The Village, BBC1 9pm Easter Sunday

[maxi]

The young lady of the big house is roaming around the fields looking for her 'German' dog in a see-through night dress. Later, the local MD tells her mother that she is 5 months pregnant!

She doesn't even have a bump for goodness sake.

Finding it a bit difficult to see the screen due to the amount of pins I've stuck in my eyes.

Maxi

P.S Can recommend sucking beer through a broom head though.

[Seadog]

Thanks Maxi I reckon to give this garbage another couple of weeks and then it will be moved to 2300 hrs, .Wednesdays on BBC3. I did try to watch some more and luckily caught the classic line from Juliet Stevenson “I’ve seen you Mew, Puke and Defecate" and as I watch now with t`sound off it seems that Father is trying to hang himself in back garden!. Looks like this would make a great musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Norman :(

[Steven Broomfield]

You know - I think it's bl**dy brilliant. I can live with the anachronisms: I think it's excellent.

[Seadog]

Ha ha ha the irony!!!!

Norman

[susanhemmings]

The main problem for me is that how can someones eye colour change from deep brown to light blue as in Bert's case. It drives me mad when this happens (quite often) during time periods of one person's life.

Other than that it is a watchable programme.

[Seadog]

An excellent perceptive review of episode 2 in the Guardian, what are the odds on this disaster being pulled from the schedules?.

Quote

"Watching The Village is like lying on the hard, cold cobbles of its main street, and being walked all over by that mob, in their heavy, muddy, hob-nailed boots. Real maybe, but I'm not sure I have the strength for any more. I saw somewhere that the Derbyshire villages where it was filmed are hoping for coachloads of tourist visitors. Are they having a laugh? Probably not".

Link

http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2013/apr/08/the-village-tv-review

Norman

[Alan Tucker]

The arch critics need to state, as asked before, what they consider quality British-made drama of recent times so we can put their comments in context. So far so grim and gritty but still worth sticking with.

[Pighills]

I agree with you Alan, worth sticking with.

[Seadog]

Drop the reviewer a line Alan I am sure he will be delighted to respond to your request. You could also start a topic in Skindles like "Best & Worse TV Dramas".

Norman

[Stoppage Drill]

I haven't watched it.

James Delingpoles review in this weeks Speccie confirms what I suspected.

[Seadog]

I believe that this is the article you refer to:-

Link

http://www.spectator...1/hard-times-4/

Quote:

"In a projected 32-part series, this represents a serious failing: why should I, as a licence-fee payer, be forced to subsidise yet more lefty agit-prop?"

Well said

Norman

[spconnolly007]

Quote:

"In a projected 32-part series, this represents a serious failing: why should I, as a licence-fee payer, be forced to subsidise yet more lefty agit-prop?"

Cos plently of lefties pay their license-fee too! I must admit to being a bit disappointed with last nights episode, but more than willing to 'stick with it'.

Sean.

[Steven Broomfield]

As a confirmed non-lefty, I really do think it's excellent. The one and only episode of Downton I watched was saccharine nonsense; this may well err on the other side of caution, but it's extremely well-acted, extremely well-filmed and creates characters whose lives I am starting to wish to know more of. The concept of never setting foot outside the village is, surely, based on reality? (My wife's maternal grandfather lived and worked in Shirley, in Southampton, all his life. His house was 200 yards from the paint factory where he worked and apart from a trip to the Empire Exhibition in London, he probably never left the city - except in 1914-18 when he spent his time in India, Egypt and Palestine). In such an isolated rural community I'd say this is an entirely realistic and reasonable device to employ.

Rural life was hard: my own paternal grandfather's papers survive at Kew. He enlisted in 1915; he was married with 4 kids and by profession was a carter - he was 5' 7" tall and weighed 7 stone 10. His enlistment had, I am sure, far more to do with putting food on the table than with beating the Kaiser. He was discharged after two weeks as medically unlikely to make an efficient soldier, fathered three more children (one of whom died at birth), and died himself in the 'flu epidemic. I suspect his life was a damned sight closer to The Village than to Downton. (Interestingly, the two eldest children, one male, one female, both went off to service as soon as they were old enough. My father and his next-oldest brother were put into a form of orphanage).

Yes, there are anachronisms aplenty (the brother seems to have made it to France withing about 24 hours of enlisting, and very few of the men sport proper moustaches), but I'm actually able to live with it, oddly enough. It's starting to grip as a story, and I'm all grown up enough to sort out the political ranting for myself, much as I admire Mr dellingpole (I've met his brother, you know!), or even Charles Moore in today's Tottygraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/9977862/A-struggle-for-honesty-ends-up-as-twaddle.html

You know, just for once I can forget the annoyances and live with it.

[Andy Wade]

Drop the reviewer a line Alan I am sure he will be delighted to respond to your request. You could also start a topic in Skindles like "Best & Worse TV Dramas".

Norman

He means you Norman.

Why do people rely on other people such as professional critics to form their own opinions? I did watch all of it for myself and watched the first one twice on catch up TV before the second episode was aired. I think it's developing nicely and the concept of following a whole persons life in detail in the place the lived is a good one. John Simm and Maxine Peake are great actors. It should be interesting to see how the village changes throughout the years.

For the record, my wife hardly showed at all when she was six months pregnant with our first child but had massive bumps by the middle of the second trimester on the second and third child and these two babies were only a pound heavier at full term. Some women have even given birth without it being apparent that they are pregnant at all.

The change in eye colour is a pity though, it wouldn't have been hard for them to get some dark brown contact lenses made up for the old Bert to wear. I confess I hadn't noticed that. Nice to see the Field Service Postcard though:

[Chris Foster]

Why would anyone willingly sit through a programme they dislike so much ? If it's to pass comment for the benefit of the forum, I rather feel we may have got the message by now.

[Andy Wade]

Agreed. I can see why a professional critic would do it in order to make an article to sell to a newspaper, I can't understand why anyone else would. There's always the off button.

I feel that apart from the social side of civilian life 'back home' we're not going to see much in the way of Great war relevance though. Earlier in the thread Gwyn mentioned the lack of Church/Chapel in the first programme, good to see it getting some airtime now.

[Seadog]

So what exactly do you expect on a discussion forum when a topic such as this one is posted? Is it everything is wonderful and marvelous etc or a broad spectrum of views and opinions. Your remark that the critics are deliberately slanting their comments to sell same to newspapers cannot be right given the general consensus of the reviews posted here unless of course they are all in collusion with each other which is unlikely to put it mildly. The logic of how anyone can form a view of such programmes by not actually watching them despite how painful this can prove to be is beyond me. Finally you feel that we are not going to see much of Great War relevance, based on what, do you know this for a fact?

Regards

Norman

[spconnolly007]

Excuse my ignorance, but was the Field Service Postcard only used for foriegn service or would it be used whilst on training at home also?

Thanks,

Sean.

[Andy Wade]

Don't know Sean. I'm assuming it was used because they wanted to allow men to contact their family but retain censorship of movements etc. I dare say the Army thought this would apply anywhere, even in training. I do wonder if there was an element of being able to use it where men were barely literate ...assuming the family could read it when it arrived.

[Dragon]

Just for the record, some eye medications used for glaucoma risk or treatment (specifically prostaglandin analogues) can change eye colour and cause eyelashes to lengthen too! The drug affects the brown pigment in the iris, esecially in people with light coloured eyes. I have elevated IOPs, have been inserting synthetic prostaglandins for years and my eyes have changed from green to brownish as a result of the drops. The colour change is irreversible, sadly, but the lash lengthening saves on mascara.

So you can relax with the idea that Bert had his eye tests like a conscientious chap would, was found to have elevated intraocular pressure, sent to a specialist and given ocular hyptensive medication which he dutifully squirts into his aging eyes every day to preserve his sight.

Yes, I know Bert's have changed the other way round, but he's the medical rarity.

Gwyn

[Andy Wade]

Norman, your description of it as a 'pile of garbage' tells me that you hate it. Got that thanks. You fail to say much about why it's a 'pile of garbage' but post links to other reviews that you agree with. Alan asked if you could tell us what you do like in order that we might gauge what sort of TV programme isn't a 'pile of garbage' in your opinion, but you sidestepped it. It's sounding increasingly like you're complaining for the sake of complaining. Do you have anything nice to say about anything? Have you even anything nice to say about The Village? Or perhaps you could give us a detailed breakdown of why it's a 'pile of garbage'. Others, including myself have tried to be balanced in their appraisal, there are aspects of it that I'm not happy with and I've outlined these, but people saying they stuck pins in their eyes doesn't cut it for me as a balanced opinion, just a firm one that they don't like it. Got that thanks. Now switch it off, as it seems nothing about this programme would satisfy your strongly critical view of it. You've formed your strongly critical opinion of a 40 odd hour series in the first couple of hours.

I take the view that we aren't going to see much about the Great War specifically because it's not a Great War series. I'm sure we'll see some aspects of the effect on the inhabitants as news from the front comes home, but we're unlikely to see any trench scenes or things that go boom because it's about life in the village. I dare say they'll cover WW2 when they get to that part in the life of 'The Village' and then the 'swinging sixties' etc etc.

[Chris Foster]

Norman, you've expressed your opinion on the programme from the start of this thread and unless I've missed something, you don't like it. Judging from previous form is it likely that for the next 30 episodes, you'll keep reminding us of how much you dislike it. For what it's worth, I watched the first episode last week and decided not to watch anymore, due to the fact I thought it rather dull and slow. Some may say I've not given the programme a chance by opting out so soon, but that's my decision. There, I've now expressed my opinion, I won't boring anyone else by feeling the need to repeat it.

[spconnolly007]

Thanks Andy. I was aware of the literacy issues for its use, but Broomers got me wondering with his post as I had not considered that Joe had gone to France already. I just took it that he would have been at a training camp. I think the series has got real potential, well filmed, very well acted (I think John Simm is great anyway) and some great location pieces. My only real criticism last night was that in one afternoon, John had managed to elude his suicide attempt, regain the strength to drag his newly purchased cow home and then get back in time for the birth of his new child!! And why did the baying crowd feel the need to respect John's property by waiting at the gate to 'get him'? That said, I will be back for more next Sunday

Regards,

Sean.

[Alan Tucker]

If you trust James Delingpole then you really must seek medical advice. I read TV reviews in the four newspapers I see every week - they either confirm my own opinion or, mostly with A.A Gill, make me laugh. Of course everyone has the right to criticise The Village but too many people are just taking the p..... for the sake of it. If you do not like it after sampling it there is an on/off switch.

[susanhemmings]

I am back to eye colour again. Following Gwyn's post I remember my own dad had brown eyes which turned a rheumy hazel in his advancing years due to signs of artireosclerosis arcs round the iris.

Anyway, I did enjoy last night's episode. It was a pleasure to see young Bert's wide smile at the arrival of the baby. He has such a serious little face and character and such an expresive face too.

Await next week. Eye colour or not (Iv'e really got to get over my hang-up on it)