Any musical asks you to suspend disbelief to some degree. Blackpool stretches this to the breaking point with some of the musical numbers. Most musicals at least put a sad song in sad places and a peppy song in action sequences. Not so with Blackpool. Usually the lyrics fit the story line very well but the music and choreography do not at all fit the mood. For example when about a dozen police officers come in to arrest a young man, two lift him up on their shoulders while the rest jump and dance in a circle a circle around him singing "A Boy with a Thorn in His Side." The only exception is the duet between David Tennant and Sarah Parish, which is beautifully done and definitely a highlight of the show.That being said, the songs are quite enjoyable. The choreography is well done and the actors' voices blend reasonably well with the artist recording. Despite the breaks in mood from the songs, the show is remarkably well acted. David Morrissey and David Tennant give masterful performances and the supporting cast all have their shining moments.The story itself is very well done. The murder mystery is intriguing but the most compelling part is the development of the characters. You will not find any shining heroes in this story, for nearly every character is shown to have significant faults in their integrity. However, nearly every character also has redeeming qualities that make them impossible to hate.Overall this is a great show that is well worth watching.

I just bought the DVD of this series, as I have recently become a huge fan of David Tennant. I was planning to watch it in 6 installments, but by the end of the first episode, I was intrigued by the story and ended up watching it all in one session. The writing is excellent, with fine performances, and the use of popular songs as part of the narrative works well. David Morrissey plays the central character of Ripley Holden, who is essentially quite hard to like because of his attitudes and practices, but he manages to create sympathy for him by the end. David Tennant shows his fine acting skills (and his lovely Scottish accent), and is particularly winning in his scenes with Julie Parish. All in all, a very fine production.

I was pleasantly surprised by this TV show, after purchasing the DVD we could not stop watching the complete series. From the first minute with the family singing viva las Vegas, we were in there and away.Brilliant acting from all especially the great David Morrissey,David Tennant and Sarah Parish What a wonderful near on 6 hours of laughter and suspense we had.My question is can any one name any other shows similar to Blackpool?I have just purchased Sex Chips and Rock and Roll along with Funland, are we in the right direction and any others?The Singing Detective with Michael Gambon was in a similar genre.Thanks for your help from Australia

I have to say when I first heard about "Viva Blackpool" I was very curious to see it. I missed the first episode and was upset but thank goodness BBC America showed a repeat of it a few days later the night before episode 2 so I taped both and watched the first two episodes back to back.I'll admit that when I first started watching it I was thinking "Ok maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all." But somewhere between that thought and the first 20 minutes of the show I got drawn in and found I couldn't wait to get to the second episode on the tape.It's slow moving at the start but once it kicks in it grabs hold of you and won't let go. I couldn't wait for the next week's episode and once it came I was never disappointed.Each episode ends with a brilliant cliffhanger done with a brilliantly done stage and well chosen song that fits the situation and mood. "These Boots Are Made for Walking", "Knock, Knock Who's there" just to name a few. Also the way all the songs through out the show are all staged you see how the lyrics really fits each and every character with what's not only going on with them, but all the small sub plots of the show as well. All perform them with great emotion and bring the lyrics to life and you can feel their pain, anger, joy , fright and love.The ending of the story is very well done I think and brought a few feeling good type of tears to my eyes as I sat and watched the show ended set to Burt Bacharach's beautifully done "Alway's something there to remind me." I've kept each episode on tape till it comes out on DVD here in the states. Which I hope will be very soon.