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24 reviews in total

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11 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Top of the class but more Ballykissangel than This Life, 23 February 2002
Author: Jay (jayhoolihan@aol.com) from The Republic of Coatbridge

Teachers is your own playground years - every dilemma, cock-up and confusion is reflected in the life of the eponymous hero, thoughtless new to the game teacher simon (25 going on 15), who breezes through life wrapped in a cloud of his so-called problems (does his girlfreind have more sexual expereince than him? if doesn't shower will he get an extra 10 minutes in bed?? - lifes a bitch, eh? lol)

Folowing Simon during his first year in teaching, teachers has an easy warm charm carried off by dint of the keystone cops portrayal of simon and his colleagues who are, if possible, even more irresponsible than the kids they are supposed to be educating. Simon's half-baked attempts to graduate to adulthood and his antics at school and home keep the attention and the laughs coming. On a disturbing note though I must confess i found his policewoman girlfriend strangely attractive!

Teachers isn't battleship potemkin but it's elevated above the normal tv fare by good writing, good direction and a fine cast - it took me a few episodes to really tune in it to its wavelength but it's now a never miss.

Ps. a second series is in the post - take a tip and set the video

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11 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
a cult show for the 00's, 3 May 2001
Author: r_whiting from Newbury, England

The First time Andrew Lincoln came to British Screens, was in the cult TV show "This Life" in which he played a quirky, neurotic and often confused lawyer. The reason the two series of "This life" were so good was due to the rich array of characters who played off one another so nicely, and a strong story line that was fast paced, witty and realistic.

Teacher's feels like it was written as a vehicle to show case the strongest characteristics of Lincoln's character in "This life". His character, Simon, in teachers is even more neurotic and confused about life than Egg was. On paper this sounds like it runs the risk of type-casting Lincoln and ruining the show from the out set. In reality Lincoln manages to pull it off; in fact he does so, so superbly that he avoids all the clichés and pitfalls and really shines.

While Andrew Lincoln twinkles his socks off, the rest of the cast refuse to be out done, Raquel Cassidy and nina Sosanya who play susan and jenny Respectively, do so subtly if not sublimely again avoiding the clichés, and Simon's two slobby mates (also teachers) Brian and Kurt played by Adrian Bower and Navin Chowdhry, provide the perfect foil for Simons ever growing neurosis.

At the end of the day, Teachers again has a strong storyline with a lot of fast paced humour and wit, while maintaining a degree of realism and showing teaching from both sides of the black board, teachers has all the potential and as I'm sure time will show has all the makings of a cult show in it's own right.

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10 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Top Class Television minus a couple of Seasons., 8 July 2005

Author: mafster from South East of England

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This is great stuff. Really great. I fell in love with Teachers after being forced to watch it. Truly wonderful television at it's best. All the characters are a joy to watch and I mean ALL. Simon Casey, played superbly by Andrew Lincoln, seems to be the main focus point. Supported very well by characters Susan, Jenny, Kurt and Brian along with The Head Mistress, Bob, Liz and Carol. Kurt and Brian seem to be the main comedy and Susan the rational one. Jenny is like a split personality of good and bad and Liz is the local gossip queen.

The characters play so well off of each other that it's an actual joy to watch. What is even greater about this show is the things you notice when you watch it again. The little things. Like a sheep on the school grounds or maybe teachers fighting on the grounds why the pupils look on. Brilliant stuff.

Season 2 was also fantastic. At first I didn't warm to JP but over time, I actually like him in this. Penny's okay, possibly the weakest character of the second series but not really flawed if you know what I mean. The music was also well chosen. Totally fantastic.

Now, like with a lot of good things, they have to come to an end and with teachers, for me, it came in Season 3. Three characters were gone and replacements were inserted. The female replacement was a pointless effort and a boring character. What were they thinking!!! Simon, being one of the actors to part with the show, does return for a few episodes and does lift the morale of the show. However, no matter how good he is, there is still a void from the other two characters which hurts deeply.

Season 4, now what was going on here. They should have just not bothered. I hate to say this but I have finally come to terms with it. This Season is thew worst and most pointless effort ever. I watched it over and over again to try a like it. Sorry but no way. This Season would have been more enjoyable if it had stolen my life savings and ran away.

Season 1 & 2 are brilliant and fantastic and well you see my point. Season 3 is still worth watching but Season 4, you must stay well clear of.

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10 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
bloody hilarious, superior comedy, 15 December 2003
Author: Natasha from Australia

I don't think it's possible to not find Teachers very funny and very clever. In Australia, we're only up to the 3rd episode of the second series, so I'm not very pleased to hear that Andrew Lincoln is going to be written out. Although it's better that we don't get sick of his idiot character Simon, otherwise it won't be great for his career. His storyline (out of about 9) in Love Actually was probably the most interesting, so it shows that he's not limited to whiny and bitter characters. The music used in Teachers is great - especially stuff like using a bit of Stravinsky as Carol's 'theme' when Kurt is trying to avoid her. And Carol herself, what a freak. Very funny stuff. You should watch it. Really.

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Teachers- a work of genius, 15 November 2005
Author: focuss from Oxford

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I first saw teachers when i was unable to sleep one night, and i was watching random programmes on the box. The character of Simon, played by Andrew Lincoln had me hooked straight away. Here was a character who was entirely believable, and who's situation was also recognisable as commonplace. I have followed the show ever since, and purchased the DVD box-sets. Series One was good in its own right but was perhaps more useful in creating and explaining the characters before the masterful series two, which is possibly my favourite series of any TV show ever, despite Simon's decision to go travelling. However, i have to say that the effect of his departure was what kept the show fresh for series three. Getting rid of Simon made it necessary to remove Susan, and create a new double act in Matt and Lindsay. It also served the purpose of allowing the other characters to develop, turning it from a one-man-show into a series with several strong characters, and thus while Simon's departure is a shame, it is also the only way to keep the series fresh. However, by the time the fourth series came around, all the strong characters were gone- Simon, Jenny, Matt, and the Brian-Kurt double-act. The new characters lacked focus, and the attempt to bring Bob into the group as an equal-footing teacher was frankly risible. I think the programme-makers know this as well, which explains why series 1,2, and 3 are available as a single box-set and 4 is only available separately. However, Series 1,2 and 3 combine to make possibly the best British comedy series since Blackadder.

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Funny show!, 4 July 2007

Author: Ryu_Darkwood from Netherlands

Our television guide described this show as a British version of Ally McBeal, with the big difference that the setting isn't a fancy lawyers office but a rundown school. And that's the thing that is so great about this show; it doesn't glamorize anything. Its Protagonist, 26- year old Simon, is a shallow minded antihero, selfish to the core. He's using people to fulfill his own desperate needs, trying to avoid every responsibility if something goes wrong. Then there is Susan, his emotional female buddy, trying to be strict and decisive but with the tendency to have a turbulent inner life. Add Brian and Kurt, two teachers that behave as a pair of 13-year olds, to the mix and you have a very funny show. I also adored the at the surface ice cold Jenny Page. She has that kind of cool and distant beauty that some women have. I truly believe that a woman like her can make a man like Simon mad.

This is how I want to see a comedy show; realistic, filled with dark humor and, most importantly, having a good balance between seriousness and wackiness. You start to loved its flawed yet charismatic characters.

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3 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Fantastic new comedy-drama., 19 April 2001
Author: Leigh-43

When I sat down to watch this show I did it with low expectations as (although I hate to admit it) British series of recent years have not been up to scratch. Instead I have enjoyed watching American series such as 'The West Wing', 'Ally McBeal' and 'ER'. However I was pleasantly surprised by 'Teachers'. As well as being incredibly funny, this show is realistic.

It shows the everyday life of a twenty -something secondary school teacher, Simon, who everyone would love as their teacher as he doesn't seem to want to grow up. We see how he copes with teaching his rowdy class and how he gets on with his workmates. There's Jenny, the teacher who has a reputation for being a bit of a dragon and shows obvious contempt for Simon, which he returns equally (although he has a secret crush on her). There's his two slobby mates who are also teachers and there's his friend Susan who is the head of year and who he consults for advice on his personal life. He also has an on-off relationship with policewoman Maggie (who smokes pot when she's off duty). In my opinion it's unmissable.

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5 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Sorry I've got to disagree (SPOILERS AHEAD), 22 October 2002
Author: DC1977 from United Kingdom

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I loved the first series, it had wit and energy and was just terrific. As soon as I saw the first episode of the second series I could see where the programme was going and knew that it was not going to be as good.

It introduced little stories focussing on each character which didn't work because most of them involved the characters acting in a way that just doesn't seem possible; the sensible and level headed Susan (played by the terrific Raquel Cassidy) going all gooey and pathetic over the incredibly dull and annoying JP (Shaun Evans is an awful awful actor), Brian hiccupping, the others trying to convince him he's gay.

Alas the best pupils from the first series have left and no decent characters have come in to fill their shoes which takes away a source of much of the amusement from the first series.

Worst of all, was the ridiculous way Simon was written out of the series, it was as though Andrew Lincoln saw sense and decided to abandon a sinking ship and gave the writers as much notice as his character gave the headmistress.

The humour and cleverness of the script just disappeared and the programme is now just a caricature of the first series. It is probably too conscious of the fact that viewers have their own favourite characters because it ensures that those remaining at the end have all had at least one shag so everyone watching will be happy...

Alas, there will be a third series, if it begins with JP's murder then there's still hope for this programme.

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There's a missing traffic light..., 24 May 2011

Author: babyboo994 from United Kingdom

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

So I've watched the funny, witty writing of Teachers UK come to the screen. The first series, it was slightly slow... the characters made almost hour episodes full of things that you would watch whilst you were ill on a Sunday morning. I'm not saying its bad, as I kinda weirdly liked it, just not outstanding. Series 2, when the characters got more developed, and the more interesting ones got the story lines - Great! But what happened to particular characters? Eh? I'm not being funny, but that is annoying! For an example, Jp - he was a great character! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO HIM?! I think the boring lives of these teachers are shown in a funny, submitted kind of way, which makes it watchable and entertaining. The focus of particular characters in each series make the audience connect with the characters - and then they just drop them. Seriously, we've built up this character-viewer relation and they just drop these characters. Yeh, Thanks - because thats not irritating at all. Series 3, best so far - Kurt and Brian, who are ridiculously stupid (and very entertaining) as well as great characters! We also have Matt, who is the most interesting realistic character in my opinion so far (also good looking). What happens to him? oh wait we don't know! Okay. Now I am annoyed. So we end up with Bob, (why is he still a character?!), The weirdo that can't speak a word and has a baby, Penny (the only decent character) and the mouthy secretory.

Now the series on their own are pretty good, but when watching numerically, hoping for some rhythm you will be annoyed, because this expectation will be deceived. The series get better individually, but its annoyed me how they drop some of the good characters. It makes me think that there was a disruption of some kind, and the writer(s)/director(s)/producer(s) make them jump in a hole never to return.

Oh, Then Matthew Horne turns up in one series and gets the main lead credits? COM'N! I know hes great and all, but seriously have some sort of continuity!!!

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"Teachers" is a great TV program, 15 March 2006

Author: liz9_V from Israel

This one is amazing! Kinde of a parody about the school systems. Funny, very funny. I liked Lindsy and Ben, they had some interesting things to say, though they both were a bit strange. Every single character in this TV program was good, but yet not perfect. promised to keep secrets and did not. maybe that is the reason i liked this TV program - something real - but yet not to real, just real enough to make you like it - and unreal enough to keep you not bored. It also teaches you things - well, it is called "Teachers" for a good reason, I mean they maybe did not succeeded in teaching the children on their classes, but they did tough us some lessen. A lesson which I am not going to forget soon. and not only soon - never!

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