Kevin Bacon Has Nothing On Britain

I'll be honest: I love me some British procedural dramas (cf previous post). They're so gritty and the people are so unattractive and they're always so fucked up. Love! That's part of the reason I fell in love with Viva Blackpool (it was a real effort for me not to stay up all last night and watch them ALL): at the heart of all the musical ridiculousness* is your classic British procedural drama (Bpd).

My most recent Bpd obsession was Cracker. It was excellent, right up until the second season when the only compelling female character was horribly and bizarrely raped, which totally derailed the rest of the series. That was less than awesome. It was particularly unsettling because the actress who plays Penhaligon (rape victim) also play's Harry's mom in the Harry Potter movies. Yeah: disturbing.

Bpds are practically breeding grounds for the Harry Potter movies, possibly because at any given time there are only forty-three British actors authorized to have speaking parts in film and television. From Cracker: rape victim (Harry's mother) and Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid). From Viva Blackpool: religious casino protester (Filch) and character whose purpose is yet to be identified (Arthur Weasley). It's a little disturbing to have characters from an easily-recognized kids movie thrown into your gritty Bpd. Branch out, people! Honestly.

Note to sci-fi geeks: in classic we-only-have-forty-three-speaking-actors fashion, the lead detective in Viva Blackpool is, of course, the latest Dr. Who. YEAH, I KNOW.


* Footnote! I love how it's not so much a musical as a sing-a-long. With choreography. I don't know what you call it, actually, other than "awesome."