well-written, feel-good TV

I don't think anyone else on my f-list has been watching the Beeb's new Tuesday night drama, All The Small Things, but I'm going to talk about it anyway, because we're halfway through the mini series now and I'm really loving it. It might not be the most action-packed show ever, but it isn't meant to be. It is a story about ordinary people leading ordinary lives, a community of individuals of all shapes and sizes and from all walks of life – the decent and the devious, the sweet and the sullen, the proud and the meek – all coming together and sparking off one another.

I love the way they use the ensemble cast, keeping it revolving around a central core, but with a different character or group of characters coming into focus in each episode – it's a style the Beeb has employed with great success in other shows, like Clocking Off. It's always a nifty device for demonstrating that no matter how content or confident someone might appear to be on the surface, once the spotlight is upon them it soon becomes clear that they, too, are just another misfit muddling their way through life searching for acceptance and a place to belong.

That, essentially, is what the show is all about. The issues are different every week – we've had the family struggling to rebuild after marital breakdown, the social outcast, the outsiders – but so far every story has boiled down to the same essential core: it's about people searching for acceptance and a place to belong, and finding it in each other. Every week the spotlight turns in a new direction, and every week I fall in love with another character or set of characters: first Esther's troubled little family, then sweet, simple Shrek last week, Nemanja and Sofija this week – I've been rooting for them all! Can't wait to see whose turn it is to shine next week.

Plus, what with this being a show about choirs and all, the music is great. *G* And it's got Sarah Lancashire in it, and she is always fab. Neil Pearson has been wonderfully creepy and controlling as the slimy ex-husband, and Richard Fleeshman is excellent as the troubled oldest son, who appears to have some form of autism, while the rest of the supporting cast have also been great.

So, yeah. I'm really enjoying this show!

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well-written, feel-good TV

I don't think anyone else on my f-list has been watching the Beeb's new Tuesday night drama, All The Small Things, but I'm going to talk about it anyway, because we're halfway through the mini series now and I'm really loving it. It might not be the most action-packed show ever, but it isn't meant to be. It is a story about ordinary people leading ordinary lives, a community of individuals of all shapes and sizes and from all walks of life – the decent and the devious, the sweet and the sullen, the proud and the meek – all coming together and sparking off one another.

I love the way they use the ensemble cast, keeping it revolving around a central core, but with a different character or group of characters coming into focus in each episode – it's a style the Beeb has employed with great success in other shows, like Clocking Off. It's always a nifty device for demonstrating that no matter how content or confident someone might appear to be on the surface, once the spotlight is upon them it soon becomes clear that they, too, are just another misfit muddling their way through life searching for acceptance and a place to belong.

That, essentially, is what the show is all about. The issues are different every week – we've had the family struggling to rebuild after marital breakdown, the social outcast, the outsiders – but so far every story has boiled down to the same essential core: it's about people searching for acceptance and a place to belong, and finding it in each other. Every week the spotlight turns in a new direction, and every week I fall in love with another character or set of characters: first Esther's troubled little family, then sweet, simple Shrek last week, Nemanja and Sofija this week – I've been rooting for them all! Can't wait to see whose turn it is to shine next week.

Plus, what with this being a show about choirs and all, the music is great. *G* And it's got Sarah Lancashire in it, and she is always fab. Neil Pearson has been wonderfully creepy and controlling as the slimy ex-husband, and Richard Fleeshman is excellent as the troubled oldest son, who appears to have some form of autism, while the rest of the supporting cast have also been great.

So, yeah. I'm really enjoying this show!

Press Pack
Microsite