I don't know why so many have been so hard on this series. Obviously there are similarities between many other shows, so what? I thought the cast were talented and refreshing.
If you listened to just the album, it contained some brilliantly written and recorded material. In fact some of the songs if not all, are quite memorable and infectious, and I found myself humming the tunes quite often.
So full credit to the writers of the music to the series. They've done a most remarkable job. The variable selection of cast were good at what they did, and the songs sung and danced well.
Through a half decent stereo, the Soundtrack CD sounds pretty damn good too, I think.
I saw the first episode about a year ago, one Saturday morning here, and I was quite surprised. (Forgive me if my thoughts are a bit late in coming...) It's a nice clean show without the usual over aggression and conflicts and attitudes that most other shows of this type seem to emphasise, or glorify, I think might be a better word.
Anyway, with soooo many people NOT liking this series, there had to be someone who liked it, and that'll be me I guess. (believe me when I say, I'm surprised too!) OK, so I'm not from the UK, (I'm in Oz), but that doesn't necessarily mean we see things upside down.
BTW, I'm a retired global sound engineer with a lot of hard rock bands under my belt, so even the most savage beast can be tamed, and the music from this series seems to have that capacity. (just thought I'd mention it.) ;-)
Cheers to all of you, whether you love it OR hate it.....