Shameless--British TV Series with Gay Characters

The Gallagher family is the dominant centerpiece of this usually hilarious but sometimes moving work of comic art.  It is a look at how the other half lives, only "the other half," in this instance, is miles away from the sophisticated culture of a Merchant and Ivory collaboration or even the downstairs crew in the old "Upstairs/Downstairs" series. 

The father considers himself working class, although he never works, unless one counts lifting another pint to his mouth to be labor (or "labour" as he would spell it, if he could spell such a difficult word).  Much of the action centers around his antics and the courageous efforts of his essentially motherless family to cope, survive and even thrive despite the considerable millstone attached to their collective neck.

Despite what might be an otherwise set of stock circumstances, the character development shines in this superbly acted series.  And what brings the work to this particular website is the sensitive teenage son, Ian, who is gay, albeit largely closeted.

This is definitely worth the rental fee and the time to watch every episode at least one time.  Lip, Steve and a neighbor man also provide some eye candy, but even pointing that out somehow detracts from the very serious, enthusiastic endorsement this series merits.

Genre: Gay themed comedy/drama

Original medium: Television

Language: English (sub-titles recommended for Americans)

Availability:  DVD

99Gay-Men.us Rating: **** (but awfully close to 5 stars)

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