As an avid viewer of Shameless since series one I have noticed a gradual deterioration of the quality over the last two series (my rating is for series 6 and 7). I have now reached the point where I can no longer bear to watch wondering what horror show they will put on display next.In this latest series we have already seen hard-man drug dealer Paddy doing ballroom dancing, Mimi joining the WI, Joe giving up his job to run a corner shop, Karen having mental problems and getting over them two minutes later and Ian rejecting his gay lifestyle to suddenly declare his love for his brother's ex-girlfriend. I could go on.Now the latest episode saw poor unloved Liam find solace with an 84 year old WWII veteran only for his friendship to be confused with something more sinister. I could run with the that but the scene of Liam wearing his sister's dress under his clothes (because he was 'missing her') was probably the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen in a TV drama. Did Debbie ever wear such a dress? It looked more like something a bad Margaret Thatcher impersonator would have worn in the 1980s.This ludicrous scenario was only created so that Libby could witness what she thought was a perverted act. I can only assume that the writers either think that all potential child molesters get children to dress up in such bizarre clothes or they were too lazy to do any proper research.? Or maybe they were worried in case we thought they knew too much. Either way they seem to be confusing transvestitism with child abuse.Once this scenario was revealed to the rest of Liam's family Carl immediately wanted to go round their with a baseball bat to bash the pensioner's brains out. This was Carl who last week was in hiding after being accused of beating someone to death with a baseball bat, which makes sense.It's almost as though the writers take the first pitiful ideas they think of and then get 14-year olds to write the scripts which are then used unedited. I seriously don't know how the actors can bear to appear in such badly written trash. You'd think they would be embarrassed. I bet a lot of them will be deleting Shameless from their CV's in the future. I know I am deleting it from my list of must see dramas.

It's rather difficult to give an account of all 5 seasons of this enjoyable series. 1 & 2 are quite excellent, fun, energetic and edgy TV drama with super characters and pregnant with precarious romance. 3 - 5 are more of the same but they don't seem to have the same runaway inventiveness and sparkle as the first two.I have to admit this is down to the quite remarkable chemistry between the principal inamoratas played by Rebecca Ryan and (long since A-list promotee) James McAvoy. It is no surprise to learn that the two actors got married. Their liaison is utterly magnetic but would have less of a swing without the wonderful supporting cast - I've always been a huge fan of the gobby Maxine Peake and the pioneer author of the series Paul Abbott can have had no better gravitational centre to his creation than David Threlfall's dysfunctional dad Frank. Highly recommended. To begin with. 7/10

Judging from the media hype and the comments on IMDb you would honestly be forgiven this programme came from television heaven.How very wrong these people are.Take one dimensional characters insert them in some sink estate and show us how they live their miserable existences with a script composed mainly of cheap and tired clichés.Thats basically what shameless is.The amount of profanity used in the show also shows how desperate the writers are does little to help the careers of the actors involved.The Gallagher and Maguire family are a lazy creation.They could be easily be based on any dysfunctional family.The reason why it has been prolonged by a series is genuinely beyond me.

Thank God for DVD's! - I only started paying attention to Shameless part way through the second season here in Australia. It aired on the alternative public access SBS TV channel in the time slot which was previously occupied by the USA version of "Queer As Folk" and by "Oz" (both hard core dramas).What got my attention was the unapologetic nature of all the story-telling, the superb acting and the slightly surreal camera work and treatments (a la the original UK Queer As Folk - which is still my favourite all-time TV series).The clincher for Shameless as being unique and valuable is that, right from the first episode, we see a gay son who's sexuality and personality is not only integral to his family's life, but he is also never portrayed as being any more dysfunctional than anyone else.I'm also relieved to see a family, even a fictional family, which has gone through many of the same experiences as my own (both good and bad). Familial love and solidarity go a very long way toward making life enjoyable.These shows are often hilarious and are of consistently high quality. Each episode is enthralling and satisfyingly self-contained. Shameless thoroughly deserved the BAFTA for Best Drama Series.I admit that the strong Manchester accents and colloquialisms make occasional dialogue difficult to comprehend, but it wasn't made for me (i.e. Australians) and I am damned glad that it hasn't been dumbed-down to appeal to an international audience.