave, while the now slightly more mature Woody & Lol host a family BBQ in their front garden.
Something that has struck me so far in the series is how the mise en scène has been mostly bright with almost all scenes taking place during a hot a summer’s day. This is a huge change compared to the dull tone of This is England (2006) and the especially dark and cold bleakness of This is England ‘88 (2011). The scenes in which the aforementioned antics of this episode take place, are visually bright and at times almost appear like a music video. Shane Meadows obviously attempts to bring a more feel-good atmosphere to This is England 90; it’s apparent that as the series is partially biographical for Meadows, 1990 was a positive year for him and for many people across the UK as reference in the opening titles of the series. This is part of Meadow’s genius, to reflect the culture and historical setting, he doesn’t need theo characters to run to a TV and shout “Look, Thatcher has just resigned - that’s a relief for the this mining town! Grr”. He has the characters simply live in the moment of 1990 by just watching an episode of Brookside or humming the hit record of the time.
The BBQ scene in particular gave me a very warm feeling. Although I was born too late in the 1980′s to recognise anything from the previous instalments, I have vague early memories of BBQ’s out on a lawn while my parents in their mid-to-late 20′s (same age as Lol and Woody) sipped on cheap larger around an old BBQ playing songs from their teens years on a ghetto blaster that usually died within 20 minutes of use, even with 10 of those giant batteries!
So with the younger generation off on a jolly to a rave and bumping in to the comedy-relief characters (debateable) Flip and Chris off of Skins and Game of Thrones - Meadows lures you in to comfort before the drama kicks in.
With Lol happily enjoying parenthood with Woody, it appears that it’s her younger sister’s turn to carry the torch of despair and turmoil. The baby of the Jenkins family, Kelly, is seen at the beginning of the episode waking up after a one night stand with a questionable character - not to fear, we’ve all done it! However, later in the episode we start to realise that the dramatic events which took place within the Jenkins household have taken their toll on poor Kelly - she doesn’t even have a Mohawk any more! The rave-searching team never find “the right field” but instead come across a bizarre commune of new-age travellers. I was slightly disappointed with this scene, it didn’t really make much sense and was only used for an unrelated montage which I think was attempting to portray the affect of ecstasy. I would much rather have seen this done in a huge field at an actual rave but I guess budget cost and the much needed intimate scenes that followed may not have fitted in with the tone of the episode.
During this bizarre encounter with travellers, a young and attractive Kelly is ushered in to a grim looking trailer with three even-grimmer looking men. The easily influenced Kelly takes heroine with the individuals and they each take turns in having rough sex with her. Once again a disturbing montage kicks-in with flashes of a ghostly Mick (yes, he’s back!) appearing as the reflection of one of the men in the mirror. The next morning as gadget comforts a now very physical and emotionally delicate Kelly, we quickly realise that although Lol, Trev and Chrissy may be on the road to recovery, the youngest of the Jenkins family is still very much a victim of her fathers actions.
Although the travelling commune scenes didn’t really do much for me, there was a fantastic moment when Shaun comes across an mysterious and attractive mature lady. An almost motherly figure, she shares a drink with Shaun and finally after a movie and two mini-series, he opens up about the death of his father. This scene is particularly nice as all the pent-up anger and tragedy that’s apparent in the character of Shaun due to the death of his father in the Falklands, is finally put in to words. In the movie, a young Turgoose cleverly reflects the pain simply in the attitude of the character but to have Shaun sit and break down in tears about how he still feels about his father 7 years after his death is both heartbreaking and beautiful as he talks with a smile and tear about how proud his dad would be if he could see him right now.
The BBC release this gem of press release photo for next week’s Doctor Who episode The Witches Familiar
Featuring the original designed Daleks, it looks it’s ‘back to the future’ as the Twelfth Doctor finds himself facing the first incarnation of the Daleks, just as the First Doctor did all those thousands of years ago.
Jenna Louise Coleman announces departure from Doctor Who - Breaking News
This morning on the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show, Jenna Louise Coleman announced that her character Clara Oswald would be taking her last trip in the TARDIS this series.
The announcement came after presenter Nick Grimshaw asked Coleman to put to rest the rumors that had been flying around for the past couple of weeks and it was then that she announced that they had already shot Clara's final scenes.
Coleman admitted that it was a very difficult decision "It's not every job where you can come to work and your best mate is an alien and you're running away from monsters" she said.
Grimshaw also asked how the character of Clara would be written out of the show and not giving too much away she assured listeners "Steven Moffat and I sat down around a year ago and worked out the story".
Jenna Louise Coleman made her Doctor Who debut in the 2012 episode, Asylum of the Daleks as Oswin Oswald, an alternative version of her regular character Clara, who has appeared in the show from the 2012 Christmas Special onward.
With Coleman's exit confirmed for this series (series 9) the rumours have already started on who will be replacing Clara as the next companion.
Doctor Who Series 9 begins this Saturday at 7:40pm on BBC One.
The Stone Roses provide the soundtrack to a more light-hearted edition to what could possibly be the finale to Shane Meadows’ This is England anthology.
Original Broadcast Date - 13th September 2015
It’s hard to believe that it’s been just shy of a decade since we first met the misfits from the Midlands in the FilmFour production, This is England (Then set in 1983).
Since then, we’ve revisited the group and seen them develop from troubled teens to troubled young adults. In 2010, This is England made it’s small screen début with a four-part series set in 1986 and this was followed in 2011, with a leap to 1988.
This is England 1988 was a bitter pill to swallow, with a dark Christmas theme that made the Eastenders Christmas Day specials look more like festive cheer in Dibley with Dawn French in comparison. 88, was a masterpiece with a moving performance from the ever awe-inspiring cast and a deep, hard-hitting emotional storyline to match. It was dark, it was grim, it was 1980′s Britain.
Therefore it was most refreshing to find that the mini-series opening to This is England 90, was full of comedy, colour and positivity. Straight away we’re thrown in to the episode with a hilarious scene featuring the most humours character, Gadget (Andrew Ellis) trying to blag some free school dinners followed by the reveal that Woody (Joe Gilgun) and Lol (Vicky McClure) are happily together with a child of their own and Milky (Andrew Shim) has re-kindled his bromance with the now stay at home Dad. Instantly, all seems well in the world! The episode is full of comedy as mentioned, there’s brilliant dialogue between Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) and his mother (Jo Hartley), which feels so naturally performed in a scene reminiscent of the conversations in a Royle Family episode and there’s also the return of Flip (Perry Fitzpatrick) and Higgy (Joe Dempsie) who’s appearance alone crack a smile and a face-palm.
The comedy comes to light with the “moving cabinet” scene between Lol, Woody and the latter’s ever-barmy parents Barbara & Richard, Snr played by Rebecca Manley and brilliant comic-actor Steve Brody, respectively. In case you haven’t seen it, I shan't spoil it, however it’s certainly the most humours and brilliantly bizzare scene I’ve ever seen in a Shane Meadows drama.
Essentially, the first episode was pretty plot-light and at times played out like a soap opera. Smell (Rosamond Hanson) only featured briefly in the episode to break our hearts with the news that she’d moved on from Shaun, however we expect to hear more from her later in the mini-series. Other than Smell’s absence, the protagonists of the first episodes were the usual stars, with each character seemingly in a “good place” - all reuniting (bar a few) at the town hall for a Rave, or “Manchester thing”
The Rave, like all similar scene’s in previous This is England features, really bought home the setting of the series, with Meadows’ pals the Stone Roses featuring heavily on the soundtrack, along with other 90′s favourites the La’s, Charlatans and of course, the Happy Monday’s.
As usual, the gang were dressed perfect for the era that the series was set in with some nice little references from the wardrobe and props department such as a Nintendo Entertainment System (Happy 30th Birthday Mario!)
On reflection, 1990 as year with Thatcher finally gone, rave-culture and the heroic journey of the Italia 90 England World Cup squad (all seen in a montage during the titles of the episode) everything points to the start of a more positive decade for the UK. I noticed today that the Guardian’s review of This is England 90 was titled ‘When the working class still had hope’. Maybe in 1990, Mr Meadows felt the same and he’s bringing the same positivity from the turn of the decade into This is England 90...
Or, he’s setting us up for the mother of all knock-out punches of hard-hitting drama. From the looks of the trailer to next week’s episode, things seem to return to their bleak ways for the group, with a short preview of drugs, tears and Steven Graham’s Combo making a return! However it seems that for once, the cloud of turmoil is no longer surrounding the now-settled Lol but instead looks to inflict next week’s drama on her younger sister, Kelly played by the understated Chanel Creswell - a character we so far don’t know too much about.
Overall, the first episode of This is England ‘90 was brilliant and funny, bringing the characters in to a new decade with a lot of positivity and banging soundtrack - “doo dum, dibby dum, flibby diibby dum - a wanky dank-dang-dang”.
There are no superlatives left to describe just how much E4's Inbetweeners made such an impact on modern comedy when launched in May of 2008. The simple sitcom about four youth's who aren't quite loosers and aren't nearly cool, has appealed to all ages making the nation laugh at the most brilliantly inappropriate and disgusting incidents; from naked boat rides in Swanage to projectile vomiting on 8-year-old boys.
Hidden within the already shocking humour are some pretty dark and disturbing themes and incidents that reveal a pretty sick side to the world of bus wankers, clunge and "FRIENDS!"
So here, in no particular order, we've listed the top 5 darkest 'truths' that materialise throughout all three series of the show and make the fictional world of Skins look like Balamory...
1: There is a genuine paedophile at large teaching in the school
Lets jump straight in with paedophilia, or to be more precise, Mr Kennedy (Waen Shepherd) a rumoured "Paedo" who turns out to be a genuine paedophile teaching at Rudge Park Comprehensive.
First appearing in the The Field Trip, Mr Kennedy seems to have a special place in his heart (and other places) for a naive Neil who he takes for a swim and latter sneaks in to his dorm to try and administer a late night "rub-down". Although it makes for some hilarious moments, you've got to question what geography teacher Mr Kennedy gets up to when we don't see him! Worse still, Mr Gilbert and apparently other teachers at the school are fully aware of Mr Kennedy's actions!
Yup, doesn't get as atramentous and sinister as paedophile working in a school. On we go...
2: Will's (fit) mum is slightly sociopathic
As if Carly and Charlotte 'Big Jugs' Hinchcliffe weren't enough eye-candy, we also had Polly Mckenzie (Belinda Stewart-Wilson) or "Will's hot mum" giving new meaning to the word "Milf".
As enjoyable as her rare appearances were, there was a sinister side to the single parent. Mrs Mckenzie seems to take an apathetic approach to life, taking no real interest in what Will say's or does and ignoring his pleas that he's being bullied by Donovan responding with "So glad you're making friends" - nice!
When we first meet Will's Mum, we're led to believe she's just come out of a divorce and yet there's no sense of sadness or mourning. It also becomes apparent that she hasn't mothered Will properly for at least 10 years, still believing him to react in the same childish ways as when he "lost teddy" when he was 5 or "got sick on the ghost train". She even mistakes his age at one point, celebrating his 16th birthday on what is actually his 17th birthday. These various slip-ups could mean that she was absent for his early teen years and maybe because of their wealth at the time, Will was bought up by a Nanny or... I'm thinking too deeply in to a character who's only there for "your mum jokes".
3: Simon is sexually abused on his driving test
In what is quite a forgotten scene, Simon is unnecessarily fondled by the examiner at the beginning of his driving test. Although Simon "never told us what happened during his driving test" - judging by his driving over the next three series, it's apparent that it was more crotch than clutch control that earned him his licence.
4: The four boys all destroy each other's relationships
You could write an essay on how bad advice and malicious rivalry has prevented the protagonists from popping their cherry. From hair remover down the trousers to fibs about a caravan club, whether it's intentional or not the four virgins have cost each other the prize of clunge on more than one occasion.
One of two incidents that stand out are Neil, Simon and Will playing on Jay's paranoid feeling towards new girlfriend Chloe in Series 2 Episode 6. Combined with some terrible advice from his father, Jay essentially turns to stalking his 1-week lover resulting in an emotional dumping from Chloe.
When it comes to advice however, it's a case of 'like father like son as Jay's dreadful advice about a pre-sex 5-knuckle warm-up results in one of the most disturbing scenes of the series!
5: Jay was abused as a child
Yup, they went there. In the last episode of season 3 and indeed the whole series, we finally found out that Jay had one genuine sexual experience as a youth.
When sat around the camp-fire discussing what game to play next, Jay is about to suggest the infamous texting game when Neil interrupts and reveals one of the darkest secrets in sitcom history -
Jay: I know a game we can play, not a shit one. Though thinking about it you lot might be too pussy to play
Neil: It's not that game you used to play with your weird neighbour in his shed is it?
Jay: Well, errm. That never happened?
Neil: Yeah you told me about it years ago, just after he moved away...
So, if a comedy paedophile teacher wasn't enough, one of the protagonists was sexually harassed as a child. As a comedy writer it must be hard to think of how you can keep things funny after a bombshell like Child Abuse... "Monopoly anyone?"
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