Sex, Drugs, Drink, Swearing and the Jockey. (Shameless)

Member Name: katygriff

Product:	Shameless
Date:	20/02/06 (9062 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Funny with Great Characters.

Disadvantages: None.

A few months ago my family and I were talking about TV programmes and our favourite ones on at the moment. My Uncle mentioned that I should watch a programme called Shameless because I would find it hilarious and he had some recorded if I wanted to borrow the episodes and give them go. Never wanting to turn down an opportunity to watch TV of course I said yes and a couple of weeks ago I sat down and proceeded to watch what I found one of the funniest programmes I have seen in a long time and this is why.

-----

What is the programme about?

The setting of the programme is on Chatsworth housing estate in Manchester and on this estate live the Gallagher family. The show focuses on their relationship with each other and other people.

-----

A few things to know:

Each episode lasts around forty five minutes.
The show began in 2004 and is currently on its third series.
The show has won five awards including a BAFTA for best drama series.

-----

Cast and Characters:

Now there are quite a few main characters so please skip if you really don’t want to know about them all and skip to the section ‘About the Show’.

Frank Gallagher – David Threlfall
The Dad and what a Dad he is. His wife left him raising six kids on benefits and the only way he handles this task is to go down to the local pub the Jockey and drink until he is singing and falling over in the street. If there is a way to trick the government into getting more money, it is guaranteed that Frank will try it.

Fiona Gallagher – Anne-Marie Duff
The eldest child at twenty and she is the one that is raising her five siblings alone because Frank is no help at all. She works with children and all of her money, time and effort is put into helping her family out.

Lip Gallagher – Jody Latham
Real name is Phillip but because he is known for the size of his mouth and for not shutting up he is called Lip. Good looking and always getting into trouble, Lip is a character to watch.

Debbie Gallagher – Rebecca Ryan
One of the youngest and although at times she can be extremely naughty such as copying and selling videos, she does look after her family and always wants the best for them.

Liam Gallagher – Joseph Furnace
The youngest and at only two we do not see Liam much at all. He is the only innocent one out of them all because he hasn’t been corrupted yet as he is not old enough.

Ian Gallagher – Gerard Kearns
Ian gets himself into some huge problems most of the time for trying to fool everyone that he is straight when in fact he is gay. Working at the local convenience store he brings in money for the family too.

Sheila Jackson – Maggie O’Neill
Possibly the funniest character in the show, Sheila is the agoraphobic who will not leave the confines of her own house and has to use virtual reality machines to pretend she is going shopping to try and cure her. She is a genius character and my favourite.

Carl Gallagher – Luke / Elliot Tittensor
The youngest lad but in no means innocent. Carl gets himself into all situations but by accident and not because he wants to.

Kev – Dean Lennox Kelly
Nextdoor neighbour and boyfriend of Veronica. Kev works in the local pub the Jockey and regurarly has to deal with nextdoor, Veronicas family and his own family and he still manages to be a wonderful boyfriend (most of the time).

Veronica – Maxine Peak
The next door neighbour girlfriend of Kev. Veronica has a brother in prison and a mother who will just not leave her alone. She is best friends with Fiona and does a lot for the Gallagher family.

Steve – James McAvoy
Steve is Fiona’s boyfriend and although at first he may seem all sweet he has quite a few dark secrets and tricks up his sleeve that do not always work out for the best.

------

About the show:

If I could split the show into percentages this is what I would say it is;

15% drama
70% comedy
10% shock factor
5% romance

The show is a comedy series and every episode is guaranteed to make you laugh or make you scream at the characters for being so stupid. I think that although the show is marketed as being a comedy though I will tell you that it does have its dark moments and one episode nearly made me cry because of all of the drama.

When I say shock factor I seriously mean shock factor and I could not believe some of the things that go on in the show as it just makes me scream ‘why’ at the TV. The romance is an underlying part of the show for many of the characters and it is done in such a way that it is not the focus of the show but any romantic scenes do make an impact.

Every single episode is focusing on a few stories with one of them being a main point and to be honest some people may not find some of the stories funny such as my Mom who could not find it funny as she works with troubled children and families and she said that some of the things that happened were too close to home for her to find funny so I do not think this show is for everyone.

-----

My Verdict:

I am seriously addicted to this programme and I think I do have a problem. I find myself craving the next episode and actually taking quotes from the programme and saying them all of the time. I think the show producers should hire me for promotion because I am telling anybody who will listen how much I like this programme which is making me sound very sad but I really do not care.

First things first the stories they come up with are amazing and you can actually imagine them happening in society such as car theft and benefit fraud and all of the things we do not want to think goes on but actually they do. Although this may put over the opinion that the show is about people doing nasty things, this is not what the stories are about (well some of them). The actual main ongoing story throughout the whole series is how this family interacts with each-other and although they do seem like they hate each-other the underlying message is you just have to put up with your family.

The characters in this show are loveable and memorable. The very first episode I watched and I detested Frank and Kev but now I love them and look forward to their scenes. As the show progresses we see the characters progress from where they stand in their relationships such as having babies and also about tough tasks such as finding jobs and being bullied. As this is a show about a seemingly rough family but they are not really the characters are put through their paces and at times me and my sister were shocked when certain things happened such as Frank and a certain girl in series one which fans of the show will hopefully know what I am talking about.

My favourite character in the show is Sheila because she is perhaps the maddest but nicest character in the show. I love the way she talks with her strange breathing and moaning sounds and I also just love how mad she is such as with what she keeps under her bed (again watch the show if you want to find out). Plus if I say the word copulate my sister will begin laughing when she reads this review.

I cannot fault the acting in this show at all and I am amazed at it because of the diversity of the ages of the actors and the madness of the characters they are playing, I would think that one of them would slip up on the acting just once but I have watched two series so far and I cannot fault them. I may be wrong but to me none of the actors in this show were particularly well known before doing the show and I had only heard of James McAvoy who plays Steve before and that is only because I have just watched him in Narnia. I think that the characters do demand quite a lot of good acting and everyone pulls it off perfectly.

A little thing I will tell you if you are going to start watching the show then do not be tempted to switch to another thing when the credits roll because if you wait until the end of the credits then you will see a very short little clip which is usually very funny indeed. Also another thing to tell you is that the show does contain quite a lot of sex scenes every so often and also a lot of swearing so if you are easily offended then this may not be a show for you.

In conclusion this television show gets a huge five stars from me as it is plain fantastic and deserves every award it has been given. I can’t wait to watch the third series which I have just missed on TV because I was catching up with the first two and I will be getting it on DVD.

I think I would watch this programme if you ever feel like your family are the maddest or worse in the world and also just generally to make yourself feel better about yourself and the way you are.

Thanks for reading.

xxx

Summary: Not a TV Programme for Everyone.