Piccadilly = Burger King, Greggs, Nobles Amusements, bus station and the worlds largest Primark.
*shiver*
Has Shameless run its course? Page 2
I watched the first few series, then I missed a few and now I've started watching it again. It's got darker, but it's still good.
Amazing series finale last night.
All products have a shelf life, and consumers are the best guide for when a product is no longer wanted. But once very successful products become brands, this is when you often run into problems about outstaying your welcome. No commercial owner of an established brand wants to take their cash making pig off the market. A shame in shameless' case as it has pobably gone off. Shameful indulgence we see more and more of now.
Did enjoy what I saw of early series, but I didn't become hooked on it as some viewers did. Just because it has a strong fan base is no reason to let it become another soap. Producers, please stop following the American over commercialised model of TV, remember there are reputations to uphold, British comedy and comdram having still a particularly good one, so show some restraint and let good progs go at their right time. You still have DVDs and the repeat channels to make your profits from! Take heed from greats like Cleese and Gervais: bowing out on a high made their products super gallactically famous and they and the channels still make good money from them. Come on now! 
I get a bit sick of hearing how brave Cleese and Gervais were to end succesful shows after only two series. No, brave is not quitting and attempting to maintain a show over a longer period, like the Peep Show guys. And both Cleese and Gervais were awash with offers to do whatever they wanted, so it's hardly like they were condemning themselves to the wilderness.
Is it brave to keep a once great show going beyond its best though? I would call it either greedy or at best commercially minded, acquisitive and stubborn, myself. If there was no profit at all involved, just artistic reputation, then all (good) shows would end at the top or just after. They wouldn't drag on for ages getting stale. It is money that makes the makers decide to carry on. That and maybe a fear of not being able to do it all again on something else. Money is what they earn from it though.
Yes of course C and G's decision was made a lot easier by the knowledge that they were going to be rich taking offers for other work or and/or creating new work, you can't deny that, no. But they had earned that opportunity by creating classics. And let's not forget the important factor that both men were writer-performers with a career already in front of the camera, not writers only, which are a very different beast.
And their decisions to end the shows when they did had a fair amount of artistic influence in them too. In FT's case it was mainly a consideration of time and effort involved, and the awkwardness of working with your estranged partner once more (according to Cleese). And could they have done another series without the strain affecting the product? I don't think they could have done, personally. In my mind it was a very sensible decision.
In The Office's case I'd say it was more to do with Gervais wanting to emulate FT's classic status and the mystique and legend it created for itself more than anything, but I believe also there was a strong hint of him thinking that a third series in that mockumentary style could easily look tired and detract from the brilliance and freshness of the first two. Just my presumption from Gervais' muted garblings on it at the time.
I applaud both of them for making that judgment and standing firm on it. They didn't have to, they could easily have gained instant commissions for a lot more series had they wanted. But I believe they loved their creations from an artistic and personal level and made brave and astute decisions to leave them at their best. Imo it definitely contributed to the classic status of the sitcoms and they are British shows, and personally I take pride from this fact too. Morning btw.
Hmm, I bet Aaron gets up early just to off topic me! Consider the time and effort I put into it, man. It is sort of on topic, in a way, in a line or two. I'm not one of your serial off topic ers anyway, you know this! Aaaargh...
Whenever this is discussed I always think of the Seinfeld episode where George Constanza decides that to avoid looking a fool in meetings he will leave as soon as he's said anything funny.
Before a week and a half ago I had never watched shameless,so I had nothing on being of work for a couple of weeks, so I gave it a go and started watching it from series1.I have now watched them all upto the current episode,i think it is fantastic,i just could,nt wait to watch the next episode, once one had finnished.
I have gone through laughing my head off, to having a tear in my eye, especially when mandy died, and again when they said debbie had died in afganistan,but then that turned out to be a bad joke from monika.
Now I just can,t wait for the next episode, I think I aj probably obssessed by it at the moment.
LONG LIVE SHAMELESS
I watched it last week for the first time in years and it seemed ok to me.