Absolutely brilliant

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Sugar Rush is a brilliant comedy drama who's strength lay in its ability to combine completely opposing views to dramatic affect. It keeps its moral tones (such as treat others as you'd like to be treated, the significance of parental responsibility and the importance of tolerance) pinned down under plenty of outrageously amoral antics to stop the show from ever becoming preachy, and places harsh reality beside blatantly idealistic situations to keep things ticking along in the lightest vein possible. The whole show is saturated with the bright colours, loud music and stop-start, jumpy energy that made Burchill's book so renowned, and, in my opinion, uses these elements to even greater effect. However I have to point out here that the 8 out of 10 stars is most definitely reserved for Series 1. The next (and, unfortunately now, final series of Sugar Rush) series that take place 18 months later has abandoned much of the drama and pathos that made its predecessor so compelling. Yes, Kim's 'Out and Proud' - as you'd expect - but a year and a half later she still seems to have an extremely limited circle of friends, a desperately dysfunctional couple of parents who now border caricature, a brother who has miraculously aged about 6 years and - here it comes - a love interest she conveniently meets a few weeks before Sugar's release from prison. In fact the only remote inkling we get of the supposed 18-month gap is the fact that Kim is now attending 'college' as opposed to rotting away in year 10 at slummy Ravendene Comp. In terms of character there is no real difference and the story carries straight on from the last episode, admittedly with a butt-load of cheap jokes at the lesbian community's expense and a couple of really, really daft episodes that left me scratching my head (episode 7, featuring a Russian gangster and an obvious tribute to BBC1's Hustle was a real mind-bender). Despite this fall in standards I am still gutted this programme was dropped, as I would've liked to have seen if it could've redeemed itself in the future.

I admit when I first saw the advert I was interested in the lesbian storyline, but it turned out to be much more than that, it turned out to be one of the best British dramas I have seen in years. Basically attractive Kim (Olivia Hallinan) is a virgin obsessed with her best friend, the gorgeous Maria "Sugar" Sweet (Lenora Crichlow), and she knows she is a genuine lesbian by the end, when they do finally get each other. It is when Sugar gets arrested that Kim moves on and finds love with sex shop owner and DJ, Saint (Sarah-Jane Potts), and they really struggle to cope with all the distractions around them, and that includes Sugar. The sub-plot also sees Kim's parents, dad Nathan (Richard Lumsden) and mum Stella (Sara Stewart) first coping with an affair, and then becoming more interested in sex with other people, i.e. swinging. Oh, and you see Kim's brother Matt (Kurtis O'Brien) a couple of times too. It is serious, it is funny, and it is brilliantly written, a great adaptation of some popular books (by Julie Burchill). It was nominated the BAFTA TV Award for Best Drama Series "production team", and it won the International Emmy for Children and Young People UK. Very good!

The TV adaptation of Sugar Rush is at all nothing like the book. The characters are different, there are some missing, some added and the story lines hardly the same. However i find that its much more interesting than the book as some of the things are hardly realistic. I have mixed feelings about the adaptation, if i was Julie Burchill i would be extremely angry about the way the book has been handled. However the TV adaptation is much more appealing than the book. Sugar Rush really appeals to teenagers who can perhaps relate to Kim in dealing with the issues of being attracted to your best friend. Or any girl for that matter.

From not reading the book, I'm not too sure what I was going to make of the series. But the series seemed to jump too quickly into the story. Sugar is a quite annoying character, and I don't know if that is because of the character, or because Lenora Crichlow can't act. I think the only person that seems to save this series is Olivia Hallinan, because she's an excellent character.A positive thing to say is that I can relate to Kim when it comes to the sexual feelings for girls, though I don't feel her desperation to have sex.At the moment, the storyline doesn't seem much to me, which is why I plan on reading the book before next week. A good try, but let's hope it gets better.