Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1758 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-02-27
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Formats: Box set, PAL, Digital Sound, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 7

Amazon.co.uk Review
A real highlight of BBC2’s output in the 1990s, This Life works on a simple premise of following the lives of five young lawyers who each share the same London home. Yet that simplicity shields what was, and remains, a groundbreaking series, one that never shirked away from any of the issues it chose to touch on.

Across the two series that make up this unmissable boxset, we get to meet the full-of-himself Miles, the loud but troubled Anna, Milly the control-freak and the unsure Egg. Add in the upbeat Warren, whose gay but doesn’t want his parents to know, and the confused and bisexual Ferdy, and you have a melting pot of emotions and stories that are as captivating to watch as they were when the show was first broadcast.

At the core of This Life’s success though are some wonderful, career-making performances. The likes of Andrew Lincoln (Teachers, Love Actually) and Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean, The Talented Mr Ripley) have certainly used it as a springboard to launch their careers, and we can only hope to see more of the excellent Daniela Nardini and Amita Dhiri in the future.

But for now, savour just what this is. It’s astonishingly confident, moving, at times flat out hilarious but always unmissable. And it’s taken far too long to bring it all to DVD. Make the most of it now it’s here.--Simon Brew END

DVD Description
SERIES 1

This multi-award-winning cult series eavesdrops on the lives of a group of young lawyers sharing a London house. Wild child Anna has trouble with men. Arrogant Miles is torn between two women. Control-freak Milly is torn between two men. Egg can't decide what to do with his life. Ferdy is bisexual and confused. And Warren is proud to be gay, as long as it doesn't mean telling his family.

SERIES 2

Wild child Anna has trouble with men. Arrogant Miles is torn between two women. Control-freak Milly is torn between two men. Egg can't decide what to do with his life. Ferdy is bisexual and confused. And Warren is proud to be gay, as long as it doesn't mean telling his family. This BAFTA award-winning cult series eavesdrops on the lives of a group of young lawyers sharing a London house. Starring Daniella Nardini, Jack Davenport, Andrew Lincoln, Amita Dhiri, Jason Hughes and Ramon Tikaram. END

Synopsis
THIS LIFE is the hugely successful drama series that follows the turbulent personal and working lives of 5 twenty-something solicitors who share a house in South London.

Customer Reviews

open-mouthed in amazament
i'd like to sum this up with something pithy like "Friends for adults", but that would be unfair on this jaw-droppingly amazing show. Far too many scenes left me open mouthed and thinking "did that really just happen?" for this prog to be summed up so easily. Maybe my most memorable moment sums it up - Miles and Anna doing the jiggy jiggy on the living room floor while Miles's fiance is asleep upstairs. This sounds cheap and nasty but it is the genius of the writers and cast that makes this such a poignant and heartbreaking scene.

There is far too much here to touch on in 1000 words. What about the groundbreaking depiction of gay sex and relationships, the wonderfully funny writing, the fantastic camera-work, the genius of the characterisation - I can still remember them all - Anna, Miles, Egg, Millie, Ferdie - and I haven't even watched this thing for 10 years..... and an incredible right-hook of an ending!

So much goodness in one little package.

Unsurpassable
"This Life" was indeed my favourite TV series of the nineties, if not of all time. This was a groundbreaking series, which paved the way for the likes of "Queer as Folk", "Cold Feet", "The Secret Life of Us" and many others.

The two season series follows the lives of Egg, Milly, Miles, Anna, Warren, Ferdy and their friends, colleagues and acquaintances through the highs and lows of modern living with all the trappings of the nineteen-nineties indulgencies.
What made this series superior to the many imitators was its absolute frankness and realism to situations and relationships and the boldness and bravado of the scriptwriters, producers and actors.

Daniella Nardini won a Best Actress British Academy Award for her role in this series and deservedly so. Her portrayal of the messed up, over confident yet insecure Anna is one of the finest pieces of acting in television of its time.

This series was also the springboard for up-and-coming talents including the beautiful Amita Dhiri as anally retentive Milly, the irrepressible Andrew Lincoln as the lost Egg, the heartbreaking performance of Jason Hughes as the hearty Warren, the mesmerising Jack Davenport as the arrogant Miles, the brooding Roman Tikaram as the bisexually bemused Ferdy and the stunning Natasha Little who underplays her role as the scheming Rachel to such an amazing degree it is a wonder she didn't walk away with an award herself.

Add to this eclectic mix the support from Keira Bradshaw-White (whose comic relief often adds a welcome tear of joy) and the pure sexiness of Steve John Shepherd as Jo, you have a recipe for one of the best feasts in television history.

The combined efforts of the superb cast and magnificent writing team (including the multi-talented Amelia Bullmore, better known to many as Alan Partridge's girlfriend 'Sonja' in "I'm Alan Partridge") culminate in pure addictive TV. The final episode has to be one of the most entertaining hours on the screen.

Ten years has been too long to wait, but thankfully it is here at last in its completion.

It rarely gets better than this...

Absolutely Fantastic series.
This series from the 90's was unknown to me before finding it here on Amazon. I purchased both series because the synopsis sounded like something I would like, and because of the detailed rave reviews by others. Thank you for that.

I was not disappointed; only sad when I popped what I knew to be the last DVD in to the player. These wonderful characters were hard to let go of. I agree with the other reviewer in that a 10 year reunion episode is really needed, at the very least, to give these characters a proper goodbye.

Living in America now, I always get a little nostalgic when I watch a series that takes place in London, but this series stands on its own merit for leaving a lasting impression.