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The Lakes : Complete BBC Series 1 & 2 [1994] [DVD] [1997]
 
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The Lakes : Complete BBC Series 1 & 2 [1994] [DVD] [1997]

DVD ~ Dicken Ashworth
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Lakes : Complete BBC Series 1 & 2 [1994] [DVD] [1997]
32% buy the item featured on this page:
The Lakes : Complete BBC Series 1 & 2 [1994] [DVD] [1997] 4.1 out of 5 stars (15)
The Lakes: Complete BBC Series 1 [DVD] [1997]
30% buy
The Lakes: Complete BBC Series 1 [DVD] [1997] 5.0 out of 5 stars (3)
The Lakes : Complete BBC Series 2 [1998] [DVD]
22% buy
The Lakes : Complete BBC Series 2 [1998] [DVD] 5.0 out of 5 stars (3)
State Of Play : Complete BBC Series 1 [2003] [DVD]
11% buy
State Of Play : Complete BBC Series 1 [2003] [DVD] 4.7 out of 5 stars (88)
£3.98
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Product details

  • Actors: Dicken Ashworth, Zienia Merton, Danny McGrath, Marshall Lancaster, Norman Rodway
  • Format: PAL
  • Language English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Number of discs: 4
  • Classification: 18
  • Studio: Second Sight Films Ltd.
  • DVD Release Date: 6 Oct 2003
  • Run Time: 612 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0000AQVNB
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 15,064 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

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



Synopsis

Acknowledged as one of the best drama series of the Nineties', THE LAKES is the dark, bitter-sweet tale of Danny Kavanagh (JOHN SIMM) a typical inner-city wide-boy who leaves the grime and crime of Liverpool for the a (hopefully) better life in the Lake District. However, his attempts to fit in do not go down will with the locals, leading to tragic consequences.

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Customer Reviews

15 Reviews
5 star:
 (10)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This will change your TV habits for good!, 3 Mar 2006
By Peter Wilson (Sheffield, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
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!

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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Groundbraking drama-Breathtaking scenery!, 16 Mar 2006
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.
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33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Drama at its best., 20 Jan 2004
By Mr. A. Privett "I only drink until the scream... (Pub) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
The Lakes is one of those classic dramas from writer Jimmy McGovern that never seems to get old. McGovern's most famous creation is of course, Cracker (with Robbie Coltrane).

The Lakes has everything: Deceit, lust, loss, murder, addiction, rape, self-hatred, self-discovery, hope and love. It really is a roller-coaster ride through the human condition, brilliantly set in a small community in the Lake Distict (really? You don't say?).

The acting is superb, with the brilliant John Simm as the lead, Danny Kavenaugh. I have to say that I've never actually seen Simm give a poor performance in anything.

The sound is suberb, surround (says stereo), but I definately heard the Tornado Jets (which are cleverly used to cut scenes and highten dramatic moments) circling around my rear speakers.

One of the best British dramas of the 1990s.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Compelling TV!
While I enjoyed it I thought this series had minr flaws.the main character was good but I thought they could have improved more on possibly plot development. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. A. J. Ralph

2.0 out of 5 stars Are There Two Jimmy McGoverns?
As anyone who watched the ITV "Cracker" series will be aware, Jimmy McGovern was a writer who could combine hard-edged drama with well fleshed-out and wholly believable... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Fender32

5.0 out of 5 stars Ballsy!
A decade or so after seeing this series on TV, I was back in the groove in a matter of seconds, thanks to the dramatic scenery and punchy script. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Top Banana

1.0 out of 5 stars One of the worst series ever
WIth my love of the Ullswater area of the Lake District and having seen John Simm do a great job in Life on Mars I was looking forward to The Lakes. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Martin J. Hughes

5.0 out of 5 stars Wet & Wild
I loved every minute of the two series.
I spent best part of two of my days off watching these dvd's and I have to say it was time well spent. Read more
Published 12 months ago by scousebird

2.0 out of 5 stars Decent enough first series (3 stars), but series two is appalling (1 star)
What a disappointment! Reading reviews of The Lakes here and elsewhere, I was expecting a drama of quality, like GBH or Our Friends in the North. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Doc

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding bargain!
This is an excellent, adult, BBC drama as other reviewers have said. It is fascinating to see a young John Simm (Life On Mars) in a very different role. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Steve

5.0 out of 5 stars I want more!
I have just finished watching both discs of The Lakes having missed it on its original run. The first series is the best but the second is still good viewing and the cast are... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Bumpkin

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest TV dramas in the last 30 years
You can read enough about the plot in the other reviews, just to say there are moments in Series 1 when I was poised on the edge of my seat, totally immersed in what was... Read more
Published on 2 April 2007 by drpeckham

4.0 out of 5 stars Great British drama
I enjoyed The Lakes, I thought it was an exceptionally good bit of drama, and as usual, John Simm stands out in the cast.

However. Read more
Published on 20 Mar 2007 by Ms. R. J. Dando

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