Thu, Dec 13, 2007
Paul works as a gardener for the local council and lives in a house with students who ignore him, except when they want to borrow glasses. He snorts coke and comes across as a loner. He is attracted to Kirsty, a girl he sees daily, and eventually, after a little pretense, he wangles a date with her. They sleep together but he tells her he has a terrible secret. The secret is revealed when he is spotted by Jean, a young woman who knows him as Michael. In fact he has changed his name because when he was 10 he was responsible for killing Jean's child and her mother and has only recently been released from an institution. Jean follows him home. Will she forgive him and give him hope to turn his tortured life around?
Thu, Nov 29, 2007
Stressed-out homemaker Cath Hanley, trying to give up smoking, is doing her best to bring up her three children while her husband is in prison awaiting trial on drugs charges. The final straw comes when her son Ian is arrested for a taxi driver's accidental death; in fact, Ian is innocent. He and his cousin Gary Parr, about to join the Navy, were out on the town when Gary was sick and the taxi driver got aggressive. Gary banged the man's head in the taxi door, killing him, but Ian is prepared to take the rap to allow his cousin to join the Navy. Cath is appalled and comes into conflict with her sister Jan, Gary's mother, who is defensive of her son and also jumpy because she has given up smoking. The two sisters fall out before the final resolution.
Thu, Apr 27, 2006
Brian Peterson, a respected teacher and family man, is caught short while walking in the park and relieves himself behind a tree. A little girl sees him and her father has him arrested for indecent exposure. He is temporarily suspended from his job at the school and reviled by neighbours. Even his wife is not sure what to think, and it is only by happy chance that he is exonerated.
Mon, Jul 13, 2009
Paddy Gargan, landlord of the Greyhound pub, bans Calum Miller for smoking, antagonizing the boy's father Tom, a dodgy business-man who nonetheless subsidizes the pub's soccer team and threatens to pulverize Paddy if the ban is not lifted by the next afternoon. Because of Tom's support for them, the football team will not lend Paddy supportive muscle, and Paddy is indeed beaten to a pulp. But that evening he scores a moral victory, resulting in the bullied Calum and his mother walking out on Tom Miller.
Mon, Jul 20, 2009
Dee is a divorcee with two little boys. Mark is a plumber, also a single parent with a daughter, who comes out to replace Dee's ancient heating system. They date and he introduces her to his parents, Nessa and Joe. Nessa is lovely but Joe knows Dee because she works as a prostitute to help make ends meet and he has seen her professionally. He tells her to leave Mark, which she does, but the truth comes out into the open and the two men fight. Ultimately Dee gives up the oldest profession for domesticity with Mark and the kids.
Mon, Aug 10, 2009
Shay Ryan is an alcoholic following an armed robbery in the bookies' where he worked. One day ex-girlfriend Madeleine tells him that they have a 16-year-old son, Otto, who wants to see him, and he is ecstatic, though he initially rejects the lad when he turns out to have Down syndrome. Having lost his lodgings and his job because of his drinking, Shay sees Otto as a motivation for staying sober but it is very hard and he hits rock bottom, being rescued from living on the street by kind neighbour Nick. Madeleine has given him six months to get off the drink. If he can succeed, he can be more a part of their son's life.
Thu, May 18, 2006
Sean O'Neill lives unhappily with his wife Yvonne and their three young children. Sean struggles to conceal his temper and regularly beats up Yvonne as she tries to conceal the marital abuse from her family and finds walking away from him difficult. Yvonne's Irish mum Mary and sister Kerry aren't so easily deceived. Kerry arrives offering support much to Sean's annoyance. Finally plucking up the courage to end her marriage, Yvonne gets Kerry's partner Alex to change the locks so Sean can't get into the house. But getting Sean out of her life proves impossible with him demanding access to the kids. As events spiral out of control Sean beats up Alex. It's all too much for Mary who dies suddenly after watching Alex being beat up. Recalling Mary's jibe to Sean that he'd be 'in the ground' before she was, Yvonne and Kerry ensure that the prophecy comes true: They corner a drunken Sean and beat him to death with lead piping, and dispose of the body in the plot that shortly afterwards sees Mary's coffin lowered into it.
Thu, Nov 15, 2007
Cab-driver Eddie meets Bob, who married Eddie's old flame Pat, with whom he now runs the Melville pub. They invite Eddie to attend a charity auction. Eddie's wife Margie is not keen on his going but having discovered a lump while in the shower, she agrees he should go on his own. He gets drunk and, to impress Pat, bids a large sum of money for signed snooker balls. He wins the bid but really can't afford the money he stumps up via his credit card. The next day he has a minor prang in the cab. The police are called and he ends up getting fined. He returns to the Melville to see if he can return the balls and Pat offers him sex out of pity, but he refuses because he loves his wife. There is a happy ending however, for he has become a local hero following a story in the free paper about his bid, and Margie's lump is not malignant. They go out to celebrate.
Mon, Jul 27, 2009
Young Nick Calshaw returns from fighting the war in Afghanistan with half his face terribly scarred by a female suicide bomber. His family and schoolteacher girlfriend Gemma are horrified but try to act normally for his sake, but he fails to get his old job back and feels that people stare at him. After causing a scene in public he admits to his best friend that he should have shot the suicide bomber but failed to because she had a baby with her; as a result some other lads were killed and he was disfigured. Following a row with Gemma he deliberately steps in front of a taxi whose Muslim driver Hasam takes him to hospital, saving his life. An appreciative Nick is given some hope as to the good in people and invites Hasam to his wedding to Gemma, where his family all support him.