SomethingToDo2

Quite frankly, the show should never have been as good as it was.

Airing on ITV in the UK, Press Gang was intended to be an issues-based teen drama about some high school kids working on a teen-oriented newspaper. With luck it would find a youth audience and maybe win an award or two. It’s unlikely that anyone could have assumed how strongly the show would resonate with audiences and that adults would still be watching the show 20 years later.

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For those unfamiliar with Press Gang, the show was written almost as a kids’ version of Moonlighting. The snappy banter of the show’s lead characters Lynda Day (editor of the Junior Gazette) and Spike Thompson (general knockabout K.D and street reporter) was always sharp and biting. In retrospect, the verbal sparring was better written and outright funnier than anything Moonlighting provided. Like Moonlighting, the show’s individual storylines were held together by the ongoing romantic narrative. Unlike Moonlighting, the show didn’t fall apart when the two leads hooked up. If anything, Press Gang simply got better.

The focus of each episode was always on youth-oriented issues, such as drugs, teen suicide, school-related stress, and child abuse. For a kids’ show, the program never steered away from dark topics, often portraying them with an honesty rarely seen on television. The very talented young cast are matched by some very strong scripts, written by Steven Moffat, who has since gone on to write for Coupling, Joking Apart, and is currently behind the re-launch of Doctor Who.

Press Gang ran for a mere 43 episodes through 1989-1993, but it has earned a well-deserved place in the hearts of a generation of kids who grew up watching it on the ABC Afternoon Show. It lifted the bar on the level of quality that could be expected from shows aimed at the young teen market. In 2010, the show still holds up for the most part. Sure, the fashions have gotten a hell of a lot daggier, but the world of those working at the Junior Gazette is still as engaging as ever.

Press Gang airs every Monday-Friday morning on 7Two at 7:15. Want to watch it tonight? The DVD box set is available at many retailers, and maybe even your local video shop.