It's always seemed a bit odd to me to read reviews of TV comedies or dramas after just one episode, dismissing an entire project.
It's a bit like reviewing a novel solely on the basis of the first two chapters or an album after listening to the first two tracks.
Instead of trying to make a judgment after one episode, review every episode and then reach your verdict.
To truly get a handle on a TV series, you need to watch the whole thing.
You need to understand the characters, follow how they develop and judge whether the writers, actors and director have made them and the plot credible enough.
Rob Williams' new Channel 4 prison drama 'Screw' was not afforded that luxury from some right wing British newspapers when its first two episodes aired earlier this month.
Both the Daily Express and the Daily Mail rushed to declare the six part series a flop on the back of both episodes.
But they drew those observations from some grumbling on social media.
A quick glance at social media, however, reveals viewer opinion of 'Screw' has been less conclusive.
You'll always get naysayers on Twitter and it's easy to amplify the most hysterical reactions you see on the platform.
But are they really representative of the bulk of viewers?
A proper scroll through your Twitter timeline will reveal slightly more users actually like the show.
But hey, let's not let the facts get in the way of a negative story, eh?
'Screw' takes place in a wing of a north of England prison where Nina Sosanya's Leigh Henry is the senior officer.
Jamie-Lee O'Donnell's Rose is a trainee and she immediately draws some antagonism from Leigh who predicts she will drop out within weeks.
Her fellow officers include Laura Checkley's firm but fair Jackie Stokes, Stephen Wight's outspoken Gary Campbell, Faraz Ayub's likeable Ali Shah and Ron Donnachie's Falklands War veteran Don Carpenter.
Rose lacks confidence and struggles during her apprenticeship - conscious that Leigh has low expectations of her.
She's also in a bit of a bind.
Her younger brother has fallen foul of criminal elements on the outside and she is being leaned upon to smuggle contraband, including a gun, into the prison for Ben Tavassoli's Louis Costa.
If caught, she could go to prison.
If she refuses, her brother will suffer the consequences.
Leigh too has her secrets.
Applying to be the head of C Wing, she asks a prisoner to help forge her birth certificate to hide a detail about her past that may have excluded her from becoming a prison officer in the first place.
She also regularly sleeps in an empty cell on the wing.
Gary and Jackie, a married woman, are also conducting a clandestine affair.
Over the course of the six episodes, the prison staff deal with an African bullfrog on the wing and the arrival of Christopher Fulford's sex offender Dolby.
Rose gets assigned to Bill Blackwood's irritating loudmouth Tony Tanner, who is confined to a wheelchair, on his return to the wing.
Prison staff become concerned that Riley Carter Millington's prisoner Troy Walker is being bullied.
Tensions mount as another prisoner announces he is converting to Islam.
In another episode, Leigh announces a drug amnesty scheme on the wing, with the incentive of a boxing match being screened for the inmates.
The murder of a member of staff, however, sends reverberations throughout the jail as police try to find out how the weapon was smuggled in.
Through all of this, Leigh has an uneasy relationship with Karan Gill's senior manager Simon Ray.
On top of that, Jack Bardoe's ambitious university educated trainee also seems interested in whether Leigh is hiding something.
The show's creator Rob Williams previously worked as an art teacher in a prison and there is no doubt that 'Screw' has an air of authenticity about it.
Billed as a comedy drama, in truth the dramatic elements often outweigh the comedy in the show.
However he has created a likeable drama that contains moments of real power.
Like Jimmy McGovern's BBC1 miniseries 'Time,' Williams' prison officers and inmates are presented as fully rounded, flawed characters.
In 'Screw,' the balance is inevitably tipped towards a greater focus on the prison staff and their foibles.
Directed by Tom Vaughan and Jordan Hogg, each episode moves at a busy pace and its hungry cast set about their roles with zeal.
Sosanya will be a familiar face to British television viewers having previously appeared in shows like 'Doctor Who,' 'Last Tango in Halifax,' 'Teachers,' 'W1A,' 'Killing Eve' and 'Staged'.
She enthusiastically grabs her opportunity to take on a lead role and does a really effective job, keeping audiences guessing as to Leigh's true intentions.
Best known for her work as Michelle in Channel 4's 'Derry Girls,' O'Donnell also has a lot to prove in her first big project outside of Lisa McGee's sitcom.
Fortunately, she's up to the task of taking on the role of a morally conflicted, north of England lass trying to duck and weave her way through a tricky prison environment.
Wight also impresses, stripping away Gary's mouthy veneer as the series wears on to reveal a much more sensitive figure.
Checkley, Ayub, Donnachie, Bardoe, Gill, Jorden Myrie as prison security guard Raheem Bennett and Marianne McIvor as the Governor Sarah Cahill, all get their moments to shine and they rise to the occasion.
Among the prison population, Tavassoli is menacing as Costa.
Jake Davies stands out as Stephen Childs, a particularly vulnerable inmate, as does the transgender actor Riley Carter Millington.
Blackwood amuses as Tanner and is well paired with Mark Newsome's Streaky.
Fulford handles his awkward role of a sex offender well, while Liverpudlian actor Jack McMullen is in eye catching form as Connor Joyce.
'Screw' thrives on the quality of its writing and while Williams delivers four well constructed scripts of his own, the remaining two are also expertly crafted by Karla Crome and Roanne Bardsley.
The show's film editors Tom Henson-Webb and Mark Thornton also deserve some credit for the gusto with which they tackle each episode.
At times 'Screw' seems a little rough around the edges, living off the same irreverent spirit and swagger as 'Shameless'.
Like that show, it's easy to see how Williams' drama could easily veer off the rails into sensationalism.
'Screw,' though, wears its blend of trench humour and intense drama well and it does more than enough to demand a second series.
So screw the begrudgers, Channel 4.
Williams' show deserves another lash.
('Screw' aired on Channel 4 in the UK from January 6-February 10, 2022)
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