It's Pride Month and there will be some LGBT themed posts on this blog this month and to get the ball rolling, here's your first one.
Written by Jack Rooke
Directed by Jim Archer
Jack: "Hi, I'm Jack. This was me in 2013. A closed mummy's boy with newly dead dad and a crap perm.When I got into uni, it was a big deal."
When it comes to LGBT content, Channel 4's history has been somewhat better than most. This as been a channel responsible for shows such as Queer As Folk, Sugar Rush, Cucumber and as recent as last year, It's A Sin. Now the channel can proudly add this sweet natured comedy into the mix as well.
Created by writer Jack Rooke and based off his book, Good Grief, Happy Hour, Love Letters, this delightful six part series focused on a somewhat fictionalised version of the author, also named Jack (Dylan Llewellyn). In this series, Jack has lost his father, Laurie (Ian Burfield) and has been a support for his mother, Peggy (Camille Coduri) but the time has come for him to embark on a journalism degree at Brent University and it's there where he finds himself not only coming to terms with his own sexuality but also meeting a set of friends that change him for the better.
The people in question including the rather laddish Danny (Jon Pointing), feminist Corinne (Izuka Hoyle) as well as LGBT activist, Yemi (Olisa Odele). While Jack has a great bond with both Corinne and Yemi throughout the series, it's his friendship with Danny that's essentially the lynchpin of the entire series. It's a beautifully handed friendship from start to finish with the show's unabashed depiction of Danny's mental health and less idyllic family background, along with failing grades. Both Jack and Danny bring out the absolute best in one another with Llewellyn and Pointing playing off each other brilliantly.
Of course with this series also focusing on Jack's embracing the fact that he's a gay man, there's some brilliant scenes as he navigated into the gay world around him. Yemi served as a mentor along with Danny as a wingman of sorts but it's Jack's discovery of himself that led to some truly priceless moments. These included accidentally swallowing poppers, getting ashes on a hook up as well as fantasising about his hunky tutor Tim (Robert Gilbert) in his briefs to name a few.
As for the family side, there's the new family that Jack made with his new friends and there's also the one he's grown up with. Camille Coduri won over so many people as Jackie Tyler during her time on Doctor Who and she's wonderful to watch here as Peggy. The bond between her and Jack was lovely to watch as well as the way she not only accepted his sexuality but her kindness towards Danny. She's such a lovable character to watch.
Speaking of relatives, while we also met Jack's cousin, Sharon (Harriet Webb) and Nanny Bingo (Annette Badland), there was also time spent in showing audiences Danny's relationship with his grandmother, Iris (Sheila Reid). Danny's closeness to his grandmother and his despair as she no longer was able to look after herself was another poignant moment in this series and while we didn't really learn too much about Yemi, we got some context on Corinne's past with her brother, which also informed her relationship with Danny as well.
- Series creator, Jack Rooke also narrated the series.
- The episode titles for this show were Hello You, I Wanna Take You To A Gay Bar, Merry Sexmas, Dad I Did Drugs, What A Bummer and The Letter.
- Did Tim know that Jack fancied him? He did give the impression that he did in some scenes. The character was a bit of a jerk but I did like that he tried to get Danny to appeal to remain in the university after the latter failed first year.
- Katy Wix was also rather fun to watch as campus guide, Jules, though comparing herself to Obama was a bit of a no no.
- Channel 4 did burn this series off in three double bills in a Thursday 10pm slot. They should push this series like they did with Derry Girls if it gets a second series.
- Chronology: The series took place between 2011 to 2014.
Big Boys turned out to be an absolute belter of a series. Genuinely funny, genuinely touching, smartly written and laced with brilliant references, this show was immensely enjoyable from start to finish. Dylan Llewellyn and Jon Pointing are fantastic to watch as Jack and Danny. I feel some might have slept on the show due to it's later timeslot, but I really do hope Channel 4 gives it a second series. If you haven't seen it, go watch it now.
Rating: 9 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment