As If (British TV series)
As If is a British comedy-drama programme broadcast on Channel 4. There were 76 episodes across four series, the first broadcast on 22 January 2001 and the last on 31 July 2004.
Premise
The series focused on six young adults who lived in London. Each episode was presented from a different character's point of view, which up to that point in time had never been done before in a comedy-drama television programme. The programme had a cult following and received critical acclaim. It was considered groundbreaking and was compared to another British serial drama Hollyoaks.Part of the programme's identity was the style, such as surreal fly-on-the-wall style camera work, fast camera transitions, wacky sound effects added to some scenes and the distinctive theme music. Episode four of the first series was awarded an RTS Television Award for Best Tape or Film Editing - Drama.
Several notable episodes were centred around parodies of other films or TV shows, including The Blair Witch Project ; Moulin Rouge ; The Italian Job and 24.
In the beginning, the gang was divided in two. We learn Sooz, Jamie and Alex are good friends. Jamie has a crush on Nikki, who he sees as a nice, innocent, delicate girl. Nikki was friends with Sasha, who was in a relationship with Rob. When Jamie invited Nikki to a fake party, the destinies of these six persons crossed and friendships were born. While Rob, Jamie and Alex became good friends, Nikki and Sasha didn't get along with Sooz, although the three had their moments together.
Characters
Main
- Jamie Collier
- Suzanne 'Sooz' Lee
- Nikki Sutton
- Alexander "Alex" Stanton
- Sasha Williams
- Robert "Rob" Conway
Recurring characters
- Louise : a friend of Nikki and, later, the whole gang, although they all found her annoying and try to avoid her most of the time. Nikki hung out with her every time Sasha neglected her for Rob. Louise was always looking for a lost cause to fight for, and the gang made fun of her for it.
- Chris : Sasha's boyfriend in between Rob, who was with her just for sex. Alex once told the group Chris was gay because he saw him hugging another man in a bathroom, but it was a misunderstanding. Nikki later tried a move on Chris, just to be used for sex and dumped afterwards.
- Gaby : a married woman who Jamie met on the internet. She was mother to a little boy. Gaby and Jamie spent a night together and Gaby broke up with him the next day. After a while, Jamie thought Gaby was carrying his baby, but it was really Philip's.
- Dan Parker : a gay cop Alex met in a club and lied to about his age. When Dan learnt the truth, he broke up with Alex, although they eventually got to be friends. Dan always worried about Alex and his well-being.
- Gary : Louise's boyfriend who cheated on her with Nikki. It is not known if Louise ever knew about this or they just broke up, as Gary just stopped appearing in the show, but Louise seemed to stay friends with Nikki and the gang.
- Anna : a woman Jamie meets in a club.
- Riggs : a musical producer who Nikki was interested in, but he hit on Sasha instead, which caused Nikki to get jealous and have constant arguments with Sasha. Sasha first rejected Riggs, although he invited her to work with him. Finally, she cheated on Rob with him. After that, Sasha and Rob broke up for good. The relationship didn't work.
- Mark Wilde : Alex's bisexual boyfriend. Alex learned Mark was previously married, and broke up with him for lying about his bisexuality; they later got back together just to break up again. After that, Mark went into a relationship with Nikki.
- Christian : an estate agent Nikki dates to get a flat for her and Sasha. While Nikki thought she was using Christian to her advantage, the truth is he was using her as well.
- Tyler : an Art student with whom Sooz cheated on Jamie.
- Amber : Rob's fiancee. They didn't get married because Rob broke up with her before the wedding after realising his feelings for Nikki.
- Allen Rissbrook : also known as "Little Al", Allen is a gay student that approached Alex and threatened him into a relationship. Later, Alex set things clear and became friends with Allen, trying to introduce him to the gay world. When Alex finally realised his feelings towards Allen and tried to be with him, Allen rejected him.
- Katie : a student friend of Allen who fell in love with Jamie. She was the one who told Jamie about Sooz cheating on him with Tyler.
- Darna : Sasha's co-worker at a fashion boutique.
- Paul Sutton : Nikki's father who went to prison for tax evasion.
Crew
- Directors: John Duthie, Nicholas Jacobs, Brian Grant, David Kerr, Barnaby Southcombe
- Writers: Amanda Coe, Tom Higgins, Jane English, Julian Jones, Leslie Stewart, Jess Walters, Patrick Wilde
- Producers: Sarah Baynes, Nicki Gunning, Greg Boardman, Johnny Capps, Jonathan Collier, Brian Eastman, Brian Grant, Dean Hargrove, Dan Kaplow, Julian Murphy, Andi Peters
Soundtrack
Track listing
Disc 1
- Melanie B – "Feels So Good"
- Robbie Williams – "No Regrets"
- Billie Piper – "Honey to the Bee"
- Kylie Minogue – "Koocachoo"
- Atomic Kitten – "Right Now"
- Melanie C – "I Turn to You"
- Fragma – "Toca's Miracle"
- Shah – "Do U Wanna Get"
- George Michael – "Fastlove"
- Louise – "Beautiful Inside"
- Beverley Knight – "A.W.O.L."
- Madasun – "Don't You Worry"
- Lou Bega – "Mambo No. 5"
- Touch & Go – "Would You...?"
- Shanks & Bigfoot – "Sweet Like Chocolate"
- En-Core feat. Stephen Emmanuel & Eska – "Coochy Coo"
- Ramsey & Fen feat. Linsey Moore – "Love Bug"
- Moloko – "Sing It Back"
- Ruff Driverz presents Arrola – "Dreaming"
- ATB – "Killer"
- Blur – "Tender
Disc 2
- Coldplay – "Trouble"
- Tin Tin Out – "Anybody's Guess"
- Toploader – "Dancing in the Moonlight"
- The Supernaturals – "Smile"
- Tom Jones & Stereophonics – "Mama Told Me Not to Come"
- Supergrass – "Pumping On Your Stereo"
- Embrace – "Save Me"
- Doves – "Catch the Sun"
- Space – "Female of the Species"
- Republica – "Ready to Go"
- Cornershop – "Brimful of Asha"
- Fatboy Slim – "Praise You"
- Groove Armada – "I See You Baby"
- Underworld – "Push Upstairs"
- Leftfield – "Phat Planet"
- Fluke – "Absurd"
- Amira – "My Desire"
- Nightmares on Wax – "Jorge"
- Beth Orton – "Central Reservation"