Contains spoilers!
This was one hard to find DVD... but one the dedicated Gerry Butler fan can't really live without. I finally got my copy from New Zealand a few weeks ago and did a marathon viewing of all 16 episodes. From the bits and pieces I had seen before, I thought the series is rather shallow and very light hearted but I was surprised. There are some good, rather deep story lines dealing with the hassle of the daily, modern life as problems at your job, problems with your family and so on. Of course a good mix of good (and bad) romances are thrown in as well. I thought the acting was overall pretty good especially in some of the supporting roles like Lucy's parents.
Of course I need to dedicate a paragraph to Mr. Butler here since I assume a lot of his fans are wondering if they should get the DVD or not. He is in 13 out of the 16 episodes and has some good, but relatively short scenes in there. He plays the role of the scoundrel Gus really well and very believable. You just love to hate him. He looks absolutely gorgeous as Gus which works so well for a character like this whom shamelessly uses his good looks to get what he wants from the girls he's with. He truly is a jerk and as the show goes on the more you dislike him. I'm not sure though that I like the fact that Gus really doesn't seem to have any redeeming character traits. He's just bad, which is true to the book. His story line is kind of left open at the end (which is the same in the novel) and I as a viewer was somehow not satisfied with that. He just got away with anything without paying for it or redeeming himself somehow. But in that matter they stayed true to the book. Is it worth getting for any Gerry fan out there? I do think so.
Somebody wrote in an earlier review that Gerry didn't do his own singing. That is not true. He said himself in an interview that he did sing in the two episodes. And you can hear that it's him. It's his voice. Yes, he obviously sounds a bit different in "Phantom..." but in POTO he's a bit older, had a lot of voice training, and his voice had matured considerably, but it's still the same voice.
This was one hard to find DVD... but one the dedicated Gerry Butler fan can't really live without. I finally got my copy from New Zealand a few weeks ago and did a marathon viewing of all 16 episodes. From the bits and pieces I had seen before, I thought the series is rather shallow and very light hearted but I was surprised. There are some good, rather deep story lines dealing with the hassle of the daily, modern life as problems at your job, problems with your family and so on. Of course a good mix of good (and bad) romances are thrown in as well. I thought the acting was overall pretty good especially in some of the supporting roles like Lucy's parents.
Of course I need to dedicate a paragraph to Mr. Butler here since I assume a lot of his fans are wondering if they should get the DVD or not. He is in 13 out of the 16 episodes and has some good, but relatively short scenes in there. He plays the role of the scoundrel Gus really well and very believable. You just love to hate him. He looks absolutely gorgeous as Gus which works so well for a character like this whom shamelessly uses his good looks to get what he wants from the girls he's with. He truly is a jerk and as the show goes on the more you dislike him. I'm not sure though that I like the fact that Gus really doesn't seem to have any redeeming character traits. He's just bad, which is true to the book. His story line is kind of left open at the end (which is the same in the novel) and I as a viewer was somehow not satisfied with that. He just got away with anything without paying for it or redeeming himself somehow. But in that matter they stayed true to the book. Is it worth getting for any Gerry fan out there? I do think so.
Somebody wrote in an earlier review that Gerry didn't do his own singing. That is not true. He said himself in an interview that he did sing in the two episodes. And you can hear that it's him. It's his voice. Yes, he obviously sounds a bit different in "Phantom..." but in POTO he's a bit older, had a lot of voice training, and his voice had matured considerably, but it's still the same voice.