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Post by coolbyrne on Jul 19, 2007 5:54:47 GMT -5
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Post by coolbyrne on Jul 22, 2007 21:25:25 GMT -5
Have to say that last night's WITB was the best bit of acting I have seen from Ms Lahbib in a loooooong time. Credit where credit's due. I agree. I finally felt the emotional connection to the character that's been missing. (I will give SL a bit of a pass, as the writers haven't been doing her any favours, either.) I wonder if it's because she's a mother herself, and the emotions she drew upon weren't generated by an actress, but by a mother? As much as I love Niall Leonard, I think this is probably the weakest entry he's written for the show, but considering how highly I think of his work, that's not too shabby. I got an extra kick out of the subject matter, as I'm currently reading a book called, "Opening Skinner's Box: The Greatest Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century", and one of the experiments is "Lost in the Mall" in which an idea is suggested to a person, and they come to believe it. (See Elizabeth Loftus for more info! It's quite fascinating.) So this idea of suggestive thinking is very fresh in my mind, and it was interesting to see as part of a story. I did feel there was just a bit too much going on in the episode, though. Not to say they all didn't tie in together in the end, but rather than focusing on two or even three story angles, we had, well, I counted at least six. My other difficulty is getting my head around this new Tony. Granted, he was never quite the Tony of the books, but since Carol left, he's been a different character. I suppose that should be a good thing- that the loss of that emotional anchor has changed him, but it's not that, really. He's just different. I always said I would separate WitB into two shows -one with Carol and one without- but I think my parameters are wrong. I need to separate it into Tony and TonyClone. I'm not complaining about TonyClone, but it's hard to watch the New WitB while thinking of the original Tony. Hmmm.
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Post by coolbyrne on Jul 26, 2007 5:56:09 GMT -5
Torrent for episode three can be found HERE.
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Post by topcat on Jul 26, 2007 6:32:58 GMT -5
I thought episode 3 was quite interesting but, after the drama of last week, it was weird that there was no mention of the son and we saw no concequences of that trauma with the Alex character. Alex was just back to looking stern and not much else.
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Post by coolbyrne on Aug 21, 2007 12:04:59 GMT -5
I've written a longish post about the fifth series as well as the new book, "Beneath the Bleeding", which RomanMachine was awesome enough to surprise me with! You can read my thoughts HERE. Of course, there are spoilers for the book, so be warned.
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Post by endangeredspecies on Feb 4, 2008 15:43:14 GMT -5
Not strictly speaking "Wire in the blood" but from the same stable. "A place of execution", another of Val McD's books but a stand-alone story, not a C&T story, has been commissioned, for ITV, I think. That would make sense as the aforementioned WitB is screened on that station. It could be interesting to see what they make of the book, no doubt "Mr Twinkley" will have a major role and as with all VM's books there is a strong female lead. It's set in Derbyshire so would be too far for you know who...
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Post by coolbyrne on Feb 6, 2008 9:27:54 GMT -5
I read Mr. Twinkly will be behind the camera (as producer) only. I forgot to post this here when I first posted it on the Val McDermid board- here are my comments on the standalone episode, "Prayer of the Bone" that aired about a month ago in the UK. Spoilers abound, of course! Well, if we ever needed proof that the heart of the show is the interaction between the two leads (whether that be Tony/Carol or Tony/Alex), we got it in the standalone episode. Five minutes after viewing it and I'm hardpressed to dredge up any moment of it that stood out as noteworthy. Patrick Harbinson has written a few episodes of Law & Order: SVU in the past, and this episode might very well have been a reject from that show. Guy is put on trial for the brutal murder of his wife and two kids, and in the end, it's all about lust. -So... the wife loved the husband so much that she would risk the lives of her two children? -Why exactly was the defender following Tony? Or was it really Anita? Why wasn't it more clear? -Why didn't Anita just announce herself as FBI when she came storming into the storage unit, gun drawn? -I got sick of seeing that blue bag after about the fifth appearance of it, really. We get it- he's Linus and it's his security blanket. We get it- it's supposed to show how frugal and unhip he is. We get it. -There's a fine line between being edgy and interesting with the camera shots, and just thinking you're being clever when it's really just annoying. What the *FLASH* hell was *FLASH* with the continuous *FLASH* overexposed shots? Stop it already. And the parts where Tony literally puts himself in the place of the people he's imagining? Was I supposed to laugh when he was dressed up as a cowboy? -The actresses playing Anita and the district attorney (see? The name escapes me already.) were dreadful. Their deliveries were as flat as Texas. (Or so Tony would say, I'm sure.) -Case in point... that bar scene with Tony and Anita was beautifully written and abysmally delivered, at least by the actress playing Anita. What should have been a rather insightful look at Tony (I kept trying to imagine it with Hermione Norris or Simone Lahbib) ended up disappointingly mundane. We knew we would never see this woman again, so the "reveal" about why he came to work for the police meant very little; it was a self-contained moment that will have no ripple on the rest of the series characters, and that's a shame. -The rental car had absolutely no place nor reason in the episode. Oh, haha, the window handle came off just like it did in the first WitB episode! So clever! Only, not really. 1971 Mustang? As a rental car? Oh, I get it- things are bigger in Texas. *eyeroll* -Dig out the Cliched Endings book and you'll find the "Hero Stands at the Gravestones... in the Pouring Rain" entry that this episode stole. -I know it was completely random, but as a comic book fan, the name "Sudden Justice League" made me think of a quick get-together of DC super heroes. (See: "Justice League" if you don't know what I mean.) -I did like the albeit brief interaction between the judge and Tony. They had a chemistry that was sorely lacking throughout the rest of the episode. -Also liked the phone call to Alex. Will admit though that his little comment at the end of the call ("that bit about her fancing me...") reminded me of his comment to Carol at the end of "Mermaids Singing". ("that bit about taking a shower...") I'm not sure why they bothered spending the money to film an American episode. There was nothing about it that appeared any different beyond the accents and the American cliches. Murders occur and Tony isn't believed by the cops. Well, that pretty much sums up the entire run of the British episodes, doesn't it? I'm quite baffled at the reasoning behind the special location of this episode. (Unless- god forbid- there's even a whiff of doing an American version of the show once the British series stops after its sixth year.) I never thought I'd say it, but I missed Alex. Or I missed anyone who has any kind of chemistry and depth with Tony. How he interacts with people he cares about, and how they interact with him, is the real appeal of this character and this show (at least to me). It's what makes his character grow and develop. This episode could have been filmed at anytime between series one and series five. It is such a standalone that it seems almost a different entity entirely. Without Tony having some kind of emotional connection, it makes it nearly impossible for me to make that investment. I know this will seem like heresay, but the gap between Book Tony and Series Tony has become such that the decision to end the show after the sixth year is looking more and more like a wise choice. I know it was never going to be the same as the books and I was quite content to make that distinction; to give each medium its own chance and its own space. But there's something now missing with Series Tony and I don't know if I can even explain what that might be. I just know that there is an incredible balance in the books between his strength and his vulnerability that I no longer see in the show. Disappointment all round.
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Post by coolbyrne on Feb 21, 2008 17:13:53 GMT -5
Simone Lahbib fans who are looking to find out when series 5 will air in the US will be pleased to know that Bill, the webmaster of Robson Green's site, has found the BBC America airing information.
Prayer of the Bone is scheduled for transmission by BBC America on Sunday 6th April 2008, followed by Wire series five on the next four Sundays.
My hat off to Bill for being the only place on the web that's on the ball with the news.
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Post by coolbyrne on Jun 5, 2008 20:47:17 GMT -5
Interesting bit of information on wikipedia, though take the source with a grain of salt! Scroll down to the character list. Simone Lahbib is listed until 6x03 and Nicola Walker- of all people!- is listed to be appearing in 6x05. A few comments to make: -it's unusual that NW is listed as appearing in the fifth episode, as the series has never done more than four. -NW is listed as playing Susannah Granger, who is a DCI. That's Carol's old position. Alex is only a DI, so she'd be under the Granger character. -So that leads me to wonder, are they bringing in Granger as an addition to the show, or is she replacing Alex? -Regardless of which one it turns out to be (though I have to admit I'd be surprised if they replaced Alex so soon), I think I'm more surprised by the casting choice. (If that is indeed true itself.) I mean, Nicola Walker?? The same Nicola Walker who worked with Robson for three years on "Touching Evil"? Wouldn't that be, well, an odd choice? It would be like casting Mandana Jones as Alex Fielding's babysitter. I mean, the recognition factor will be a bit startling, won't it? Wouldn't Nicola be inclined to call Robson "Creegan" by accident? Thoughts?
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Post by romanmachine on Jun 5, 2008 21:04:02 GMT -5
Simone Lahbib is listed until 6x03 and Nicola Walker- of all people!- is listed to be appearing in 6x05. A few comments to make: -it's unusual that NW is listed as appearing in the fifth episode, as the series has never done more than four. -NW is listed as playing Susannah Granger, who is a DCI. That's Carol's old position. Alex is only a DI, so she'd be under the Granger character. -So that leads me to wonder, are they bringing in Granger as an addition to the show, or is she replacing Alex? Maybe Simone's decided to use her success in WITB as a stepping stone to bigger roles. ;D Either way, I think Alex is toast. Sleepin' with da fishes and all that. Or, if Simone is leaving the show, she should be. One main character already left abruptly. If Alex does the same, it will be "been there, done that." But, if that happens, then I feel sorry for the PR department of Coastal Productions. Can you imagine the fallout if they kill Helen?
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Post by coolbyrne on Jun 5, 2008 21:08:00 GMT -5
Particularly when the character had the chance to leave in the last series. She was offered a job in London, if I'm not mistaken, and she turned it down at the end. I remember it because it was such a blatant contrast to Carol's situation, where she just blithely up and left when offered (off screen) a new position in a new city (continent!!). So to play that card again not only is rehashing the Carol exit, but replaying the option Alex already turned down! But hey, if the casting is true, maybe Susannah Granger will be Helen's Alex's lesbian lover!
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Post by romanmachine on Jun 5, 2008 21:11:39 GMT -5
*facepalm* Of course! That has to be it. I mean, the woman's name is Nicola. Talk about subtext! ;D
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Post by coolbyrne on Jun 5, 2008 21:15:48 GMT -5
Man, I totally missed that! Oh no.
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Post by coolbyrne on Jun 6, 2008 20:30:12 GMT -5
Just wanted to mention something that seems to have been misunderstood about the episode numbering, particularly as it pertains to the wikipedia rumour about Simone/Nicola. I've noticed this bit of confusion on a few sites- Because the episodes are often split into 2 parts, you may see a season, like any season from 2 onward, listed as having 8 episodes. The fact of the matter is, it is really only 4 episodes split in 2. You can see what I mean when you look at the wikipedia entry and see Hermione Norris' tenure- she's listed as being part of the cast up to 3x04. They have lumped 8 parts into 4. Had they done it the other way, she would be listed as being part of the cast up to 3x08. See what I mean? This is why I'm surprised by the listing of Nicola Walker as 6x05- this means there are 5 full episodes in season 6, which they've never done before. (It does NOT mean Nicola Walker comes in during the 1st half of episode 3!! It means she comes in during episode 5!) This is also why I'm curious about episode 4. If SL is listed up to and including episode 3, and NW comes in for episode 5, what happens in the episode in-between? Would also like to point out, though some sites are claiming it hasn't been confirmed (by whom? Do they have Simone on Line 1? ), it actually has- there will be a season 7. While not confirmed in the media, it has been confirmed by someone on Robson Green's official forum and has been up there for a couple of weeks without removal by BillA, the forum administrator. (For those of you who aren't members of the board, I will tell you that Bill runs that forum with great attention to detail and is careful about letting misinformation get carried away like fact.) According to someone with connections to the show, it starts filming in Newcastle in November. With or without Simone, no one has said.
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Post by topcat on Jun 7, 2008 6:29:36 GMT -5
Would also like to point out, though some sites are claiming it hasn't been confirmed (by whom? Do they have Simone on Line 1? ), Yeah, I noticed all that double speak Can't say I know who this Nicola Walker is. I googled her and am none the wiser. Didn't see Touching Evil and stopped watching Spooks about 3 seasons ago. Can't say Simone's apparent departure bothers me one way or the other. It's never been the same since Hermione Norris left. That's no criticism of Ms Lahbib. It's just that any show that loses a central character is never quite the same and the replacement actor is always on an uphill struggle.
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