Having just watched the entire run of The Press Gang once more, and
hungering for more, it finally occurred to me to check out the internet.
I'm glad to see I'm not the only fan.
I found TPG accidentally back in 92, I think. I was flicking channels when
I caught the middle of The Week and Pizza. It was the part where Sam was
trying to fire Clair. I was instantly hooked, and to this day, this series
ranks as my all time favourite. In fact, it's the only series I've ever
bothered to tape in its entirety, let alone watch several times over.
There are so many things that make this series so good. The brilliant
dialogue, it's so witty and snappy that it often has me rofl. The constant
sniping between Spike and Lynda were certainly one of my favourite focuses.
Also, Colin with his totally inane schemes and lust for money had me
gasping for breath at times. My favourite was when he managed to let
Julie's fish, cat and bird out of the window.
Also, I found the acting to be mostly first class. The chemistry between
the cast was always wonderful. Lynda, though, made the entire series for
me. Without her, the interest just couldn't have been maintained. During
the few episodes where she wasn't the main character (such as She's got it
taped), I found they were more painful. I realized it was because the main
reason I watched TPG was due to the incedibly paranoid, neurotic,
egotistical, competative, bitchiness of Lynda Day. For me, the part where
Spike pours out his heart to her in Holding On just said it all for me.
Most of the episodes were just easy to watch, and very few were ever
painful. There were also some disturbing ones that were sprinkled with
great comedy relief. The Last Word part 1 and 2 and The Rest Of My Life are
examples of that, for me.
Some of my favourite episodes were At Last, A Dragon, (because Lynda and
Spike finally got it together), Bad News (Because of how Lynda reacted on
Crazy Stuff), The Week and Pizza, (Because it was just a good, all round
story in the life of the Junior Gazette), Love and War, and Friendly Fire.
One of the moments that still make be cringe is the scene where the gunman
shots himself. Even though I know Spike doesn't die, it still sends a
shiver through my spine. After just reading that he originally was slated
to die, it make me think just how much of a loss it would have been to the
series. I doubt if I could have watched it again should that have happened.
I got my hands on the Press Gang books, but found that for some reason, was
unable to really read them. Yes, they were pretty faithful to the plots,
but it just wasn't the same.
There are so many good things to say about TPG that I could prattle on for
ages. It's just nice to see that I'm not alone in appreciating this
wonderful, albeit, too short series.
Gary.
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