Screw

Cong. To Jamie-Lee O'Donnell for good start as leading actor :) along with Nina Sosanya who got her own series, finaly!

Writers should do more plot in first episode so people would understand that is show about day by day life of C block and not Orange New Black sitcom.

I quite enjoyed this TV series as the central premise is a novel one, prison dramas from the perspective of prisoners have been done before but not really from the perspective of prison guards. This progression in ideas is similar to how programmes like 'Grange Hill' and 'Byker Grove' led to 'Teachers' and 'Waterloo Road' and I expect several similar dramas about prison guards will now follow. Another plus is that it stars Nina Sosanya and the upcoming starlet that is Derry Girl's Jamie-Lee O'Connell who are both great actresses, in fact all the cast acts well. The problem is this show doesn't know whether it's meant to be a comedy or a drama and it relies on implausible behaviour by its often unlikeable and unremarkable characters to move the story forward, not only that but the viewer is often expected to find these things plausible and the characters likeable and relatable. I'd say it could be a 10 but the writing brings the score down a couple of points to a still respectable 8.

It's got its moments. The cast are great. But the script teeters between out and out comedy and dark prison crime drama. It doesn't all hold together and the dramatic twists can be seen a mile off. Would've been better if it had stuck to being a comedy. The central idea and characters could have been the basis for a brilliant cult comedy. As it stands it's all so predictably done, it becomes hard to recommend. A bit forgettable and derivative. A missed opportunity.

An alright drama with a few lighthearted moments. I never found the overall plot arc of the series that interesting, it all just felt a bit improbable and the main characters did odd things that even in hindsight I don't really think make sense (particularly Leigh Henry, who is in charge of the wing).

I enjoyed some of the side-plots more though, and liked some of the characters. It's quite balanced with the characters, not making the 'not very PC one' and the 'inappropriate sexual comments one' pure evil, but making them feel relatively 'real'.

I do kind of wish that the show hadn't had a big overarching 'threat', and had just done shorter stories exploring prison life for all involved, as some of the lighthearted moments are very fun, and the writing isn't bad overall.

The show does go out of its way to portray most prisoners as sympathetic characters, many of them with mental health issues, and most of the serious character discussions about the topic and the implied intent of the show writers is very pro trusting, supporting, and loving prisoners, and rails against the idea of punishing them, and sometimes even of having a prison system at all . Whether you find that grating or agreeable will depend on your personal opinions and experiences I suppose.

Overall wouldn't say I recommend this show, but wouldn't tell anyone not to watch it either. It's OK.

I can fully understand why people aren't liking this but there is something I find quite enjoyable about it. I wish it was more of a serious drama without the forced unfunny comedy bits in though.