chrislawuk Shane Meadows captures the epoch of the 80s Britain like no other director. I have never seen the 80s captured in such detail; its not just the characters and political references, but the very small details like curtains, blankets etc. Check the shots of the flat blocks, brings a chill to my spine as its so nostalgic. There is a lot of production value in the sets as well as iexcellent actors performances. He has moved British cinema forward in the vein of Mike Leigh, Ken Loach and Irvine Welsh etc. America has indie cinema and Britain has the melodrama I guess; two very different styles but both focusing on family and social relations predominantly. The This is England series deals with two of the most difficult themes you could possibly imagine but does it brilliantly. I think what marks his work above other directors is the sheer brutal force he approaches the subject matter, and the emotional attachment he develops between the audience and his characters simultaneously. This is a monumental achievement and cant remember another show which moved me to the extent this one did, which had led me to write my first review here on IMDb

Jackson Booth-Millard The film was brilliant, and I was praying that the television follow up would be as good, and thank goodness it was, from writer and creator Shane Meadows (Once Upon a Time in the Midlands, Dead Man's Shoes). Basically the story continues where the film left off, three years later, most of the friends still see each other, and are obviously brought together by the big events that take place throughout the series. Teenager Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) getting slightly bullied, missing exams and catching his mother Cynthia "Cynth" (Jo Hartley) having sex with his new employer Mr. Sandhu (Kriss Dosanjh). Lol (BAFTA winning Vicky McClure) has a relationship with boyfriend Woody (Joseph Gilgun), they fail to get married, move into a grotty house together, her abusive father Mick (BAFTA nominated Johnny Harris) returns, and she starts an affair with Milky (Andrew Shim). Gadget (Andrew Ellis) has feelings for Lol's sister Kelly (Chanel Cresswell), but seeing her kissing someone else he starts a fling with older single mother Trudy (Hannah Walters), and in the process changes his appearance and personality. The once violent supposedly changed Combo (Stephen Graham) returns because his mother is dying, Trev (Danielle Watson) is violently raped by Mick, and he is killed by Lol with a hammer to the head when he attempts to do the same to her. At the end of the series all characters reunited for the 1986 World Cup England v Argentina match, that saw the infamous "Hand of God" moment, Shaun has sex with older goth girlfriend Smell (Rosamund Hanson) in the toilets, Combo takes the blame for Mick's murder, and Lol keeps quiet to her sister Kelly. Also starring Perry Benson as Meggy, George Newton as Banjo, Michael Socha as Harvey, Perry Fitzpatrick as Flip and Coronation Street's Georgia May Foote as Gemma. The talented cast are all fantastic, the returning actors and the one or two editions, Turgoose, Hanson, McClure and Harris standing out best, the subject matters and situations are still as realistic and thought provoking for the time setting as the film was, it is a brilliant British television drama. It won the BAFTA for Best Make Up & Hair Design, and it was nominated for Best Costume Design, Best Director for Meadows and Best Editing. Very good!

nicky smith This is one of the best UK TV dramas in years. Shane Meadows and his team have really went all out. With each episode getting more and more grittier and complex for the characters than the last. Some of the sequences were not only atmospheric but deeply observed and put you right into the time and era of England, but also the characters dilemmas. I want to see more of this quality on our TV's but it would be too much to expect such a quality show every week. I respect that this kind of quality takes months and in many cases years to put together. I love Shane Meadows and I think that he deserves a huge break now. He has surpassed himself with this show. Brilliant.

BrotherMouzone I was lucky enough to attend the preview screening of This is Enlgand '86 last Thursday at the Showroom in Sheffield. The cinema was decorated to look like an 80's wedding with a buffet of sausage rolls, prawn vol au vonts, cheese and pineapple chunks on cocktail sticks, and there was also a live ska band and actors dressed in 80's clothing to help create a real 1986 atmosphere.The preview was attended by director Shane Meadows and all of the cast, who came up on stage before the screening to introduce the first episode. The producer mentioned that Shane Meadows had been frantically working in London every day to try to get the last 2 episodes finished in time to be aired on Channel 4.Only the first episode was shown at the screening along with a trailer for the rest of the series but I have to say that, based on what I saw, I don't think fans of the film will be at all disappointed by the series. The themes of racism, the Falklands War and Thacherite Britain take a bit more of a backseat here and the focus is now on the lives of the characters and the various personal problems they face growing up in 1986. The opening to the first episode is fantastic and the director manages to bridge the gap between the events of the film and the series in a very creative way that fans will love.The 1986 setting looks extremely authentic and the series is complimented by a fantastic soundtrack.The cast put in excellent performances once again, in particular Thomas Turgoose who returns as Shaun and Vicky MccLure who is again brilliant as Lol. Also look out for hilarious comedic turns from Hannah Walters (a.k.a Mrs Stephen Graham) who played the shoe saleswoman in the film, and newcomer Perry Fitzpatrick as psychotic bully Flip. I don't think I'm giving anything away here (as he is featured in all of the trailers) but we also see the return of the fantastic Stephen Graham as Combo.Although this first episode is more light hearted in tone than the film with some more obvious comedic set pieces, the director is able to expertly switch to the more dramatic scenes and engage viewers in the various predicaments of his characters. There are several very emotional scenes which work very well and the familiar sounds of the Einaudi piano score punctuate these scenes to great effect. For me one of the things that made the dramatic scenes in the original film so engaging was Shane Meadows' use of music to heighten the emotional impact and I found that he did this very effectively again here.The trailer for the other 3 episodes promises more hilarious scenes as well as some much darker subplots, and the series as a whole looks set to provide all of the same elements that made the original so appealing. As a fan of the film it felt a little like visiting a gang of old mates who I hadn't seen in a while, and I can't wait to see the rest of the series when it airs to find out what becomes of these great characters.