True Life Justice, One Shot Success & Crime In Liverpool

Hello world! Welcome back to another blog. In this blog, I will be taking you through three more shows I’ve been watching. These include a drama based on true life events, a one-shot drama which had everyone talking and even being taken into schools, and a crime drama set in Liverpool. So without further ado, here are the shows I’ve been watching. 

Toxic Town:

The first show I’m going to talk about is toxic town, starring Jodie Whittaker, Aimee Lou wood, and Claudia Jessie, casted by Shaheen Baig and written by Jack Thorne.

This is based on the true story in the town of Corby, where another’s seek to get justice after working out that the toxic fumes from a steel working project may be linked to the birth defects of their children.

Jodie took on the role of Susan McIntyre, who was the first mother to notice it and rally a group together going through the same thing. I don’t know if she was this sassy in real life, but boy you do not want to mess with her if you get in her bad side. She would do anything to help her children, and if anyone gets in her way, then you better watch your back. I especially loved her friendship with Tracey Taylor (Aimee Lou Wood), who after meeting in a hospital for the first time, formed a friendship which became the start of the fight for justice. Even though Tracey didn’t get the justice she was hoping for linking to her late daughter, her involvement in the case was just as vital. Maggie Mahon (Claudia Jessie), also played a key role in the case, as her husband Derek (Joe Dempsie), was also part of the steel work that linked to their babies birth defects. This really put their marriage on the rocks, but an emotional confession from Derek saw why that was, which I felt made their relationship stronger in the process.

There were also characters who had an impact on the show. Some were real people but some were based on real life people of Corby council. One of those people was Roy (Brendan Coyle), who was so wrapped up in making Corby the best town yet, that he was ignorant in seeing the effects it had on others. But others like the late Sam Hagen (Robert Carlyle), could see what was going on, and I felt really bad as people wouldn’t listen to him. But this case certainly helped him, but not just him. Ted Jenkins (Stephen McMillan who was inspired by University of Northampton graduate Mark Bosence), may have been a young engineer, but he knew what he was talking about. And bless him I thought he was really sweet, and I can see why he was scared to speak out. But if Sam hadn’t encouraged him to speak at the trial, the mothers wouldn’t have gotten justice. But equally there were people willing to help the mums. These included Des Collins (who was a real life character in the show) and his colleague Dani (Rory Kinnear and Lauren Lyle), who weren’t interested in the money, but for justice like the mums. And his speech at the end of the series definitely showed why he helped in the first place. 

I don’t think I have any downsides to it, but the transcript at the end showed the shocking information linking to the case. It was also abit of a slow burner to begin with, mainly because I didn’t know much about the story. But once I finished episode 1, I had an incline of what was going to happen next.

Overall I would give the show a 4.95. Whilst I didn’t understand the story at first, the acting and the portrayal of those affected were beautiful to see. This then made the story more understandable for me.

Adolescence:

The next show I’m going to talk about is adolescence, created by Stephen Graham and Philip Barantini, and directed by Philip himself, written by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, and starring Stephen Graham himself, Ashley Walters and Erin Doherty, and it was also Owen Cooper's screen acting debut.

This tells the story of 13 year old Jamie being accused of murdering a young girl from his school. But the question is, why? After watching Boiling Point directed by Philip himself, this was a drama I knew I had to watch. And given its most popular reviews in a short amount of time, I can see why people say it may be the drama of the year.

Stephen Graham took on the role of Eddie miller. Now you know when it’s going to be good when Stephen Graham is in a drama, and this was one of them. You can tell that he truly cares for his family, and even though he does have abit of a temper, I know he’s a good person inside and out. Owen cooper took on the role of Jamie. And you wouldn’t think that this was his first acting role, as he nailed it out of the park. He really embodied the character and surely he’ll be up for a national television award after that performance. Ashley Walters took on the role of DI Luke Bascombe. Like all police officers he asserted authority but also wasn’t as harsh, as in this job you need to have a fine balance between knowing that you’re in charge and also not wanting to make people upset. But he also had his own drama with son Adam (Amari Bacchus) in episode 2 which if you haven't seen, I'll let you watch it to see what it is. 

Other characters, now matter how size the role was, also made their mark on the show. These included Faye McKeever as the forensic nurse in episode 1, Melissa Johns as the school nurse, and in episode 2, we saw Hannah Walters as one of the teachers, and Robbie O’Neill as one of the school teachers (who mentioned on an Act On This podcast that even though he was in one episode, he had a big part in helping with the casting for the school children). We also got to see Katie’s friend Jade (played by Fatima Bojang), who not only was affected by what happened, but also life behind closed doors. And she clearly took it out on Jamie’s friend Ryan (Kaine Davis), who later on had a strong link in the case. We also got to see Briony Ariston (Erin Doherty), play a forensic psychologist, as seen in episode 3. Again like with Jamie’s performance, I can see why this episode got everyone talking, as we can see the visible impact on the aftermath of the interview. But kudos to anyone working in this type of job, as I can imagine it can’t be easy.

I don’t think I have any downsides per say as it was all brilliant. But I suppose the main question would be who was to blame for Jamie making this decision? Now everyone may have a different answer, but here’s my take. Social media definitely had an impact on what happened, and even though Eddie was trying to get Jamie into sports when all he was focused on is art, I can understand why Jamie felt the way he felt when he was talking to Briony about Eddie looking away during a football game. And after the government allowed for the show to be taken to in schools, there’s been some questions as to whether it’s just procrastinating. Yes I do understand their point of view, but maybe in certain sessions like PSHE, they can show clips of certain parts of the show (like Luke’s son Adam talking about the 80-20 myth, and Jamie talking about his tactics to get Katie to like her), then do a group task on why it’s wrong to thing like that. That’s my personal opinion on it.

Overall I would give the show a full house. It was tense, it had awareness and the one take shot throughout all 4 episodes were just a work of art. I don’t know if they’ll be a second series, but like I said, I can see why it’s the drama that everyone has been talking about!

This City Is Ours:

The final show I’m going to talk about is This City Is Ours, created by Stephen Bouchard, episodes 4 and 5 written by Robbie O’Neill and starring James Nelson Joyce, Hannah Onslow, Julie Graham and Sean Bean. 

This crime drama tells the story of Michael Kavanagh who after falling in love before the events of the series, goes on this journey to keep it whilst balancing his life of crime.

James Nelson Joyce really embraced the role of Michael Kavanagh. He’s someone you do not want to mess with like all gangsters, but he also does have a caring side. This is shown with restaurant manager and girlfriend Diana (Hannah Onslow), who he tries to start a family with. And their relationship was a great test throughout the series, as she held a secret of her own which her mum (Leanne Best) took the wrap for. And Amber Harrison did a beautiful performance as a younger Diana, which revealed what happened in her past which led her mum to go to prison. Ronnie Phelan (Sean Bean) was definitely the big boss of the gang. He knew the ins and outs, and even though he met a grisly fate early on in the series, he definitely had an impact on the gang's lives.

Other characters in the show made their mark in the series. One of them included Michael’s right hand man Banksey (played by Mike noble), who regardless of what Michael did, always had his back and is also my favourite character in the series for some reason. There was also Ronnie's son Jamie (Jack McMullen), who felt like he wanted some validation from his dad, and that was maybe the reason why he wanted Michael out of the business. But it often met with conflict from fiancé Melissa (Darci Shaw), and mum Elaine (who I will mention in a moment). There was also Bobby (Kevin Harvey), who didn’t really have a side to go on but just went with the flow, and his wife Rach (Laura Aikman), who wanted to be more than a bookkeeper of the gang. Ricardo (Daniel Cerqueria), was part of the amigos, who knew what he wanted from Michael, but an action taken from Banksey at the end of the series was something I was not expecting. There was also Cheryl Crawford (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), who wanted to see what happened to her husband Davy (Stephen Walters) which Ronnie had a hand in, and Ronnie's wife Elaine (played by Julie Graham), who wanted no drama after Ronnie's dismiss, but also wanted justice without violence. 

I think my only downside was that the first few episodes were a bit of a slow burner for me, but the last episode of the series was, I feel, the best one yet. Purely it had the most twists and turns, which I liked.

Overall, I would give the show a 4.95. As I said, I struggled to get into the story at first, but gradually enjoyed it by episode 5, and as mentioned, the finale was the highlight of the series!

And those were my latest TV reviews. Let me know if you have seen any of these shows and your thoughts on them, and let me know which ones you'd like to see me review next!

See you soon for another blog. Until next time...

This is The Autistic Actress signing off :)