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madali
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« on: July 06, 2011, 01:40:PM » |
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Shameless [Season 01-08] (Channel 4, 2004-2011)
Frank Gallagher is an alcoholic. He has six children and a wife that run away, leaving him to run the household, which he very clearly refuses to do. He is unemployed, and spends his time, drunk in a bar, or passed out in the streets. The children raise themselves, with the oldest being a young woman in her early 20s, effectively taking charge of the household.
Aside from the Gallagher family, there are neighbors and friends, in this lower-class Manchester neighborhood. The TV show name "Shameless" is very apt, as the characters ARE shameless. These are not perfect, courageous low-income people. They all have flaws as big as a pussy of a sixty year old prostitute. They lie, rob, cheat, and Frank himself, takes the cake in being shameless, a sorry excuse for a father, not only does he not really take care of his kids, but he takes their money, and even in a story arc, sleeps with his teenage son's teenage girlfriend!
But strangely, I still like them. Frank is an absolute blast. He has so little redeeming value as a human being that he somehow transcends into an admirable figure, way above the fake bullshit morality society imposes on all of us. Frank is in it only for Frank, and if his life is shit, at least, he's too drunk to realize it.
For good or bad, British studios do not seem to have strong contracts with its actors, because actors keep leaving the show. By the 8th season, the only characters left from the first season is Frank himself, one of Frank's kids, and another minor character. The rest have gone to be replaced by new characters. This does sometimes keep it fresh, but it also forces writers to constantly find a way out for the characters, in usually not very convincing manners. To make it even worse, sometimes new characters are not as good as the previous ones, and by Season 8, the show is a sad imitation of the initial episodes.
4/5
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