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When This Life entered our lives...
Anna and Miles spoke to
a nation, while we were charmed by a cheeky animated character
by the name of Bart. Josephine Monroe scans Screen's hit
list of TV programmes that defined the decade
Observer
Sunday December 12, 1999
1 This Life
A cast of unknowns, green writers and some seriously
shaky camera work - it wasn't immediately apparent that This
Life would become the show of the decade. A dynamic and idiosyncratic
drama about a group of sexually active lawyers in London
SE1, this had dialogue that rang true, behaviour we recognised
and seductive storylines. It broke moulds - in terms of narrative
and photography - and enthralled at the same time.
Part of This Life' s charm
was that we were not commanded to watch it by endless
trailers, but encouraged by friends. Unlike its rivals
for the best ensemble drama - Our Friends in the North
and Holding On - it wasn't consciously trying to be epic.
But by capturing a spirit of dissatisfaction, This Life
was a focal point for a generation and represented the
audience's urban lives without apology. This Life also
had Anna(Daniela Nardini). With pockets of self-doubt
sewn into the seams of her armour of one-liners, fags,
alcohol and legs, she was a female icon born out of the
legacy of Jane Tennison and was TV's first ladette.
2 Modern Times
The Death Of Yugoslavia was a remarkable documentary
- in story, structure and understanding; and Painted Babies,
about toddlers' beauty pageants in the US, was unforgettable.
But, as a strand, Modern Times offered both greatness and
wonderful film. Throughout the decade it built a style that
was unmistakably individual - arch, contemporary and lush.
It gave us some of the most visually enriched films, from
Lucy Blakstad's The Lido (about Brixton Lido) to Lynn Alleway's
Quality Time ( nannies). Not to mention an anatomy of a Jewish
wedding.
3 The Sopranos
The finest US drama series ever made. It pandered to
no one and didn't promise anything it couldn't deliver in
spades. On the face of it, David Chase's contemporary drama
was about the New Jersey mafia but we all knew that it was
about modern urban society in terminal decay. The two families
of Tony Soprano (played with subtlety and brutality by James
Gandolfini) told us what was wrong with our ambitions for
ourselves without nostalgia for a time that never existed.
Funny, dark and complex, it left us open-mouthed by its daring
and originality.
4 Murder One
After Hill Street Blues, LA Law and NYPD Blue , producer
Stephen Bochco's brand of polished class was becoming predictable...
until this. For 23 episodes we followed the murder trial
of actor Neil Avedon, the distractions of office romances,
crumbling marriages and the uneasy alliance between the law
and the media - and right after O.J., too.
5 The Royle Family
Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash's sitcom stands out for
its acidic accuracy and radical lack of 'sit'. The Royles
- who do bugger all but scratch their arses and watch telly
- were a family we recognised and despised for their stretch
pants, chain-smoking and selfishness, but most of us would
have swapped our own families for a night on their sofa.
6 Brass Eye
Those who saw Noel Edmonds telling kids to 'say no to
cake' will never forget it. Chris Morris's Brass Eye was
biting satire at its best. A mix of set-ups (Carla Lane getting
very upset about an elephant with its own trunk stuck up
its arse) and scripted inserts, this was astonishingly bold
TV.
7 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
This sleek, powerful machine lived up to the hype and
we watched even though we didn't want to, even though dinner
was ready and the cab was waiting. The first British TV show
in a generation to become 'event television' on a par with
royal weddings.
8 The Simpsons
This has taken a long time to infiltrate the British
psyche. But now people are just as likely to say 'Doh!' when
they hit their thumb with a hammer as 'bugger' because whenever
we watched, we wanted more: more of its inventiveness, subversion
and blistering observation. The Simpsons, like The Sopranos,
tells us more about modern family life than any documentary.
9 Absolutely Fabulous
Forget the last series, and cast your mind back to Jane
Horrock's Bubble and the 'important paper' episode or remind
yourself of the time when Joanne Lumley's Patsy fell over
in France. This was a show that everyone watched and enjoyed.
Until the third series, of course.
10 Cracker
Jimmy McGovern's Cracker took the crime genre from whodunit
to whydoit. Supremely intelligent writing, gifted acting
from Geraldine Somerville, Christopher Eccleston and Ricky
Tomlinson - not to mention Robbie Coltrane - this delivered
intelligent entertainment to a massive audience.
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