Shameless (UK)

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Inner Smile

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For me the first two series of Shameless were honestly BRILLIANT but then by series 3 it started to go off the boil but still good. I lost interest when the Maguire's became the main focus of the show and it gradually got dafter

I remember this show came out just after Brookside ended and it was such a hit in the early days. I've never seen the US version so can't comment on that
 
I tend to agree, the first 2 seasons were great but even they haven't aged well. I switched off when Frank got together with Mrs Doyle & her awful mum was introduced as an insufferable character. I rewatched it all in lockdown & the last 2 seasons were really, seriously bad. It's a prime example of a show that worked well at the time but in hindsight it wasn't all that.

All this being said, I'll give it huge credit for all of the hot male cast giving us at least one gratuitous nude scene each :horny:
 
I was a massive, massive fan of Shameless, mainly due to it being basically how I grew up, in my late teens I used to drink in a pub just like The Jockey. I had to stop watching when Carl wanted to be a copper though, that's when it jumped the shark for me. Mr F and I still call the colour fuchsia "fusschia".

Many years ago our dear Turnerprize did work experience as a runner on the set for a week, he got a signed Mickey photo for me and sent me a beermat from The Jockey. I still have them. He asked me not to tell anybody at the time and I never did but I think it's OK to tell now.
 
I loved the early series as well. There was something about those first couple of seasons that felt properly chaotic but still believable, like the writers actually knew people like that rather than just writing stereotypes. Frank was obviously ridiculous even then, but the family dynamics and humour still felt grounded underneath all the madness. Once more and more original characters disappeared it started leaning too heavily into trying to top itself with increasingly daft storylines. Still had the occasional brilliant moment though. Kev and Veronica especially stayed entertaining long after the show lost its way a bit. It’s one of those programmes that really captured a certain time in British TV where channels were willing to make things rough around the edges instead of polishing everything up.
 
It was great, but it was initially on at time when I was out a lot, so I only saw it occasionally. Then I didn’t see it for years and I think i tuned in for some or other late period anniversary edition or something and it was total shit - so goodness knows what happened to the writing.
 
I watched it until the end but it suffered from losing so many key cast members. A lot of the secondary ones that were then brought forward were not good enough and characters seemed to come and go all over the place. It wasn't a good idea when they increased the episode count for each series and it just got sillier.

It was never as good or dragged out as long as Shameless, but Brassic had a similar issue over time.
 
After replying in this thread I decided to give it another watch, but in the background while I was playing Candy Crush. Ended up watching more than playing the game so I'm going to watch it all again (until it goes silly) and I'm really enjoying it.
 
Onto series 4 now and it has definitely changed by this point! It's became more and more about the ridiculous Maguire family and I am starting to get bored. They are just far too bloody rough!

Jamie has just been introduced (Ben from Corrie)
 
I've only seen the first few seasons of the US version but for whatever reason Youtube has been recommending me clips from the UK version the past week and let me tell you the actor who plays Mickey.:horny::horny::horny:
 
Would love to be in a Kev and Mickey sandwich!

Loved Veronica, and I was in the closet at the time and the early Ian storyline was huge for me
 
Shameless 2.jpeg
Here's the stuff that Turnerprize sent me in November 2009.

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shameless 1.jpeg
 
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Semi related and semi interesting - I've just been watching this clip with Emmy Rossum from the US version talking about her fight to get equal pay:



Sorry if US Shameless is frowned upon by UK Shameless fans.
 
Finn said:
Semi related and semi interesting - I've just been watching this clip with Emmy Rossum from the US version talking about her fight to get equal pay:



Sorry if US Shameless is frowned upon by UK Shameless fans.
Click to expand...

This is the same podcast Emma Kenney (US Debbie) went on a few years back and revealed how Emmy Rossum was a pain in the ass to work with and cast and crew alike were bullied by her. The rest of the cast's silence and the fact Fiona left the show late into its run has seemingly held up the claims, so the fandom were eyeing up her appearance on this podcast quite keenly. I'm not sure if she's addressed the claims herself at all though.
 
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