In spite of the rather dismissive tagline I thoroughly enjoyed this series. It was often ridiculously over-the-top, the most cliched and clunking self-absorbed teen dialogue and and emotional self-analysis (at times of the quality that you would fine in an astrological column) was often carefully prefaced with a pause so that you could predict what was going to be said. Clue - think of the most cliched response possible: you are likely to be right.
It strongly reminded me of Glee - but instead of the musical numbers punctuating and commenting on the actions and feelings of the characters, here ballet took that role. The trouble was, to a non-balletomane, this did not often communicate much. The central new work (around which much of the personal drama swirled) was based on Jack the Ripper (!) but from what we saw of this ballet, it communicated no real sense of style or story line - the ‘look’ was, to my eyes a mix of modern dance interspersed with more recognizable classical poses and sequences. Id’ be interested to hear form someone who knows about ballet their take on the dance that we saw in this series - Was it plausible? original? good?
The cast were pretty good - given the sort of characters they had to play. The majority seem to be fine young dancers who can act and this worked very well. All were VERY attractive, particularly Barton Cowperthwaite, and the most was made of this with many, quite explicit sex scenes - not quite HBO-level but not far short.
The most annoying stylistic trait of the episodes was the use of what is now an awful cliché in the soundtrack of modern dramas, particularly those with teens/young [people. This is the use of usually (and understandably) unknown pop songs of very little vigour and interest which are meant to provide a commentary - ironical/satiric/emotional support - for the scenes they play in. The trouble is, this music is unbelievably dreary and more often than not, adds nothing to the scene. It is a device which can, and has been, used very well in the past but now it seems to be an easy route to provoke an emotional reaction from the viewer. For me, this reaction is NOT I think, what they were hoping for!
The final episode did have a slightly rushed feel and the cliff-hanger ending, clearly signalling, I hope a second series from the second book, strongly reminded me of the first two series of Elite. In fact the whole plot/structure story line reminded me of this in the gradual solving of a tragic event that happened just before our story starts. But here the police officer, unlike the particularly dully incompetent one in Elite, was actually a really quite interesting and nuanced - very much an adult among children. Her powerful back story (ex-Army and partner killed in Afghanistan) was gradually fed to us through the series but it was not wholly complete in by the end - and it seems that there is a possible interesting future relationship on the cards.
The depiction of gay relationships was very well done - and it was particularly encouraging for a middle-aged happily married gay couple to have a central and important role and this was very well depicted - particularly in the final episode where there was a very touching, and powerful little scene where one of the couple (they both worked in the ballet school) gently explained to Shane, a flamboyantly out gay character who is looking for ‘the one’ and not just the latest Grindr hookup), why he has to be so incredibly careful about how he acts and speaks when at work. His fear of being accused of inappropriate behaviors was very relatable and this was a particularly sensitive and powerful scene. he felt terror every time he came into work…Well done writers!
So, a thoroughly enjoyable guilty pleasure.