[boab34]

Originally Posted by Toymaker

Sue Perkins is undoubtedly becoming over-exposed: after "Maestro", she's now one of the Beeb's stable of supposedly loveable 'personality' presenters, to be attached to any mildly humorous project which needs jollying along. With some people, this works - the current BBC2 series of likeable slebs on 'dangerous' drives is unobjectionable - but with some, not.

Ms P is definitely in the second category. It's a matter of taste, but neither I nor my partner can bear her - well, let's call it Perkiness. She's like an intelligent but irritatingly persistent older child - and we know a few - who insists on trying to join in the conversation, and fails to realise from the adults' fixed smiles that her every remark is just a little off-target and missing the point. She's just not funny, and no amount of arch pouting at the camera and faux self-deprecation ("Oh, silly me! I'm useless at everything - but of course, you know - wink, wink - that's not true") can make up for the fact.

To give her what credit she deserves, she is astonishingly good at "Just a Minute", which was featured for a short television series this time last year, but is otherwise regularly on Radio 4. Out of vision, she's almost tolerable.

By the way, the gay issue is a non-starter. The precise sexuality of virtually everyone in Showbiz is a grey area, best left unexamined. I think the quota referred to above must be for women comics; but there are many hilarious women on the same circuit as SP - Sandi Toksvig and Susan Calman, for example - who completely outshine her. She is with Jo Brand and Sarah Millican: to quote Cromwell (and I bet you don't get that very often on DS): "You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately... Depart, I say; and let us have done with you."

agree BIB - she tries too hard to be funny/lovable and forgets that the subject and not SP is the star of the show that she's presenting.

[Swanandduck2]

But what did people think about the PROGRAMME?

I found it really interesting - Maria was obviously a bit unhinged in real life and had a pretty detrimental effect on her children. Neither of her biological children nor any of her grandchildren spoke of her with any affection or warmth and her daughter seemed to actively dislike her.

[vauxhall1964]

Originally Posted by ganderpoke66

Oh dear, so we can't criticise a Gay presenter now lest we be branded a bigot ?

No, you're missing the point. I picked up on the 'quota' comment and this pernicious idea that TV fills jobs by some gay 'quota' - and the implication that there are more gay people on the box 'than there should be'...which nearly always comes from bigots who think there shouldn't be any.

[Yvie123]

I really like Sue Perkins, and when she's presenting something, I always believe in her interest in it - I don't get that from all presenters, tbh, but I do feel there's an integrity about her with what she presents.
I found the programme interesting, but really sad; my illusions were well and truly shattered because I really wanted to learn that the Julie Andrews, sugar and spice version of the story was true!

[WanderinWonder]

Originally Posted by Swanandduck2

But what did people think about the PROGRAMME?

I found it really interesting - Maria was obviously a bit unhinged in real life and had a pretty detrimental effect on her children. Neither of her biological children nor any of her grandchildren spoke of her with any affection or warmth and her daughter seemed to actively dislike her.

I felt for the daughter who was interviewed by Sue towards the end. She seemed child-like and vulnerable, despite being an old lady. All she wanted was to get married and have kids but Maria apparently made her afraid of men. She seemed a sweet lady.

And then there was the 90-something daughter, the one who went off to the South Pacific to do missionary work with Maria, and is now also living in Vermont with her adopted son and can no longer speak English.

[royllsroyce]

SOM actually had some alternative endings which were found accidentally

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QcSS5vxhu4

[Staffsyeoman]

What did make me laugh out loud - and I've been to Salzburg a few times (usually for Mozart related things, not SOM!) is that if they had actually walked over the mountains, they could have waved at the Fuhrer as they passed in sight of Berchtesgarten...

I just knew there was a flaw in the plan.....