This Town

I'm not really sure why was the promoted about the 2-Tone record label and the Ska music movement of 1979-81. 2-Tone was massive for those two glorious years of fantastic music thanks to the legend Jerry Dammers. However this series has nothing at all to do with 2 Tone, a few Trojan tracks a few tracks from The Selecter and that's it, I was expecting more about the legendary era.

This drama is OK in itself, a good watch, not fantastic but a good watch none the less but it's more about the IRA troubles of the time which to be honest I think most people would rather forget.

The other side of the story is about the band they are trying to form and to be honest they would have got no where, no talent there like there was in the actual 2-Tone bands where the music is still loved today some 40 years on.

Personally I think they dropped the ball on this one, it should have been 100% about the beginning of 2 Tone and how it affected kids, why they got it to it, how it became so massive, the culture, the music, the fashion and the hot hatch cars of that era, we don't need the IRA.

Before watching This Town I hadn't listened properly to the synopsis and thought this was a fictional depiction of the rise of two-tone, which was originally what peaked my interest in the show. To find that this was more of an ode to that time in the midlands, I wasn't disappointed however. Especially to find such well acted and deep characters that took the story to a much more enjoyable level. There's a few different stories within the overall story here but all are explored properly and the show is the better for it. I don't understand another review I've seen here saying it wasn't about music. An excellent soundtrack and the central theme of getting a band together should really appeal to any muso. Especially fans of Ska, Two-Tone and Reggae. Can't wait for series two having binged this start to finish. Just a thought - why does anyone who gives a TV series a poor review actually sit through all the episodes? Things that make you go mmm????

From the creator of Peaky Blinders Steven Knight.

There are moments when it has a similar feel with some of the dialogue.

Like Peaky Blinders it has a great soundtrack. Once I got into the second and third episodes I started to really like it, and invested into the characters a lot more. Felt like I was waiting a long time for the development of the band, but plenty of other stories to keep you going until that point. Felt like The Commitments at one point as the band were coming together. A few very good performances from the lead characters, especially Levi Brown & Michelle Dockery, who couldn't have been any further away from the character she played in Downton Abbey.

I am very surprised at the rave reviews here. This is so beautiful to watch, and so close visually to the Midlands of that era, but the storyline! Its pitiful. The accents are almost all terrible. How hard is it to ask a Brummie how to end their sentences? The sappy love stories, the terrible original music, and most of all, the predictable pattern of the narrative are cringeworthy. A band making it because they have the will! How original. Is it really that easy? I might form one....

Finally, a show not set in Belfast, Scotland or London, and its like a teenager wrote the plot. My lord, this hurt so much to watch.

This 'ode to 2 tone' missed the mark for me unfortunately as a viewer.

It set out with good intentions but was not executed properly. It was trying to do too many things at once which can be done effectively however this is not an example of this being done.

It touches touches on a myriad of issues and themes such as youth subculture, racism, ira, police brutality, concrete jungle in the Midlands in the late 70s and early 80s

But this was not done effectively with lukewarm story which is a bit murky in places and jumpy with no real grit nor proper emotion in conveying such themes.

It does resemble some of the hallmarks of this period with the fashion and bleakness - true - but they do not convey this properly - felt like dress up of a thing trying to be impactful which it wasn't...

It is a real shame as it looked like it had a good budget. I liked the clothing although they could have done a little better with the music tracks. The only real redeeming feature of this is David Dawson's performance which is commendable.