Donald Seymour This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

jamesaidan I watched most of this series when it was first aired. Such were my fond memories of the gentle, positive, humorous script coupled with the first- class professionalism of an outstanding group of actors, that I recently bought the entire work on DVD. So here's the problem: I've just watched the last episode and it's over! I am bereft!! I'm sure that all the crew have moved onwards and upwards, as they so richly deserve. But I want more! Oh well. C'est la vie. Anyway my message to you, dear reader is, don't believe all the cynical negatives you will see in certain of these reviews. This series was/is an example of the best TV drama in the World from the best broadcaster at the pinnacle of its powers. And for those who are unsure about the summary given above, it's Latin (well sort of)and says; 'Don't let the b**t*rds grind you down'.

liz holland The series doesn't just focus on police work but real life situations. I love the way that all the actors seem to have the 'right' kind of chemistry, especially between Nicky Cole and Claire Maxwell. It has a lot of humour but is quite dramatic too. I think that the second series is even better than the first because all the characters have evolved and you feel you can understand them better. I think that the plot is well thought out and has a good balance between Nicky and Claire's home and work lives. I enjoy the scenes with Mattie and Errol (Nicky's family)because they give background to the programme and help you understand why they are who they are. I would give this 5 stars out of 5 because it really is unmissable.

Steve Gough I normally wouldn't have touched this with someone else's dirty barge-pole but due to family circumstances ended up watching the whole first series.It ticks all the right boxes for contemporary BBC TV drama at the moment, so it's set in the North of England and the hero is a marginalised black man. Nicky is a good cop who has done noble but unpopular things in London and been exiled to the night-shift in faraway Newcastle, struggling to stay morally and chemically clean in a profession in which nobody trusts or respects him. Although unfortunately male, in order to meet the BBC's obligation of comprehensive diversity he also shoulders many of the burdens of a typical, English single mother by raising the son of his dead drug-dealer brother and junkie sister-in-law. It's an everyday story of everyday people you probably recognise from your own family. The series also features a statutory number of the limited group of actors guaranteed endless regular work populating BBC drama series.I will damn it with the faint praise that it wasn't too bad. There are plenty of irritating aspects like the hero's entirely platonic older male housemate, a sort of Caribbean Obi-Wan Kenobi. Each week he dispenses wisdom to Nicky and his proxy son on issues as profound as the importance of making your own carnival costumes and wearing them in the drizzle on deserted English beaches while no-one else is looking.The acting isn't all bad, and the hero has a lively relationship with a uniformed policewoman who shares the night shift with him. His love interest is therefore a legal aid solicitor played by Dervla Kirwin, who seems to appear mainly because the BBC is contractually obliged to give her work. The relationship is ludicrous and unconvincing, not least because she was clearly heavily pregnant during filming, and performs with all the subtlety of a barrage balloon wrapped in a cheap red overcoat that fools nobody. Her character has lines in every episode but has no active part in most of the stories, and for reasons obvious to no-one becomes Nicky's lover.Everything important happens at night and is framed and lit to look like film, to give Newcastle the rain-slick and neon-lit character of late 80s action movies starring Eddie Murphy. This is pretty much the house style at the BBC these days, cutting their cloth to ape the US TV shows that the production teams obviously envy but that BBC schedulers piously refuse to broadcast at prime-time in favour of home-grown clones. A conspiracy within the UK media industry maintains a sad and depressing myth that these stunted six-week outings are much "better" than full 22 episode seasons of shows with decent writing, higher production values and charismatic on-screen talent.55 Degrees North is a passable but parochial series which also happens to be a very good indication of why millions of UK homes are switching to satellite TV broadcasters where they can find wall-to-wall US imports.

montur I'll go along with the cliché comment. Life is full of clichés isn't it? That's why they become clichés I suppose. To some extent we expect them, even anticipate them. The protagonist in this case is black, struggles with broken relationships and family trauma, is threatened and subjugated in the workplace, yet comes through triumphant. If we are prepared to suspend our disbelief we can nevertheless get satisfaction out of watching him do all these things. I agree, we know in advance that he will eventually liaise on a different level with the police solicitor, and that's part of our enjoyment; the dramatize irony built into the script allows us to know something that the protagonists don't. In the end we will be pleased that we were proved correct. Sit back and let it wash over you! Incidentally, I agree too with the Tyne Bridge observation, and have you noticed how lately every drama set in London has a night shot of HSBC Bank and the Isle of Dogs?