Stephen Poliakoff's "Dancing on the edge."

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

I am a big fan of Shaun the Sheep as it educates our radical young people in sound revolutionary organisation. Next week Nick Clegg is ripped limb from limb and slung in the muck heap.

BN.

He's Shaun the Sheep, he aint no neo con creep....Hes cool and tight, with an Armalite.

[Dave2002]

... nothing at all UK produced can live with The Wire or The Bridge ....bring back FU!

Manchu?

[Ian Thumwood]

... nothing at all UK produced can live with The Wire or The Bridge ....bring back FU!

I think that BBC and Channel 4 drama has the ability to scale some pretty impressive heights even though I am responding as a huge fan of "The Wire" (or at least the first four series.) Granted that the BBC can turn it's attention to run-of-the -mill dross with some of the drama in puts out, when the series are of good quality the standard can be exceptional . Where I would agree is with the various ITV stations which seem to have lost the ability to either want to or be able to produce credible drama with even celebrated series like Frost or Morse being pretty mediocre. I feel ITV have been like this for nearly two decades and the service if provides is generally pretty dire when taking well-written drama in to consideration. Channel 4 seems to always be striving to produce edgy television and it is worthwhile remembering just how instrumental this station has been in turning out good quality films. The Wire is pretty exceptional by the standards of any television station and I don't think that any mainstream channel could afford the patience to slowly and patiently build up it's stroylines which unfold over a number of series. I would suggest that "The Wire" is probably the best police drama ever produced and, in my opinion, it is not fair to contrast it with a well-made period drama like "Dancing on the edge."

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

I thought The Shield was at least as good as The Wire...if you are into totally rancid LA Cops...

BN.

Or Z Cars if you're into Brit ones.

[Anna]

I am a big fan of Shaun the Sheep

So am I. I have a Shaun the Sheep eggcup. Not a lot of people can say that!
Staying ontopic, I'm going to stick with DotE, three more episodes to go and I think it's shaping up nicely. I confess I've not seen Utopia (mentioned above) and probably too late to rectify that now and I fail to see why ITV continue to produce such plodding series such as Midsomer Murders.

[Resurrection Man]

Dancing on the Edge

Thoroughly enjoying this new Poliakoff...beautifully staged in every aspect. But who are the female vocalists ? It is clear that Angel Coulby is miming but to whose vocals? I can't see them listed. Surely she's not miming to her own voice?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I think she might be - in an interview, Anthony Stewart Head spoke admiringly of her singing, and I don't think he was being sarcatic. It wouldn't surprise me: an actress with a decent singing voice playing a singer with a great voice might want to pre-record her singing not only in order to edit out the slips and errors, but also to ensure that the sound of the singing voice was not obviously someone else's.

I must declare an interest here ... !

[amateur51]

Good to see this interest in what promises to be a fine serial.

There is a 35-message thread already established here http://www.for3.org/forums/showthrea...ight=Poliakoff - any chance of a merger please?

[Resurrection Man]

Good to see this interest in what promises to be a fine serial.

There is a 35-message thread already established here http://www.for3.org/forums/showthrea...ight=Poliakoff - any chance of a merger please?

Ooops !

[Resurrection Man]

Anyone irritated by the slow pace and extended length of this drama should be forever forbidden
from making derogatory observations about the frenetic pace of modern life and the minuscule attention spans of younger generations.

How to distinguish between self-indulgence and considered artistic judgement is a debate that could be applied to Bruckner, Berlioz and any number of creators of grand designs.

+1

Beautifully crafted as are (all?) of Poliakoff's dramas. A pure joy to watch.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

merged so i hope this is ok with every one ....

[amateur51]

merged so i hope this is ok with every one ....

Juss perfick, Calum - thanks!

[Resurrection Man]

I couldn't agree more, calum. To me it is a kind of photophilia: pretty faces, pretty clothes, pretty buildings, pretty trains, pretty countryside all wrapped up in a flabby, empty script. Poliakoff likes to present himself and his work as that of outsiders looking in to undiscovered backwaters of British society and typically has such outsiders as key characters (here, members of the jazz band). But in fact they are caught up in the glossy indulgence of it, loving the hotels and meals on private trains, hobnobbing with the aristocracy (and a royal, to boot!). There is no tension, no interesting characterisation, barely any plot, just a screenwriter in love with his pictures of luxury and indulgence. It is self-indulgent, top-dollar, period trash, with a "for export to the USA" stamped all over it. I'd rather have something that genuinely fed the imagination, like the quirky, unpredictable, sometimes very violent Utopia on C4.

Utopia...doesn't even deserve to be in the same post as Poliakoff.

Utopia ....pure unadulterated trash.

[Resurrection Man]

I've been watching, it is rather slow (although I like slow) and could turn out to be more style than substance (I did read a description as being "Downton Abbey with Trumpets") however I suspect it is about to get darker and pacier. However, it's beautiful to watch and I'm enjoying the music.
The Poliakoff I most recently remember was The Lost Prince which I thought was excellent.

Carry on enjoying it, Anna, as we are. There will always be some self-opinionated 'anti' who will come up with some snide comment like "Downton Abbey etc". Perhaps the author of that little phrase is more at home with EastEnders....

[Resurrection Man]

Oh bring back Play for Today with kitchen sinks, Ken Loach and heroic Lib Dem politicians fighting the system.

BN.

Not forgetting Citizen Smith....now there is a role model to aspire to.