Boat Story

Crime is rarely fun; and cocaine is not some wonder drug with no serious ill-effects; but the criminal caper, often focused on cocaine dealing and featuring some stylised ultraviolence, is a well established genre. And you'll rarely see it done with more panache than in 'Boat Story', with its ridiculous plot and arch presentation, playing self-consciously with the viewer but actually well assembled and acted. The cast have great fun while managing to keep straight faces; I did enjoy seeing a good role for Joanna Scanlon, a fine comic actress when given something to work with. What you can't do is really care who lives and who dies; but that isn't really the point.

What a pleasant surprise that the BBC can actually produce something contemporary and with some geniune edge. Very refreshing and a change from the super serious dramas, wildlife documentarys and lifestyle shows. This is not for the faint of heart and gets very dark at times - one particular seen I couldn't believe I was watching on the BBC. The darkness is offset with some genuinely laugh-out-loud funny moments. This is the true definition of a dark comedy. Brilliantly acted by an amazingly talented and recognisable ensemble cast and presented in a really interesting and engaging way. Satisfying stuff. Everybody involved should be chuffed.

Then it would more than likely be along the lines of Boat Story. Its all here drugs, money, greed and some of the most violent shot outs I've ever seen on the BBC. I binged the whole lot in two day's, Daisy Hoggard and Patterson Joseph make an unlikely double act as they take on a very angry French drug lord who's drugs they have stolen, played superbly by the Missing's Tcheky Karyo.

The storylines are of course utterly ridiculous and totally unbelievable but when you get a mixture of violence and very dark comedy it really does not matter.

Overall a really enjoyable six hours of television. 8/10.

Thoroughly enjoyed this entertaining, dark comedy.

Clever storyline with some good twists, likeable characters and great acting. Some really funny moments plus some gruesome bits. Never guessed what was around the corner, so kept my interest across each episode. Brilliantly comic narration at the beginning and end of each episode.

Binge watched it in one weekend as I couldn't wait to see what happened next. I hadn't seen any trailers for this programme so really didn't know what to expect but it was definitely worth the watch.

Very well done to all concerned and more of this please, much more!

Where do I start? At the end. This has the best endings ever. It's not a misspelling, I do mean endings. It's not like there are choices to change the ending. It's more, well you'll see .. more endings. And the ending, while not the ending the tailor hoped for, was as spectacular an ending as anyone could hope for. The acting is absolutely top class and the story line has a lot of twists and turns. I particularly like the way actors who we know for their roles in other series suddenly confound us by doing the unexpected. Craig Fairbrass shows us he can play a character other than henchman. Joanna Scanlan goes from annoying dog trainer in wellies to iconic sex symbol and shows us her softer side. Then just as you get comfortable with the idea she might be a bombshell in bed drops coarse humour then later compassion. It's Villian meets French romance meets Godfather gangsters (tubas instead of violins) strung together in a series of sketches that have a Monty Python air of "and now for something completely different" with scenes broken by Keystone Cops title plates and a stage show reminiscent of Mulholland Drive. Yes, I've tried not to give away the plot, because you should absolutely watch it and once you've started you'll find it very hard to stop. Utterly brilliant in every way!