This Life (Series 1 & 2) DVD | Movie Mail UK | DVDs and Blu-ray films direct

Star Review

Developed by award-winning producer Tony Garnett, This Life dramatised the lives of five newly graduated solicitors sharing a house in South London. Its graphic depictions of sex and casual drug use coupled with NYPD Blue-style shaky camera work and a liberal use of contemporary music gave it a distinct up-to-the-minute feel and helped it become a huge, and fondly remembered, hit.
So, how does it stand up 10 years on? Surprisingly well. While fans were upset when the show was cancelled after only two series, we’re left with a brilliant 36 episode run with barely a dip in quality and many memorable highlights. Importantly, its qualities run deeper than an assured grounding in the zeitgeist of the time. The characters are honestly drawn and the writers didn’t flinch from depicting their private lives. However it wasn't titillation that made the show popular, but rather that it showed life in an unsanitised form. Through bravely dealing with the gamut of 20-something experience, the writers were able to draw characters and relationships that viewers could get involved with, question, get angry with and ultimately relate to. Viewed now, it’s a neat illustration that good writing lasts.

Dan Hunter on 26th January 2006

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