All the Small Things (2009) User Reviews

breathe of fresh air

[angelside2 · 7/10 · 8 April 2009]

it is finally a breathe of fresh air! It is something that has meaning not like everything that plays on TV now a days.

The character of Kyle is brilliant. He is autistic(i think they haven't clarified it yet) but he is kind and helps everyone like "Shrek". And also the new reverend Jake, he is awesome.

You have to watch this show. And if you noticed the song that they choose to sing has rapport with what is going on in the episode and they all sing so beautiful! i don't know what that dumb ass Michael was saying about his wife. she did a good and right thing by entering the music fest. and the stinking daughter is even dumber, kids aren't that mean with their parents! ya they are human and make mistakes but we still respect them.

anyways you should totally watch this awesome British show!! :)

And now for something different

[fialsh · 9/10 · 14 May 2009]

What a refreshing change - no doctor or detective in sight but a heartwarming programme about a choir master (Neil Pearson) going through a mid-life crisis who dumps his loyal wife (Sarah Lancashire) and teenage children (one of whom has mental health problems) for a beautiful new choir member.

He told his wife it was for her own good as she needed to make something of her life - which is just what she did, setting up a rival choir which didn't judge people but was all-inclusive, unlike the old choir which went from being happy and friendly to back-biting, throwing out those who were not good enough to join - and I'm not necessarily talking about their singing ability. Enter the attractive new curate and some good harmony, and you have competition between the choirs and the two lead men for the newly confident wife.

Great entertainment with strong characters and a chance to develop in future series.

A Bit Predictable But Who Cares, The Music's Great!

[Claregreenstreet · 9/10 · 8 April 2009]

WARNING MAY CONTAIN Spoilers, I think.

After watching two episodes of this, I'm hooked. Yes, it can be a bit predictable. I mean, from the first scene between Bryan Dick's character, Jake and Sarah Lancashire's character, Esther you just know that by the end of the series they'll get together. And it's a little obvious after episode 2 that Richard Fleeshman's character Kyle will end up with Drummer Grace, although that could just be me. But just look at the look they were giving each other while they were performing Swing Swing and you might just agree with me. And something else that could just be me but might not be is the obvious fact that Jake has a dark past that'll come out somewhere near the end of the series, which I'm guessing will be that he has a life and/or something to do with his friend's death. And all of it has something to do with Sarah Alexander's character, Layla. I'm guessing she split up Jake and his wife.

But none of that really matters. For me, it's all about the music (and Bryan Dick because he's fit!). All American Reject's Swing Swing is one of my fave songs, and this show has only made me love it more. I'm even finding myself liking Blink 182's All The Small Things. There has got to be an album with all the cast's versions of the songs from this series on it. I'll buy it! Only four more episodes to go and I hope the music just gets getting better!

Do not read if you have not seen episode 1,2 and 3!!

[laura_williamson06 · 10/10 · 16 April 2009]

In my opinion barnthebarn's comment is completely wrong. I love all the characters and the story lines. They always leave you wondering about what will happen for example: Layla and Micheal wanting all the children ( I don't think Kyle will go! )I am completely hooked! I love all the songs and think it is an excellent show. Also there has never really been anything like this before. The casting is also very good as the actors and actresses really play the parts well. My favourite characters is Kyle. I mark this 10/10. I think that this is a show that many people can enjoy. I want another series as 6 episodes is not nearly enough. I hope this has been helpful. (probably not!)

Love it.

[starfruit1715 · 10/10 · 25 April 2009]

I think this show is amazing and so true to reality how (some) men act when having a mid-life crisis. All men should watch this so they do not act this way! I love all the characters as there are so many different types of people. Esther's character is lovely as she's being so strong and I just really hope she does not go back to Michael as she deserves someone much better such as Jake. He's such a sweet character, I'd sure marry him! I'm intrigued to find out what the relationship between Jake and Layla really is as it isn't too clear as of yet. I wish there were more episodes, 6 really isn't enough! Maybe there will be another series? I hope so! I'd really recommend watching this show, it's so realistic and great. My favourite program on at the moment, definitely will buy on DVD!

This is so off-key it's painful

[JohnC508 · 2/10 · 4 May 2009]

This is so unremittingly awful as to insult our intelligence - improbable story developments, flat, unbelievable characters. Sarah Lancashire is wasted in this drivel. So far we've seen a cursing, skateboarding Christian minister who goes to a strange town and becomes the first person to stand up in an AA meeting and out himself an alcoholic before the meeting starts, just as a device to surprise Esther and us. Then there's the illegal open air cremation with the full cooperation of a firm of funeral directors. The mawkish presentation of dialogue is embarrassing to watch - the ensemble sentence used by half the choir in owning up to gossiping against the one-legged woman, is an exercise in manipulative awfulness. I wont even start on the caricature dreadfulness of the Tonks characters and the silly woman who for no discernible reason follows them around, or the unsubtly of the manoeuvrer's of the blonde woman who collared Esther's husband. It has reached the point where you don't give a fig who wins the choir, or which bloke Esther goes off with (probably the curate) I gave this two out of ten - one for Sarah Lancashire's bravery in the face of such an appalling offering, and one for some of the singing.

All the GREAT things

[linobugeja · 10/10 · 26 August 2012]

This as a Fantastic program and absolutely lovely singing from the cast. It has class and is genuine family viewing. Even though it has been repeated 3 or more times in Malta I am still gripped. Are all those voices genuine? I know Sarah Lancashire has a lovely voice but I can't help thinking that that awful creature coming to muscle in on the choir is really a soprano. I am sure she is miming. Someone with such wicked eyes should not have such a beautiful voice. I wish a soundtrack album of the program could be released! Top class entertainment. All the characters are believable even though they are well known from other long running popular series but have not suffered from 'typecasting' Well done all!!

Why don't writers do their homework?

[k.m.bunting · 4/10 · 17 February 2014]

As a long-term member of a choral society, when I read about this series I thought "Great, a drama about a choir," but I was disappointed.

I quite liked some of the characters and situations, but some aspects were absurd. I know not all Anglican churches have traditional robed choirs, but this purported "church choir" was NEVER seen to prepare any music for a service! Other aspects of English parish church life were also totally unrealistic, such as a "committee" (should be "Parochial Church Council") that met without the Vicar being present. Why don't writers research their backgrounds properly?

All the SMALL things

[barnthebarn · 1/10 · 14 April 2009]

Utter tripe TV series from UK BBC service. The acting is okay though the characters are dull, cumbersome and entirely irritating (like the sweetcorn in your teeth that you can't get out). The main characters' son is obsessed with the lead singer of American band Blink 182 (hence the title 'All the Small Things'). This means that we have endless renditions of this song - even at a choral contest where the lad singing this to rock guitars wins the contest (as a choir?!) against serious vocal harmony choirs (okay, yes some of the cast are humming vocals in the background but that does not a choir make). There is a bunch of malicious Christians (terribly scapegoat here, Christians that is), a vulnerable, mentally challenged man (who is also the show's only real ethic minority character (seriously!?!), siblings who act like more like school peers that fancy each other and don't know where to go next, motherly mentality (yet unfit mothers they are), rubbish script...and of course Tom - the lead singer of Blink 182. He is not in it but I'm sure he must have paid the BBC a great amount of money to make the show. I don't mind Blink 182, Tom has a good voice. However a prime time show (watched mainly - I imagine - by people who read 'The Daily Mail' or 'The Sun' - UK's best selling tabloid newspapers) with endless Wikipedia style snippets about Tom's life is at least bizarre and at worst (especially for a publicly funded, non-advertising broadcaster) completely ridiculous. All this show is good for is as a pointless, dumb and ill founded criticism of Christianity and an advertisement for the recent "let's hang out together again and maybe release an album" standing of Blink 182. Poor.