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Product Description
From Amazon.co.uk
The Book Group, the creation of writer-director Annie Griffin, is a superb, Glasgow-based comedy-drama. Annie Dudek stars as Claire, the prissy and neurotic American expatriate who initiates the titular group with a view to meeting high-minded types like herself. Instead, she gets Dirka, Fist and Janice, three Scottish footballers' wives, the wheelchair-bound Kenny, a leisure-centre worker with ambitions to be a writer despite his apparent inarticulacy, the stubbly-faced football-mad Rab and the insufferable Barney, a post-grad student and heroin addict at whom Claire makes one of the most embarrassingly disastrous passes in TV history in the opening episode.
The Book Group is a magnificent device for bringing an unlikely cast of characters together, supposedly out of a love of literature but in fact because each of them in their own way has pretensions or ambitions to make something different out of their lives. Waves of sexual longing between the group members are among the many things that interfere with the discussions of the texts, with Kenny in particular an object of fascination for both Dirka and Fist. With each episode cleverly themed around the chosen book of the week, The Book Group is hilarious yet wise, understated and often painfully melancholic, based on detailed character study rather than contrived situations or eye-catching melodrama. It is indispensable viewing.
On the DVD: The Book Group's main extra is a poorly edited but absorbing sequence of interviews with all of the cast members except James Lance, who plays Barney. Rory McGann (Kenny), who comes from a non-acting background, is particularly interesting. --David Stubbs
Product Description
The complete first series of the Channel 4 sitcom. Clare, an American living in Glasgow, sets up a book group in a bid to meet some interesting new friends, and possibly a boyfriend. What she gets is something quite different; amongst the group of mismatched characters is Kenny, an ex-climber, who is in a wheelchair, Janice is a frustrated footballer's wife and Barney is an eccentric student. The episodes included are: 'On the Road', 'The Alchemist', 'Magical Realism', 'Bedtime Stories', 'Dark Alley' and 'A Little More Living'.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By R. Fox
Format:DVD
When this show first came out last year, I decided to watch it because I thought it just looked quite different to whatever else was on Friday night TV. After the first episode, I was hooked.
There is a rather bizzare feeling to this show from the first five minutes - is it a drama? A comedy? What?? The first episode is basically the blueprint for the entire series (what the characters do before book group whilst reading the book, how the book influences them, and the meeting where they discuss the book). In this episode we see all the principal characters for the first time, discuss the book, and then disperse. That's about it for the first episode. But it's the writing that grabs you here - the characters are so well written that you are completely entertained by there clunky initial interaction, and the actors' performances are spot-on, especially main charater Clare (Anne Dudek) and Rab (Derek Riddel). Wheelchair user Kenny (Rory McCann) proves himself to be the textbook heart throb from episode one, with his calm demeanour and positive attitude to life. Dirka, Fist and Janice - the trio of footballers' wives - are the immediate comical part of the show with their high-pitched silliness, but as the series progresses you begin to see beyond the surface of every character and what really happens beneath closed-doors. Kenny is about the only character with a stable existence, a rock in the chaos of the characters lives.
There seems to be an underlying subplot of unhappiness with each of the characters, and how none of their lives have turned out exactly as they imagined. Clare has come to Scotland, but is more than a little homesick. Janice, Fist and Dirka may have glamaorous wealth by marrying professional footballers, but their lives are still full of frustration and longing. Barney seems confident and cocky, but harbours some antisocial personal habits, and Kenny tries to stay above the restricitons of his wheelchair, but still finds difficult moments. However, none of the show is so much doom and gloom as much as tear-inducingly funny observation. There is some genuine moments of black comic genius here, even though there are no gags as such. Just circumstance and situation make for the hilarity here. There are some truly moving moments of drama here too, espcially when one main character dies, but it all adds to the addiction of the show.
It's hard to compare this show to anything else really, because of it's highly unusual subject matter and prodcution. If I had to summerise in a nutshell, imagine a TV series written by Nick Horby and directed by the Coen Brothers. Okay?
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By ex nihilo
Format:DVD
this must surely be one of the best, funiest comedies ever produced for t.v. Part of the charm of the series is its sophistication: the characters are superbly developed and constantly surprise us, although their decission and actions are consequent with what we know of them, and the organization of the episodes (around a particular book) presuposes some intelligence on the part of the audience. The characters are especially lovable. They are not perfect, they are sometimes even pathetic, but you can't stop loving them. Part of their charm is that, although their lives are not what they would like them to be, and that they feel terribly lonely (even the married ones), they nevertheless want to do something about it and not wait passively for things to turn out well by themselves. (and well, the only character who IS passive and does not try to solve his problems is rapidly disposed of). The comic situations arise from the contrast between the characters' expectetions and what they really get. The novels that some of them are writing (and part of whose narration we see in the episodes) are particularly hilarious. I hope (please!) to be able to buy the second series soon in amazon, since I can't see it here on t.v.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I stumbled across the first episode of this show one night when I was remotely channel-hopping. I was amused from the first minute. It's very rare these days to find a show that doesn't treat its audience like morons. The Book Group is punchy, alert and honest - and deserves to be aired and aired again.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Oh god, this made me so uncomfortable
Oh my goodness, from the first minutes of Clare displaying absolutely zero social grace, all I could think of was, "We're not all like that! Read more
Published on 13 Jan 2010 by A. L. Rossillon
5.0 out of 5 stars
A work of Genius!
Well I would say that wouldn't I? As they choose Kerouac's
On The Road as their first book for discussion. Read more
On The Road as their first book for discussion. Read more
Published on 23 April 2006 by Kerouac fan
3.0 out of 5 stars
interesting
definitely not the greatest UK series i've seen. i would rather watch 'bad girls' or 'spooks'. i was expecting it to make me at least laugh but it was more drama (with barney's... Read more
Published on 2 April 2006
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not that great
I purchased this DVD partly because of the reviews here. Unfortunately I didn't find it as entertaining as most of the other reviewers did. Read more
Published on 14 Feb 2006 by JamesJohnson
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sweet & charming & engaging
The first episode starts off slowly, but once you're into the second, you start to get drawn in. Some of the drama seems a little heavy-handed, but the characters are interesting... Read more
Published on 25 April 2005
2.0 out of 5 stars
Like a book group, it seems to draw you in...
I was recommended to try this one out. But all did not start well. A slow start would be an understatement. Read more
Published on 3 Mar 2005 by Actechnologies
5.0 out of 5 stars
what happened to series 2?
I've lost count of how many times I have watched the six episodes of series one. So why the delay in releasing the DVD of series 2? Read more
Published on 28 Feb 2005 by D. Palmer
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Bittersweet masterpiece
What a fantastic series! The special features on the DVD are somewhatdisappointing, but the 6 wonderful episodes of this melancholy, yethilarious drama more than make up for it. Read more
Published on 20 April 2004
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Book Group - a good read indeed!
What a great drama the Book Group is! I loved it. It certainly adds new meaning to the words 'book,'and 'reading. Read more
Published on 18 Oct 2003 by F. V. L. Buliciri
1.0 out of 5 stars
Where were the jokes?
I just had to tarnish the fact that Book Group has a five star rating, the problem with these reviews are that you're only likely to review a show if you liked it, I didn't. Read more
Published on 18 Sep 2003
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