Joan

Well, I certainly enjoyed the trip down memory lane back to the 80s. I served in the Met Police back in the 80s and it reminded me of some of the ne'er-do-wells I had to deal with back then.

It was interesting to see Sophie Turner going blue collar and embracing her inner Cockney. I thought she handled the role quite well and showed some versatility in a change from the stuff I've seen her in before.

The supporting cast were quite good, too. It was well-paced, good locations and nicely shot. The script was a bit weak at times, but not to the extent it made it less enjoyable.

The excellent 80s soundtrack was a joy, too. I hope they release the original song from the end credits, as they'd have a hit on their hands!

Well worth your time and, as they have set a second series, I hope they make it!

A sad story of a Kent girl with a rough life, who gets into diamond theft and other assorted shenanigans. It's not bad as stories like this go and passes the time, BUT whoever selected the contemporary background music for this needs to be replaced as woefully inept. It starts supposedly in 1985 and has Brass in Pocket playing from 1979. It switches to four months earlier but has two songs from four years earlier, in 1981 (Bucks Fizz, Making Your Mind Up on the radio and and Soft Cell, Tainted Love in a bar). We also hear Hungry Like the Wolf from 1982, and whilst all of that is at least from the recent past to the time when this is set, it is very strange that we don't hear anything from 1984/85. Finally, this is all blown up when we then seem to time travel to 1989 as Wicked Game by Chris Isaak plays on the jukebox. I have never in all my years seen and heard such a cocked-up selection of supposedly contemporary background music in a professional TV or movie production. It is so bad, it detracts from the show in itself.

Joan has no choice but to leave her violent partner, with nowhere to go she places her daughter in temporary care. In a pub Joan encounters a man named Boisie, who recognises a talent Joan has, for stealing.

Joan is an interesting subject, I'm not sure she comes across as a particularly good or likeable person, her motives throughout seemed totally selfish.

It's a very watchable, beautifully made series, it truly looks so good, the fashions, sets and cars all bring the 1980's back to life.

It may be a little on the slow side to start, but it opens up well, episode six is particularly good, it's a very dramatic conclusion. It could have worked better over four episodes.

Sophie Turner delivers a terrific performance as the title character, you really do see Joan develop from a woman escaping an abusive partner, to a sophisticated jewel thief. Turner's transformations are terrific, effortless almost.

7/10.

I am writing this after series 1. The story is left open.

This had been hyped in advance for many weeks so I just had to bingewatch it.

Perhaps the hype was greater than thd show but, for those of us of a certs in age, there was plenty of nostalgia to see. The clothes, the music, the styles and the vehicles brought back there era so well.

I am not sure why The Wicked Game by Chris Izaak from 1989 was featured in a early 80s drama but it's not my biggest gripe.

Despite all the dressing up the show, the story is very modern being full of feminism, me too and all men are either weak or evil while it's OK for a woman to do illegal things as long as it is in a honourable cause.

Sophie Turner throws herself into the story well and there are some great songs but did we really need Bucks Fizz twice?

They could have included ELO and Ticket To The Moon which starts with the lines "Remember the good old 1980s when things were so uncomplicated? ... I wish I could go back there and everything could be the same"

The poor reviews here are to me amusing, it's a good series the acting is great, the characters are well developed but hold on here the story is great, no one complained about Atomic Blonde it's the soundtrack aswell that's brilliant, epitomises the music at that time it's realistically set in how London was at that time, the it's a pity that people can't pull back and just enjoy something like this, pull your heads in and just enjoy it , the comments I'm reading gets me thinking have to watched the same series, don't see those comments about snatch or kill bill glorifying violence, I'm laughing.