Tutti Frutti

John Byrne wrote a Scottish version of a Greek tragedy, structured very much like a play. The main characters are a group of ageing local rockstars who epitomise the US rock and roll explosion of the 1960s that ingrained itself working class British lives.

One of the central figures is Vincent Diver, a destructive, hedonistic rocker exploiting the lifestyle for the pleasures it brings. He has a tragic arc that goes from one disaster to the next. He is written and portrayed in a number of scenes that are pretty dark, but with a humorous edge due to Byrne's witty dialogue and Maurice Roëves committed performance.

Danny McGlone is the new band member, returning from a failed art career in America for his brother's funeral. He meets up with former college acquaintance Suzi Kettles and the two have a compelling romantic arc. Robbie Coltrane and Emma Thompson embody the characters and have epic screen chemistry.

Another strong double act is Richard Wilson and Katy Murphy, who are consistently funny as Eddie and Miss Toner, with great banter in numerous situations.

Other band members and supporting characters contribute well, such as Bomba, Fud and the two ladies in Vincent's life. Another noteworthy role for me is the play's chorus which comes in the form of roadie Dennis.

There are plenty of interesting themes on show such as the toxic masculinity of the Scottish hard case stereotype present in several characters. This goes hand in hand with the progressive attitude towards gender roles, as the treatment and objectification of "dolls" and "burds" is generally lampooned and contrasted well by some quite strong female characters.

The impact of American culture is shown by characters who identify far more with US pop music, movie stars and bohemian New York lifestyle than the drab everyday existence of working class Glasgow.

My favourite episode is the 4th "Don't You Rock Me Daddy-O", which flows beautifully towards a dark, but hilarious conclusion. Closely followed by the 5th "Love Hurts", that has some of the show's toughest moments.

It is not perfect, as I think there is a pretty slow build up in the first three episodes to the main events. Byrne was obviously given the freedom to write it his own way, so we have lots of long scenes of dialogue with characters he clearly loves. These are all well written scenes, but some feel slightly overlong if you are not fascinated by the characters and entertained by everything they say. All scenes involving McGlone and Kettles are top drawer though for me.

The production values have aged, but if you consider what was norm for the BBC in 1987, they cinematography and editing is pretty strong. I love the art direction for most scenes, particularly how certain environments are designed to reflect the characters.

For me it is 8.5/10, but I round upwards.

(I have also reviewed each episode individually on this site)

Been looking for this for ages and finally managed to track it down. Why do the BBC think it's fine to repeat the same old crap over & over again, but sit on gems like this which never make it to UK Gold or Dave? I originally thought they must have deleted it or something, but looking on Google it seems the original cast aren't keen on a re-run for some reason. Look on ebay, there's a guy selling the whole 6 episodes on DVD, can't wait to receive mine, hope it's not a poorly recorded pirate copy. Even if it is it will still be worth the £7.50 just to relive some classic Scottish comedy, the genius stuff the BBC used to be good at knocking out.

Been a while (35years I think), and back on the BBC as a tribute to Robbie Coltrane, but it's not lost any of it charm. Every single actor from the main characters down to bit parts buying clothes in the managers shop plays a blinder. They really don't make them like this any more. It's a slow burning, takes it time kind of drama. It has shots that mean nothing to the narrative but look good and raise a smile. I think I only saw it once but I seem to remember loads of lines. In a way I like the fact that John Byrne hardly wrote anything else and it has hardly ever been seen by anyone I know. It made me fall in love with Emma Thompson and Robbie Coltrane, after this they could do no wrong. There's even a cool bit in the Glasgow School of Art.

A classic.

An extremely accurate depiction of a bunch of (almost) "over the hill" Scottish rockers - on their farewell tour. A veritable galaxy of stars, MOST of whom have since become household names. Can it be one (or more) of those big names holding back an agreement for this classic movie/series to be released on video/DVD?

Anyone out there with a copy of this on video/dvd? I'd pay well to get a hold of this - purely in the interests of research, you understand.

Hoping

O T Hill

I was too young to catch this when it came out back in 1987, and as it was only repeated once shortly after then confined to the archives it remained a bit of a mystery. However there had to be something about the show as it seemed to be spoken about in terms of 'masterpiece'

Therefore I was glad to finally get hold of a copy on DVD over 20 years on, and now I know what people were talking about, it's a perfect 6 hours of deathly dark but usually hilarious comedy.

The casting is spot on at all levels, a real ensemble of the some of the best Scottish talent that at most levels are still highly familiar today. I love the use of ___location, whether in Glasgow the main setting or one of the less than glamorous towns on the road, namely Buckie, Methil and Ardrossan. It's almost as if they chose the locations after listening to 'Letter from America' by the Proclaimers.

I'm sure I'm not the only one when watching this to get the most enjoyment from the Clockerty/Toner relationship. Is there something gong on here, or is it merely penny pinching on Clockerty's behalf that Eddie and Janice share twin rooms and cabins on Sleeper Trains. Either way it's a blast.

All in all I'm very thank full that they finally got this out on DVD, keeping it locked away for so long is a crime on a par with wiping all those great sitcoms back in the 1960s.