Quote: TomCampbell @ July 3 2009, 7:09 AM BSTwhat's this I hear about the next episode and only one camera break? Can somebody shed any light on this?
It's the Mother and Son serial killers in a sort of 'Rope' homage ( A Hitchcock film)which was shot on one set in long takes with only a couple of camera cuts.
Last nights episode was truly great, this show is awesome. The clown court, the food chewing, the ball pit fight, brilliant.
I'm enjoying it muchly too. Even though some of the elements are very similar to some stuff I've written earlier this year and now won't be able to use. Bastards!
Just like with Spaced, the direction is stealing limelight from the writing and I'm very, very impressed with the visuals.
The Clown Court didn't scare me nearly as much as the close up of Baby Freddie staring at Mr. Dawn French with food on it's face.
V.good.
Quote: Renegade Carpark @ July 3 2009, 12:21 PM BSTJust like with Spaced, the direction is stealing limelight from the writing and I'm very, very impressed with the visuals.
I would say in both cases the direction is just adding a whole heap extra, rather than stealing the limelight.
Quote: Renegade Carpark @ July 3 2009, 12:21 PM BSTThe Clown Court didn't scare me nearly as much as the close up of Baby Freddie staring at Mr. Dawn French with food on it's face.
That was my favourite bit too. Really very scary.
I'm so hooked. It's so dark.
Quote: zooo @ July 2 2009, 10:39 PM BSTI never went in one of those ball pools when I was little.
Litter trays for children.
I'm really getting into this, which surprised me as I didn't really "get" TLOG. I absolutely love Dawn French's midwife, I work in maternity so the birthing class scene really made me laugh. I love the visuals, "baby" Freddie was laugh-out-loud funny, and Mr Jelly taking his shoes off before going into the ball pond and Janet Mcteer's make-up were highlights too. And the Beanie baby/eBay saga are topics that are just crying out for the comedy treatment, I'm surprised no-one has done it before. Great stuff. With this and Mitchell and Webb, Thursdays are comedy gold once again. About time too!
Quote: Yellows 586 @ July 2 2009, 11:39 PM BSTYou bugger. I thought I'd be the first to mention the Theatre of Blood link. Don't remember the line coming from it but will try to remember that the next time I see it. I wonder if there will be any other ToB type deaths.
Thing is though, I don't mind 'nods' to various influences, but they seem close to 'rip off'. Plus, if I am to be pedantic, why would a smart woman in a swish office allow two women like that to do her makeover? hmmmm
"We'll have no trouble here!" is where Hordern is rousing the tramps with his umbrella in the warehouse at the beginning. And he had trouble. Right there.
(As an aside, when Tubbs and Edward are speaking to the policeman in the first episode she says "Did Tubbs do well?" to which he replied "You did it beautifully!!", sounding every letter. That was lifted from The Wickerman where Christopher Lee congratulates the Rowan on the cliff top...)
Quote: Maurice Minor @ July 3 2009, 7:37 PM BSTThing is though, I don't mind 'nods' to various influences, but they seem close to 'rip off'. Plus, if I am to be pedantic, why would a smart woman in a swish office allow two women like that to do her makeover? hmmmm
"We'll have no trouble here!" is where Hordern is rousing the tramps with his umbrella in the warehouse at the beginning. And he had trouble. Right there.
(As an aside, when Tubbs and Edward are speaking to the policeman in the first episode she says "Did Tubbs do well?" to which he replied "You did it beautifully!!", sounding every letter. That was lifted from The Wickerman where Christopher Lee congratulates the Rowan on the cliff top...)
Lifted? They did it expressly as an homage, and go on about it all the time!
You're not 'catching them out' by knowing this stuff, you're understanding their influences, which is what they WANT you to do. 
Quote: zooo @ July 3 2009, 7:46 PM BSTLifted? They did it expressly as an homage, and go on about it all the time!
You're not 'catching them out' by knowing this stuff, you're understanding their influences, which is what they WANT you to do.
Yep. They've always done it, always said they've done it; what's the problem?
Really enjoying this show. It's caught me in its strange little world and I like it.
The clown court scene suggested a vague directorial nod to Terry Gilliam, I thought. Notably with the judge's bench being ludicrously set-on-high, but also with the choice of angles and lighting, it reminded me of the (imagined) courtroom scene in Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas.
Just watched the first episode. I enjoyed it.
The only way we'd ever have anything like this over here is if it aired on HBO or some other pay cable station. Regular stations wouldn't have the grapes to even try something like this.
Yes, well some of us wish people like the Beeb would take a few more calculated risks like this, in both comedy and drama. When it puts its money and exceptionally talented production teams behind a show like this it really shows on screen.
Quote: zooo @ July 3 2009, 7:46 PM BSTLifted? They did it expressly as an homage, and go on about it all the time!
You're not 'catching them out' by knowing this stuff, you're understanding their influences, which is what they WANT you to do.
Oh I know and I do enjoy it - it's great when you can enjoy a programe and get something extra from it like that too. But phrases, lines, speech patterns, a prop or a name or a location... all well and good and fun to spot. But this murder was a bit much and maybe a bit lazy.
I don't think it worked because too much was lifted. Lots of this show has a realistic edge and you can believe the characters and what they do, but the victim here would never have put herself in that situation with those two 'beauticians'. Therefore, to me, it seemed like it shouldn't be there and they'd distorted the plot just so they could shoe-horn in their version of one of their favourite bits from an old film.
Film references should be a happy coincidence, not clumsily engineered. Like Chloe and Radcliffe in the League - just like the ghosts in The Shining and it seemed absolutely right - they were creepy twin girls in a weird house so it was a natural that they should be the way they were.
