Amazon.com Manchester, England, in 1965 seems like a dead end to a pair of sisters, flirty Arden (Emma Cooke) and bookish Ellie Brookes (Gillian Kearney). They ache to get out from under the thumb of their domineering grandmother (Sue Johnston), and when their cousin Norman (David Threlfall) proposes to Ellie, she accepts. But just then the sisters meet a struggling band called the Ice Cubes, who grudgingly play backup for a smarmy singer named Larry B. Cool while trying to land a record deal. Arden throws herself at the group's leader, Dallas (Joseph McFadden), but Dallas finds himself drawn more to Ellie, who's also an aspiring songwriter. From there, Sex, Chips and Rock 'n' Roll spins a complex web of secret loves and twisted ambitions against the backdrop of the mid-’60s British music scene. It's a rock & roll soap opera, but it's smartly written and engagingly acted, full of subtle commentary on the cultural changes cutting across British society. The multidimensional characters take unexpected turns; you'll quickly find yourself drawn into their lives. (Plus, in a clever bit of casting, the loathsome Larry B. Cool is played by Phil Daniels, who played the hero of the Who's rock opera Quadrophenia.) --Bret Fetzer