Sex, Chips and Rock 'N' Roll [TV Series]

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous acting and engrossing story line
Review: I never thought for a moment I would sit through six 50-minute episodes of a BBC series titled "Sex, Chips, and Rock 'n' Roll"-- as much as I like chips--from Acorn Media on two DVDs. By the time the first 50-minute episode ended, my wife and I were hooked on this mini-series that takes place in Manchester, England in 1965 and centers around the two non-identical Brookes twins named Ellie (Gillian Kearney) and Arden (Emma Cook).

They live under the tyrannical regime of Granny Brookes (Sue Johnston) along with their ineffectual father (Nicholas Farrell), and the sisters could not be more unlike. Ellie is the intellectual who looks forward to "the University," while boy-mad Arden (note the symbolism of the name) wants only to become a top rock singer. They get involved with a mediocre group called The Ice Cubes, who are under the unpleasant thumb of their lead singer Larry "B. Cool" Valentine (Phil Daniels).

A cousin named Norman (David Threlfall) is recovering from a wife who walked out on him and wants to marry Ellie, who has in the meanwhile fallen for guitarist/lyricist Dallas (Joseph McFadden), who in turn has an affair with.... No, you are going to have to see for yourself what develops and un-develops as these characters act and interact.

The level of the acting is superb. With the exception of Larry, all nastiness and no subtlety, and the guitarist Tex (Julian Kerridge), whom we never really get to know, the characters are as fully developed as you could wish. The third Ice Cube, The Wolf (James Callis), underacts his part to perfection, looking like one of the leads in "Interview With the Vampire" and seldom showing what he is truly feeling. Norman is just inches from cartoonish but still believable. The two sisters are clearly differentiated, Arden demanding but never giving, Ellie unselfish almost to be the point of being out of Dickens (were it not for the obligatory scene in bed). She is even locked up in her room in true Victorian style in one late episode...but again, you must see the whole to appreciate the parts.

But it is Sue Johnston that carries away all the acting honors, right up to the surprise revelation at the end that explains and makes up (almost) for everything that went before.

A rare treat and different from most domestic fare. Try it.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous acting and engrossing story line
Review: I never thought for a moment I would sit through six 50-minute episodes of a BBC series titled "Sex, Chips, and Rock 'n' Roll"-- as much as I like chips--from Acorn Media on two DVDs. By the time the first 50-minute episode ended, my wife and I were hooked on this mini-series that takes place in Manchester, England in 1965 and centers around the two non-identical Brookes twins named Ellie (Gillian Kearney) and Arden (Emma Cook).

They live under the tyrannical regime of Granny Brookes (Sue Johnston) along with their ineffectual father (Nicholas Farrell), and the sisters could not be more unlike. Ellie is the intellectual who looks forward to "the University," while boy-mad Arden (note the symbolism of the name) wants only to become a top rock singer. They get involved with a mediocre group called The Ice Cubes, who are under the unpleasant thumb of their lead singer Larry "B. Cool" Valentine (Phil Daniels).

A cousin named Norman (David Threlfall) is recovering from a wife who walked out on him and wants to marry Ellie, who has in the meanwhile fallen for guitarist/lyricist Dallas (Joseph McFadden), who in turn has an affair with.... No, you are going to have to see for yourself what develops and un-develops as these characters act and interact.

The level of the acting is superb. With the exception of Larry, all nastiness and no subtlety, and the guitarist Tex (Julian Kerridge), whom we never really get to know, the characters are as fully developed as you could wish. The third Ice Cube, The Wolf (James Callis), underacts his part to perfection, looking like one of the leads in "Interview With the Vampire" and seldom showing what he is truly feeling. Norman is just inches from cartoonish but still believable. The two sisters are clearly differentiated, Arden demanding but never giving, Ellie unselfish almost to be the point of being out of Dickens (were it not for the obligatory scene in bed). She is even locked up in her room in true Victorian style in one late episode...but again, you must see the whole to appreciate the parts.

But it is Sue Johnston that carries away all the acting honors, right up to the surprise revelation at the end that explains and makes up (almost) for everything that went before.

A rare treat and different from most domestic fare. Try it.

Rating:
Summary: Two girls just wishin' and hopin'
Review: Mercifully, the "chips" (as in "fish 'n' chips") is downplayed in this well written, finely acted, high-energy period drama. The period in question is Swingin' England in 1965. The locale, working-class Manchester (in the beginning) and London (second half). The story focuses on a rivalrous pair of twin sisters coming out of high school, full of dreams and eager to buck the iron rule of their controlling grandmother...and their encounter with a soon-to-be discovered rock and roll band. The gals and the guys get equal treatment here, but clearly we are expected to delight in the way the young women come into their own in a proto-feminist kind of way. More than anything the women are caught between the need to live out their dreams and the downward pull of the family motto, "'I want' does not get." But it's not as glum as you might expect. The 60s British music adds pep and relief from some otherwise tense melodrama. Not entirely plausible, it has a some of the compensatory artificiality of "Strictly Ballroom." Loads of fun. All it lacked was some walk-on parts for people like Alan Bates, Albert Finney, and Julie Christie.

Rating:
Summary: Two girls just wishin' and hopin'
Review: Mercifully, the "chips" (as in "fish 'n' chips") is downplayed in this well written, finely acted, high-energy period drama. The period in question is Swingin' England in 1965. The locale, working-class Manchester (in the beginning) and London (second half). The story focuses on a rivalrous pair of twin sisters coming out of high school, full of dreams and eager to buck the iron rule of their controlling grandmother...and their encounter with a soon-to-be discovered rock and roll band. The gals and the guys get equal treatment here, but clearly we are expected to delight in the way the young women come into their own in a proto-feminist kind of way. More than anything the women are caught between the need to live out their dreams and the downward pull of the family motto, "'I want' does not get." But it's not as glum as you might expect. The 60s British music adds pep and relief from some otherwise tense melodrama. Not entirely plausible, it has a some of the compensatory artificiality of "Strictly Ballroom." Loads of fun. All it lacked was some walk-on parts for people like Alan Bates, Albert Finney, and Julie Christie.

Rating:
Summary: SWINGING SIXTIES SENSATION
Review: Sex, Chips and Rock 'n' Roll is the best drama series to date. Firstly it has a superb cast, a gripping storyline, and is filled with emotional ups and downs. This is one drama series you can watch again and again and still want more. Fantastic! Look forward to watching it again soon.