User Reviews

I first started watching this drama, as it's subject was Autism and how the family coped. There are not enough dramas featuring this issue, and the lad who plays Joe needs recognition for how well he plays the part - true to life. From the start of this program, to the end, it has had me in tears due to how it mirrors my family's life - with a child who is Autistic, going through the diagnosis, coping with Relative's and Friend's views on this. And the strain it places on your relationships is very well portrayed. I have a son who doesn't like football, socialising with other Kids or playing with Toys. My son seeks solace with his technology and music, and wearing his headphones to block out the noise that isn't of his making. It is only now he has learnt at the age of 12 to interact with his peers through a shared love of Minecraft. We have the issues with Step Children, Depression, Affairs and Older Parents with Dementia, Luekemia and Parkinsons. The Drama is well made, and I too have my own Business which helps to fit around the family life - so mirroring the Drama! The annoying 'Expert' is also very similar to actual people we have met. If I want to tell people what my life is like, then getting them to watch The A Word is a start. Well done to the production company on this.

Amazing show, portrays Autism Spectrum Disorder really well. The child playing Joe is brilliant, his acting is so authentic. The entire cast does a wonderful job getting down to the root of emotions that follow a ASD diagnosis. The A Word will have you laughing and tearing up within moments, not to mention the music is on point! You can really get engrossed in the characters and I love that every storyline is so complex, this isn't just a show about autism, any family, single person, teen or child can relate on some level with the content, a must watch for any family! The dry humour and authentic setting really draws in the viewer. Such a welcome contrast to the bright shiny TV Hollywood pumps out, this show is television at it's best.

It must be my age, but I seem to be more and more out of sync with most reviewers - both professional and amateur - who generally seemed to have liked this latest BBC offering.

Or is it that nobody dares to criticise a supposedly well-meaning BBC drama with autism at its centre, for fear of being accused of political incorrectness?

When this six-episode series was launched, the pundits were extolling its virtues as a piece of real British drama - without having to resort to yet another 'cops and robbers' theme to catch its audience.

To be fair, episode one of this family drama: mum, dad, Grandad, teenage daughter, five-year-old autistic son, uncle and cheating aunt set in the Lake District - was quite enjoyable. The characters were well developed, the acting first class, the action had some good humour and the adorable young boy at the centre of the story who was afflicted with mild autism was brilliant. He had a passion for music and was only happy when he had his music headphones on or the radio in his home was turned up to ear splitting volume. Sure the family seemed a little at odds on how to deal with this problem in their midst - who wouldn't be? But nobody dared suggest that he was suffering from autism. Anyone who ventured to offer an opinion that there might be something seriously wrong with him- like cheating auntie tried to do, (who was also a qualified doctor) - was dumped on from a great height by protective mum; with dad also in a supportive role.

So far so good; but for me, things went downhill from there. I almost stopped watching. Instead of mum and dad accepting that there was something wrong, that their son needed professional help, they continued to bury their heads in the sand. Granddad took the boy to the doctor without telling mum. The doctor agreed there was something amiss. Mum went ballistic and threw dad out of her house.

Slowly -oh so slowly - mum and dad sort of came to terms that something was indeed wrong, but still continued to reject professional and well-meant amateur advice at every turn. There are many sub-plots in this piece. Cheating wife trying to make a fresh start with uncle; uncle trying to take over the running of Granddad's brewery business because his own business had gone bust; Dad, deeply in debt building a costly 'gastro-pub' - whatever that may be; Grandad having it off with his singing teacher; teenage daughter having it off with local dick-head schoolboy, and so on…

So good acting, good plots, plenty going on, plenty of drama - so why the 'sour face'? I have a sour face because the remaining five episodes of the drama were so utterly depressing, and in the main totally lacked credibility. Everyone has faults, but in this particular extended family, they had enough faults to fill Hades itself. Mum took the lead; with her resolute determination to never tell anyone her son was autistic. At first, this meant trying to teach him at home - roping in all the family to help. When that plan collapsed, amid bitter recrimination and arguments, she insisted the poor lad went back to a normal school so that she wouldn't be tainted with having an autistic son. It really was painful to watch.

Dad wasn't a lot better, and he continually insisted he knew the way to control his son and had almost violent arguments with his wife about it. Grandad was a pain in the arse and was always letting his temper getting the better of him and saying hurtful things to anyone and everyone. Uncle couldn't forgive his cheating wife, despite her very best efforts to put it in the past. I haven't told you half of it - it just goes on and on. They never stop arguing and bickering and saying bad things to each other. The poor boy at the centre of it all seems to be a punching ball.

I'm sorry, but I simply do not believe in this enlightened age that parents would feel embarrassed about admitting their son was autistic. It just doesn't ring true, especially when by denying his condition they were harming his chance of getting proper help. The rest of the family weren't much better either.

It was only in 'corny' episode six, when the boy disappeared, that they finally and very begrudgingly admitted their son was autistic so that the search party would know what to expect if they came across him. Then they tried to blame another autistic adult for the boy's disappearance. Is a whole community of well-educated, middle-class people really like this? I'm sorry, but I just do not believe it.

A drama about a child with autism. Sounds lie a good idea, a good way to get people to understand the condition but it just isn't working. I wanted to like it but the characters are irritating.

Why can't they just be a normal, everyday family rather than a rich middle class family with three businesses? What do poor people do if they have an autistic child? Why the hell are they opening a restaurant anyway? Running a restaurant is one of the most stressful things you can do, especially if you start from scratch. It demands all your time and is a really risky way to earn a living (particularly when it's in the middle of nowhere as this one seems to be). It's also a selfish thing to do when you have young kids with or without autism.

The woman they bought in to help Joe sits and makes sarcastic comments to all the family, managing to wind them all up. And the expert just happens to be a girl the mum knew at school and was bullied by her (of course she was). And this so-called expert ends up arguing the toss with the mum in front of Joe, which must be so good for him. This is just drama for drama's sake and has nothing to do with understanding autism.

If they don't want Joe to listen to music why did they buy him an i-pad? How the hell would a 5 year old know the right words to all the songs even if he is a 'genius'? No one knows all the right words to all the songs.

And why is Christopher Eccleston's character acting like an idiot? And why exactly is he taking singing lessons? Okay so he's going to end up finding out he's on the autism spectrum, but we all worked that out in the first episode. But again this is drama for it's own sake.

This is a 90 minute play stretched out to 6 hour long (and I do mean l-o-n-g episodes). They should have concentrated on the autism and the child and forgot the other stories.

This started off well with a terrific cast and a good premise but has sadly transgressed into typical fluffy BBC fare with a nice family with nice problems and not much to say. Okay one of their kids has autism but that is no longer the focus of the show. And some of the characters are really annoying.

A bonus is seeing lovely Christopher Eccleston regularly jogging in picturesque countryside in shorts but he doesn't have a lot else to do apart from shouting at everyone and sleeping with his singing teacher (yes his singing teacher, as you do).

They should just call this show The Hughes Family or The Restaurant and just make it comedy-drama about a family who live in Yorkshire and want to open a restaurant and the drop the half-hearted Autism stuff.

Come on BBC you can do better.

The acting is one of the main reasons i enjoyed it. Even if you don't like a character the acting is brilliant. Even newcomer ralphs dad was good from the off-who could have guessed him and Maurice would get on? To the person saying hes an idiot, it doesn't matter, he is a genuine person who just wants what s best for his family. Christopher is more used to high functioning drama like dr who (ive never watched an episode of that in my life). He has brilliant chemistry and contrast with Louise

The main drama is about autism and learning disabilities. Its not just joe, Mark also has it and both Ralph and Katie are downs and both develop well. Alison doesn't even appear in episode 5 s3 so how can you say its all about the parents? They're allowed a life of their own. Having their own business also could give joe a good start in life of learning to work hard Maurice had his before joe was born.

The only gripes i had was we barely saw any of Katie before the wedding and Louise doesn't interact much with Maurice 's family

I hope they don't use these bad reviews as a guide to not making another series. It is v popular

Couples break up without a fight. I can't believe people would consider divorce or break up without adequate reason.

I would have given series 1 and 2 a 9 out of 10 but series 3 has dragged it right down to a 5. It had a great way of tackling the subject with a sharp script, moments of well-placed comedy, really well-used music, and enjoyable acting all round (though you don't always like the characters). Series 3 has dropped the music mostly, the script isn't very good, we're going round and round with similar themes already looked at several times, and the characters have all become so unbearable that I won't watch further. Actors let down by a bad script and story line. It's a shame really as it had so much going for it, especially the 2 young actors and the music.

Now there are may ways to look at anything. Some get upset at a particular thing just because of one particular fault in it and some adore it just because they could find one particular quality of it amazing.

My review of the series is not based on any particular aspect of it but as a whole. The series is very interesting and I believe that every family should watch it because there is lots to learn.

For example we can understand that a simple this like communication can actually be very complex. Also one very important aim of the drama series is to create awareness for Autism.

All the characters are interesting, and there is a lot of drama as everyone has something to say. The generational gap, the cultural aspects everything points to take it much closer to reality.

At a time where the blockbuster movies are hovering around fantasies and superheroes, this drama series actually is so fresh and so unique.

At a personal level I have a lot to learn from this drama. I am sure this drama will be interesting for all the cultures around the world. No wonder that this series is based on an Israeli drama television program.

I enjoy each and every moment of the drama. I am really thankful to all the people who have made this possible.

'Call the midwife' would have dealt with the issues in an hour,'Casualty' too,and still had time for Charlie to scratch his head. Straight out of the box marked 'Gritty Northern drama' with pale angst - ridden characters first seen in the pale and angst - ridden old b&w British movies of the sixties and performances to match. Mr C.Ecclestone is ludicrously over the top,closely followed by Mr L.Ingleby wound up like a spring and Miss P.Quesnel as the spunky middle - aged mother of a young man with learning difficulties. I'm clearly missing something because many people are going into raptures over 'The A - Word' and with a great - nephew with autism I am aware of the difficulties it causes for everyone involved,but eking this one - trick pony out over three seasons risks people losing interest in a complex and disturbing problem that seems to have no way of being resolved just now.