Grange hill but for grown ups! (Waterloo Road)

Member Name: Emily_09

Product:	Waterloo Road
Date:	08/11/09 (40 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good storylines and characters

Disadvantages: Bit unrealistic at times

What is Waterloo Road?
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Waterloo Road is a weekly BBC drama, set in a school. Think 'Grange Hill' meets 'Teachers' with a hint of Hollyoaks mixed in for good measure.

When is it on?
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The series is on for about 20 weeks of the year and usually starts in the autumn which is nice as it gives you something to watch during the cold winter weeks! The show is an hour long, shown every Wednesday on BBC1 at 8pm and can also be viewed on BBC Iplayer if you miss an episode. The show is currently on it's fifth series and had definitely deserved its high popularity.

Who's in it?
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Being a school drama, there are too many characters to mention everyone, but here is a list of some of the most well known and controversial.

Teachers:
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Steph Haydock : Played by Denise Welch of Loose Women fame, Steph is a French teacher with the most awful French accent I've ever heard! She's a bit of a man eater but has a sensitive side.

Tom Clarkson: Popular male teacher who is fair but doesn't stand any nonsense. His only negative side is that he often lets personal issues get in the way of his teaching.

Grantly Budgen: The laughing stock of the school, Grantly teaches English but gives the impression that he'd rather be a dustman than a teacher. His dry sense of humour is very funny however, and you can't help but feel a bit sorry for him.

Kim Campbell: One of my favourite teachers, Kim, played by Angela Griffin is well liked by her pupils and isn't afraid to stand up for what she believes in. Kind and sensitive, her warmth and creativity makes her the sort of teacher that everyone wants.

Rachel Mason: Rachel is the long suffering headteacher of the school. Her dodgy past often comes back to haunt her but she always manages to maintain her dignity and is very fair.

Max Tyler: Max is the new joint headteacher for series five after his school merged with Waterloo Road to create one big institution. Pompous and in favour of harsh punishments, Max is not a very likeable character and is the one you'll love to hate.

Christopher Mead: Also new to series 5, Christopher is Max's deputy head. We haven't seen much of his character yet but he seems to be a nicer, more sensitive version of Max.

Helen Hopwell: Another new teacher, Helen is Max's lapdog and is extremely irritating due to her inability to deal with her classes and snobbery concerning the Waterloo Road pupils. She's the sort of person you just want to tell to pull herself together!

There are a few other teachers but the above are the characters with the main story lines at the minute.

Some of the Pupils:
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Karla Bentham: Karla suffers from Asperger's Syndrome and in the past has been bullied because of her condition. She has recently made friends with a lot of her classmates however, and they now understand her condition more. Karla's character has drawn attention to Asperger's which I think is really important in helping viewers to understand the condition more.

Danielle Harker: Danielle comes from a very religious family and leads a double life at school. At home she has to conform to strict rules but at school she is obsessed with how she looks and is constantly fixing her hair and make-up.

Denzil Kelly: The youngest member of the notorious Kelly family at the school, Denzil is very sweet by nature and often goes against the wishes of his problematic family to stand up for his own beliefs.

Sambuca Kelly: Another member of the Kelly family, Sambuca (yes she is named after the drink!) is very opinionated and can often come across as rude and cheeky. Deep down, however she is a caring girl and often worries about any problems within her family.

Bolton Smilie: Bolton isn't very popular with some of the teachers due to his disruptive attitude and unwillingness to conform to rules that he believes are unfair. He isn't a bad kid, however and never willingly tries to upset or hurt anyone.

Michaela White: Bad girl of the school and Bolton's girlfriend, Michaela is nasty and vindictive. Her favourite pastimes include bullying younger pupils and generally making teacher's lives a misery.

Lindsey and Emily James: Two of the new characters in series five, the James sisters arrived at the school on the same day that their mother was arrested after being accused of murdering their father. Lindsey puts on a tough girl attitude and makes it her sole aim to get revenge on Michaela White. However she is fiercely protective of her younger sister and won't let anyone upset her.

Amy Porter: Another new character to look out for. Feisty Amy is just looking for trouble and will no doubt be the cause of many staff breakdowns.

What's good about Waterloo Road?
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One of the best things about Waterloo Road is the fact that the story lines are always really varied and often unexpected. As the programme is aimed at adults as well as children, some of the issues that it deals with are quite juicy and pretty controversial at times.

Another good thing about the programme is that the story lines often discuss issues that need to be addressed. From eating disorders to teenage pregnancy, the show deals with everyday problems in a very sensitive way and educates viewers on the best way of dealing with these problems. I also really like the fact that Waterloo Road is on BBC1 so you don't get any annoying adverts! It's just simply a full hour of drama so you can really get into the stories.

There isn't really many more specific aspects of the show that I can pinpoint as the best bits but all you need to know is that it has good characters, stories and a little bit of suspense added in. What more can you ask for really?


What's bad?
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It's not all good however. One of the things that annoys me about this programme is that you recognise every other character from somewhere else and it becomes a game of 'where have I seen them before?'. From Coronation street to Casualty, you name it, they've been in it and you can't help but typecast!

Another thing that bugs me about this programme is that some of the story lines can be a bit confusing. You can have a whole week's episode centred on one plot and then the next week there's no mention of anything that has happened which seems a tad unrealistic to me!

Talking of unrealistic, I always watch Waterloo Road with my mum, who works in a school, and she constantly moans about how the stuff that happens on the show would never happen in a real school. Personally I don't mind as it makes it more entertaining, however some people may not appreciate stories of successive fires and explosions!

As with all TV shows, Waterloo Road has both its good and bad features but overall it's an enjoyable and light-hearted watch during the winter months. It can be pretty unrealistic but if you're prepared to just watch without questioning the likelihood of things too much, I'd highly recommend it!

Summary: 4 stars