This Is England '88 | |
---|---|
Genre | Drama |
Written by |
Shane Meadows Jack Thorne |
Directed by | Shane Meadows |
Starring |
Vicky McClure Joseph Gilgun Thomas Turgoose |
Composer(s) | Ludovico Einaudi |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 3 |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Libby Durdy |
Producer(s) | Rebekah Wray-Rogers |
Running time |
49:19 (episode 1) |
Production company(s) | Warp Films, Big Arty Productions |
Release | |
Original network | Channel 4 |
Picture format | 16:9 1080i |
Audio format | Stereo |
Original release | 13 December | – 15 December 2011
Chronology | |
Preceded by | This Is England '86 |
Followed by | This Is England '90 |
49:19 (episode 1)
51:22 (episode 2)
This Is England '88 is a 2011 British drama miniseries written by Shane Meadows and Jack Thorne as a spin-off from the 2006 film This Is England. It is also a sequel to the 2010 television sequel-series This Is England '86, set two and a half years later and starring as previously Thomas Turgoose as Shaun, Vicky McClure as Lol and Joe Gilgun as Woody.
Set during Christmas 1988, Lol is haunted by the devastating events that took place two and a half years before. She and Woody both find themselves struggling to cope with their lives without each other after he leaves the gang. Lol is carrying the burden of her guilt, whilst Woody is trying to build a domestic life with a new girlfriend and a potential promotion at work. Shaun has started at drama college and, although still in a relationship with Smell, he has grown close to a girl performing in his Christmas play.
Ronald "Meggy" Megford does not appear, his absence explained on Twitter by having died off-screen in 1987. This decision was apparently reversed as he briefly appears in This Is England '90.
The story takes place in late December 1988 with the first episode starting on 23 December. Lol is haunted by visions of her dead father Mick – whom she killed in the previous series when he tried to rape her – and is struggling to cope as a single parent with her young daughter, Lisa, who is a result of her affair with Milky two and a half years prior. Lol's affair has also led to Woody's self-imposed exile from the gang, but he has begun to rebuild his life. He has a new girlfriend, Jennifer, whom his parents adore, and has been offered a promotion at work. Smell and Shaun are still together, but growing distant. Shaun develops his creative side on a college drama course, and grows close to Fay, a girl performing in his Christmas play. Milky is welcomed back into the gang after spending some time away, but after Woody sees them together in the pub, old wounds re-appear.