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Post by topcat on Oct 5, 2008 3:11:16 GMT -5
Is anyone watching the new series? To be honest, I think it has started to go the way of other programmes that run and run. It's lost it's edge and the resolutions seem hurried and bizarre.
Also (and I know I will go to hell in a hand cart..) but is DI Alex Fielding both THE most incompetent officer there ever was and, for me, the dullest? Yes, I know it was more of a two hander when Hermione Norris was playing Carol and Alex is a lesser role, but what is the point of the character? She's clueless as a DI and the sole purpose seems to be to give Tony someone to talk to occasionally.
The Radio Times said "you have to wonder how Alex Fielding ever made DI because she does precious little detecting......."
And the hairdresser to the female performers needs shooting.
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Post by coolbyrne on Oct 6, 2008 22:03:11 GMT -5
Is anyone watching the new series? To be honest, I think it has started to go the way of other programmes that run and run. It's lost it's edge and the resolutions seem hurried and bizarre. Also (and I know I will go to hell in a hand cart..) but is DI Alex Fielding both THE most incompetent officer there ever was and, for me, the dullest? Yes, I know it was more of a two hander when Hermione Norris was playing Carol and Alex is a lesser role, but what is the point of the character? She's clueless as a DI and the sole purpose seems to be to give Tony someone to talk to occasionally. The Radio Times said "you have to wonder how Alex Fielding ever made DI because she does precious little detecting......." And the hairdresser to the female performers needs shooting. ( I am going to mention a couple of major spoilers, for those who plan on watching!!) I think I did most of my venting/criticisms about this show last year and I realize I've sort of run out of interest in it to the extent that I started posting an episode write-up of episode 4 (this season's), thinking I'd go them in opposite order... and never got around to the other three episodes. I just can't be bothered, to be honest. I will post a snippet of my thoughts of episode four, which I posted on Robson Green's forum: For those who don't know -Ben was basically the "clue crutch" in THREE of the four episodes! He said something that was in context of the scene he was in, but in a way, it also referenced something in the case or was the catalyst for lighting the bulb over Tony's head. I wrote a fairly lengthy post at the end of last season that you can read HERE if you're interested. I think it pretty much encapsules exactly how I felt about this season, too. In a nutshell, for me, it's become just another cop show. Granted, it looks better than most, but just the same, it's become "Find a body, have the cops look like unimaginative lumps, call in the Super Cop Doctor who picks up on the most obscure and laughable microscopic piece of potential clue and watch as every piece of evidence contradicts his theory... but in the end, he's STILL right and the cops look like idiots. Rinse, repeat." He's the Fox Mulder of Wire in the Blood- quirky, sociably out of place, but never, ever wrong, despite the mountain of contrary evidence standing in front of him. (Oh, he has his change of theories when the first one is wrong, but in the end, he is still correct.) And in a similar vein, it ends up making the female co-lead look incompetent. If she's not always relying on his arrival to put everything in place, she spends enormous amounts of the episode persuing her own leads (which are contrary to his), only to be proven wrong in the end. Again. And I swear to God, if I see Tony Hill with that bloody blue bag one more time...!!! He is socially unaware, but he's not so disconnected that he doesn't realize he can buy a damn suitcase. He performs other every day activities just fine- cooks for himself, shaves, likely does his own laundry, gets to work on time, fills his car with petrol, etc. Yes, I get it- the blue bag is his Linus blanket and that's fine. (It also fits in with the TV idea that he's not interested in image.) But he goes away for the weekend to a conference and packs everything in blue plastic bags?? Hey Tony, do you know how much that's adding to your carbon footprint? It takes decades for plastic to decompose. And just wear does he get all those bags? Someone could easily frame him for murder just by getting a hold of a bunch of those bags. Interesting, too, that the TV series and the books seem to be dovetailing at the same time. (If "Beneath the Bleeding" is any indication of how future books are going to go.) Both seem to have taken this very interesting character (Carol has gone by the wayside on the series and I feel has taken a passenger seat in BtB) and have made him a caricature of himself. TV Tony has become the "clever" man's Columbo and Book Tony has become... more like TV Tony. And yet I can't begin to pinpoint where it all seemed to go wrong. As for Simone... I give her credit for doing what she can with what she's given. That being said, the lighting does her no favours, nor does that damn haircut! I caught myself several times trying to see if it came straight across to the temple, or straight across, then down a step, then to the temple. That's how engaging the episodes were!
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Post by endangeredspecies on Oct 7, 2008 14:49:03 GMT -5
I'm watching tc, BTW, love your new avatar, I want one! I'm watching more out of habit than anything else. I have to say Tony is becoming the most irritating person out. It was interesting to note on last night's Crime Thriller Awards on ITV3 that V McD said she no longer saw her original "Tony" but Robson when she was writing her books. *eek* The Tony character is becoming far too dominant in the TV series, probably because it's his production company which produces the show. I watched some of the older WitBs (with Hermione) a few weeks ago and the standard was much higher in the earlier series, both in storyline and production. It will be interesting to see how Nicola Walker fits in to the stories. I think she's a good actress and was sorry when she left Spooks. She and Robson did have an empathy in Touching Evil. That was the series with Robson that I enjoyed the most. We'll see, no doubt, when it finally hits the screen how they will work together this time. The cameras panned round to his table during the award ceremony and you'll be pleased to know that Simone has had her hair cut and it's now nearer to the bob she had in the later eps of BG.
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Post by coolbyrne on Oct 7, 2008 21:44:24 GMT -5
I'm watching tc, BTW, love your new avatar, I want one! I'm watching more out of habit than anything else. I have to say Tony is becoming the most irritating person out. It was interesting to note on last night's Crime Thriller Awards on ITV3 that V McD said she no longer saw her original "Tony" but Robson when she was writing her books. *eek* The Tony character is becoming far too dominant in the TV series, probably because it's his production company which produces the show. I watched some of the older WitBs (with Hermione) a few weeks ago and the standard was much higher in the earlier series, both in storyline and production. It will be interesting to see how Nicola Walker fits in to the stories. I think she's a good actress and was sorry when she left Spooks. She and Robson did have an empathy in Touching Evil. That was the series with Robson that I enjoyed the most. We'll see, no doubt, when it finally hits the screen how they will work together this time. The cameras panned round to his table during the award ceremony and you'll be pleased to know that Simone has had her hair cut and it's now nearer to the bob she had in the later eps of BG. I think that's a great way to put it- I, too, am watching more out of habit than anything else. (Or illegally downloading. Whichever. ) I don't mind that Val "see" Robson when she writes Tony now, but I get your reservation, and I have it too- will the book Tony become the TV Tony? He hasn't... yet. But "Beneath the Bleeding" was also the weakest installment of the books, in my opinion, so who knows what the future of the books holds? I raised an opinion on Val's board, regarding the idea of the show "adapting" her book, "The Last Temptation". One of my remarks was- (For those who are unaware, the plot of the young killer of doctors and prostitutes in the second episode was taken from "The Last Temptation". Absolutely nothing else was used. Why bother adapting it, then?? But that's a rant for another day.) Val, amongst her reply to me, said this- To which I queried- I received no response. What I really wanted to ask was, will the boundaries of your fictional landscape continue to be uprooted and moved, so long as the cheques from Coastal keep coming in? If Val mentions Tony carrying a blue bag in the next book, I'm through!
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Post by topcat on Oct 13, 2008 3:50:15 GMT -5
BTW, love your new avatar, I want one! I actually found it by clicking on gingercat's and copying the properties link. Try here s4.tinypic.com. Everyone seems to now have an animated avitar and I didn't want to be left out! Yeah, must admit that quirk is starting to get tiresome now. I, too, felt the bit with him using blue bags instead of a suitcase was a step too far. I guess I just get annoyed when, elsewhere, there are constant snipes about Mandana's 'lack of roles' or 'small roles' and yet this role of Simone's is so weak in content. Mandana may have had 'just' guest roles in some regular dramas but those roles have actually had some character and substance.
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Post by coolbyrne on Oct 14, 2008 23:47:50 GMT -5
Particularly when we saw him with a suitcase (albeit one with a wonky wheel) is season three!! So the concept is not out of the realm of his understanding. I think this touches upon a real problem, not only with it being such a short series, but in regards to general... I don't want to call it laziness, because I think they all work very hard to produce the product they do, but... inconsistencies, I guess. There is very, very little canon carried over from one episode to the next, particularly in the little things. And I don't count the intended arc of say Maggie in series one and (partially) two, or Michael in the last series. We've got a mention of Tony's brain tumour a couple of times, but what else? Hell, we haven't heard a whisper about CAROL, for God's sake! They can't seem to make up their minds about Tony's flat, and they seem to recast Ben every series. Does Tony still teach at the university? Etc., etc. I think the name recognition of Wire in the Blood, along with a kind of perceived "quality" tag to it gives Simone's role a significance it wouldn't have if it was "Murder in Suburbia" or something like that. (Bad comparison I know, but I'm unversed in subpar British detective shows. ) But people shouldn't kid themselves- Alex Fielding is no Jane Tennison.
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Post by topcat on Oct 19, 2008 3:27:35 GMT -5
I'm a little confused. I thought there were rumours that another actress was coming in to the last episodes of this series. I've got the Radio Times for this week and it's the start of the last 2 part story and Simone is still listed (and was shown in preview clips at the end of the last ep). There is no mention of a character called Susannah Granger. Tony still had his blue bag CB Alex still had a dodgy haircut. Did anyone else notice how dirty her house windows are? Ok, that will just be me, then ;D How the hell did Tony make that leap from a kids drawing of Adam and Eve? I think Ben is really called Damien and has 3 sixes tattood on his head somewhere......
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Post by endangeredspecies on Oct 19, 2008 13:23:38 GMT -5
I'm a little confused. I thought there were rumours that another actress was coming in to the last episodes of this series. I've got the Radio Times for this week and it's the start of the last 2 part story and Simone is still listed (and was shown in preview clips at the end of the last ep). There is no mention of a character called Susannah Granger. I'd noticed that tc, but doesn't she have to go off somewhere in this latest two-parter? Perhaps she's going to do a runner, following Carol's escape plan and the new woman turns up in the very final part of this series. Just a thought!
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Post by coolbyrne on Oct 19, 2008 20:47:45 GMT -5
That is episode 3 I think you're talking about. Have all four episodes not aired in Britain? I've downloaded them so have had the (questionable) pleasure of seeing them all. The rumoured Nicola Walker character does not make an appearance, so who knows what that was all about. (Alex does go off for a large part of the episode, but her replacement in a man.) The one bright spot of the final episode is the fact that Ben doesn't come up with the solution.
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Post by topcat on Nov 2, 2008 5:18:19 GMT -5
Have all four episodes not aired in Britain? The final episode aired this past Friday. It was all a little odd that Alex disappeared a third of the way through the first part and then only re emerged for a pointless scene at her mother's funeral - a scene that had no bearing on the plot. Wonder why it was felt necessary to bring in a new DI? It threw me slightly because the new DI was played by the sergeant in Midsomer Murders. I half expected "hello Culley. What are you doing here?"!! Also, I had guessed the murderer after about 10 minutes. Did anyone else feel that Tony overpowering Michael was a little....far fetched???
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Post by coolbyrne on Nov 2, 2008 12:32:49 GMT -5
Have all four episodes not aired in Britain? The final episode aired this past Friday. It was all a little odd that Alex disappeared a third of the way through the first part and then only re emerged for a pointless scene at her mother's funeral - a scene that had no bearing on the plot. Wonder why it was felt necessary to bring in a new DI? It threw me slightly because the new DI was played by the sergeant in Midsomer Murders. I half expected "hello Culley. What are you doing here?"!! Also, I had guessed the murderer after about 10 minutes. Did anyone else feel that Tony overpowering Michael was a little....far fetched??? I didn't understand the new DI either- why not just let Kevin and Paula work the case? They're more than qualified. It's not as if the new DI had any lasting effect, other than to introduce yet one more person who bolsters the character of Tony Hill as a brilliant psychologist. No idea why they couldn't use Simone for the entire episode. It's not as if the show is for a full season. I thought this was the weakest installment of the series, to be honest. And Thomas Harris/Anthony Hopkins/Hannibal Lector have a lot to answer for, with every calm, cool, collected serial killer since "Silence of the Lambs".
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Post by topcat on Feb 2, 2009 10:35:21 GMT -5
There is a rumour circulating on digital spy that WITB is not being recommissioned by ITV Not sure how true it is but there have been announcements surrounding a number of ITV stalwarts such as The Bill (reverting to once a week at 9pm) and Heartbeat and The Royal getting the chop.
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Post by jilly2000 on Feb 4, 2009 13:49:14 GMT -5
There is a rumour circulating on digital spy that WITB is not being recommissioned by ITV Not sure how true it is but there have been announcements surrounding a number of ITV stalwarts such as The Bill (reverting to once a week at 9pm) and Heartbeat and The Royal getting the chop. After Greengrass and Mike left my interest in Heartbeat waned considerably. And the Royal was interesting and new when it began but after the 1st series I was not that keen on it. They use to show The Bill some years back so I've seen few eps and it was ok nothing extraordinay as such. I don't watch WITB as it's too intense for my taste.
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Post by coolbyrne on Feb 4, 2009 21:53:44 GMT -5
There is a rumour circulating on digital spy that WITB is not being recommissioned by ITV Not sure how true it is but there have been announcements surrounding a number of ITV stalwarts such as The Bill (reverting to once a week at 9pm) and Heartbeat and The Royal getting the chop. I left a message on Val McDermid's site to see what she might know (or what she might reveal). It's odd, because both Robson (on his website) and Simone (in an interview with The Daily Record) seemed quite sure there would be a seventh season.
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Post by jilly2000 on Feb 6, 2009 18:04:15 GMT -5
There is a rumour circulating on digital spy that WITB is not being recommissioned by ITV Not sure how true it is but there have been announcements surrounding a number of ITV stalwarts such as The Bill (reverting to once a week at 9pm) and Heartbeat and The Royal getting the chop. I left a message on Val McDermid's site to see what she might know (or what she might reveal). It's odd, because both Robson (on his website) and Simone (in an interview with The Daily Record) seemed quite sure there would be a seventh season. Well Top was right. An article posted in Splodgy says WITB will end with the 6th season. I think most of these shows are getting cancelled due to a big drop in adverts. Midsomer Murders has somehow avoided the chop. Probably something to due with having 10m viewers. ;D
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