I remember Band of Gold being on the television a few years ago. A series based around the lives of prostitutes in Bradford, it was very gritty and entertaining.
Three series were made in total and have been released all together as a boxset.
I purchased this boxset and sat down to take a trip down memory lane.
Written by Kay Mellor, it was her first successful television programme.
MAIN CAST IN SERIES ONE ++++++++++++++++++
Geraldine James - Rose Garrity Cathy Tyson - Carol Johnson Barbara Dickson - Anita Braithwaite Samantha Morton - Tracy Richards Ahsen Bhatti - Dez Tony Doyle - George Ferguson Ruth Gemmell - Gina Dickson Richard Moore - Curly Rachael Davies - Joyce Webster
BAND OF GOLD was written in 1995. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It is based around a group of prostitutes who work "the lane" in Bradford. Gina, a desperate single mother needs to find money fast in order to escape her abusive husband and pay off the nasty loan sharks who won't leave her alone until they get their money.
Gina meets Rose, Carol, Anita and Tracey. Anita rents out a room to girls, she is not a prostitute herself. Tracey is known as a "sweetie girl" as she will do tricks for a small change. Carol is a single mother working towards a better life for her daughter and Rose is an aging prostitute who is wanting to better herself. Joyce is Gina's mother.
When Gina is found murdered a desperate fight for survival begins with the girls on the lane. Carol is already obsessive with her cleaning and starts to become worse and somebody is stalking her. Anita is seeing a local bigwig, who just happens to be married. We discover that Rose gave away her baby when she was a teenager and that Tracey has run away from home. Joyce feels guilty that she couldn't do more to help Gina and now she is dead. Carol is friends with one of the detectives and he tries to look out for her. Carol has also got a new punter, Curly, who wants to look after her. How she repays him is quite shocking!
The girls all stick together and look after each other. There is a certain code of conduct between prostitutes. As more girls are attacked they need to keep an eye on the punters and look for anything suspicious.
Will there be any more murders? and who is the murderer? Who is behind the loan sharks? and who is stalking Carol?
All will be revealed over six episodes.
The runtime for series 1 is 290 minutes - 6 episodes.
MY OPINION ++++++++++
Series 1 of Band of Gold is great, the story continues from one episode to the next. You start to get drawn into the characters lives and you start to empathise with them. You see that they are real women with real lives, not just dirty prostitutes.
The storyline is excellent and you are kept guessing as to who the murderer is, right through to the very last episode.
As the subject matter is prostitution, there are obviously scenes relating to this. Nothing is shown in graphic detail, but you get the idea of what is happening. The look on Gina's face when she does it for the first time really gets the point across that she is only doing it because she sees no other way out. There are some scenes of violence because the series features murder.
I think that all of the scenes are well placed, there is no gratuitous sex and violence, merely enough to get the point across. There is a scene involving Carol, Curly and a boiling kettle which will make most men grimace
The series finishes nicely, with all loose ends tied up and ready to take you into the next series.
MAIN CAST IN SERIES TWO ++++++++++++++++++++++
Geraldine James - Rose Garrity Cathy Tyson - Carol Johnson Barbara Dickson - Anita Braithwaite Samantha Morton - Tracy Richards Richard Moore - Curly Rachael Davies - Joyce Webster
BAND OF GOLD SERIES TWO ++++++++++++++++++++++++
Series 2 picks up a few months after Series 1 ends. Carol, Joyce, Anita and Rose are back. No longer working the lane, they are running their own cleaning cooperative, but they are finding it tough in the business world. They do not seem able to distance themselves from their past life of crime, as some people accuse them of running a brothel from the leisure centre that they are cleaning.
Tracey has met a new friend and opened a dominance dungeon in the basement of their flat. Can she get over the traumatic experiences of her childhood?
Rose is busy looking for her adopted daughter Hannah. Will she find her and if she does, will she like what she sees?
Curly has forgiven Carol and is trying to help her in any way that he can, which his nephew resents. Then Curly is found dead and all fingers point at Carol. Is she guilty? Carol has to act fast to help find the real culprit in order to clear her name.
MY OPINION +++++++++++
Series 2 is not as good as the first series. It does tie up some more loose ends and clears out a few characters, but some of it is starting to lose sense of direction.
The gritty real-life experience from Series 1 has been lost. It is good to see how the girls lives have moved on, but I don't care so much about what happens to them now.
2 dvd set - 8 episodes
CAST - SERIES 3 ++++++++++++++
Geraldine James - Rose Garrity Cathy Tyson - Carol Johnson
GOLD - (SERIES 3) +++++++++++++++
The third series was simply called Gold. It contained around 8 episodes, all of which were two parters storywise. Tracey does not feature in this series, nor Joyce or Anita.
Carol is now a rich woman living off her inheritance from Curly, one of her former punters. She has inherited his huge mansion and a chicken factory. She swans around in fancy clothes and spending money like water. Curly' s nephew hates her for taking his inheritance, how will he take his revenge?
Rose has given up prostitution, taken a diploma and is trying to forge a future as an outreach worker. She splits up an argument at a hotel and lands herself a job with the police, looking after prostitutes. Will the girls listen to her or is she now siding with the police? Rose makes herself known to her daughter, but she doesn't want to know.
Girls are being attacked again. Who is after them this time? The girls join forces to find out and bring the culprit to justice.
2 dvd set
MY OPINION ++++++++++
I am finding it hard to review the series, the further through the boxset that I go. Gold was not a patch on the first two series and did not feature half of the characters. It seems to have "jumped the shark" to term a phrase and it has become somewhat unbelievable.
The format has also changed in that each story is wrapped up within two episodes. There is an ongoing storyline as well, but you get the definite feel that each two parter is detached from the other episodes.
SUMMARY OF THE BOXSET ++++++++++++++++++++++
If you liked Band of Gold, then it is worth buying. If you like a good drama then it is worth buying. I liken it to North and South,(USA Civil War) which had excellent series 1 and 2 and then totally lost it in series 3.
I would recommend it to watch. Kay Mellor is an excellent writer of drama and has won several awards.
It is good to watch all 3 series, but you are also glad that they stopped at that and did not go on to a fourth series as you wonder where they could have taken it!
It is good to watch an older programme and play spot the actress. Eileen from Corrie is a barmaid, Mubbs from Holby is a hospital doctor (no change there then).
It is good to see Samantha Morton in an early role, as she moved on to much better things and has starred with actors such as Tom Cruise.
PRICE ++++++
Amazon - £31.99 Choices - £29.99
As the series work out at around £10 per series, then I think that this is very good value for money.
There are no Special Features in this boxset.
More details
Soundtrack
Average
How does it compare to others by the same director?
Not applicable
Value for Money
Excellent
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DVD
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