The family that builds together...
B. Elizabeth Mccollum | Brattleboro VT | 08/27/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a wonderful series about the love and hate that can flow between siblings. Joe and Trevor Purvis are from Newcastle, Joe's an experienced builder, Trevor his out-of-work younger brother who's done a bit of home improvement, but not much more. Joe brings Trevor to London with him to restore a large Victorian house near the river for a couple, Laura and Paul.
The brothers' relationship is very complex from the start and is only made more complex by many of the situations that they encounter during the job, including the breakup of Trevor's marriage and falling in lust with the wrong women. Trevor must work constantly to try and prove to Joe that he's not "crap" at building and Joe has to learn to deal better with his responsibility for his choices and actions, both in his own broken marriage and in his relationship to his family.
There is much comedy and drama along the way, and the performances are consistently good. Stephen Tompkinson's Trevor seems pathetic at times, but there is a core of strength that emerges when it's needed. Robson Green's Joe is a very tightly wound individual, full of ambitions and a drive to succeed, a volatile temper, though he will eventually be brought round to his senses by reason. Also Emily Joyce, known also for her excellent comedic work in My Hero, among other things, shows her dramatic chops, as well as her delightfully mischievous side as Laura, the beautiful and slightly gullible wife who has bought the house with her husband Paul(Neil Stuke), a slightly slimy and stuck-up shipping engineer.
I highly recommend this series, and hope that they will bring out series 2 on DVD Region 1 soon!"
"GRAFTERS" is hilarious!
Mr. G. Burn | UNITED KINGDOM | 01/21/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Grafters" (series 1&2) was one of the best and funniest series on British Television. Goodness knows how they managed to get any work done because of all the distractions! Could watch it again and again. Highly recommended."
Entertaining all the way
Kinglet | 03/15/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Every reason to watch this is well expressed by others here, so I'll just point out that although the first season has its own satisfying conclusion, you'll want to know what becomes of these characters longer term. Go straight to the second season - it doesn't leave you hanging and it is the perfect compliment to the first. If anything it raises the stakes. Enough said - don't miss."