This Life: Complete BBC Series 1 & 2 [DVD]

This Life: Complete BBC Series 1 & 2 [DVD] Description

This Life: Complete BBC Series 1 & 2 [DVD]

A real highlight of BBC2's output in the 1990s, This Life works on a simple premise of following the lives of five young lawyers who each share the same London home. Yet that simplicity shields what was, and remains, a groundbreaking series, one that never shirked away from any of the issues it chose to touch on.

Across the two series that make up this unmissable boxset, we get to meet the full-of-himself Miles, the loud but troubled Anna, Milly the control-freak and the unsure Egg. Add in the upbeat Warren, who is gay but doesn't want his parents to know, and the confused and bisexual Ferdy, and you have a melting pot of emotions and stories that are as captivating to watch as they were when the show was first broadcast.

At the core of This Life's success though are some wonderful, career-making performances. The likes of Andrew Lincoln (Teachers, Love Actually) and Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean, The Talented Mr Ripley) have certainly used it as a springboard to launch their careers, and we can only hope to see more of the excellent Daniela Nardini and Amita Dhiri in the future.

But for now, savour just what this is. It's astonishingly confident, moving, at times flat out hilarious but always unmissable. And it's taken far too long to bring it all to DVD. Make the most of it now it's here.--Simon Brew