SO relieved. I really like this. The first episode sets everything up perfectly, and the second really gets stuck into the characters and the story. Can't wait to see how it progresses. Deayton really starts to shine in next week's episode; his performance is going to be a highlight. Big BCG thumbs up.
That's good to hear.
Sounds like another good commission. BBC Three comedy was normally bleghh (aside from Gavin and Stacey + Ideal) but these last couple of years with Him & Her, White Van Man, and Pramface have shown they're getting better.
In my opinion of course.
Wasn't terrible, but a lot of it didn't ring true for me, particularly the best mate character. His reaction when his mum caught him wanking, for example, or his lecturing when learning that his mate had knocked the girl up. The Inbetweeners showed that you can go OTT with the ideas and still feel grounded in reality, but Pramface just had that horrible odour of patronising BBC camp about it.
Enjoyable enough, though it was obviously all set up for the series proper, have to see how it develops. I think I've seen enough of young, sex obsessed men having a wank on TV now though; too crude, wasn't needed. I also found it odd that the girl who fancies the main guy runs to the party when told he'd hooked up, then avoids him seeing her at all, then hides. Felt forced, like they just wanted her to be in the room whilst he had sex; made more sense for her to have just gone along with them in the first place.
Did enjoy it though.
Positives:
Very nicely shot
excellent prodcution details (sound fx noted earlier)
solid performances if veering a touch into indicating...
excellent premise - setting up lots of potential
Negatives:
the vast majority of the first episode was expository. we don't get the inciting incident until the last ten minutes of the episode.
Girl's relationship with Parents was so heavy-handed. I had hoped we'd moved beyond that sledgehammer characterisation and into something a bit more nuanced.
The protagonist is essentially passive. it's fine for the premise of a piece to be "This bad thing happens to the good guy" but the bulk of the episode should be us watching him take action to deal with it - we should see him trying to convince her to keep it or not keep it, to marry him or not marry him, or run away, or give it up...anything as long as it's Active rather than Passive.
What little action he took was the most common and trite action on television today - teenage boy pursues sex. (agreed, a great many sitcoms have used that to great effect but surely we're over it now?) The pursuit of sex should, IMHO, be a tactic, not a goal, otherwise our protagonist comes off as shallow and average.
It's one thing to drop a bomb in the middle of a desert, it's another to drop it on an urban centre: context is crucial. After so much exposition we still didn't have the context we needed to know the impact of the bomb (the pregnancy) when it finally dropped. We did not need to know that these kids were finishing exams, we needed to know what kind of life plans they were making (that would, of course, be crushed by a pregnancy.)
But did you like it?
Quote: Aaron @ February 25 2012, 11:38 AM GMTBut did you like it?
In Indonesia it's rude to say no, instead they use the word "belum" which translates to "not yet"
Quote: james1 @ February 25 2012, 11:46 AM GMTIn Indonesia it's rude to say no, instead they use the word "belum" which translates to "not yet"
Aw!
I quite like this now, but there's something I can't pinpoint that annoys me about it. Odd sensation.
I think it still feels ever so slightly disjointed, mainly due to the two main characters still having barely met, let alone particularly interacted. I've not seen episode 3 as yet, but I hope (and suspect) they'll have a few more scenes together.
Only seen the first episode so far but it was good. Like White Van Man, it's not particularly fresh or clever but makes up for it by just being funny.
Never watched Him & Her, it looked stupid from the trailers. Is it worth a go?
It's done so well, it's certainly worth a go. But it is stupid. And grim. Very, very grim. And, frankly, less funny than it should be, IMO.
I think the relatively low number of comments on this thread says something about the show. Perhaps that it's neither terrible enough to warrant criticism, nor good enough to warrant praise.
I thought episode two was a distinct improvement on Episode One: Less expository, more active protagonist...
But Aaron makes a good point, the fact that the two lead characters have minimal interaction creates a feeling of waiting for them to come together for the story to start.
Some writer (or perhaps an impatient producer) once said of writing the scene "get in as late as possible, and out as early as possible". If the audience can guess it, or it's obvious, cut it. I feel that in this show - we don't need the build up to the light bulb moment, we just need the light bulb moment, and then complications can ensue.
I'm annoyed the parents have their own stories that strike me as unsupportive of the main story. Why do they get bigger roles than the lead's friends? (And I also feel the parent's stories fall into cliche - how many times have we seen a sitcom episode about a husband forgetting an anniversary?)
Isn't it always the case, the most interesting character gets the least attention? Jamie's friend (is it Beth) is in this wonderfully tricky situation but isn't given any action or activity so we just keep hearing the same thing from her over and over.
Somehow, for a show about two teenagers going through the biggest event of their life, the whole thing comes off feeling average and banal to me...
Would love to hear from someone who LOVES it!
Quote: james1 @ March 7 2012, 12:08 PM GMTI think the relatively low number of comments on this thread says something about the show. Perhaps that it's neither terrible enough to warrant criticism, nor good enough to warrant praise.
Hole in one.
I quite like it and I quite don't. I missed the first episode so will watch next week's one and see if that sways me.
