Blackpool (TV series)
Blackpool is a British television musical drama serial, produced in-house by the BBC, that first broadcast on BBC One on 11 November 2004. Starring David Morrissey, Sarah Parish and David Tennant, the serial was written by Peter Bowker, who had previously written for BBC One's modern adaptation of "The Canterbury Tales" and BBC Two's "Flesh and Blood", and directed by Coky Giedroyc and Julie Anne Robinson. The series was filmed on location in Brentford and Blackpool itself, and broadcast across six weeks at 9:00 pm on Thursdays, until 16 December 2004. The plot concerns  the murder of a young man in a Blackpool arcade, and how it affects the people involved in the arcade and the investigation. As the investigation proceeds, it takes its toll on the characters; Ripley (Morrissey), under suspicion of murder, finds his public and private life slowly unravelling as both his bullying nature and long-forgotten demons from his past return to haunt him, whilst Carlisle (Tennant), intent on proving Ripley is the murderer and planning to use Natalie (Parish) to get to him, finds himself genuinely falling in love with her instead. The series also starred Kevin Doyle, John  Thomson, Georgia Taylor and Steve Pemberton in supporting roles. For its broadcast on BBC America in 2005, the series was renamed "Viva Blackpool". Subsequently, as a result of its broadcast in the United States, the series went on to win a Peabody Award for BBC Worldwide, the commercial overseas distribution subsidiary of the BBC. In 2006, a feature-length sequel to the original, also known as "Viva Blackpool", broadcast on BBC One. Music. The series is particularly notable for its employment of pop music in the course of the narrative - although the originals are played, they are sung along with  and accompanied by slightly surreal dance routines acted out by the characters. This latter device is strongly reminiscent of the style of television playwright Dennis Potter, who used it in several of his famous productions such as "Pennies from Heaven" and "The Singing Detective". A soundtrack was also released to accompany the series, in which a six-page booklet explained why each song used was included in the series. Reception. Critical reception to the series was mixed. Viewing figures averaged between four and five million per episode. In 2005, the series was nominated in the Best Drama Serial category at  the British Academy Television Awards, eventually losing out to Channel 4's "Sex Traffic". It did, however, win the "Best Miniseries" and Grand Prize accolades at Canada's Banff Television Festival. In December 2005, it was announced that it had been nominated, under its American title, "Viva Blackpool", in the Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film category at the 2006 Golden Globe Awards. Distribution. The series was sold to several countries, broadcasting on Television New Zealand's TV One, BBC America in the United States, BBC Canada and TVOntario in Canada, ABC in Australia, Canvas in Belgium , YLE in Finland and VPRO in the Netherlands. The series was also on DVD in the UK, Australia and the Netherlands. In October 2007, American network CBS aired a series based on the same premise called "Viva Laughlin", adapted by Bob Lowry and the creator of Blackpool, Peter Bowker, coproduced by BBC Worldwide, CBS Paramount Network Television, Sony Pictures Television, and Seed Productions; however, the series was cancelled after two episodes due to low ratings.