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Category:    Home > Reviews > Drama > Comedy > British TV > Shameless – The Complete Season One

Shameless – The Complete Season One

 

Picture: C+     Sound: B-     Extras: C     Telefilm: B

 

 

With awful TV show after awful TV show getting made with no point, there was a time when it was felt you could turn to British TV and find something different or unique.  Prior to cable TV, it was always thought that British TV had a great freedom than its U.S. counterpart, but it has far from exercised that lately.  Outside of some fine comedies, little has been made that has been exceptional or impressive.  Then Shameless – The Complete Season One arrived and though it was rough, it certainly had the boldest set-up of an hour-long drama since At Home With The Braithwaites and went further.

 

The story involves a big family whose mother abandoned it years ago and whose father is far from a role model.  That leaves the oldest sister unfairly saddled with being a de facto parent and that does not work.  The result is that many of them have emotional dispositions and just about all of them become involved in sex earlier than they might have otherwise.  It is also the way they become involved in various situations that can even be disturbing.  And yes, one is even a gay male, but it is not handled pretentiously as it might be under PC circumstances.

 

The seven hour-long shows here (on 2 DVDs) are honest and deal with the way this unfortunate situation might work its way out.  Instead of phony false humor, canned laughs and a fake family, any of the humor is ironically real and it pulls no punches on how life can really be.  The acting of the mostly unknown cast, especially the youngest, is impressive and it does not become like a soap opera.  Whether the show can keep up this momentum without wearing or selling out is one thing, but Shameless is a remarkable TV series at this moment on either side of the Atlantic and especially for those who claim they love television, must see TV.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is shot in digital High Definition and this tradedown is soft and has the usual color and detail limits typical of most HD-produced shows.  With that said, they don’t gut the color as much as you often see.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has healthier surrounds than many shows we have heard lately, even with 5.1 mixes.  Extensive cast interviews are the only extra, but it can be amusing.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


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