Band of Gold: The Complete First Series

HBO aired this 1995 British miniseries, an unusually daring drama that led viewers into the dangerous world of prostitution—not the glamorized call girls seen in glossy Hollywood films like Pretty Woman, but the dark, gritty red light life often accompanied by drugs, violence, and even murder. Band of Gold begins with newly single mom Gina Dickson (Ruth Gemmell) struggling to make ends meet after being victimized by a loan shark. After meeting experienced prostitute Carol Johnson (Cathy Tyson), she decides to become a “working girl” but is murdered shortly thereafter. Believing any one of them could be next (and expecting little help from law enforcement), Carol and her coworkers in the sex trade—Rose Gerrity (Geraldine James), Tracy Richards (Samantha Morton), and Anita Braithwaite (Barbara Dixon)—band together to look after their interests. In the six episodes collected here, scripter Kay Mellor gives the hookers clearly identifiable character traits, turning them into three-dimensional figures rather than caricatures. Their exploits, while in some ways shocking, carry the ring of authenticity, and the female cast members successfully imbue their characters with honesty if not always dignity (Morton, in particular, shines as Tracy, a young runaway under the spell of both drugs and a controlling pimp). A fascinating, compelling series, this is highly recommended. (E. Hulse)