Radio Times

Let's not waste any time, let's shoot a poisoned arrow straight through the heart of Personal Affairs, BBC3's supposed comic drama about a clutch of secretaries in a City of London bank. It is inexplicably bad.

By that I mean how did a series so crunchingly awful actually make it to a television screen? Why did something that made me want to rend my garments and tear my hair out by its roots, arrive, fully formed, in my living room, without anyone noticing its desiccated plot and characters?

The quartet of PAs at the heart of Personal Affairs (three of whom are pictured below) are tiresome, sex-obsessed bimbos who use the word "shag" a lot and make references to a certain celebrity magazine, presumably in an attempt to be zeitgeist-y, though Personal Affairs is as zeitgeist-y as the Ice Age. Their male bosses are manipulative sexist jerks; their female boss wears Marie Antoinette wigs (no, I have no idea why) and is a lesbian.

The life-sappingly dreadful first episode featured lots of Sex and the City-type shots of the gurning, stiletto-heeled women clipping along shiny office corridors. One of them, Grace Darling (ho ho, can you see what they did there?) vanished mysteriously and her witless colleagues set about trying to find her. You could cut the tension with a banana.

The equally arid second episode clobbered us with more stereotypes and teeth-rotting dialogue, as in "love, the root of all evil". Profound, don't you think? I felt ashamed to be watching such dismal pap.

Eh it was an amazing programme! Maybe you should find something else to do with your time than be so critical!

Who cares if it was tacky and crap?

Why do we need to read so much into it?

Yeah, perhaps it was made on budget, and perhaps it wasn't edited fantastically. (to be honest I hadn't noticed) but I, for one found it very entertaining, because it was a light hearted, girly comedy, with a bit of morality.

Bring on eason 2!

I enjoyed the show. I agree with Suzanne that the production could do with tidying up. It seems to me to have set the scene and has enough legs and potential to be able to roll on for more series.

I thoroughly enjoyed Personal Affairs, especially the Sid and Rock story line. More please.

Ive never done this before but I have just watched this series on iplayer and I simply have to comment in the hope that the Beeb will see this and take note. Never in my life have I watched such inept, badly scripted, disjointed, unbelievable crap. My god I'm no gur on story writting but a child could have dreamt up a better plot. I'm sorry to say that the writer and producer should, in my opinion, never be allowed to work again.

I read the Radio Times blogs regularly, but have never written before, and probably never will again, but I've finally snapped to read of Personal Affairs being referred to again as tripe or trash. And by yet another person who says they stuck with it. As others in the blog have said, why would anyone put themelves through all that suffering if they think it's tripe. I'm not saying it is all perfect. It looks like it has been made on a budget. The sets are gloomy, the hanging lights at the party for billionaires and their advisers look like as if they are from the local pound shop. I don't like the jerky views of the City that link the scenes, the sound isn't brilliant. The titles at the end wobble down the screen to very tacky music. It is edited badly. It just looks badly made. So yes, all those things undermine the overall impression and they are big things. But with all those disadvantages something fabulous sparkles through and I found the content and the acting exciting and engaging. There is more action in one episode than in a whole series of the usual dramas. There are no stereotypes. There are no rules regarding gender and at the end, the perfect woman, Grace, who loves her female role and is loved for it, is actually a man. Even Rock ditches his 1950s stereotype ideal woman and falls in love with Sid who he earlier tells no woman should be like and he finally says with feeling that he doesn't care if Grace is animal, vegetable or mineral, she is a great secretary, or words to that effect. Grace's disappearance brings out all the other characters' stories and is the link between them. Sorry this letter is so long, but with all its faults, Personal Affairs is intelligent, witty and gripping and the characters had real journeys that, like life, have not yet run their course. I've so enjoyed it over the past few weeks. So while it might be "tripe" to some who strangely seem to feel obliged to hang on and watch it all, feeling, like Alison Graham, ashamed as they do so, I think it's one of the best things that's been on TV for ages and I agree with all those many others on this blog who love it and hope there is more to come.

I have to say that this show is complete tripe. I have stuck with it in the hope that Grace going missing would lead to some drama but then she turned out to be a man who needed some time to think. There are some really talented actors in this show but all failed to impress with emotionless shallow stereotypes. I hope the beeb let this lie and commission some real drama which credits the BBC3 audience with some intellect.

What a brilliant ending to a brilliant series. It's been such a breath of fresh air and much cleverer than some people have given it credit for. Why only 5 episodes? Not enough. Just hope BBC3 don't do what they did to Pulling, and nearly did to Being Human, and that we will get a second series - and third and fourth - because the stories have only just started, I love the characters, and Little Rock must meet his pa! Please, please BBC3, more, more, more.

Love Personal Affairs!!!!

This show is amazing the amount of twists and turns you go through is amazing and I would definately recommend it to anyone I mean wow what a show!

i think that whoever wrote this review obviously does not know anything about television - this show has it all - comedy, tension, crime, surprises and more! there is nothing else like it and I think keeps you watching till the end and still wanting more. I admit there were a few parts that made you cringe and there was not much eye candy, and it was pretty bizarre but thats what distinguishes it from others, and the plot and characters were very deep and interesting to watch and makes you think if this was a true story...yikes! im hoping there is a new season - brilliant show whoeve rmade it are geniuses and hopefully they will improve the show - thats if there are any more episodes!

i absolutely disagree with this review i think that this show was one of the most entertaining shows that i have see all year! not only were the characters interesting but the plot also had enough twists to hold attention throughout and leave you wanting more. i work shifts and find time to watch little TV but this is definately one i spent the time watching and was glad of Iplayer for the catch-up! i for one cannot wait for the next series!

I'm still buzzing from the "Personal Affairs" finale. What fabulous escapism. While googling more info on this divine show, I came across this ridiculous review. And Julia, what on earth are you talking about? In the words of the legendary character, Rachel Klein (who is now my official heroine) have you ever considered a vibrator?

Well, im not one to get sunk into things like this but i have to say that i thoroughly enjoyed the series. My usual type of shows are things like Charmed, Ghost Whisperer, Roswell etc etc but this caught my eye and im in love with it now. I dont care what others say. It may be tacky, crap and worthless to watch for them but for me its engaging and gripping and a massive laugh.

PERSONAL AFFAIRS SERIES 2 COME ON!!!!

i have to say that personal affairs was just brilliant yes the 1st episode was a little bit confusing but after that i just wanted to seee more and more it had me gripped all the way through. and i must say that the last episode tonite was a fantasic way to end it and im really hoping there will be a serious two now .

Short and sweet....I thought Personal Affairs was brilliant.

I've watched every episode of Personal Affairs and am looking forward to the finale tonight. That's because I really like it and have thoroughly enjoyed it. What I don't understand is that from Julia's letter she hates it but seems to also have watched every episode. Why?

Has the Radio Times seen a fall in circulation recently? If so the answer is staring you in the face. I have never been much of a fan of critics and certainly take no notice of anything they have to say. Alison Graham is a case in point; I have never known anyone be so negative about so many programmes. Every day I read the radio times and nearly every day I am subjected to a philippic diatribe. It is nearing the point where I shall no longer buy the Radio times as life is quite hard enough without having to read these, what I consider inaccurate, scathing critiques.

I'll accept that it's not the greatest, most profound TV show ever produced but it is excellent entertainment. Not everything has to make you think and sometimes it is nice to watch something that is just a bit of fun.

It's an excellent show that I hope returns for another series.

I absolutely agree with this review. Personal Affairs is one of the worst, most cringe-making shows I have ever had the misfortune to sit through. Like Two Pints and Coming of Age, you find yourself watching it because you can't believe that something so bad could ever make it onto the screen, and the worst thing is that people are comparing it to Sex and the City and Ally Mcbeal. These are two of my favourite shows and I think it is an insult to put these vibrant, inventive programmes in the same category as this hopeless pile of human waste. I'm 22 so I suppose I fit BBC3 target audience, but I find it so annoying that they automatically assume that this is what young women like myself want to watch, as though we will instantly relate to the plight of four oversexed tarts only concerned with using men for money, having sex in lifts and having the sole ambition to appear on reality television. I know it's supposed to be fluffy and lighthearted, but that doesn't mean it has to subscribe to every cliche going. You can picture the writers going through the check list prior to penning this cack. Right, idoit number 1: blond ditzy cute one with an unfaithful boyfreind. Unappreciated at work. Demonstrate likeability by giving her a Mockney accent stolen from Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins. 2: Dopey fame obsessed attention seeker who people will feel closest to because of her "earthiness" (N.B. achieve earthiness with this one by giving her terrible scouse accent which will automatically make her seem cute and funny (all Liverpudlians being hysterically funny by nature). 3: Money hungry ice queen made bad by nasty daddy leaving home when she was a little girl(expend the personality of this creature by giving her a fondness for Bing Crosby records. This, obviously, gives her tremendous depth and inviduality) 4:Nerdy innocent who, because she has been to university and is highly inteligent, must be portrayed as an ugly, badly dressed wallflower because you can't possibly be both pretty and inteligent. People who read books must be ugly hermit type creatures who have mental problems and can be brainwashed by lunatics at the drop of a hat, while if you are pretty you must use it to the advantage of spreading your legs for any passing stranger and appearing on Big Brother. This is like a long winded version of the Mitchell and Webb 'Lazy writers' sketch, conforming to every cliche in the book while delivering some of the most cringe making moments seen on television in a long time (the snot nosed rich one dropping a watch into a glass of water and claming it cost eight hundred thousand and the Scouse one singing nine to five being a particular highlight). It is a truly dreadful programme with no redeeming feature, and I'd like to know what the head of the BBC is doing plowing money into garbage like this when shows like 'Pulling' and 'Not going out' have been axed despite strong ratings and good reviews. BBC3 should be taken off the air if this is the best it can produce. It almost makes you long for the style and orginality of Horne and Corden.

Be fair, it was BBC3

Once again judging from the comments Alison Graham is totally out of touch or has Sam got it right and is she just being provocative. She is not a great critic just an irritating one. My favourite critic at the moment is Caitlin Moran in the Times. Now if only she could be persuaded to write for Radio Times it would be worth its cover price again.

I love Personal Affairs. It's a laugh and makes me giggle. It isn't trying to be anything other than fun entertainment on a boring Tuesday night! Am looking forward to the last episode in the series next week and hopefully a new series later on!

I agree with Claire and want to add that I actually think Personal Affairs will come into its own in the second series like lots of shows that have become big hits. It has turned into one of the most enjoyable offerings on TV.

Personal Affairs has grown into a really good drama after a bit of a frothy start. I've kept watching because I've enjoyed it though it had its faults, and it was worth it because the characters have developed so well and it's got better and better and I'm liking it so much now but it's only got one week to go. I really hope there's a second series to come and that it's soon.

I just read Sam's very well written comment, and feel compelled to answer to this article too. I can't help it, I quite like the show, I've just seen four episodes on iPlayer.

I admit, it's not brilliant. Some of it is so bad I had to put the damn thing on pause to cringe. But at the end of the day… so sue me, I feel affectionate of it. I like how silly it is. I like the sheer oddness of it. And when I see it in that light I stop cringing because I stop taking it SERIOUSLY. Let's face it: there's nothing in this show that asks you to take it seriously. Just take one look at the characters: a graduate virgin (who do exist, sadly I can vouch for that), a reality-show obsessed wally (bless her, come on: we all know this person somewhere in our lives), a blonde Essex girl with brains (a sentence not usually used in everyday language, we snobs must admit), and a man-eater who chooses to date a boy who gives her pearls and the receipt instead of the decent bloke off ebay.

No, I don't think it's asking its audience to take it seriously, and so I won't, and eagerly await the finale.

I absolutely love "Personal Affairs". It's a fabulous rollercoaster of entertainment. Last night's episode had me laughing and crying and I can't say that about any other British drama series I've watched in ages.

I love Personal Affairs - a good British answer to S&TC, Ally McBeal etc etc more more more please!

I LOVE Personal Affairs! It's over the top, fabulous and fun. After losing Dirty Sexy Money I needed a new surreal programme and this fits in perfectly.

Alison Graham- stop taking it so seriously!

I love Alison Graham. She is one of the great critics. By provoking you to the end of your tether she acts as a catalyst and drags a response out of you as to how you really feel about a programme. That's a great skill. Sometimes I agree with her, sometimes I don't. That's not important. This week I'm afraid I am in major disagreement with her. Tthe Wire" is one of my favourite programmes of all time, and as far as "Personal Affairs" is concerned, after two short weeks and three episodes I like it and I like it a lot. I'm not sure why, but I've even taken to watching each episode more than once. It is quite instinctive. I'm enjoying it. All those new characters, all those plots. Personal Affairs rocks.

TV drama has become safe and predictable. So boring. "Personal Affairs" is not. At last someone with vision was willing to take a chance. I like the fact that it is still revealing itself, unlike the usual dramas that set out a formula in the first episode and then continue to dish out more of the same week by week.

It all began in a stormy sea of disadvantages. A BBC3 drama, previewed everywhere as the English substitute for Sex and the City, Ugly Betty, Mad Men, Desperate Housewives, etc, etc, etc. And the opening shots which bear certain similarities to Sex and the City with cartoon shots straight out of Ali McBeal, just supported the comparisons. And then it didn't fulfil the SATC expectations. It was unexpected. It was different. Perhaps it was too unexpected and different to gain instant acceptance. I think it's more like a soap than a drama, it makes me laugh and I even get those embarrassing moments when a tear springs to my eyes.

I work in an office, and though the overall impression of the show is one of bizarre madness, the relationships ring true. The women are not all "bimbos" who use the word "shag" all the time. Midge might be loosely described as a bimbo, but Lucy is a pregnant, married woman who refers to sex with her husband as "you know", Nicole is a sophisticated, self-protective, man manipulator, and Sid is a geeky Oxford graduate with no sexual experience. Though we don't know Grace very well, she certainly couldn't be described as a bimbo. Surely the dialogue isn't meant to be profound, just true to the characters, which it is. So maybe this just isn't a programme that would appeal to Ms Graham. Or rather, she obviously can't stand it. It's a free country. I don't think I'm necessarily the target audience myself, but I love it with a passion and regret that there are only two more weeks to go. I really hope there's more to come. And I will be reading Alison Graham next week for some good provocation.

I just read this blog and am stunned by the blogger's comments, so much so that I'm posting a comment of my own! I am loving Personal Affairs and so is everyone I know, including my dad! The first episode was a little confusing but since then it's settled down into an entertaining and addictive soap. And you say the characters are sex obsessed bimbos? Have we been watching the same programme?! One of the aspects I'm enjoying is that the girls are all smart in their own ways. Incidentally, yes I'm 21, but that doesn't make me a completely brain dead moron, I'm studying English at UCL. BBC TELEVISION CENTRE PLEASE DON'T LISTEN TO ALISON GRAHAM. WE LOVE THE SHOW! BRING ON SERIES TWO!

Mediagirl and Richard : Don't try to suggest it's an age thing. We're not all philistines.

Sounded like Alison Graham got out of bed the wrong side and fell out of the window.You have been watching too much worthy television that you've forgotten that one of the prime reasons we have for watching television is to be entertained. While there is no doubt that the deeply-flawed "Occupation" will be there when the gongs are handed out, I don't think I'd like to be watching stuff like that every night. "Personal Affairs" isn't meant to be deep and meaningful,Alison. I would have thought that a t.v. critic would have spotted that. It is there for those of us who've battled our way into work on a hot,sticky train, then found out that our hours are to be cut, then got home and found a whopping gas bill on the floor. I need to wallow in something for an hour to forget about life and not to be reminded of it. Incidentally are you sure that you are a t.v. critic. You haven't seen any of "The Wire"? Don't you get freebie dvds @ Radio Times ? Or are you just too scared too admit that it is yet another series that the yanks have done that is much better than anything that we can come up with. Anyone can tell that it is a classic to be put up there with "Hill Street Blues", "NYPD Blue", "Homicide:Life on the Streets", "The Shield" and "Law & Order". Turn your head away and not only are you missing out, you are not doing your job.

I think the show is great. I'm not a twentysomething year old who's into Facebook etc but a 46 year old mother of teenagers and I can still enjoy the programme. The plot may be ridiculous but the characters are mostly interesting and quirky, especially Sid and the lesbian boss. I love the little fantasy scenes too-they're funny and clever. It's a shame it's on in such a late slot buried away on BBC3. I only discovered it accidentally and none of my friends had even heard of it. Thank goodness for i-player!

Richard,

At last the voice of reason! You are so right. As you may have gathered from my earlier blog, I think this show is really great. I've done my research, and I discovered that the writer of Personal Affairs used to write (elsewhere it says 'storyline') for East Enders, and suddenly everything clicked into place. Personal Affairs is a really fast-and-furious, mad soap with engaging characters and intriguing plots, which shouldn't be confined to 5 episodes, it should run and run as a regular show. And you're so right about the age of the audience. The constantly growing number of Facebook Fans are, with a few exceptions, young, and they love it.

So, yes, give Richard a job. In fact, give me a job, too. And here's to more of Personal Affairs, which has definitely captured a following in a couple of weeks since it was noticed that it was not another Sex in the City, as the publicity claimed, but is wonderful original entertainment.

Why did Alison Graham hate Personal Affairs? Hmm...let me think...possibly because she is so totally out of touch with reality that she hates anything on TV that vaguely pops it's head into the 20th century?!

Personal Affairs is engaging and funny. It's humour is inserted to break up the otherwise heavy plotlines of financial theft, adultery and general office backstabbery. The central plot as to why Grace disappeared is intriguing and PAs does a good job of presenting a Brit-based answer to Desperate Housewives, SATC and other US romcom dramas aimed at the 20-30year old woman but which is broad enough to cover her male partner as well. Having worked in offices, I can easily identify people I know as the characters represented in this "dismal pap" and, by consequence it is fun watching them deal with the same office politics as many of the viewing public must face on a daily basis without the respite of a fantasy sequence where said boss gets his come-uppance.

Seriously Alison, you hate everything on TV! How did you get your job, or more importantly, how do you keep it?! And how can I get the job as counter-balance columnist at RT because you are so out of touch with younger TV viewers it is unreal! Stick to your Last of the Summer Wine and let someone younger comment on the more "zeitgeist-y" programmes.

Fantastic!, i totally agree it was soo terrible, i could not have described it any better myself, you have ad me in stitches, bravo!

Were we watching the same show? I've watched some 'crunchingly awful' drama on TV over the past few weeks, and despaired, but I really enjoyed this. It's very new, and all there to happen and I predict that it's going to be a big hit. It's main fault is that it failed to define itself at the outset, so it has to do so as it progresses. But it's engaging and there's a wide range of strong characters, some of whom are wonderfully bizarre, such as the posh lesbian boss who mutters in Latin. It is early days. The characters and plots have yet to unfold and all have real potential. Patience isn't my virtue. I don't give things more than a few minutes if I'm bored, but I stayed with Personal Affairs ignoring my need for a coffee until it was over, far too quickly. I think it's something rich and strange.