Television Review: Case Histories S2

In all honesty, I could've done with a handy recap at the beginning of the first episode of this three-part series. The first series aired in the summer of 2011 (reviewed here) and I was a bit confused about how things ended between Jackson Brodie (Jason Issacs) and police officer Louise Monroe (Amanda Abbington) and it took me quite a while to reacclimatise to their relationship. Instead of three two-hour arcs, this series had three hour-and-a-half episodes. I still can't decide whether this was a good decision or not - occasionally things felt a little packed but, yes, there was still enough brooding shots of Brodie so it probably worked out.

The three individual episodes worked individually and continuity was usually good (though what happened to the dog?!). It'll be no surprise to readers of this blog that my favourite episode turned out to be the first one, guest starring Victoria Wood as an ex-police officer who basically abducts a girl whose mother treats her like rubbish. It's a typical Brodie scenario - he knows that doing the legal thing is not necessarily doing the right thing.

The second episode focuses on Brodie's investigation into a man whose fiancé believes is acting strangely and leads accidentally to a murder investigation. Brodie's daughter, Marlee, also comes to live with him for a little bit, adding a new dimension to both the case he's undertaken and his complex relationships with women.

Finally, the third episode focuses on Brodie's investigation on behalf of the son of a woman who was dragged from the river years ago along with his return to a despised business associate who calls in a favour to find his daughter. The two cases, along with the complexities of his personal life, occasionally made this one a little disjointed and the ending certainly came too soon.

Overall, I enjoyed this series immensely. Good use of the Edinburgh landscape and it wasn't all as grim as the nature of his cases suggests - just watch him trying to deliver a baby. I do wonder, however, where they're planning on going next with Jackson and Louise - while I realise it's impossible for Brodie to be given a happy ending, I think that where they are now closes doors rather than opens them. If another series is made I'll be interested to see how that develops. And, yes, I want another series. Jackson Brodie is the latest in a long line of flawed heroes with inner demons and is arguably one of the best.

Some Victoria Wood Optimism

I'm an enormous Victoria Wood fan. I completely 'get' her comedy. Her humour is my kind of humour and I can watch her stuff on repeat without getting bored (I wrote about this years ago here). But while I love her comedy I often feel her serious work's overlooked. Anybody who watched her in Housewife, 49 will know what I mean but it goes deeper than that. While there are plenty of laughs in dinnerladies there are also some poignant moments. The one I'll always remember is from the second series when Stan has just lost his father and writes a poem about him. I actually recited that poem in a presentation on grief I had to do because it mixed the funny with the heartbreaking.

One of my favourite songs at the moment is a Victoria Wood oldie that I've only just really discovered. It's not in her usual vein of laugh-out-loud comedic songs but it's a nice poignant number that basically tells you to take a chance in life and not to miss your opportunities when they arrive. Some of the lyrics are too relevant to my own life to comment on really. It's advice I wish I could take but perhaps it's easier said than done. I suppose that at least my characters will be well-informed and ready to do what I'm incapable of. Isn't that what characters are for anyway?

(Note: Video's a little sticky but audio's fine)

Three o’clock and still awake,
Winding back each dumb mistake. 
Every slip replayed,
Words not said, moves not made.

Five o’clock the sky comes grey,
Another wash, another day, 
Just another life, it’s true,
But particularly yours, particularly you.

If you have a dream, go with it,
Feel the slightest hint, go with it. 
What is there to lose?
Do you dare, dare to choose?

I have wasted years behaving
In a way I thought was proper, 
And it’s hard to do.
No-one cared, no-one knew.

Bus to work, paper shop,
Will it alter, will it stop? 
Take the time to feel,
Is this for you? Is this for real?

Horoscope, your new campaign,
Oh, I'm not so bad, I can’t complain, 
But you do feel bad somehow,
Particularly here, particularly now.

You can struggle on believing,
Other people have the answers. 
Even if they do,
It couldn’t help, it wouldn’t help you.

You may feel there’s more to follow,
Some eternal life, I don’t feel that. 
All there is is now.
You can’t choose when. You can choose how.

If you have a dream, go with it,
Feel the slightest breeze, then follow, 
Follow all the way,
Save yourself from just another day.

Book Review: Nella Last's War

I've wanted to read these diaries since I saw Victoria Wood's adaptation Housewife, 49 a few years ago. The diaries chronicle WWII as seen from the perspective of a middle-aged mother in Barrow-in-Furness. Nella Last suffered a nervous breakdown before the war but the renewed purpose she gets from various war-related activities separates her from her old self. She has a no-nonsense work ethic that permeates everything she undertakes but she still suffers from war fear and especially the fear that her youngest son, Cliff, will die when sent abroad. She becomes more than just a housewife and, even while the war wreaks damage everywhere, Nella's personal story is a revolutionary one.

It's easy to understand why these diaries are so compelling. Nella's voice is an everyday one in many respects but her attitude seems to contrast with some of the people around her. For instance, she wants to do everything she can and really isn't interested in getting involved with the 'politics' of which woman does what. This wins her short-term disapproval but long-term respect. She also refers to her marriage in stark terms, particularly towards the end of the war when she dreads going back to the existence where she stays in with her husband constantly. Much of the discourse I've read around WWII sees it as revolutionary for younger women, helping to set a new order for the years to come. However, Nella's story is one of an older woman grasping a fresh image of herself and her purpose. It's a very heartening book in that respect. She chronicles the good alongside the bad, the horror alongside her trips to a nearby tranquil lake. The voice that comes across is intelligent and thoughtful but rarely maudlin. There are some entries that are shocking, particularly the one where she admires Hitler for the killing of mentally ill people. Her argument is not one I'd accept today but I can see where she's coming from in the context of the day.

One thing that irritated me about this book was no fault of Nella's. Entries spanning over a year between the beginning of 1944 and May 1945 were lost when the Mass-Observation collection was moved. It interrupted the flow of the work and meant that a lot of domestic things we'd been following suddenly jump along a few paces. We don't get to read about Nella's first impressions of her daughter-in-law or how she reacted when her other son was injured and returned to her. However, the beauty of these diaries is that the gaps can be filled in because there is so much of Nella in her entries. I almost know how she would've reacted and, while it doesn't make up for it, it's a nice thing to be able to say after reading a book of diaries. I'm looking forward to reading the next collection that looks at Nella's life in the 50s.

The book contains some helpful explanatory notes at the end, including a list of people and a glossary. It also includes an afterword penned by Cliff Last which sheds light on Nella's later years and the lives of the main players in the diary. I'll leave you with Nella's final paragraph from her entry celebrating the end of the war in the early hours of 15th August 1945:

"I feel disappointed in my feelings. I feel no wild whoopee, just a quiet thankfulness and a feeling of 'flatness'. Dear God knows what I'd imagined it would be like. I think I'll take two aspirins and try and read myself to sleep." (p298)

Enduring Comedy

I adore gentle, old-time comedies.

While looking for something to watch last night I stumbled across Victoria at the Albert, a repeat of Victoria Wood’s sell-out performance at the Royal Albert Hall back in 2002. Instead of trying to do anything productive like work on my thoughts for the upcoming 3rd draft of one of my novels I gladly sat down and laughed my proverbial off for two hours. But the thing is, I’ve more than just seen this before – I used to own it on audio cassette, I’ve listened to it thirty times at least. And yet it felt as fresh to me as ever, even though I knew precisely what was coming.

So how does comedy have that effect?

Drama, for me, is rooted in suspenseful writing. I remember sitting down to watch the opening episode of series three of Bad Girls and being absolutely hooked because I had no idea what was going to happen next. Those were the days before intense online speculation and spoilers so the events were a huge surprise to me. But on repeated viewings I know Jim doesn’t die and that Shell is in a lot of trouble and that Helen tries to break up with Nikki. It’s still good to watch but the tension has all disappeared. By my reckoning, comedy should be a similar toy. After all, if you know what joke’s coming then you know everything, don’t you?

Yes but no. The shows I grew up loving – and still love – all have a few things in common. Apart from anything related to Victoria Wood I adore The Golden Girls, Keeping Up Appearances, Open All Hours, Porridge, Goodnight Sweetheart and Only Fools and Horses amongst others. They’re all quite old, most of them are British but their most striking similarity is the wealth of talent in them. Comic geniuses such as Ronnie Barker, David Jason, Patricia Routledge, Bea Arthur and Nicholas Lyndhurst just have a way of delivering comedy without it ever seeming stale. I can watch a simple scene in a kitchen in Miami with four women sat around a table eating cheesecake and the lines just crack me up every time. I’m smiling while I sit here thinking about Rose Nylund’s herring tale about a herring being shot out of a cannon… ‘after that no herring would do it’. Hilarious stories told by amazing people.

So it is just the delivery that makes them great?

No, I think it’s the anticipation I get from waiting for the laughter to start. There are a couple of special moments in every episode – like the herring conversation – that I can’t wait to laugh at. In Porridge one would be the moment where Fletch is forced to get into the boxing ring to prove a point. Or the moment in Keeping Up Appearances where everybody hides under the stage to escape Hyacinth. It’s the little things in life.

This morning I woke up humming one of Victoria Wood’s songs from last night. I’ve been struggling to keep it under wraps because I don’t think the people at work would appreciate the rude words. Comedy is enduring. If I had to pick a series to watch on repeat on a desert island for the rest of my life it’d be a tough choice but my current favourite is The Golden Girls, inspired by the sad loss of Rue McClanahan.

And I don’t think I’d get bored.