This is England '86

[therockbox]

Anyone else watching it?

Really liked the film, first episode of the series was a bit slow, but I think that was necessary to set up the next three episodes. Last half an hour of tonight's ep got pretty dark, and Shane Meadows has said the last two episode's are even darker.

[Timmoru Suzuki]

I saw last weeks and thought it was a great follow on to an exceptional film. Was going to watch tonight, but got called into work instead, so I'll catch it on 4oD. Really looking forward to seeing it.

[Pesci]

I love the film but I'm not sure what to make of the series so far. The first episode was definitely slow, this week's was an improvement though this definitely seems like the type of thing I'll have to see as a whole before I can really judge it.

[Jimmy]

I watched the film on Saturday so that I could watch the series, because it looked quite good. I was blown away by the film; it was an exceptional piece of cinema. And so far, I've been loving the series. The first episode was slow, but I think it needed to be - as to reintroduce everyone. Either way, last night's had a good bit of humour in; namely with the party and Gadget.

Next week's episode looks pretty awesome. It just sucks there's only four episodes, because I really like a lot of these characters.

[fr34k]

This is England is a great movie, I didn't even know there was a TV Show. Definitely checking it out soon.

[ONO]

I can't get into it at all.

[Jimmy]

Have you watched the movie?

[fr34k]

I just watched the first episode and I'm not really sure what to think. I will watch the second in a couple of hours probably, but here are my thoughts I have in the moment. This is only concerning the first episode, if you haven't seen it yet, just skip the rest of my post.

First things first, I've got to get used to British accent. I understand it fine, but it just sounds strange for a non-native speaker who is used to hearing American accent all the time. I'll suppose this will get better with time.

The soundtrack is awesome, I'll continue watching it based on this alone.

If you've never seen the movie, you will not be able to understand anything in the series I think. Did Channel 4 show it before the start?

One thing that really annoys me is that everybody stopped walking around like a Skinhead, especially Woody who now looks utterly ridiculous. The Skinhead scene appearantely not being a part of this sucks, because it was the reason why I watched and enjoyed the movie in the first place. Despite mentioning it in one small conversation, I never heard the term Skinhead once, which is a shame, considering that the culture was a huge part of their life and all.

So yeah, I'm not really sure what to make of this. The cast and characters are still likeable just like in the movie, but if they completely take the Skinhead aspect away from the series and just make it a 'normal' teenage/young adult drama type of deal, I'm not sure if I'll enjoy it as much as the movie.

[therockbox]

Yeah, they had the film on the Sunday before it aired, iirc.

I think the move away from them being skinheads can be explained by what happened with Combo/Milky at the end of the film, plus Lol mentioned Woody changing after getting his promotion as well.

The second episode should allay your fears about it just being another 'normal' young adult drama, though.

[fr34k]

I think the move away from them being skinheads can be explained by what happened with Combo/Milky at the end of the film, plus Lol mentioned Woody changing after getting his promotion as well.

No. It may explain it for Shaun, because he was just a kid when all of that happened and he cut of ties with everyone because of it, but not for the rest.

Being a Skinhead has nothing to do with politics and whatnot, it's about being part of a culture that incorparates much more than that. In this show, the only thing left of this culture is the drinking. The provoking look is gone and the culture being only mentioned once is a shame.

Granted, the culture was going through a rough time during the 80's, Skrewdriver releasing their first right-wing record in '84 and if we stay inside the movie/show world the whole Combo situation, but if you were a part of the scene and are quitting because some right-wing fuckheads start stirring shit up, you've never been a real skinhead.

I may buy Woody not being part of it anymore because of his promotion, him not being working class anymore and all, but the rest? Fuck no. And I'm only buying Woody if I feel real generous about the writer's, because it's not making that much sense.

[Pesci]

Granted, the culture was going through a rough time during the 80's, Skrewdriver releasing their first right-wing record in '84 and if we stay inside the movie/show world the whole Combo situation, but if you were a part of the scene and are quitting because some right-wing fuckheads start stirring shit up, you've never been a real skinhead.

Maybe they weren't then. It's about the people, not the movement.

[fr34k]

That's the whole point I'm trying to make. I love the movie because it was about the movement as well as the people. I'm not sure if I'm going to enjoy the series based on the people alone.

[therockbox]

It wasn't a case of 'some right-wing fuckheads' for Woody, Lol and the rest though, was it? It was an incident that would have had a huge personal effect on all of them, not just Shaun.

[fr34k]

Sure it was a big incident for them, because Combo was a friend of them and all before he came back, but I can't understand their decision of just leaving the scene instead of taking a stance against people like Combo.

Oh and something I forgot to mention regarding Pesci:

Even if they weren't real Skinheads, it was a huge part of their life. And the term Skinhead only coming up once or twice in 40 minutes is a bit ridiculous I think.

[therockbox]

It's four year's after the film, I don't think it's entirely unreasonable to suggest that they've moved on to the point where having been skinheads is no longer a massive part of their lives, especially after what happened with Combo and Milky.

[fr34k]

I don't know. I mean, I understand why you see it that way, I guess the Skinhead Culture is just too important for me and I believe it should be important for them too.

Anyways, I'm looking forward to the second episode, final judgement will be passed when I've seen everything .

[Pesci]

Oh and something I forgot to mention regarding Pesci:

Even if they weren't real Skinheads, it was a huge part of their life. And the term Skinhead only coming up once or twice in 40 minutes is a bit ridiculous I think.

I'm not saying it wasn't a huge part of their lives, but since Woody is basically the leader and Milky is his best friend, I can see the brutality of Combo's attack affecting the group so much that they no longer want to be a Skinhead, especially since there's been a four year gap. Not everybody would be passionate enough to have the determination to continue. Who knows, maybe they did for a while but couldn't take what happened to the places around them because of the more extreme Skinheads. Life shouldn't be a case of small minorties spoiling it for the majority but it often is.

[ONO]

I don't like the way they just went 4 years ahead when they were suddenly all friends. I think there was a lot more potential with the skinhead culture, especially the story right after the last movie. I think it would have brought up some fantastic storylines, with people like Shaun etc dealing with the aftermath and coming to terms with their actions.

I can understand though that they have all became 4 years older, and it would have been hard to have picked up from where they left off.

[Jimmy]

Also, I'm pretty certain Stephen Graham is unavailable. So that would've been quite hard to pick up where they left off. I like the fact it's four years later. People change and it's nice to see. If everything was basically the same - there wouldn't be a great deal of point to it.

I think over the next few episodes, they might explore what it is, or what it was, to be a skinhead. And see how they've all changed.

[ONO]

I would like to think they would do that, as it is such a crucial part to the story.