Dreamland

I've just binged through the whole series in an afternoon. Thought the leads Freema Agyeman and Lily Allen were really good and spoke great supporting actors, especially Frances Barber who can always be relied upon.

Not exactly laugh out loud funny but enough humour to keep it going and really all about the family dynamic. I'd not realised before watching it was written by Sharon Horgan but I can see now it's in her style - tight knit family with drama and angst.

It kind of ends without resolving things and there's a couple of threads that need expanding on so hopefully there'll be a series 2.

Aside from the two obviously fake 10 reviews on here, the other reviewers have got it pretty much spot on. For a comedy drama, it is neither funny, or dramatic. It looks like the editors realised it was pretty dull so turned the contrast and colour settings up to the max. What you end up with is the look of a kids show and the feel of watching (technicolour) paint dry. I've a feeling Lily Allen has a lot to offer but her part and so-so lines give her very little to work with. The rest of the cast inhabit characters who are at best annoying and at worst unwatchable. The premise is ok, but the execution is clumsy. Avoid.

Dreamland has a fantastic cast! Lily Allen, Freema Agyeman, Frances Barber, Gabby Best, Aimee-Ffion Edwards and Shiela Reid, shine through as they depict this dysfunctional family. Great to see Kiell Smith-Bynoe in a more serious role, which he does to perfection.

The first episode can be a bit full on, in places, but as the episodes unfold, we see a calmer, deeper, emotional side of the characters and their vulnerabilities. Dreamland pulls you from some brash humour in the first episode through to an emotional journey and anguish as the episodes unfold. 10/10! Bravo! Love to have a season 2!!

I happened upon this by chance. It's unlikely I'm the target audience as a 46 year old man. I used to enjoy watching Lily Allen's chat show a few years ago so I gave this a watch other than that my only point of reference was Frances Barber ( from amongst other things Rik Mayall presents and the amazing episode of The Street with Bob Hoskins). The trailer for this I watched after all 6 episodes it is really good. The whole show reminded me a bit of the Stephen Merchant show Outlaws. It's not quite as funny as that show or quite as compelling. I'd say that Barber is slightly wasted in her role which I found a bit cliched (maybe it has been heavily edited) . Lily Allen was good in this but I felt that her character wasn't written that well . Gabby Best was good in her supporting role. The character that held the whole thing together was Freema Agyeman's character . I've never seen her before and she saved this from being a little bit mediocre. I enjoyed it. It is worth watching and is pretty entertaining.

Nothing particularly stands out with this comedy, it's a pleasant watch and makes Margate look quite idyllic. I must admit I got a kick from the nostalgia of many seaside holidays there .

It's not particularly funny nor so many of the main cast gel all that much, with standard EastEnders /soapy plots. .

The cinematography is all over the place though. Lots of lovely shots of the seaside with oversaturated colour and bright vibrant colours give it a pictur postcard look, but the CinemaScope widescreen aspect is totally wasted on everything else. Scenes with characters talking flick between characters and we have full frame closeups instead of wider shots that would look better in the format.

It's clearly filmed for a normal 16:9 aspect and modified in post as the directors just don't take advantage of the format properly .