LIP SERVICE

Glasgow. Famous for ship building, The Barras and lesbians. Apparently.
In 2009 the BBC announced plans for a big, shiny drama about lesbians. Long overdue many have said; British lesbians have had to settle for reminiscing about Tipping the Velvet for far too long. In a most surprising twist of events however, the BBC announced that this new big, shiny Lesbian drama would be set in, um, our fair city of Glasgow. Strange choice?



Cat & Frankie in the city.

Well, no, not really actually. Glasgow has long been known to all of us who live here to be a diverse and tolerant city, and it was just a matter of time before people from elsewhere discovered that. The three main characters Frankie, Cat and Tess lived fairly normal lives, with fairly standard problems, which a much wider audience could empathise with. Sometimes with "gay" drama, it can look like a nature documentary as they show us the peculiar mating habits and rituals of these, gasp, strange creatures! Luckily, Lip Service was the complete opposite, and made great strides in showing functional,non-stereotypical gay people in the UK today.

The central plotline was the not so triumphant homecoming of Frankie, who had fled Glasgow in a hurry, leaving girlfriend Cat behind to mourn her departure.Cat moves on, finds herself a nice, if very serious, new girlfriend in the form of policewoman Sam. But Frankie wants Cat back... Throw in some mystery, some comedy and some tantalising images of Glasgow by night, and voila, one brandspanking, lesbian drama!

Sam & Cat go public.

Because there are so few television shows specifically aimed at the LGBT community, the ones that are broadcast tend to get massive support from the community. These shows tend to have far greater reach than other British drama, as the gay and lesbian communities across the worlda support any decent LGBT output.

Lip Service was at home on the BBC3 schedule. It gathered large audiences for a minority channel, showing that the viewers looked beyond the lesbian tag, and focused on the strong storylines. The role of Glasgow was an important one for the show. Sex & the City famously viewed New York City as the 5th character of the show, and in a sense the same could be said for Glasgow in Lip Service. The city looks sleek and modern. I live here and it makes me want to visit...

Keep your eyes peeled for Series 2 of Lip Service, showing on BBC3 this spring.

BROADCAST:- 2010-present.

STARRING:- Ruta Gedmintas, Fiona Button, Laura Fraser.

WEEGIE RATING:- Ya dancer!

RIVER CITY

In many ways, River City is the juggernaut of Glaswegian television shows. Sure, some have been running for longer, others have caused a somewhat sparkier zeitgeist, but River City has been the Scottish television's industry beacon of bright light for the last decade.

Initially River City was viewed, by the public and the media, as a bit of an embarrassment. Scots cringed as they heard their own broad accents being banded about the screen. Looking back, this was no surprise. All major British soaps started badly. When Eastenders began in 1985, there were immediate calls for it to be axed. Within two years it gained the biggest ever audience in British broadcasting history. Now River City doesn't quite have a phoenix rising from the ashes story to rival its London counterpart, but over the last decade, it's gained a steady, and determined following.

In the early years, the show was plagued by constant rumours that the BBC were eager to show it across all their networks. Thus far, that has turned out not to be the case. In hindsight, it's probably lucky that national stardom has never come knocking. The show was built by Scots, for Scots, and amidst the glamour of the network, would have been demands for higher ratings, and necessary changes, to make it palatable for the Home Counties. And at that point it would have lost its little spark of Scottishness that sets it apart, and makes it ours.

Shellsuit Bob, minus the shellsuit.

In its 10 years, it's showcased both established stars - Johnny Beattie and Eileen McCallum to name a few - and nurtured new talent. Characters such as Shellsuit Bob and Scarlett Mullen have become ingrained in the national psyche, and echo the Glaswegian tone - neither character could appear in any other television show, never mind any other soap.

BBC Scotland, in an effort to save money mooted an idea a few years back to only broadcast River City for 40 weeks of the years, but a public outcry ensued. Lead by The Scottish Sun, and supported by the likes of Lorraine Kelly (who was a guest star on the soap in 2007), and Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the campaign uncovered the high level of support the show had amongst its devotees, and it was saved.

Scarlett. Someone not to be trifled with.

On a personal level, it's the show I hear about most regularly. I've lost count of the amount of Facebook statuses I've seen from people who seem to have found their 15 minutes of fame, moonlighting as an extra, starring as "Girl sitting in cafe", or "Man walking past flats". Apparently extra work pays quite well, and lunch is provided. A definite plus for any cash-strapped students out there!

River City isn't just a hit at home. Scottish expat communities as far away as Canada, Australia and New Zealand manage to keep up with the goings-on in Shieldinch. Interestingly, this differs from the Brits who live abroad and regularly catch-up on Coronation Street. For much of the Scottish diaspora, River City wasn't broadcast until after they left our shores, but somehow they've found it. And like very few other TV shows, it connects them to home.

River City is shown on Tuesday evenings at 8pm on BBC1 Scotland.

BROADCAST:- 2002-present.
WEEGIE RATING:- Brull-yant. Of the pure dead variety.

TAGGART

When I was 19 years old, I made the ill-advised decision to move to the city of Hull. Famous for cream phone boxes and having a massive drag community (seriously, I still have the feather boa to prove it), I lasted three whole weeks. When I think back to this time of my life, my overriding memory is of the amount of people, who on finding out I was from Glasgow, asked me to say "THERE'S BEEN A MURDER" in my accent.

Original Inspector Taggart Mark McManus in 1983, outside the city's Mitchell Library.

That phrase has been synonymous with Glasgow ever since it was first heard in crime drama Taggart almost 30 years ago. Initially the show followed veteran DCI Jim Taggart, played by Mark McManus, attempting to solve numerous and puzzling murders around the city. When the show was first broadcast in 1983, Glasgow was under the constrained grip of Thatcher's government. The city was post-industrial, holding connotations of a dangerous, dirty place, ravaged with knife-wielding gangs, to which tourists didn't visit. In many ways, this created the perfect setting for a crime drama.

In 1994 the show suffered the ultimate television tribulation; lead actor Mark McManus died whilst filming. What could have been the grizzly demise of the entire show, actually proved to be the kiss of life, and the maverick cop format which had been growing stale was replaced. As the city of Glasgow modernised throughout the 1990's, the show moved with it, introducing younger characters and more dramatic storylines. In its current format, Taggart showcases Glasgow to be the vibrant, multi-cultural place it is today. Numerous cast members have came, and went. But the only constant has been the city of Glasgow

The shows current murder-solving team - Blythe Duff, Alex Norton, John Michie.

Sadly Taggart's coat seems to be on a shaky hook, with national broadcaster ITV stating it would no longer be showing the drama to viewers in England & Wales. ITV blame falling ratings south of the border, but many see this axing as a retaliation to STV's decision not to broadcast a number of high-profile ITV shows in Scotland. Almost 30 years, and over 100 episodes later, the show has become ingrained in the Scottish psyche; as much a part of Glaswegian culture as Billy Connolly or the Duke of Wellington statue, complete with traffic cone.

RUN:- 1983-present
STARRING:- Blythe Duff, Mark McManus, Colin McCredie
WEEGIE RATING:- *****