'Waterloo Road'
After taking a “school holiday”, 'Waterloo Road' is back to finish off the term and as usual it is never plain sailing. This BBC hit show has had more changes than the Sugababes over the years, with teachers coming and going as well as moving the school all the way to Scotland, which in my opinion still never makes sense.
'Waterloo Road' is a British television drama that is based in a comprehensive school that is full of rebellious and quite rude school children. As well as the teachers that come with a lot of baggage, which unveils as the series, goes on. It is like going to a school where all your fellow classmates want to beat you up and the teacher is drinking behind the desk.
One of the few people that can handle the madness of the students and teachers is headmaster Michael Byrne (Alec Newman). Michael has had to go through a difficult time recently moving to Scotland, back to the neighbourhood where he has made enemies and reuniting with his father who use to abuse him as a child.
Michael also starts to form a close relationship with Christine Mulgrew (Laurie Brett) but she is hiding a dark secret that she is an alcoholic which only her son Connor Mulgrew (Shane O’Meara) knows. Christine is starting to reform but I am sure that bottle of vodka she has tucked underneath her desk is waiting to come out later on this series.
Thankfully with all these new additions there are still some of the originals and one of my favourites being Grantly Budgen (Philip Martin Brown). He is the grumpy old teacher that would embarrass you in front of the whole class if you mess up or tries to mock him. Sadly in this series we start to see the breakdown of Grantly as he is diagnosed with kidney failure.
'Waterloo Road' has always been big on drama but I'm very doubtful that it will last much longer. With some big characters potentially leaving soon and the high volume of new characters, 'Waterloo Road' could turn into 'Skins' minus the sexual content and language. However for now it will continue to be one of the BBC’s most popular shows and I'll continue watching it until they decide to pull the plug.
Catch 'Waterloo Road' every Thursday at 8pm on BBC One or catch up on BBC iPlayer.
'Guy Code'
VIVA is a channel that I might click on if I wanted to watch the latest music videos, but to my amazement I was flicking through the television one night and came across 'Guy Code'. For years, men have followed a silent “code of behaviour” that only guys know about, even though we don't talk about it. This code has finally been exposed to the world, discussing a range of subjects that men should know the “do’s and don’ts” for and how to act in various situations. With a variety of American comedians and “celebrities”.
'Guy Code' talk about such subjects like: 'Dieting', 'How to get your girlfriend into sports', 'Social Media' and 'When it is okay for a guy to cry' just to name a few. Some of the topics discussed on the show are actually quite eye opening; it made me question whether I was following this silent code properly.
Thankfully these rules on 'Guy Code' are not so set in stone; with the assortment of panelist on the show there are people with different Guy Codes. One of the funniest ones on the show is Jon Gabrus, is your regular guy that likes to eat, scratch himself and generally does not give a damn!
This show is not just full of lads, there are also female “celebrities” on hand to give their views on 'Guy Code' and whether these rules would impress you when trying to chat up the ladies. Most of the women (or as I call them “Super Bitches”) on the show are incredibly attractive and probably wouldn't even blink an eye at the “Average Joe”, as well being quite brutal at times.
This show clearly shows that the term 'Guy Code' has different terms depending on the man. The better-looking guy will clearly preach on things you should not be doing whereas the not so good-looking guy will be more relaxed about things. However it is not all for and against, they do agree on certain things such as “Men not having tattoos on their face”, which in my book is a no! 'Guy Code' is a funny show not just for men but also for women.
Catch 'Guy Code' Monday to Thursday at 11pm at VIVA.
We're a collaborative British music, film and TV blog. "Trying to find the perfect match between pretentious and pop."
