"The Book Group" (2002) TV series 2002-2003

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

11 February 2003 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

American Clare Pettengill, newly arrived in Glasgow, starts up a book group in order to make some new friends...

Plot Keywords:

Books | Gay Interest | Love | Scotland | Loneliness

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Anne Dudek	...	Clare Pettengill (12 episodes, 2002-2003)
Bonnie Engstrom	...	Dirka (12 episodes, 2002-2003)
Michelle Gomez	...	Janice McCann (12 episodes, 2002-2003)
James Lance	...	Lachlan Glendenning / ... (12 episodes, 2002-2003)
Rory McCann	...	Kenny McLeod (12 episodes, 2002-2003)
Saskia Mulder	...	Fist de Grooke (12 episodes, 2002-2003)
Derek Riddell	...	Rab (12 episodes, 2002-2003)
Des Hamilton	...	Jackie McCann (8 episodes, 2002-2003)
Gotti Sigurdarson	...	Lars (7 episodes, 2002-2003)
Henry Ian Cusick	...	Miles Longmuir (6 episodes, 2003)
Jack McElhone	...	Wee Jackie (6 episodes, 2002-2003)
Karen Kilgariff	...	Jean Pettengill (5 episodes, 2003)
Lars Oostveen	...	Bart van Dongen (5 episodes, 2002-2003)

Runtime:

24 min (12 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

New Zealand:R13 (season 1) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland, UK

Company:

Pirate Productions

Quotes:

Clare Pettengill: No, it's not a dirty book. It's just French.

Not as funny as it was sold as being – but much more rewarding in other ways

A lonely American girl living in Scotland advertises a book group in a local shop window to help her meet people. For the first meeting she has a strange mix of people arrive for the discussion. Kenny is a leisure center attendant in a wheelchair, Barney is a pompous English dope fiend, Fist and Dirka are Swedish football wives, Rab is a working class football fan and Janice is a football wife struggling to be seen as smart and as confident as everyone else. As the group gets to know each other better the characters come out more and the books provide only an excuse for the collage of feelings and experiences that are really exposed within the group.

This started it's run in the slot of the brilliant Black Books. Channel 4 were keen to keep the laughing Friday night audience it had captured with Black Books and Fraiser and hence launched The book Group as a comedy similar to that other Book title. However the two have little in common except the word book. The Book Group was initially a disappointment – I spent the first ten minutes trying to laugh too hard, feeling I had to try because it was supposed to be wacky and hilarious. Once I got past this I found it was more comedy based on characters rather than surreal humour.

This has actually made it more rewarding and the comedy is better because it is more liberally scattered rather than the scattergun approach of Black Books. But the real money here is the characters and their stories. We find out more and more about them each week and get more and more involved in their stories. I've just finished watching the first (but hopefully not only) series, but I won't talk too much about the stories as it may spoil it. But the characters get more detailed each week – some in surprising ways! It's a little stretched at times, but most of it works. Yes – the series may drift away from the actual reading of books for some episodes but then the actually discussing of books was never the focus of the programme anyway.

All the cast are great – Dudek (also popping up in ER) is great as Clare – the first episode is an example of how she can play cool on the surface but let things bubble just beneath – and then explode in an emotional overflow. McCann is great as Kenny – able to display his frustartions and hurt (?) at his situation – but more so at the different ways he is treated, as a sex object by some and a object of pity by others. James Lance is great as the least likeable of the characters while Mulder and Engstrom are great as the football wives. Riddell is brave as Rab. Gomez is mixed as Janice – it's hard to tell. At first I thought she was poor because I thought she did a poor show of being confident – then I realised that was the point, then her breakdowns etc and her efforts to show everyone how smart she is come off really well.

Overall it has it's weaknesses – but it has developed over the 6 shows and would be a welcome return for series 2.