Unit 6 Assignment 4 Waterloo Road

Critical Approaches

First series of Waterloo Road, a British television school drama series created by Ann McManus and
Maureen Chadwick and produced by BBC Scotland and Shed Productions, commenced airing in the
United Kingdom on 9 March 2006 and concluded after 8 episodes on 27 April 2006. Waterloo Road's
first series aired in the United Kingdom on Thursdays at 8:00 pm GMT on BBC One, a terrestrial
television network, where it received an average of 4.54 million viewers per episode.

The first series focused on the new Headmaster Jack Rimmer's (Jason Merrells) attempts to keep the
school of Waterloo Road open, following the school being threatened with closure by the LEA, owing
to falling pupil numbers, bad behaviour and the bad publicity the school had been receiving
following the previous Headmaster's mental breakdown. In order to improve things around the
school, Jack Rimmer employs enthusiastic Andrew Treneman (Jamie Glover) as Deputy Head.
However, Andrew struggles to connect with both the staff and the pupils at first, having come from a
more successful upper class school and background. One of the major plots this series focused on
the death of student Adam Deardon, who dies in a car crash. Classmate Donte Charles (Adam
Thomas) was driving the car when it happened, both underage and under the influence of alcohol.
Another central character in the first series is Lewis Seddon, who bullies fellow student Rory Bears
(Josh Hanlon) for being homosexual and who does not behave well in class. His out of control
behaviour culminates in him sexually harassing Pastoral Care teacher Kim Campbell (Angela Griffin).
The first series also explored the break-up of English teachers Tom Clarkson (Jason Done) and Lorna
Dickey's (Camilla Power) short-lived marriage, due to Tom's love for the school's Drama teacher and
Lorna's best friend, Izzie Redpath (Jill Halfpenny). The series ends with Lorna taking a step towards
the edge of a canal in an attempt to end her own life.

Genre 1 - Drama

Waterloo Road was a British television drama series set in a comprehensive school of the same
name, broadcast on BBC One and later also on BBC Three. The school was set in Rochdale, England
from series one until the end of series seven, and from the beginning of series eight until the end of
the show in series ten, the school was set in Greenock, Scotland. In 2014, it was confirmed that the
10th series of Waterloo Road would be the last. The first episode was broadcast on BBC One on 9
March 2006 and the final episode on BBC Three on 9 March 2015. Waterloo Road ran for 10 series,
200 episodes and exactly 9 years. Reruns air on CBS Drama in the UK.

Original networks were BBC Three (2015), BBC Three HD (2015), BBC One (200614), BBC One HD
(201014), BBC HD (200910) and BBC Online (Reunited - 2011). The picture format is 1080i 16:9
(HDTV) (200915), 576i 16:9 (SDTV) (200615). The original release 9 March 2006 9 March 2015.

Genre 2

In the beginning, the show is very much about stereo types and kids in a school around Manchester
behaves.
The first episode of Waterloo Road was broadcast on 9 March 2006, having been filmed the previous
autumn in 2005. Characters included head Teacher Jack Rimmer (played by Jason Merrells), deputy
head Andrew Treneman (played by Jamie Glover) and pastoral care teacher Kim Campbell (played by
Angela Griffin).

A common theme throughout Series One was the threat of the school's closure by the governors
owing to falling pupil numbers, bad pupil behaviour, and the bad publicity it had been receiving prior
to Jack's appointment as headmaster. Rimmer, formerly deputy head, became headmaster when the
previous head Brian Vasey had a nervous breakdown after 30 years at the school.

The 20-part fourth series was commissioned in December 2007. The series began on BBC One on
Wednesday 7 January 2009, with the show's first 90-minute opening episode.

Rachel Mason (played by Eva Pope) and Davina Shackleton (played by Christine Tremarco) return
following the fire that nearly destroyed the school and left her badly injured. Examples of characters
from the previous series who have left the school include: Mika Grainger, Brett Aspinall (both of
whom left for University having graduated) and Celine Dixon. The fate of Stuart Hordley is left
unanswered.

The fourth series introduces several new characters who become focal points of the subsequent
episodes. For example, the Kelly family seems to be the epitome of the "Family from Hell" and
consists of an alcoholic mother Rose Kelly and her five children: eldest son Marley, borderline
psychopath Earl, daughter Sambuca, 11-year-old Denzil, and baby Prince. New Head of PE Rob
Cleaver begins a relationship with English teacher Jasmine Koreshi and becomes the boxing mentor
of pupil Bolton Smilie. He is later sacked by Rachel and Eddie Lawson when it transpires he is giving
Bolton pills in order to help him win an important match, ultimately ending his and Jasmine's
relationship. Rachel Mason's sister Melissa Ryan and nephew Philip are also introduced.

A seventh series of 30 episodes was announced on 7 April 2010, airing from May 2011 to July 2012.

The seventh series added several new cast members, including new Head Teacher Michael Byrne
(Alec Newman), school site manager Rob Scotcher (played by Robson Green), maths teacher Daniel
Chalk (Mark Benton), new Head of English Linda Radleigh (Sarah Hadland), school benefactor
Lorraine Donnagan (Daniela Denby-Ashe) and pupil Scout (Katie McGlynn).

The seventh series surrounded the school being under inspection, following a student being allowed
entry to the school after their release from a Youth Detention Centre. The Director of Education
recommends Head Teacher Karen Fisher's dismissal. Karen Fisher does ultimately depart, with the
role given to Michael Byrne later in the series. Byrne is revealed to suffer physical and mental issues
of his own stemming from him being attacked by one of his pupils at a previous school. He begins an
affair with teacher Sian upon his arrival. With his demons haunting him throughout series seven,
some of these demons being fellow staff members, the threat of closure does not go away. When
the LEA decide to close the school, Michael is contacted by one of his old students - now a successful
businesswoman - Lorraine Donnagan. Lorraine proposes the school relocate to Scotland, with her as
the school's benefactor, running it from the ground up. Byrne accepts after much deliberation, as do
some of the staff members and pupils, but the series ends on a cliffhanger as a truck heralds toward
the group, and a proposing Grantly, on their way to Scotland.

The tenth and final series[11] began in October 2014, with Neil Pearson's Vaughan Fitzgerald taking
over as the new headmaster of Waterloo Road. An extensive set of new characters joined him,
including his new partner, Art teacher Allie Westbrook (Nicola Stephenson), his two children and her
two children. Pooky Quesnel joined the cast recurringly in the first half of the season as Vaughan's
ex-wife.

The second half of the series was moved to BBC Three, with Laura Aikman joining the cast as new
deputy headteacher Lorna Hutchinson, as well as Broadchurch star Charlotte Beaumont appearing
as new student Kenzie Calhoun. Quesnel became part of the main cast in the second half of the
series. This half of the series focused on the fight to stop a merger between Waterloo Road and rival
school Havelock High. In the final episode, impassioned students opened up about what Waterloo
Road meant to them, and Angus Deayton's George Windsor blackmailed his councillor girlfriend into
stopping the merger. The final shot saw Waterloo Road celebrated with voice clips from the years
narrating sights of empty schoolrooms and corridors; amongst these, the voices of characters past
and present including Chlo Grainger, Kim Campbell, Jack Rimmer, Finn Sharkey, Max Tyler, Grantly
Budgen and Carol Barry. The final episode aired on 9 March 2015, nine years after the first episode
aired on 9 March 2006.

Narrative Structures

A multi stand narrative is a story focused on a single character, telling a story from more than one
person's point of view. Or two stories of two different people that intervene. Several storyline within
one film ect. Waterloo Road does do this, as they show the story of all the each individual
characters.

Single stand narrative is One set storyline/Plot, which waterloo road doesnt do.

A closed structure narrative has a structured ending, this is waterloo road as it is all planned out.

Open Structure leaves the viewer, listener or reader wondering what happened, which also
happenes as they sometimes leaves cliff-hangers.

Non-Linear Structure is not in chronological order/action out of sequence. Waterloo road does not
have this.

Linear Structure, the story plays out in a chronological fashion. (Blockbusters would house this
simple structure to make it an easier, more enjoyable watch). They do this as it plays through the
school days in each episode.

The climax of something is the most exciting or important moment in it, usually near the end also
known as a cliff-hanger, which this series does.

A state of intellectual or emotional balance/a state of adjustment between opposing or divergent

influences or elements

Representation

It shows a negative at the beginning as all the teachers really struggle to cope with the Mancunian
kids behaviour in the school and shows their struggles thoughout. Series after series it show them
learning to deal with their issues inside and outside of the school. By the end, it is a happy place
where people want to learn and theyve really formed into a great character.