Jimmy McGovern's The Street - Classic or Dud? Cause I really don't know.

The great thing about this series is that you never quite know which way the story's going to go or how everyone ends up looking. So the "i'm innocent" cries were deftly counterbalanced by the little signifiers, carefully dropped in throughout, to suggest that Dudgeon's teacher might not have been as innocent as he thought.

The ending was a little rushed and a little too convenient, but as a whole it worked beautifully.

Jim Broadbent's one line of dialogue was one of the most stunningly moving things I've seen on TV in ages. It was the absolute centerpiece of the story.

-- Marcello Carlin (marcellocarli...) (webmail), Today 9:33 AM. (later) (link)

Right, about Jim Broadbent's one line.

Have to say, the 'reconciliation' didn't seem too hopeful. But maybe (actually, probably) that was the point.

i've posted on the other thread but i have to agree that the Jim Broadbent scene last night was beautiful. Lump in the throat. the other great scene was the parents night - a really palpable sense of panic which, as you say, suggested there was more to the story than a simple case of wrong place/wrong time. i felt i was being manipulated for alot of it but i didn't mind, somehow.
-- jed_ (colin_o_har...), April 28th, 2006. (jed) (later)

xpost now that explains a lot.

No, but he did write that scene in Brookside where Bobby Grant says to SheilaQueen, apropos giving all his union wages to the strike campaign: "I'm gonna pour sour milk on me cornflakes every mornin', and it's gonna taste like champagne to me!" which wasn't quite as good as last night's episode (writer: one Mark Pye).

Last week's - pretty good, but not brilliant.

This week's - pretty bad, but not awful.

Both episodes have brought a tear to my eye at unexpected moments.

It is nowhere near as good as Boys From The Blackstuff, which is what I was expecting from the publicity.

I wish I had seen the Jane Horrocks one.

Last night's was a bit Rent-a-Broadbent and Spall-U-Like.

http://imdb.com/name/nm2107665/

This series was originally entitled Untitled Jimmy McGovern Project

http://imdb.com/title/tt0472984/

I should watch an episode first, though.

No doubt everyone thought I was talking about "Coronation Street" whin I started the thread...

That Jimmy McGovern Thing
That Jimmy McGovern Thing (No Not THAT One, Another One)
Wot, No John Simm?!
Late Night With McGovern
Summat Right Affecting Fut Northern Salty Types

my fear was they'd think it was about SKINNERRRR

Not many Bennett-isms. Fairly flat dialogue on the whole.

the show was good but it wasn't as good as The Street.

The Street

9:00pm - 10:00pm

BBC1




VIDEO Plus+: 2487
Subtitled, Widescreen

Episode written by Alan Field





4/6

Billy is a talented young footballer whose abilities could free him from the monotony of a life spent working in a local dairy. But Billy (Shameless's Jody Latham), though a nice lad who's devoted to his blind father, is restless and easily led. Soon, at the instigation of his "friends", Billy becomes a drug abuser and a drug courier. It's yet another tough urban morality tale from Jimmy McGovern, lifted by Jody Latham's bruised charm as a well-meaning but unhappy young man. It feels like a finger-wagging exercise directed at the middle classes about alienated working-class youths, but if you can forgive that, you may be won over by Billy and his attempts to atone and seek redemption.

RT reviewer: Alison Graham

Laura - Jessica Hall


John Roberts - David Schofield


Billy Roberts - Jody Latham


Mick - Liam Boyle


Coach - Andrew Dunn


Blabbermouth - Michael Starke


Brian Peterson - Neil Dudgeon


Terry - Ciaran Griffiths


Mako - Michael Dixon


Kirsty - Victoria Brazier


Waiter - Andrew McHugh


Eddie McEvoy - Timothy Spall


Yvonne O'Neill - Christine Bottomley


Sean O'Neill - Lee Ingleby

the whole thing was wonderful, actually. i haven't seen any of the other episodes, but i loved this.

I didn't spot the family resemblance until he was snorting coke in the bogs.

Nothing new, but it was deftly done and fairly gripping, like Bullet Boy the other week. I am looking forward to next week's Spallcentric episode.

One or two questions:

Do people really talk like that when they're on ecstasy?

Do people really walk like that? (I am referring mainly to the villain.)

What was Boyle D doing on ITV?

I saw some complete freak talking about Steve McLaren.

A terrible farrago of don't-do-drugs cliches with every plot turn heavily signposted. A shotgun marriage of The Winslow Boy, Billy Elliott and The Fisher King. And a ludicrous non-ending.

BBC Schools did better programmes than this when they ran the Scene series in the '70s.

To be honest, it rang truer in enough places. Tim Spall's speech to the dad particularly. As per all the episodes, it's the acting that keeps you watching. OK sure, it's Irvine Welsh lite but then it's better than anything else on right now.

I imagine those cliches wouldn't seem like cliches to, let's say, my mum, or anyone else with more in common with the dad than the son. Then again, she would have tutted and switched over straight away.

I HAVE NEVER SEEN INSPECTOR MORSE.

Giving the fatcats who are ruining football what for

I had an argument about it at work, I will tell you what the argument was about when it has been on because I would like to know if I am RIGHT or WRONG.

my flatmate turned over, last night, saying "now it's THE STREET!" and I thought of coronation street but she meant this

I thought it was quite good. think I know what jed means when he sez "manipulative" and agree but well acted and quite funny and sad, at times, and some v good dialogue/bits

I enjoyed it

Actually, I meant more about the "paedo" episode than the others, but yeah, all of them have it to a certain extent. Last night's one, probably least of all, to be fair.

Which brings us to....

OK, PJ, we've seen Thursday's episode. What was your question?

I objected to the label "speaks African language" when Ojo speaks. The story hinges on not knowing exactly where he's from, but I thought concerns about racism were more important than plot twists, especially given the nature of the story.

But watching it last night, it didn't seem racist at all. I gues it was just me being 1) oversensitive and 2) suffering from an inability to see the wood for the trees, brought on by watching it in three second bursts.

So my question would have been, do you think labelling Ojo in such a manner can be considered racist?

Also I was told in an annoying haughty fashion that it was impossible to find out what language he was speaking, when I'm pretty sure (but not sure enough) it was Yoruba.

Meanwhile, I think it is unlikely anyone from Nigeria could not know any English.

Last bu not least, what a refreshing change to see RJG liking something on the telly. I am glad you enjoyed it RJG.

Next week: domestic violence.

Apparently.

We all agree that Sean's hand movements when discussing feeling trapped were the highlight of last night's episode.

when I think it's good

I have posted quite a bit on threads about telly programmes such as LOST and veronica mars which are not on UK telly but are on the internet

I probably say most TV comedy is rubbish but I liked, um, nathan barley was OK except for some bad bits! and the IT crowd was really funny, at times!