The Group, published in 1963, tells the story of eight graduates from Vassar College in the 1930s. Although, really, it's 'the group plus one' as there are nine female characters who dominate, one of whom wasn't in 'the group' at college. I had to refer to the book to remember all their names - Kay, Lakey, Pokey, Priss, Libby, Polly, Helena, Dottie and (the addition) Norine.
The novel begins with Kay's wedding to budding playwright, Harald. It's an odd wedding, as 'the group' acknowledges, but that sets the tone for the rest of the book. Kay's marriage starts off as unconventional and is the cornerstone of the novel; the narrative essentially follows the circle caused by Kay's marriage. I won't say anything more than that, in case I ruin the ending. After Kay's wedding we begin to flit around the other characters, first learning about Dottie's sexual relationship with a man she meets at the wedding then dipping into the scandals, jobs and living arrangements of the others. It can occasionally be difficult to keep up with who's who (and, for this, I think it requires a second reading now I've got everyone straight in my head) and the narrator who slips from character to character when it suits was a little off-putting - but I think that's more personal preference than anything else.
What I did enjoy, and what seemed to be the main observation on publication, is the openness of the narrative. Sex, contraception, homosexuality, death, breastfeeding: it's all in there and more besides. It's an honest a book as you could hope for even in the twenty-first century and is refreshing because of it. McCarthy doesn't flinch from talking about the delicate aspects of life but, due to the large cast of characters, the jumping around of the narrative can be frustrating. I was really involved with Priss's troubles about her newborn son then we jumped to Polly's story. While we do come back to Priss later, I was desperate to know what had gone on in the interim! I suppose that's the mark of good fiction, though - if you don't care about the characters when they disappear from the page then the author hasn't been doing their job properly. There were, of course, characters I preferred (Polly, Helena, Lakey) and those I was less enamoured by (Pokey, Dottie). However, what continued to surprise me was how McCarthy unpeeled characters as she went along, explaining previous behaviour and revealing character traits in a sympathetic manner. Early on, Norine explains to Helena about her marriage in a way that almost made her likeable for a few pages. Later, when we see how Norine is getting on with her life, it's with the knowledge of what had happened previously but the audience (or, at least, I) still disliked her. It's difficult to explain how McCarthy makes her reader revel in sympathetic disdain but it happens for several characters.
I liked this book for many reasons: the honesty, the detail and planning that obviously went into every chapter, the auxiliary characters who didn't just fade on the page for a start. As I said, I had issues with the breadth of it and the inevitable diluting this caused, but I can't imagine the book working as well as it did any other way. In the space of seven years we follow these women through some of the most difficult (and enduringly difficult) aspects of life. It might be set in the thirties but it still feels relevant.
It took me until the final pages to realise what I couldn't quite put my finger on about Lakey - and cemented why I liked her without quite knowing why. If you're interested in reading a novel that puts female issues unashamedly at the very heart of it then you certainly couldn't do much better than The Group.
Thursday, 31 May 2012
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Television Review: Lip Service S2
A few weeks ago I blogged about Lip Service and the almighty shock it had just served up in the second episode of series two. I said then that killing off Cat (Laura Fraser) would leave a gap in the form of a group linchpin and the rest of the series seemed to prove that really.
Jay (Emun Elliott), not my favourite character I admit, disappeared after dropping a line at Cat's funeral saying that he was thinking about moving to London because he couldn't stand work without her. Very admirable, yes, but I would've liked to have seen more of his grief. It was a golden opportunity to see another side of a character we'd grown used to but it was wasted in order to get him off the scene quickly. Frankie (Ruta Gedmintas), who provided much of the action (in all senses of the word) in series one disappeared soon after Cat's death. Understandable, yes, given her flight tendencies but it meant we lost three characters who had been at the heart of series one in the space of two episodes. It's very tricky to come back from that. When I think about series one of Lip Service the storylines that immediate spring to mind are Cat and Frankie's love affair and Frankie's struggle to discover her parentage - both of these obviously featured Cat and Frankie heavily but Jay was also involved. Characters who made up the bulk of the first series were suddenly gone and I personally struggled with that.
What about the ones we had left? Well, I was very happy we managed to keep Ed (James Anthony Pearson), despite the death of his sister. Ed's friendship with Tess (Fiona Button) was about the one continuing aspect from series one and it was good to see that back on an even keel after his ill-advised declaration of love. It was also great to see him growing in confidence after selling his book, even if his choice of girlfriend in Nora (Sinead Keenan) was even more ill-advised than his crush on Tess. However, the scene where he broke up with Nora showed a stronger Ed than I was previously used to, and I think that all kicked off at Cat's funeral when he realised he was going to have to do without his big sister in his life.
And what about Tess herself? I still love her. Her rehearsal scenes with Nora and Hugh (Stuart McQuarrie) were gold most of the time. The perfect touch of comedy in a series that was inevitably bogged down with other things. I was a little disgruntled by the fact that her love affair at the end of series one with Fin (Lorraine Burroughs) was cut off so abruptly, though the reasoning behind their break-up was perhaps sound. However, it felt a little contrived, simply so that Tess could fall for new flatmate Lexy (Anna Skellern) and get her heart broken all over again. I doubt I'm alone in just wanting Tess to be happy. She's by far my favourite character because she's so human and, honestly, just let her find a good woman she loves please.
Sadie (Natasha O'Keeffe) was a surprise returnee from series one. I thought we'd seen the last of her when she split up with Frankie but she slotted nicely into the new flat-share with Tess and Lexy. She took over from Frankie by indulging in some antics that rivalled those of Frankie in series one - there's one scene involving the kitchen counter I can't erase from my mind however hard I try. Her position as the other woman in her relationship with Lauren (Neve McIntosh) worked better than I expected and it was good to see her barriers come down once again - although she was hurt again! Sadie certainly added something to the series and it was good to see evolving friendships between her and flatmates Tess and Lexy.
And now we come to Lexy... It's difficult to say why she failed to make the impression on me I suspect she was designed to. Her 'stalker' storyline was far too tame and much more could've been made from it. I don't think her original attraction to bereaved Sam (Heather Peace) helped me warm to her. Her discussions with Declan (Adam Sinclair), essentially 'the gay Jay', about Sam didn't make the situation any easier. In addition to which, I didn't get a spark between Lexy and Sam at all. Turning them into the couple the viewer was supposed to root for didn't work as far as I'm concerned - it just came across as way of pulling Sam back into a love affair when she was still deeply traumatised by Cat's death and the issues surrounding it. Lip Service always seems to be about sex more than anything else but the best portrayals of sex came when something deeper was involved - think Cat and Sam/Cat and Frankie in series one. What was missing from much of this series, until Sadie began to fall for Lauren, was meaningful sex.
As you can probably tell, I had mixed feelings about this series. I got the sense that it was fragmented; there were no real group scenes to draw everyone together because the group (in the form of Cat, Frankie and Jay) was no longer there. A lot was left unresolved from series one and I feel rather irritated that we spent an entire series riding Frankie's emotional rollercoaster only for her to disappear so abruptly. Equally, while the writers obviously made an effort to show Sam's grief at Cat's death (and I have no issues whatsoever with Heather Peace's excellent portrayal), the scenes at the police station also seemed to be slotted in as and when. For example, the drug deal in the final episode that the police burst in on that goes badly wrong would've been more traumatic if we'd followed the information-gathering for a few weeks and got a sense of the stakes rising. While we knew about Sam's anxiety attacks, the actual breakdown at that point could've been better planned. As with Lexy's hospital scenes, Sam's work life seemed to be a conscious effort to recapture the success of Cat's partnership with Jay and couldn't work simply because the group was so fragmented. It all comes back to that for me. It ceased to be a show about a group of friends and just became a collection of a few pairs.
All that said, I don't want to see it go. I believe that it can be steered away from this blip as Cat's death becomes more and more distant. But I will say one thing: if it is renewed then can the writers trust the characters we've come to know and love? Don't push them into square relationships when they're a circular kind of gal. Mix the indulgent sex with the other kind and don't introduce too many new characters at one point while decimating half the cast. I hope BBC3 renews it, though, and I will be watching if it does. For Tess.
Jay (Emun Elliott), not my favourite character I admit, disappeared after dropping a line at Cat's funeral saying that he was thinking about moving to London because he couldn't stand work without her. Very admirable, yes, but I would've liked to have seen more of his grief. It was a golden opportunity to see another side of a character we'd grown used to but it was wasted in order to get him off the scene quickly. Frankie (Ruta Gedmintas), who provided much of the action (in all senses of the word) in series one disappeared soon after Cat's death. Understandable, yes, given her flight tendencies but it meant we lost three characters who had been at the heart of series one in the space of two episodes. It's very tricky to come back from that. When I think about series one of Lip Service the storylines that immediate spring to mind are Cat and Frankie's love affair and Frankie's struggle to discover her parentage - both of these obviously featured Cat and Frankie heavily but Jay was also involved. Characters who made up the bulk of the first series were suddenly gone and I personally struggled with that.
What about the ones we had left? Well, I was very happy we managed to keep Ed (James Anthony Pearson), despite the death of his sister. Ed's friendship with Tess (Fiona Button) was about the one continuing aspect from series one and it was good to see that back on an even keel after his ill-advised declaration of love. It was also great to see him growing in confidence after selling his book, even if his choice of girlfriend in Nora (Sinead Keenan) was even more ill-advised than his crush on Tess. However, the scene where he broke up with Nora showed a stronger Ed than I was previously used to, and I think that all kicked off at Cat's funeral when he realised he was going to have to do without his big sister in his life.
And what about Tess herself? I still love her. Her rehearsal scenes with Nora and Hugh (Stuart McQuarrie) were gold most of the time. The perfect touch of comedy in a series that was inevitably bogged down with other things. I was a little disgruntled by the fact that her love affair at the end of series one with Fin (Lorraine Burroughs) was cut off so abruptly, though the reasoning behind their break-up was perhaps sound. However, it felt a little contrived, simply so that Tess could fall for new flatmate Lexy (Anna Skellern) and get her heart broken all over again. I doubt I'm alone in just wanting Tess to be happy. She's by far my favourite character because she's so human and, honestly, just let her find a good woman she loves please.
Sadie (Natasha O'Keeffe) was a surprise returnee from series one. I thought we'd seen the last of her when she split up with Frankie but she slotted nicely into the new flat-share with Tess and Lexy. She took over from Frankie by indulging in some antics that rivalled those of Frankie in series one - there's one scene involving the kitchen counter I can't erase from my mind however hard I try. Her position as the other woman in her relationship with Lauren (Neve McIntosh) worked better than I expected and it was good to see her barriers come down once again - although she was hurt again! Sadie certainly added something to the series and it was good to see evolving friendships between her and flatmates Tess and Lexy.
And now we come to Lexy... It's difficult to say why she failed to make the impression on me I suspect she was designed to. Her 'stalker' storyline was far too tame and much more could've been made from it. I don't think her original attraction to bereaved Sam (Heather Peace) helped me warm to her. Her discussions with Declan (Adam Sinclair), essentially 'the gay Jay', about Sam didn't make the situation any easier. In addition to which, I didn't get a spark between Lexy and Sam at all. Turning them into the couple the viewer was supposed to root for didn't work as far as I'm concerned - it just came across as way of pulling Sam back into a love affair when she was still deeply traumatised by Cat's death and the issues surrounding it. Lip Service always seems to be about sex more than anything else but the best portrayals of sex came when something deeper was involved - think Cat and Sam/Cat and Frankie in series one. What was missing from much of this series, until Sadie began to fall for Lauren, was meaningful sex.
As you can probably tell, I had mixed feelings about this series. I got the sense that it was fragmented; there were no real group scenes to draw everyone together because the group (in the form of Cat, Frankie and Jay) was no longer there. A lot was left unresolved from series one and I feel rather irritated that we spent an entire series riding Frankie's emotional rollercoaster only for her to disappear so abruptly. Equally, while the writers obviously made an effort to show Sam's grief at Cat's death (and I have no issues whatsoever with Heather Peace's excellent portrayal), the scenes at the police station also seemed to be slotted in as and when. For example, the drug deal in the final episode that the police burst in on that goes badly wrong would've been more traumatic if we'd followed the information-gathering for a few weeks and got a sense of the stakes rising. While we knew about Sam's anxiety attacks, the actual breakdown at that point could've been better planned. As with Lexy's hospital scenes, Sam's work life seemed to be a conscious effort to recapture the success of Cat's partnership with Jay and couldn't work simply because the group was so fragmented. It all comes back to that for me. It ceased to be a show about a group of friends and just became a collection of a few pairs.
All that said, I don't want to see it go. I believe that it can be steered away from this blip as Cat's death becomes more and more distant. But I will say one thing: if it is renewed then can the writers trust the characters we've come to know and love? Don't push them into square relationships when they're a circular kind of gal. Mix the indulgent sex with the other kind and don't introduce too many new characters at one point while decimating half the cast. I hope BBC3 renews it, though, and I will be watching if it does. For Tess.
Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Classic Film Review: Gaslight (1940)
This review relates to the British version of Gaslight, released in 1940 starring Anton Walbrook and Diana Wynyard. It's based on Patrick Hamilton's play of two years earlier and, I think, follows the plot closely, even if the name of the main character is altered. Paul Mallen (Walbrook) and his wife Bella (Wynyard) move into a house which has been unoccupied since the murder of Alice Barlow twenty years ago. They are joined in the house by servants Elizabeth (Minnie Rayner) and Nancy (Cathleen Cordell) but it soon becomes clear that this is no idyllic marriage. Bella, it seems, is losing her mind and hiding things before claiming she has no knowledge of their whereabouts. The audience is soon let in on the fact that Paul's to blame for the objects moving and that his intention is to drive his wife insane.
Gaslight is a atmospheric film. While Walbrook was very much a stereotypical villain, I enjoyed Wynyard's portrayal of Bella. However, my favourite moments came courtesy of Frank Pettingell as Rough, a former detective involved in the original murder case. His interest is piqued by the arrival of Mallen, whom he immediately identifies as the nephew of the murder victim. He attempts to discover more, partly by befriending Bella and partly by using his employee's relationship with Nancy the parlourmaid. Paul Mallen is also utilising the parlourmaid for entertainment of his own.
Knowing what's going on gives the audience an edge over Bella and it creates unbearable suspense as Paul manipulates her more and more. The final few scenes were very good, particularly as Bella uses his own manipulations against Paul. For me, though, my favourite scene was Rough charging a hoop at Bella and her dog as an excuse to make her acquaintance. I loved that scene and I can't even explain why. Pettingell's an actor I want to look out for in other films and, yes, I would like to see the MGM version of Gaslight (1944, with Angela Lansbury as Nancy) at some point in the future.
Gaslight is a atmospheric film. While Walbrook was very much a stereotypical villain, I enjoyed Wynyard's portrayal of Bella. However, my favourite moments came courtesy of Frank Pettingell as Rough, a former detective involved in the original murder case. His interest is piqued by the arrival of Mallen, whom he immediately identifies as the nephew of the murder victim. He attempts to discover more, partly by befriending Bella and partly by using his employee's relationship with Nancy the parlourmaid. Paul Mallen is also utilising the parlourmaid for entertainment of his own.
Knowing what's going on gives the audience an edge over Bella and it creates unbearable suspense as Paul manipulates her more and more. The final few scenes were very good, particularly as Bella uses his own manipulations against Paul. For me, though, my favourite scene was Rough charging a hoop at Bella and her dog as an excuse to make her acquaintance. I loved that scene and I can't even explain why. Pettingell's an actor I want to look out for in other films and, yes, I would like to see the MGM version of Gaslight (1944, with Angela Lansbury as Nancy) at some point in the future.
Friday, 25 May 2012
My Twitter Modes
It occurred to me last night (or, rather, in the early hours of this morning) that someone following me for the first time on Twitter may be a bit perturbed by the jumping around my Twitter feed does. Everyone has varied interests, yes, but the mechanics of Twitter mean that such eclectic personalities can seem frustrating when you followed a person for, say, political insight. So, here are a few of my 'Twitter modes', along with the approximate time of day you may want to avoid my tweets because of them...
- Newsy/Political Mode: I have news: this one can go on all day. However, I'm a later riser these days (because I'm an nocturnal reader) and my first act when I wake between ten and eleven o'clock is to catch up on what's going on in the world. Mainly this seems to revolve around politics as my obsession grows but it can also include local news, television and film news alongside just plain odd news.
- Mad Political Mode: This one is usually restricted to Prime Minister's Questions on a Wednesday lunchtime, though can be replicated any time politicians are making stupid remarks to each other in the House of Commons and I happen to be watching. Can also occur if I make the mistake of watching Daily Politics, Question Time or Newsnight.
- PhD Mode: This usually occurs on Twitter mid-afternoon, though it can feasibly take place all day depending on how interested I am in my current line of work. It can take the form of updating what I'm reading/researching that day or it can be a rant at the idiocy or perhaps genius of Wilkie Collins, Edmund Yates or nineteenth-century reviewers. It can also take the form of incoherent wailing but I think that's normal in these circumstances.
- Blog Mode: This is a brief mode, including a little self-promoting when I've posted something new up here.
- Writing Mode: According to my own rules of self-restraint, this mostly takes place in the evening, any time after six is a good bet. I'll be trying to write and constantly looking to Twitter for distraction. Prepare for tweets about my word count or other random things that I choose to procrastinate with.
- YouTube Mode: This may or may not occur late evening, depending on what sort of day I've had. It involves song lyrics that are particularly getting to me along with links to videos on YouTube. These can be anything from Bernadette Peters to ABBA to Epica to Aqua. Yep, that's eclectic. (This mode can be accompanied by a mad melancholia that requires eye-rolling on your part)
- Reading Mode: What it says on the tin. My 'fun' reading usually kicks in after midnight and tweets about what I'm reading usually occur then. Alternatively, if I'm travelling it'll be featured during the day.
- Train Mode: This occasional mode can be angry, humorous and bizarre. All depends on what kind of day the rail network's having.
- Television Mode: This occurs when I manage to scrape a few hours with my father's hard-disk recorder and so may appear a bit out of date to anyone who actually watches live television.
- Weekend Mode: Everything goes a bit batty! I could be with family, writing all day, reading till my eyes hurt or simply going on a YouTube spree. It's a mixed bag!
I think that about covers it. If an eagle-eyed reader has spotted a mode I've missed out let me know!
Wednesday, 23 May 2012
Blog North Event
This is my rather belated recap of the Blog North event on 12th May, postponed due to my week in Birmingham. There's something about writing important posts that requires me sat at my desk with a peculiar thinking-face on - so here I am.
I was fortunate enough to receive a free place on the event which involved trips to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and The Hepworth Wakefield. As a person of limited means at the moment, it would've been difficult for me to gather money together to go to something when I had no idea what it would be like. Luckily, I can now recommend the experience to others so it was definitely worth it.
The day started off with a online writing workshop at the YSP in a nice converted hayloft. Complimented with cookies and a beverage it was a nice gentle start to the day which sparked some creativity in me at least. The group was a varied one, quite a lot of women but a nice broad age range. After the workshop we were given a tour of the current indoor exhibition at the YSP - the sculptor Joan Miró. I'll be perfectly honest here - I'd hadn't heard of him before seeing the itinerary for the day so I had no idea what to expect. I was very struck by the first piece we came across in the exhibition, though I haven't been able to locate a picture online because I can't remember the name of it! Nonetheless, Miró surprised me from the start. His work frequently contains everyday objects and this first one had quite a few common objects including a pitchfork and a towel. Throughout the exhibition we saw items scaled up from their everyday size and other things that just felt plain odd such as 'Fleeing Young Girl' which is a pair of mannequin legs topped with what looks like a stop-tap. While the objects together initially look rather ridiculous, I grew to appreciate Miró's toying with expectation as we proceeded around the exhibition. Our tour guide (I can't remember her name but she had a sore throat and did a very good job despite that) was certainly enthusiastic about her subject and that enthusiasm seemed to rub off on me a little. I came away from the tour with the desire to see the exhibition again and pay more attention to works we didn't have time to look at as a group. As well as that, I've since purchased a book (below) on Miró's life and work - I'll be delving into that before I go again. The exhibition's on for the rest of this year and a beautiful summer afternoon at the park doesn't seem so much of a chore.
We broke for lunch (I grabbed a gorgeous tuna salad wrap from the cafe) then reconvened for the second workshop of the day. This one focused on how to review art and was especially useful to me. On this blog I've only dabbled in reviewing things and a lot of my issues seemed to be replicated within the group - we were unsure of language, afraid of looking silly, aware that we found something unappealing but couldn't really describe why. I made a lot of notes during this workshop and hopefully I'll refer to them in the future. I certainly came away from it with a sense that I shouldn't be afraid of reviewing art any more, if that's what I want to do. I also shouldn't be afraid of having an opinion - as with literature if you don't like something you're allowed to say so provided you can give some semblance of a reason.
We got on the coach to The Hepworth Wakefield after this. I've been before but enjoyed it much more the second time around. This was possibly due again to the enthusiasm of our guides there. It helped that the gallery had just welcomed its 500,000th visitor early that day - there was a sense of giddiness about the place that was quite appealing. Since this visit, incidentally, the gallery has celebrated its first birthday and has been shortlisted for the Art Fund Prize, which it's tipped to win. The walk around the gallery was pleasant enough, though my feet were hurting by this time. Following this, we returned downstairs and talked to each other (otherwise known as 'networking' but I hate that word).
So what did I get out of the day? I learned not to be scared of writing about things I may like. I learned that there are plenty of other bloggers in this region who enjoy similar things to me. I've grasped hold of a new artist that I want to know more about and I learned to appreciate the gallery on my own doorstep a little more. And I had a mean tuna salad wrap. Good day all in all.
I was fortunate enough to receive a free place on the event which involved trips to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and The Hepworth Wakefield. As a person of limited means at the moment, it would've been difficult for me to gather money together to go to something when I had no idea what it would be like. Luckily, I can now recommend the experience to others so it was definitely worth it.
The day started off with a online writing workshop at the YSP in a nice converted hayloft. Complimented with cookies and a beverage it was a nice gentle start to the day which sparked some creativity in me at least. The group was a varied one, quite a lot of women but a nice broad age range. After the workshop we were given a tour of the current indoor exhibition at the YSP - the sculptor Joan Miró. I'll be perfectly honest here - I'd hadn't heard of him before seeing the itinerary for the day so I had no idea what to expect. I was very struck by the first piece we came across in the exhibition, though I haven't been able to locate a picture online because I can't remember the name of it! Nonetheless, Miró surprised me from the start. His work frequently contains everyday objects and this first one had quite a few common objects including a pitchfork and a towel. Throughout the exhibition we saw items scaled up from their everyday size and other things that just felt plain odd such as 'Fleeing Young Girl' which is a pair of mannequin legs topped with what looks like a stop-tap. While the objects together initially look rather ridiculous, I grew to appreciate Miró's toying with expectation as we proceeded around the exhibition. Our tour guide (I can't remember her name but she had a sore throat and did a very good job despite that) was certainly enthusiastic about her subject and that enthusiasm seemed to rub off on me a little. I came away from the tour with the desire to see the exhibition again and pay more attention to works we didn't have time to look at as a group. As well as that, I've since purchased a book (below) on Miró's life and work - I'll be delving into that before I go again. The exhibition's on for the rest of this year and a beautiful summer afternoon at the park doesn't seem so much of a chore.
We broke for lunch (I grabbed a gorgeous tuna salad wrap from the cafe) then reconvened for the second workshop of the day. This one focused on how to review art and was especially useful to me. On this blog I've only dabbled in reviewing things and a lot of my issues seemed to be replicated within the group - we were unsure of language, afraid of looking silly, aware that we found something unappealing but couldn't really describe why. I made a lot of notes during this workshop and hopefully I'll refer to them in the future. I certainly came away from it with a sense that I shouldn't be afraid of reviewing art any more, if that's what I want to do. I also shouldn't be afraid of having an opinion - as with literature if you don't like something you're allowed to say so provided you can give some semblance of a reason.
We got on the coach to The Hepworth Wakefield after this. I've been before but enjoyed it much more the second time around. This was possibly due again to the enthusiasm of our guides there. It helped that the gallery had just welcomed its 500,000th visitor early that day - there was a sense of giddiness about the place that was quite appealing. Since this visit, incidentally, the gallery has celebrated its first birthday and has been shortlisted for the Art Fund Prize, which it's tipped to win. The walk around the gallery was pleasant enough, though my feet were hurting by this time. Following this, we returned downstairs and talked to each other (otherwise known as 'networking' but I hate that word).
So what did I get out of the day? I learned not to be scared of writing about things I may like. I learned that there are plenty of other bloggers in this region who enjoy similar things to me. I've grasped hold of a new artist that I want to know more about and I learned to appreciate the gallery on my own doorstep a little more. And I had a mean tuna salad wrap. Good day all in all.
Monday, 21 May 2012
The Syndicate - Thoughts (Spoilers)
This isn't so much a review as me musing aloud. I enjoyed The Syndicate, the BBC drama about five winners of the lottery who find the money changes their lives in ways they never expected. When I heard it had been renewed I was happy - then I read the fine print. The second series will focus on a new set of characters.
In all honesty, I understand why but I'm still very disappointed. It took me until the second episode and the portrayal of Denise (Lorraine Bruce) in-depth to actually come to like the programme. The first episode really didn't chime with me much at all but I stuck with it, primarily because I'm always complaining that channels don't give shows enough time to prove themselves before axing them. I was rewarded by excellent characterisation in Denise, Leanne (Joanna Page) and, when he grew a backbone, Stuart (Matthew McNulty). The truth is, I spent five hours with these characters and I'm not sure I'm happy leaving them where we did. Okay, Jamie (Matthew Lewis) is dead but will we never learn what happens to Leanne and her daughter and whether Stuart will chase after a relationship with Leanne when/if his legal issues are sorted out? It feels like a terrible place to deliberately leave a set of characters.
For that reason alone, I don't think I'll watch the second series. I don't want to invest time in characters when I know their storylines are likely to be left as unresolved as Stuart and company. It's different when a show is axed or characters are forced to leave for, say, actor commitments (see Lip Service!). That's beyond the control of the programme creators. However, a rejuvenation of a show with fresh characters is very much the choice of the creators. And that irritates me in this instance.
In all honesty, I understand why but I'm still very disappointed. It took me until the second episode and the portrayal of Denise (Lorraine Bruce) in-depth to actually come to like the programme. The first episode really didn't chime with me much at all but I stuck with it, primarily because I'm always complaining that channels don't give shows enough time to prove themselves before axing them. I was rewarded by excellent characterisation in Denise, Leanne (Joanna Page) and, when he grew a backbone, Stuart (Matthew McNulty). The truth is, I spent five hours with these characters and I'm not sure I'm happy leaving them where we did. Okay, Jamie (Matthew Lewis) is dead but will we never learn what happens to Leanne and her daughter and whether Stuart will chase after a relationship with Leanne when/if his legal issues are sorted out? It feels like a terrible place to deliberately leave a set of characters.
For that reason alone, I don't think I'll watch the second series. I don't want to invest time in characters when I know their storylines are likely to be left as unresolved as Stuart and company. It's different when a show is axed or characters are forced to leave for, say, actor commitments (see Lip Service!). That's beyond the control of the programme creators. However, a rejuvenation of a show with fresh characters is very much the choice of the creators. And that irritates me in this instance.
Friday, 18 May 2012
Book Review: The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller
I bought this book simply because I like the film. I'd read a few bad things about it but decided it was far better to try it out for myself. While it sparkled in parts, the sensation of being dictated to - rather than becoming immersed in a love story - was all too present.
The Bridges of Madison County tells the brief love story of married Francesca Johnson and photographer Robert Kincaid. They meet while Robert is in Iowa taking pictures of, yep, local bridges and embark on a very swift affair. Francesca is reawakened by her experiences with Robert but her responsibilities continue to bite.
My main issue with this book was that the characters, particularly Robert, became vessels for the author. When they become mouthpieces for ideas then they cease to be plausible characters and I think that's what happened here. Occasionally, you had several pages of dialogue banging on one drum without being intertwined with narrative or action. The effect of this was essentially to bring me out of the book and make me aware I was reading a creation rather than a truth. That could work for some readers but not me.
That isn't to say there weren't good aspects to this book. The small town atmosphere was expertly invoked and the scene where Francesca sees Robert drive away for the last time was gripping and emotional. However, it's notable that neither of these plus-points relied on dialogue. I think the book excelled when it stopped being aware of itself as a book. I didn't find it a particularly enjoyable novel but I do still appreciate the screen version and how it turned a mediocre book into a much better film.
The Bridges of Madison County tells the brief love story of married Francesca Johnson and photographer Robert Kincaid. They meet while Robert is in Iowa taking pictures of, yep, local bridges and embark on a very swift affair. Francesca is reawakened by her experiences with Robert but her responsibilities continue to bite.
My main issue with this book was that the characters, particularly Robert, became vessels for the author. When they become mouthpieces for ideas then they cease to be plausible characters and I think that's what happened here. Occasionally, you had several pages of dialogue banging on one drum without being intertwined with narrative or action. The effect of this was essentially to bring me out of the book and make me aware I was reading a creation rather than a truth. That could work for some readers but not me.
That isn't to say there weren't good aspects to this book. The small town atmosphere was expertly invoked and the scene where Francesca sees Robert drive away for the last time was gripping and emotional. However, it's notable that neither of these plus-points relied on dialogue. I think the book excelled when it stopped being aware of itself as a book. I didn't find it a particularly enjoyable novel but I do still appreciate the screen version and how it turned a mediocre book into a much better film.
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