duckgirlie I really like this the first time, and have been staying up late to watch the midnight re-runs on Irish TV.I always liked this show, because of the (sometimes unbelievable) pretension of some of the characters, and the excellent acting throughout, particularly from Michelle Gomez, who I adore.And, aside from the stories, and the dialog, and the acting, what had me bouncing up and down in glee was that Dirka and Fist, when alone with their husbands, spoke their native languages. This pleased me no end, as I always find it slightly ridiculous when foreign characters speak English, even when alone.

Azeem Ali Khan I don't usually start my contributions like that, honest - but it's entirely merited. I've just watched the whole of the first series on DVD and been perhaps even more impressed coming back to it after a long gap. One of the things I love about the programme is that although the books they're reading aren't that important, the book group setting itself *is* crucial to the programme.There are several laugh-out-loud scenes in the first series, none of them revolving around standard gags or punchlines. One scene gets its laughs from repeated use of the "c" word, which is an extremely hard trick to pull off!The characters are beautifully drawn, starting with the pivotal figure of Claire, who is at once hugely irritating and sympathetic. All the actors are fine, though I particularly liked the louche and laconic Rab. The minor parts are well done too, for example Ben Miller as the writer, the guys who play Fist's and Dirka's husbands, and the vicar, whom we see in one episode.One other thing: it's really exquisitely filmed.I can certainly imagine myself getting more than one viewing out of this DVD (I am intrigued to know what the audio commentary will be like), and will certainly look to get the second series eventually, if nothing else for the interplay between Claire and her sister.

azaro666 The premise is so simple that it would seem likely to be a snowballing success.The fact that the first episode was such a well structured, delicately written and well acted piece, meant that it appeared there was every possibility it could be a well thought through character study over a six week, or however long, period.Perhaps I am missing something as I have not read all the books that have so far been discussed by the group, but in any case the first episode was the only one that even touched upon the book at any level.Since then the programme has descended into the characters outside of the group. More about how they react in other environments and the experience that the book group may have had on them. The episodes appear to have been cut very harshly. There are great wapping gaps, with no explanation.The stuff about Kenny and Claire and the kiss has been forgotten. Barney and Claire and their immediate chemistry. The female obsession of Kenny's hands.It has to be said that the acting is very accomplished and it is a pleasure to see new actors proving their worth. Perhaps at the end of the run all of the loose ends will be tied up and it will make sense as a whole?Even so though it needs to be judged on each episodes merits, and doing that is so hard as each episode is so vastly different in genre and style.It feels like it should have been a two part series, just like Men Only which is one of the best things Channel 4 has ever shown.

Stuart Ian Burns 'The Book Group' is one show which certainly didn't seem to offer anything. Channel 4 seem to have sat on it for at least a year (the IMDb entry has a production date from last year) and in pre-publicity it seemed to be trading upon the title of the preceeding series in the slot 'Black Books'. Which is a shame, because it's certainly that show's equal but in different ways.The premise is promisingly simple. American Clare (Anne Dudek) is living in Glasgow and in a bid to make new friends advertises a 'Book Group' in a local book shop. The show is about what happens at each monthly meeting and is told in 'real time' The twist is that that the people who arrive seem totally mis-matched for occasion and are obviously there for something other than the book - footballer's wives, a smart-arse student, a wheel-chair bound fitness instructor and the slightly shady Rob whose job has yet to be revealed. On reflection there are similarities with 'Dear John' - in that show there was similarly motley crew of sitcom characters.Here, there is a definite understanding of humanity. Strangely these people never appear to be cartoon character, a strength of writer/director Annie Griffin. True this feels like theatre at times, but this means there is a rhythm to the writing, for example the breaking up of scenes by one of the wives asking if people want tea or the subject of football coming up now and then. In some ways I'm reminded of the 'Friends' episode all set in Monica's apartment as they all get ready for speech Ross is giving. That had a nervousness about it, as though this team of writers don't know how to break up the action. In Griffin's work, this never happens, there is the surety you would expect from someone who had been writing for years.Clare is not an intensely likeable character, coming across as the sort of control freak who would give Heather of 'The Blair Witch Project' a run for her money. She had an obvious picture of how this thing was going to turn out and these aren't the people she was expecting to meet. She's sarcastic and neurotic (best line - 'Oh soccer? You can make money from that?'). But its to Dudek's credit that we don't completely hate her - that there is a spark of pluckiness we might root for. Of the rest of the actors, James Lance (as the student) does his usual smart-alec patter, but here it seems less forced. Rory McGann (fitness instructor) is also particularly good - we feel for him, but don't feel sorry for him.This is a show that will develop with time. By keeping back all of the important revelations about the characters we have something to return to. And I will.