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Underground > Film, TV & Theatre >

Buried

23:11 / 09.02.03

I'm slightly surprised no-one's mentioned this before now, Channel 4's new(ish) prison drama by the makers of 'The Cops', 'Clocking Off', etc. The pre-publicity touted it as a sort of UK 'Oz' but the viewing experience is altogether different: all cramped, narrow interiors, no direct sunlight, dialogue you really need to strain to make out - and tricksy, shifting characterisation, with no straightforward heroes or villains. In the beginning, we identified with Lennie James' main character, Lee Kingley, a materially-guilty-but-subjectively-morally-innocent 'upstanding citizen' who feels wronged and in the wrong place. In tonight's episode, he kills the character suspected of being a nonce, reeeally nastily. It's all wonderfully claustrophobic, and there's a real sense of ever-present menace as each character works to his or her hidden agenda.

Anyone else watching this?

Warewullf up North

11:52 / 10.02.03

I watched the first couple of episodes but wasn't interested enough to keep watching.

I liked the claustrophobic feel to it. Very apt. The characters did take on an interesting complexity in the second episode but I kept bracing myself whenever a chracter would talk to the main guy. I was expecting some "Oz"-type horror but it never happened. In fact, everyone was actually kinda...nice? I just didn't warm to it, despite fancying the bearded guard.

And it turns out that I do need male nudity to keep me interested in a prison drama...

yawn - thing's buddy

14:10 / 10.02.03

I've been totally glued to this Ganesh. Its the best continuing drama for quite a while. Virtually no-ne I know has been watching it either. Puts the likes of Second Coming to shame. Acting is incredible. The 'nonce' who wasn't a nonce gave a brilliant performance. The telephone conversation between Lee and his wife was very well done. THe paranoia, the confusion, the power structures - yeah.

THe retarded guard wiv no mates gave a bloody good performance too. As does, each week, the boss of the screws.

I love the way we 'join' stories each week. And I love the way we were so badly let down by Lee. The only weak episode so far was the one with Lee's brother, but even that came good in the end.

I can't praise this enough, and yes, I should've mentioned it by now.

But Ganesh, tell me; I missed the first twenty minutes of the nonce episode.

SO how did the bible with the kiddie pic end up in Kappa's cell?

Was the guy who Kappa beat up actualy a nonce?

17:21 / 10.02.03

No, the guy Kappa beat up was (I think) an ex-rent boy and shagging half the prison - he had an almost-more-than-platonic relationship with No-Mates Screw. Kappa's cellmate was the nonce (hence his skill at making puppets to amuse the kiddies); presumably he spirited the photo away from Lee at some point, and hid it in the binding of his Bible. When Kappa showed worrying signs of getting into the Bible, Noncey Cellmate got anxious his guilty secret would be discovered and set Kappa up instead...

Fabulous plotting. Why are so few people watching this?

yawn - thing's buddy

07:07 / 11.02.03

My god! The cellmate was the nonce! It’s really brilliant tho, isn’t it> It’s got to win something for it’s efforts. Or get a trumpeted re-run or something. Utterly compelling.

Goodness Gracious Meme

13:26 / 12.02.03

It's great. And I can't think of anything more to say about it as yet, aside from teh fact that all the lead actors are wonderful, there's very little overegging/overplaying, which was something that I was pretty worried about after the first episode. Characterisation and acting are unusually subtle.

rah for this.

14:37 / 12.02.03

I've been tempted by this but the trouble is I really fucking hate prison dramas. I think it stems back to watching Scum when I was a kid and having nightmares. And the fact that I imagine I would be really shit in jail.

07:42 / 26.02.03

yes, it's very good. did you see the episode with his brother? I almost cried at the end of that.

yawn - thing's buddy

10:22 / 05.01.06

this was the best tv show in many a moon that no one really talked about.

little has come close since.

can't believe it was on this time, three years ago!

three years!!!

10:30 / 05.01.06

It's one of the reasons I frequently feel at odds with this particular forum, Yawn.

Did Buried ever come out on DVD?

yawn - thing's buddy

12:55 / 05.01.06

nah, pretty sure it didn't.

yonks ago I actually posted on World TV's forums about this series. I remember a lot of folk asking about DVDs - but to no avail. apparently it only scored a million viewers - at best - each week. Not enough for a re-commission, repeats or DVD.

Maybe More4 will dig it up.

dude, going to the annual suspect culture play in a few weeks.

It's about Houdini, this time.

candide 2000 was nearly 6 years ago now for fucks sake!