Rent Lip Service: Series 1 (2010)

Okay despite obvious flaws - Lip Service: Series 1 review by SB

This everyday tale of lesbian lives in Glasgow is curiously unScottish. It also suffers from the usual inattention of TV drama to many of the everyday things that govern real lives as well as external events like sport, politics etc. There is a hefty use of stock characters – the uptight OCD female architect, the office lothario (male), the emotionally destructive woman with a heart, the chaotically disorganised actress, the autocratic male boss, the all grownup and dominant policewoman, the wet brother, the dishonest estate agent, the glaswegian hardman, the token black character, etc etc. Nonetheless it is quite effective on its own terms – the interaction of characters feels natural and never forced, and events are fairly credible. Most of the sex scenes are energetic rather than erotic. One thing that links the characters is that they are nearly all alcoholics, which makes the fuss over one episode of drug use seem a bit ironic.