This is England and the subsequent series aren't entertainment. They are life-changing. Shane Meadows and his gang have created a piece of history with their efforts and made a significant impact on the lives of their viewers (yours truly included.)
What marks out the stories of Lol, Woody, Milky, Shaun, Smell & co is the fact that what they have made is real. Where the USA has Gossip Girl and The Hills, we have This is England - and the contrast couldn't be sharper. There is no gloss, no pretension, just emotion and attitude and truth. TIE represents what it was like to grow up as part of a subculture in the late Eighties, here in this dysfunctional, traditional land many of us call home. But more than that, it represents what life is like for a young person in England, even now. Infuriatingly dull suburbia, dismal weather, awkward social situations and the desperate solace of loyal friendship. There is no glamour to distract us from the fact that without the people we care about, we have nothing.
Woody and Lol are two of the finest characters ever to be immortalised on screen. Theirs is a truly tragic tale of romance; the kind of destructive, unhealthy love that messes up everything including themselves, but despite that, you find yourself madly wishing that they would be brought back together. The world seems slightly off-kilter when they are apart - broken, uneven, painful.
Last night, however, we were given a tantalising slice of promise. The scene of Woody busting out of the insanely claustrophobic bubble of saccharine family life and roaming free on his scooter, shouting obscenities to the wind and retreating to his other family, the gang, was a moment of necessary revolution. If his love for his old friends and life is obviously still strong, then we can only imagine how unbreakable the bond between Lol and himself remains. Even when they are apart, it is clear that some loves, no matter how imperfect, are inevitable.
This is England '88 will undoubtedly have the same effect on viewers that the other instalments of this story; watching it can change the music you listen to, the clothes you wear and the choices you make in life. For anyone with the slightest leanings towards the outside, or for those searching for somewhere they belong, This is England demonstrates the power of friendship and love and how these can sometimes be stronger than the ties of flesh and blood. Especially true in the case of Woody and Lol, for whom lines were overstepped, bonds were stretched and their lives were irrevocably fused.
At the risk of sounding like an M&S advert (another Great British institution), This is England isn't a TV programme: it's a way of life.