well-written, feel-good TV
Apr. 15th, 2009 09:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
llywelaI 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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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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no subject
Date: 2009-04-15 09:19 am (UTC)*thinks*
I'm going to declare them good. *G*
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Date: 2009-04-15 09:24 am (UTC)Even Luke likes it - he said last night "you know Mum, I wasn't expecting to like this at all but I love it!" :D
Abi watched last week and this, but alas she'll have to do iPlayer next week as it's too late for her, which is a shame really as it's good family viewing. I wonder if it might have done better in the 8-9pm Sunday slot?
I wonder if Anwen's been watching?
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Date: 2009-04-15 09:31 am (UTC)Looks like the DVD release is early May, no doubt right after the final episode. I might have to indulge myself!
it's good family viewing. I wonder if it might have done better in the 8-9pm Sunday slot?
It is very much the kind of gentle, quirky fare that usually gets slotted into Sunday evenings. But since Sundays are always really busy for me, I'm happy with the Tuesday slot! There is nothing in the content to deserve post-watershed scheduling, though.
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Date: 2009-04-15 09:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-15 09:57 am (UTC)