Blackpool (2004– )

Soon after local entrepreneur Ripley Holden (Morrissey) opens his arcade in his beloved home town of Blackpool, a murder investigation makes tears at the fabric of his personal and professional lives.

Stars:

David Morrissey, Sarah Parish, Thomas Morrison

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
David Morrissey	...	Ripley Holden (6 episodes, 2004)
Sarah Parish	...	Natalie Holden (6 episodes, 2004)
Thomas Morrison	...	Danny Holden (6 episodes, 2004)
David Tennant	...	D.I. Peter Carlisle (6 episodes, 2004)
Georgia Taylor	...	Shyanne Holden (6 episodes, 2004)
Steve Pemberton	...	Adrian Marr (6 episodes, 2004)
David Bradley	...	Hallworth (6 episodes, 2004)
Bryan Dick	...	D.C. Blythe (6 episodes, 2004)
Kevin Doyle	...	Steve (6 episodes, 2004)
David Hounslow	...	DCI Jim Allbright (6 episodes, 2004)
Jacqueline Pilton	...	Ruth (6 episodes, 2004)
Lisa Millett	...	Hailey (6 episodes, 2004)
John Thomson	...	Terry Corlette (6 episodes, 2004)
Michelle McCaw	...	Chantelle (6 episodes, 2004)
Jim Whelan	...	Deaf Barry (5 episodes, 2004)
Connie Walker	...	Karen (4 episodes, 2004)
Joe Armstrong	...	Mark Reed (3 episodes, 2004)

Storyline

Soon after local entrepreneur Ripley Holden (Morrissey) opens his arcade in his beloved home town of Blackpool, a murder investigation makes tears at the fabric of his personal and professional lives.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | investigation | arcade | casino | may december romance | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Musical | Mystery | Romance

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Details

Official Sites:

BBC [uk] BBC America

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 October 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Viva Blackpool

Filming Locations:

Blackpool, Lancashire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

352 min 352 min (6 parts)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Both David Tennant and David Bradley worked together previously on Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire.

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Quotes

D.I. Peter Carlisle: Ah, Freud would say that your jokes reveal a truth buried in your subconscious.
Ripley Holden: Oh, what do you know, a copper who's read a book.
D.I. Peter Carlisle: Well, if I'd read two books, maybe I'd run an amusement arcade.
Ripley Holden: Yeah, well I wouldn't know about that. I run a family entertainment arcade.
D.I. Peter Carlisle: And I'm a crime-citizen-interface consultant.

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Connections

Followed by Viva Blackpool (2006)

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Soundtracks

"The Secrets That You Keep"
Performed by Sarah Parish

User Reviews

Wonderful, Quirky Murder Mystery

I did not expect this to be anywhere as good as it turned out to be. I mean, who wants to see a murder mystery where the main characters break out into song every 30 minutes or so? Yes, they actually do sing in their own voices over recordings you will recognize.

The songs are a perfect fit to the story, moving it along and providing a lot of context. My personal favorite was the head to head between David Morrissey and David Tennant, both singing "These Boots Are Made For Walking."

Sarah Parish has always been a personal favorite, starting with "Cutting It" and doing a killer job as a lawyer in the short lived series "Trust". David Morrissey did a fantastic job. You'd swear he is a total sleaze in the beginning of the series, but by the end, your opinion will probably change. Likewise, David Tennant (the new Dr Who) seems to be the perfect cop, but is he really?

PS - If you saw this on BBC America, you missed about 10 minutes out of every episode. Several songs were cut, as were a lot of key scenes that made the story much easier to follow, and also developed some of the the characters much further. Especially Hallworth, the character played by David Bradley who was protesting the conversion of the arcade into a casino.

Do yourself a favor - get a multi-region DVD player, and order the DVD from the UK.