For anyone unfamiliar with Urban Gothic, it was a half-hour British horror series that was originally shown in the UK on Channel Five. The first series of thirteen episodes was screened in 2000, while the second series consisted of nine episodes and was broadcast in 2001 (the combined total of 22 episodes - the length of a standard American season - would indicate that the producers hoped to sell the show overseas). Intended for post-watershed viewing, it contained a frequent amount of blood and gore, plus a fair smattering of sex and nudity.At first glance, Urban Gothic was an anthology series of self-contained stories, the only link between the various episodes being that they were all set in modern-day London (the show's very first episode 'Dead Meat' will be of particular interest to Hex fans - not only does it feature Jemima Rooper, but the plot centres on a ritual to raise the dead, written by John Dee).However, the last episode of the first series revealed that all the stories took place in the same shared continuity, and in the second series an ongoing storyline gradually emerged, involving a covert branch of British Intelligence called C-TEC which investigates unusual events; a centuries-old secret society known as The Institute; and 'The Heart' - an ancient and powerful supernatural entity that serves as the lifeforce of the city of London, and feeds on the pain, fear and misery of the inhabitants. Several characters - some of which had debuted in the first series - also began to make recurring appearances, including Jude Redfield, a failed journalist who had been chosen by The Heart to become The Storyteller - the chronicler of the city's secret history; Josef Severin, the leader of the Institute; inexperienced C-TEC agent Sean Bendix; Jude's snide zombie sidekick Milton; lesbian police detective Rachel Winter; teenage border-line sociopath Kali Cunningham; autistic savant Loki Brown, who had memorised the scientific formula of Creation; and Jude's missing girlfriend Cora - transformed into the conduit for The Heart.Urban Gothic was made on a low budget and shot on video, and on occasion the ideas and themes contained in the scripts are beyond the reach of the show's meagre finances to be visualized successfully. Also, once you take away the commercials each episode is just over twenty minutes in length, and many of the stories feel rushed as a result, with several clearly needing a longer running time to do themselves justice.Like most anthology series, Urban Gothic is hit and miss, with some episodes working better than others. But it scores a complete or partial bullseye more often than not. Sadly, the ongoing storyline involving The Heart ends with an unresolved cliffhanger in the final episode, but the entire series is still worth watching.

I really like Urban Gothic in a number of ways.It's wildly uneven and you never know what you're going to get. Half the episodes are boring, predictable or just plain funny (see the episode called 'pineapple chunks' and you'll understand.) The other half are brilliant, unusual and original.It's violent and doesn't pretend it has a moral reason to be that way. The fact is that gut wrenching violence can sometimes shock and horrify. We're not talking 'video nasty' proportions here, but you'll wince at some of the scenes. Because of this capacity for violence and its cheapness, you're always on the edge, wondering if something horrible is about to happen. This is no sanitised hollywood production and it's all the better for it. It feels grubby - the title sequence really demonstrates what the show is about.This is really cheap on DVD - I managed to get series one for about 9 quid. I'm off to order series 2!

if you have never heard of urban gothic then i cant really blame you, channel 5 isn't exactly associated with high quality entertainment, or a good picture quality for that matter. its one of those little gems that you happen to catch one late drunken night while flicking through the channels. it has some top rate performances from little known/haven't had a job in a while actors and the scrpits contain some of the darkest humour around (the frog in the blender scene comes to mind)urban gothic has filled the gap that there seems to be in true horror TV (im not counting buffy etc as true horror) it is pure student television and some of the episodes are true genius. one of its main strengths though, is that each time you see it it gets better and develops new and even more twisted hidden meanings and social comments. if only it had the money of a primetime bbc show it could have been one of the best television shows around. however maybe the reason it is so special is because it is so hidden and unrestrained by ratings and strict corporate bosses. long live urban gothic, spread the word and lets all hope that it gets a third series.

Most of the Urban Gothic episodes have been great. They really do make a nice change for horror fans as it is the only horror series I can think of that caters for their needs. So what I would like to know is why is it that I am the only one that thinks so? The series is given hardly any recognition. This surprises me greatly as many well known British faces have appeared in both series, such as Ray Burdis, Leslie Grantham, Lindsey Coulson, Richard O'Brien and Sean Maguire. The first series contains 13 half hour episodes. The first is 'Dead Meat' which shows the story of for friends bringing a corpse back to life. The second is 'Vampirology' which is a mock documentary in the life of a vampire (and in my opinion the best episode of the series, brilliant acting!) The third is 'Old Nick' which is the story of a murderous boy who thinks he's discovered the devil. The fourth is 'Lacuna' (another excellent episode) which is about two friends trying to steal drugs from a mental institute but are caught and believed to be patients. The fifth is 'Deptford Voodoo' which is basically about voodoo (and is probably the worst episode in the series). The sixth is 'Sum of The Parts' which is a story about 'evil' organs being transplanted into patients (another of the worse ones). The seventh is 'The One Where...' which is about a group of friends that have their desires fulfilled. The eighth is 'Cry Wolf' which is about a woman who falls in love with a 'werewolf'. The ninth is 'Be Movie' which is the story of a group of students who find themselves trapped in a horror movie, which has only one survivor. The tenth is 'Boys Club' which shows the story of Lenny Scratch, a man with such a desire to be accepted as a hard guy he finds himself sacrificing his father. The eleventh is 'Pineapple Chunks' which is the story of pineapple-fuelled aliens, amazingly naff, but quite funny. The twelfth is 'Turn On' which is about a robot who thinks that she's a woman. The last episode is 'Thirteen' which is about a journalist who is searching for a story, and finds his ultimate tale. Urban Gothic is definitely worth watching!