User reviews

Just watched the last episode of series two. My thought's?..Stunning! This is not cobbled together tacked on drama this is seminal in the context of British drama. You are drawn in to each character whether that character be good or bad, wrong or right, lucky or unlucky. We see the effects lifelike individuals can have on others. Even on people they have never met. The acting from well known to lesser known actors in each episode is consistently compelling. The presence from each of these, perfectly cast actors, fully compliments each episodes script. The subtle episode plot joins assist the viewer in quickly settling into each story lending more credibility to each new characters situation. Sure there are some weaknesses however, this is as good as British drama gets so don't miss out just because of bad (or good!) reviews. Settle down and enjoy the drama!

Just when it seems that almost the entire world is churning out small-screen drama the televisual equivalent of Danielle Steel's finest, or buying in formulaic, standardised American drivel, thank God for the likes of Jimmy McGovern and the BBC for producing something so classy and original as 'The Street'.

Beautifully written, superbly acted and tightly directed - a glimpse into a real world, populated by real people, that just about any cogent Brit will empathise with.

Yes it aims high, but that is no bad thing: real quality, in anything, is never destined for either mass consumption, or appreciation.

The bar has been raised again; by the only ones who seem to know how.

Well thank goodness the reviewer "howTVshouldbe" doesn't have a say in how TV should be, quite frankly though an American calling this series "a dud" can only be a ringing endorsement for how good this show is.

Mcgovern has done it again, with a breathtakingly honest and sometimes brutal portrayal of the lives of ordinary people in an ordinary town. I found each episode absolutely compelling viewing. I did not find it overly depressing at all, many of the episodes are very heart warming with satisfying endings.

I especially like episode 2 & 3. Broadbent is excellent as a disillusioned man finding himself suddenly retired.

I thoroughly recommend this series to anyone that likes a well written, gritty, British drama.

Nobody does drama like the British. Their use of "real people" like Timothy Spall and other character actors make the stories more believable and plausible. Not all actors look like they've stepped out of the pages of a prominent fashion magazine. I would imagine that many of those offering negative criticism were brought up on mass-produced, pasteurised, plasticised, sanitised, computerised and irradiated drivel, and were shocked at being exposed to real life. Real life, ad-lib, spontaneity, remember that? Not everything comes with a step-by-step instruction manual, so try not to get too disappointed when you can't guess the end 5 minutes into the show. That's what story telling is all about. Dud? I don't think so mate.

The Street is gripping, dark, emotional, heart-wrenching, and humorous - all things great television should be. With its revolving cast of characters all intertwined with each other, you feel for each one - either sympathizing, hating or loving them - and you will not be able to pull yourself away from watching them no matter how painful, humiliating, or disastrous the situation becomes. This is a must series for anyone who appreciates great drama. But beware, the subject matter does not pull any punches. The in-your-face storytelling will almost always leave you with lump in your throat and stifling a tear. Buy this, rent it, do what you have to to watch one of the best series that has come around in ages.

I loved the street it was brilliant drama i especially found episode 6 compelling viewing (even though it had me crying most of the time).The actors were great even the young ones.The little girl who played Leah O,Neil in episode 6 reminded me of my daughter and had me crying lots she was very believable.congratulations to the BBC for getting it right for once, any one i spoke to could identify with at least one of the characters they were so real to life if you go down to your local you could easily bump into a Sean or Yvonne.I've heard that there is going to be a second series (cant wait )it would be brilliant if they included some of the families from series 1 so we could find out what happened to the likes of yvonne and her children.

This is without doubt deep & dark at times, but such a joy to watch with brilliant portrayals from everyone. Jimmy McGovern hits home with strong, gritty writing as usual, and the sheer class of the whole production is superb.Episode 3 has been the standout for me (I'm still watching the series in NZ). The story based around a teacher caught short in the park, and accused of "flashing" was performed with such intensity by Neil Dudgeon and Lindesay Coulson. It threw every emotion at you. The final scenes where he was finally vindicated, made you realize just how easy mistakes can be made, and how traumatic that can be for so many people-simply brilliant! No doubt our "astvshouldbe" is still happily watching reruns of Friends, along with the other myriad of American trash, that passes for entertainment in USA

I literally devoured this when it came out and then forgot about it. Then ... remembered it and it took me ages to find a copy, but I eventually did and it was better than I remembered. I loved the story telling. The dark, gritty UK dramas are the best and this one is up there. Shame they don't make TV like this anymore.

This is one of the better shows I've seen in the last few months. 6 (3 out of 5) is good to very good. I found Season 3, without seeing season 1&2- I intend to watch there are some flaws in the various plots, & constructed stories and characters. Some episodes I like better than others. Yes, you could rewrite some of the characters. someone made a point that there is a thread thru out- a fatal flaw or act, with consequences, and in the end, even with bad results, the key character learns a lesson and is better for it. Everyone learns a lesson, by being the better "man". there is an overlap of characters, key in one episode shows up in another. All live on the same working class neighborhood street, in attached houses. don't they plant trees in England; would brighten the streets. In many cases it's hard to say what they could have done better, bec. it would take an entire rewrite- I can easily see why there are a lot of 10s. but it's not as good as Better Call Saul, or Breaking Bad, but a good watch with some extra sentimentality. thrown in. the flaws will bother some, some flaws more than others.

This man cannot put a foot wrong. Cracker was/is one of my favourite TV shows ever. This show, however, is just too much for me. I find the music so sad it absolutely destroys me, and I've rarely got past it. Nonetheless, McGovern rocks.

There isn't a single episode of the Street that doesn't ring true. From brutal to heart rendering, we are treated to a feast of raw, completely believable emotions. The actors (who are a who's who of British theatrical royalty) step up to the plate and knock each role (no matter how large or small) out of the park.

Oftentimes, the episodes are rough and filled with violence but they never fell like they are pandering or gratuitous. Kudos for the directors who perfectly walked this fine line.

While I have no idea of the lives of the British middle class, I feel like a have been given a front seat to the daily lives of folks just trying to get by from day to day.

If your sensibilities tend toward the Hallmark Channel, this show may be unsettling to you, but, I guarantee that no matter what the ending (happy, sad or in-between) you will never walk away dis-appointed.

Just watched series 1 episode 1 of this drama. This episode right off the bat commenced in a furious argument, (or row as the Brits call it) between husband and wife while the young children are listening in the background frightened. Without giving the plot away the story contained scenes of adultery and violence with some f bombs thrown in. The violence is graphic , you cringe and can almost feel the punches yourself as you are watching. There is no way this show would make it past American censors. I was drawn in quickly from the first scene until the conclusion. A tragic occurrence caused by one of the characters happens about 15 minutes into the episode. After the tragedy each character swings back and forth from blaming someone else to blaming themselves. They all have feeling of anger. Sadness , and guilt. The director does a magnificent job showing close ups of the guilt ridden angry and sad faces of each character. The actors were all superb, each one did a great job portraying their angst delivering their lines and in their facial expressions. There were no wasted scenes throughout the entire hour long episode. I was very moved by this episode and it compelled me to do some research into the program. First of all I enjoyed the outdoor scenes of the gritty titled street of the show. I would not exactly call it a slum. But it looks like the type of street that has seen its share of late night boozy brawls. This street is inhabited by tough, hard nosed working class Brits. No Little Lord Fauntleroys or Lady Chatterleys live here. Evidently there were many well known stars of British cinema and telly that starred in some episodes. I recognized the lead from the one I watched as Jane Horrocks the ditzy blonde from AbFab. She did a great job in her lead dramatic role. One of my all time favorite British actors Bob Hoskins is in another one. Can't wait to see that!

Network: BBC America; Genre: Drama; Content Rating: TV-MA (strong language, sexual content); Perspective: Contemporary (star range: 1 - 4);

Season Reviewed: season 1

Jimmy McGovern's suburban England based anthology drama is advertised by BBC America with the slogan "Everyone is connected by something". After watching season 1, each episode telling a catastrophic story from the lives of various families on the street, I can't help but come to the conclusion that that connection is misery.

I don't want my TV to be happy all the time. Great TV lifts up the rock facade of life and exposes the slimy worms and ugly reality underneath. With a wiff of "American Beauty", and not to be confused with the pop American satire "Desperate Housewives", cheers to this show for taking the more difficult path. For committing to entire scenes of couples in knock-down-drag-out screaming fights. Even bigger cheers for going where other shows don't have the care or guts to, up into a child's bedroom as she lays awake listening to her parents fight.

"Street" has all the pieces for another cringing piece of British brilliance, but a slow realization occurs after several episodes: McGovern can only tell the story with such a heavy hand that it becomes a relentlessly unpleasant trial. Dramas like "The Sopranos" contain brutally realistic domestic fights, but also have palette cleansing moments. That isn't all they are, but that is all "The Street" is. It has no other mood. Here, the characters don't have one or two brutally realistic fights; the hour is packed with them. So much so that we become numb to it all and repulsed by the sound of it. Likewise, the characters are broadly drawn clichés that can offer us nothing in the way of originality or insight. Nobody seems reasonable; everybody behaves specifically at the service of the story.

It works like this. A couple is having an affair, a boy steals a pair of tennis shoes, a women is being abused by her husband or, in the relatively best episode, a man peeing in the park is mistaken for a flasher by a young girl. Then we watch for an hour as their lives are taken from them, they spiral out of control, their friends, family and community alienating them, they suffering one crushing defeat after another. Each story hits a single note and then proceeds to keep hitting it for the rest of the hour.

The real kick in the teeth are the unbelievable happy endings. After slogging through an hour of depressing angst, we are given a 30 to 60 second button at the end that is supposed to make us all feel relieved. The endings feel like tacked-on after thoughts. Nothing was learned, no revelations where made.

As much as I tried to give "The Street" the benefit of the doubt, I just can't see a single redeeming quality in it. Ugly, obnoxious, manipulative. It is the opposite of entertainment. A marathon of narcissistic pain and contrived bad luck made all the more punishing by the show's complete and total inability to tell a story on its most basic levels. Dud.

* / 4