As If

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For the Canadian band, see Our Lady Peace.

As If was a British teen comedy/drama series broadcast on Channel 4 in its native UK. There were four series, the first broadcast in January 2001 and the last in July 2004. There were 76 episodes in total, each lasting 30 minutes.

It had a significant cult following and strong critical acclaim. It was considered very groundbreaking, and was often referred to as a "cooler", more sophisticated version of another British teen soap, Hollyoaks.

Part of its identity was the style, such as surreal fly-on-the-wall style camera work. In the first series episode four won an RTS Television Award for Best Tape or Film Editing - Drama.

The series focused on six young adults who lived in London, with each episode told from a different character's point of view. Soon after As If had finished, Hollyoaks began using similar techniques.

Directed by : John Duthie, Ed Fraiman, Brian Grant, David Kerr, Barnaby Southcombe(2003).

Writing credits : Amanda Coe, Tom Higgins.

Produced by : Sarah Baynes (2002), Jonathan Collier, Brian Eastman, Brian Grant, Dean Hargrove, Julian Murphy, Andi Peters.

[edit] The Main Characters

The joker of the group, he was a well-meaning pleasant guy, but had a tendency to get himself into trouble. He was rather naive and could be silly, but his heart seemed to be in the right place. He had an optimistic outlook and was content to play the class clown. He was a big fan of Michael Caine, especially the original The Italian Job.
A sarcastic young woman who tended to be blunt and was something of a loner. She was rebellious, and did not agree with societal conventions, preferring to live by her own rules.
She had to deal with multiple mental health problems. She favoured goth/mosher/grungy style clothing, had many tattoos and piercings, and was known for her trademark multicoloured dreadlocks (which were reduced to bright red for the final season). She was a talented artist. She had a tough exterior but inside was very insecure.
Sooz's dreadlocks inspired the 2004 McFly hit Five Colours In Her Hair.
A girl who was initially considered to be a 'slut' in that she slept around and stole other peoples' boyfriends. The last episode Of the series was A Nicki's Point of View where she choose between staying with Rob or going on an around the world trip.
A gay character, who did not fit any particular gay stereotype. He was fairly ordinary, was a fan of Star Wars and Dead Poets Society, and liked football.
The "bitch" of the group. She was very classy and loved fashion. She also didn't suffer fools gladly, but was often derided for her tendency to be shallow.
  • Robert "Rob" Conway (Ben Waters)
Rob was someone who cared a lot for the others and always seemed sensitive to their problems despite a chav-like appearance.

The distinctive theme music was the tune "Would you..." by the band Touch 'n' Go

[edit] US Version

An American version of As If was made in 2002, and broadcast on UPN.

Emily Corrie was the only member of the British cast to reprise her role in the US version.

The rest of the cast were:

The US version found nowhere near the success of the UK version. Only seven episodes were made, and only two actually aired.