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Amazon.co.uk Review
The Lakes brought writer Jimmy McGovern and actor John Simm a great deal of critical praise in 1997. Following a particularly dry period for British TV drama, the show's realistic characterisations and their painfully honest decisions hit audiences hard. Simm is a twentysomething trapped in a life of compulsive gambling, theft and being on the dole in Liverpool. On a whim he heads north to the Lake District. He expects to find the countryside quietude where his hidden poetical leanings might find a home, but instead gets caught up in a community like any other. Lies, temptation and tragedy beset every household just as much as the big city.
The focus of Series 1 is Danny's relationship with Emma (Emma Cunniffe) and the consequences of having a child. As time races by, his link to the Lakes becomes an exercise in torment when the eyes of blame fall easily upon him after the accidental deaths of four schoolgirls. Stoking the flames of a series of secondary explosions in waiting are a pair of affairs, one adulterous, the other complicated by religion.
In the far longer sequel series that came two years later, these back-stories would come to the fore. Although exploring Danny's tortured soul might have been the obvious continuation, instead an almost Hitchcockian murder scenario occupies far more screen time. But by stretching things out, this second series does not have the same self-contained impact of the original. Additional writers only served to drag out Danny's boy-to-man journey. Ultimately, lessons are learned, including the realistic conclusion that life is without a poetical status quo. Despite the tail-off in overall quality, you'd be hard pressed to identify a better British drama in the years since.
On the DVD: The Lakes complete series 1 and 2 box set comes with two separate commentary tracks for the very first episode. In interviews, John Simm fondly recalls how cold the lake water was and director David Blair recalls putting him in it. It's a shame the two weren't recorded together. It's also a shame that's all there is in this package. Even a few cast biographies would have been welcome. Picture is 4:3 and stereo sound is as you'd expect from 1990s UK TV. --Paul Tonks
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36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This will change your TV habits for good!,
By
This review is from: The Lakes : Complete BBC Series 1 & 2 [1994] [DVD] [1997] (DVD)
At the risk of being seen just to pour out more superlatives on this series, I challenge you to begin watching this box set - and see if your original plans to watch one episode a night don't quickly come unstuck.I remember when this was first on telly - the exquisite agony of having to wait a whole week for my next fix. Don't punish yourself any longer - Here's my prescription... Get this box set and put aside one week of tawdry soaps and "You Are What You.... What Not to Wear - Celebrity Specials" and all the tired, bland & unconvincing posturing of Spooks et al. Watch this series and I guarantee - Yes, GUARANTEE! - that you will never waste your life watching such below par filler ever again! That's a cheap price to pay for getting your own life back. Just do it!
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Groundbraking drama-Breathtaking scenery!,
By
This review is from: The Lakes : Complete BBC Series 1 & 2 [1994] [DVD] [1997] (DVD)
This excellent drama is now 9 years old (1997), and it's still as good seen many times as the first. The acting is first class, and it's all set in the best part of England, the Lake District. The only problem I could see when it first went out on air, was that people who have never been to the English lakes may think that life's like that! Nothing could be further from the truth.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Lakes,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Lakes : Complete BBC Series 1 & 2 [1994] [DVD] [1997] (DVD)
It was better than I remembered from the first time round. The are plots left open, leaving you wanting more.John Simms is a convincing scally with his heart in the right place. I recommend it, especially if you are a John Simms fan anyway.
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