It's Hard Being A Schoolboy in Rochdale (Waterloo Road)

Member Name: markysparky

Product:	Waterloo Road
Date:	28/03/09 (174 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Never dull, strong cast, action-packed

Disadvantages: You need to suspend your disbelief watching this show

This weekly BBC1 school drama is now well into its 4th series. The hour long programmes are broadcast at 8.00p.m on Wednesday nights and this series has a 20-week run.

The show is populist and manufactured for the masses. Most of the characters are one-dimensional stereotypes. In saying that, the BBC have assembled a first class cast who perform commendably well.

Set in a large Rochdale comprehensive (the Waterloo Road of the title), the storylines are crafted to shock, tug on the proverbial heartstrings and keep you coming back for more.

So suspend your disbelief, snuggle up on your sofa and enjoy the rollercoater ride. that is Waterloo Road. Sixty minutes of 24-carat, 21st century soap-drama. In fact, the soap link is strong with three of its main teacher actors being well known for their Coronation Street pasts - Eva Pope (headmistress Rachel Mason) and Denise Welch (Steph Haydock) are both famous for their pint-pulling days in the Rovers Return whilst Angela Griffin (Kim Campbell) was a Corrie hair stylist.

The plots often stretch your imagination to near breaking point. Regular viewers will have experienced the easy target storylines:
- under-age sex
- schoolgirl pregnancy
- bullying
- dyslexia and learning difficulties
- truancy
- child prodigies
- drug taking
- dysfunctional love lives
- dark secrets (that inevitably reveal themselves eventually)
- trysts between teachers
If that wasn't enough, we also have extreme violence, murder, arson, bigamy, confessions of an ex-prostitute headmistress, child kidnapping and, oh yes, more sleaze, affairs and violence. Daily Mail readers will no doubt believe that these are everyday events at each and every school throughout the land. I am of the persuasion that these happenings do occur in our schools but not all for any one school and in such a short time frame. this of course is the entertainment industry and one shouldn't compare in to the reality of everyday life. This show is Grange Hill for grown-ups.

In recent episodes we have been treated to:
- deputy head Eddie Lawton (played by Neil Morrisey) discovering that his fiancee is still married to two (yes two) other men
- pregnant schoolgirl, and hairdressing princess, Chlo marrying boyfriend Dante (is she forever destined for the inferno?)
- teacher Kim returns to Waterloo Road (after a couple of years) from Africa with a baby assumed to be her's but later proven (when a blood relative tries to blackmail her) to be kidnapped child
- teacher Tom encouraging dinner lady Rose (until recently an agressive, hard drinking, trouble maker) with her newly-found passion for classic (and we're talking Shakespeare hear) literature
- a returning ex-Waterloo Road schoolgirl is a ferrari driving top model who recommends a plastic surgeon, for a boob job, to schoolgirl Aleesha. Another returning ex-pupil in a six foot plus policeman who confesses his crush for teacher Steph, who is flattered and obviously fancies him too -
they end-up canoodling in various locations throughout the school.
And that's just some of the highlights of the last few weeks, I'm sure that you get the picture by now.

Conclusion

This show is in much the same vein as its BBC stablemates Casualty, Hoby City and Holby Blue. It is definitely adult entertainment and not for children under 12 (despite its pre-watershed time slot). It is a show that can sometimes put a smile on your face (or a tear in your eye) it follows a winning, soap style, format and I can recommend it those who aren't looking for complex plots or gritty reality but want to enjoy some fine acting, and punchy fast-paced action.

Summary: This is Grange Hill for Grown-Ups