I’m hesitant to start this review by telling you that “Bob & Rose” is a British mini-series. The main reason for my hesitancy is that I’m afraid that fact might turn away some viewers who believe they don’t like British Television due to their preconceived notion of what that means. As thankful as I am for late nights on PBS, the shows you see there can be an acquired taste for some Americans. Some never acquire the taste at all, which is too bad, as there’s some darn good comedy to be had. The reality of the matter is that “Bob & Rose” is nothing like those shows, and if American audiences were to give it a chance, I think they’d be surprised by what they find. Just to give you a little background, “Bob & Rose” is the brainchild of Russell T. Davies, the same guy who created Showtime’s “Queer as Folk.” That in itself should at least give you some idea of the inherent quality of this six part series. The series revolves around the lives of a gay man (Alan Davies) and a straight woman (Lesley Sharp) that meet and fall in love.

Yup, you read that right, they fall in love. As you can imagine, none of their ‘friends’ understand the strange relationship, and for the most part disapprove. It’s obvious to everyone that they are out of their minds to even try for a union that is destined for failure.

I was entirely unfamiliar with “Bob & Rose” when I sat down to watch it. I had seen a few episodes of “Queer as Folk”, and though I found it to be well written and produced, I couldn’t watch it because it got a little too graphic for my tastes. Fortunately, I was a lot more comfortable with this series as it seemed to be focused more on telling a good story than trying to push any envelopes. I ended up watching the series over the course of a week, and found it to be thoroughly enjoyable. The two leads, Alan Davies and Lesley Sharp are quite likable and play off of each other very well, no matter if a scene called for high comedy or poignant drama.

I think what I liked the most about the series was that it never took any of the situations to a level that could be considered over-the-top. The storyline was quite believable, and I never doubted for a moment that these two people could feel the way they professed to. I understand that some of this is because the story is based somewhat on reality. It seems that a good friend of Davies (Russell, not Alan), who happened to be gay, met and fell in love with a woman. His story ended up being the inspiration for this one.

The DVD release of “Bob & Rose” by Shout! Factory, features all 6 parts of the mini-series on a 2-disc set. The quality of the transfer is quite good, and I never had any problems catching any of the dialogue. This is very important in a series like this because you’re not only dealing with sharply written dialogue, but it is being delivered with some fairly heavy British accents. If you couldn’t hear it clearly, you’d miss a lot. I was also very surprised to see it was presented in a Widescreen format, which helped to give it an almost movie-like quality.

There aren’t really many extras to speak of on this set, but there is a commentary by Russell T. Davies and Alan Davies. For the most part the commentary was really good, as they both had quite a few stories to share. Every now and then though, they would get a little quiet and their comments would start becoming a bit droll. During these times, it was a little hard not to nod off (of course, watching at midnight probably didn’t help…).

If you enjoy a well-written comedy/drama, I have no doubt you’ll get a kick out of this series. The only thing that might turn you off is if you have any problems with minor depictions of the gay lifestyle. It really doesn’t bother me when it’s done in moderation as it is here. If you can look past that, you’ll find “Bob & Rose” to be a delightful little series about love and life and what can happen when the two collide.

Directed by: Julian Farino, Joe Wright
Starring: Alan Davies, Lesley Sharp
Extras: Audio Commentary by Writer Russell T. Davies and Star Alan Davies, Production Notes, Biographies
Specifications: Widescreen
Studio: Shout! Factory
Release Date: 2/17/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Bob & Rose a B.