Yes, it was a raid - I should have been more specific - but your second paragraph highlights precisely the problem with the teaser: we didn't go back to anything leading up to the first scene, as there were two separate parties in the bar, within one episode, but at different times: the first one, seven months after the events in the rest of the episode, for the eldest son's birthday; and the second one, seen in the teaser (and only in the teaser) for the 50th anniversary of the hotel.
We never went back to the teaser - which is exactly what was so weird about the episode. Not as appalling as some of the narrative stunts pulled in Mr Selfridge … but not far off. Why put two parties in the same location within one episode, especially when some of the actors were wearing similar, if not exactly the same clothes (the eldest son, for instance)?
The party for the son's birthday wasn't seven months after the events in the rest of the episode. The party in the teaser, for the hotel's 50th, was seven months after the rest of the events. The whole series is building up to the bomb dropping at the 50th anniversary, so it will presumably be revisited in the last episode.
Chris Croucher says in the press pack
“I hope that is a really entertaining hook for the audience. Two minutes into the series we’re showing the hotel is going to be blown up with the whole series leading us back to that point. It’s really exciting. We can build to that moment so it’s a really interesting rollercoaster.”
Yes, it was a raid - I should have been more specific - but your second paragraph highlights precisely the problem with the teaser: we didn't go back to anything leading up to the first scene, as there were two separate parties in the bar, within one episode, but at different times: the first one, seven months after the events in the rest of the episode, for the eldest son's birthday; and the second one, seen in the teaser (and only in the teaser) for the 50th anniversary of the hotel.
We never went back to the teaser - which is exactly what was so weird about the episode. Not as appalling as some of the narrative stunts pulled in Mr Selfridge … but not far off. Why put two parties in the same location within one episode, especially when some of the actors were wearing similar, if not exactly the same clothes (the eldest son, for instance)?
So you expected them to tell 7 months of story in one episode? Now that would have been weird! At that rate the war would be over by episode 6! There was no way that you couldn't tell the two parties apart so I really don't understand what the problem is. It's a standard narrative device to start with an ending of sorts (always incomplete) and then go back to the beginning of all the threads that culminate at that point.
BIB - I can only assume that you don't watch that much film and TV, as there were loads of really well known faces in there: Liz White (Life On Mars, Our Zoo, Line Of Duty - also played the first thalidomide mum in last year's CTM); Annabelle Apsion (CTM), Alex Jennings (The Crown, The Lady In The Van), Olivia Williams (Case Sensitive, Dollhouse, The Sixth Sense) - and Steven Mackintosh (Inside Men, Our Mutual Friend, Luther, The Jury, What Remains).
There's no way ITV would put cast a high end drama without any big names.
Annabelle Apsion was also in Doc Martin and Shameless. And The Village with Maxine Peake and John Simm a couple of years ago.
And I also remember, her in the dramatisation of the Hillsborough disaster - as the mother of the two teenage sisters who died.
She is one of those actresses who crop up in lots of things.
I really enjoyed it. First episodes are usually quite slow & clunky as they have to spoon feed the audience to introduce the characters.
I'll definitely watch again next week.
I had a sneaky feeling that may have been a body double. However when they said "nudity" at the beginning of the show I was rather hoping it would be Kara.
So you expected them to tell 7 months of story in one episode? Now that would have been weird! At that rate the war would be over by episode 6! There was no way that you couldn't tell the two parties apart so I really don't understand what the problem is. It's a standard narrative device to start with an ending of sorts (always incomplete) and then go back to the beginning of all the threads that culminate at that point.
Yes, it is - within one episode. Unless it's a big thriller/whodunit, of course. But starting with one party within the hotel and then culminating with another, seven months earlier, is just weird. It's not like there were that many big moments within the teaser - the rivalry for Emma was no different to what we saw in the main body of the episode, and the only thing that was in any way different was Emma having set up the party then thinking that she'd get a song dedicated to her. Hardly a big deal.
The equivalent of this would be, for instance, the last series of CTM opening with a funeral for one character, but there would then be no reference to it until the end of the series, when we found out it was Sister Evangelina who died. That would have been odd and would not have worked - and this didn't, ether. Kind of a shame, as the episode would have been much better without it, and certainly didn't need it to work.
I had a sneaky feeling that may have been a body double. However when they said "nudity" at the beginning of the show I was rather hoping it would be Kara.
Apparently it was her bum. Well that's what she said in interviews. She said she was very anxious about it beforehand. But looking at the end result, there was no need to be.
Apparently it was her bum. Well that's what she said in interviews. She said she was very anxious about it beforehand. But looking at the end result, there was no need to be.
The party for the son's birthday wasn't seven months after the events in the rest of the episode. The party in the teaser, for the hotel's 50th, was seven months after the rest of the events. The whole series is building up to the bomb dropping at the 50th anniversary, so it will presumably be revisited in the last episode.
Chris Croucher says in the press pack
A bomb dropping on a hotel during the war might be a great culmination for the series finale - but what did it do at the top of the series? We had no idea if any of the characters might be in danger, and of course we couldn't care about them, either, because we didn't know them.
I can't help but wonder if the decision to open the series in this way was something that happened after the filming ended, and ITV panicked because there wasn't a big hook into the series, so someone (Chris Croucher?) came up with what we saw last night …
I loved this - reminded me of mr selfridge in style but in a way there is more room in this format as the key characters are not constrained by biography as mr selfridge and his family were. I liked the explosion twist but I can see why two parties in one episode could be seen as confusing. The manager, seems like he has a few secrets. Was also wondering if the hotel singer ( Kara tointon) would turn out to be homeless after she kept using the hotel facilities.
Recently The Crown (Netflix),The Collection (Amazon Prime) and In Plain Sight ITV 3 part drama) were all filmed in 2:1 A/R
Why? They were meant to be shown on TV
I'm not sure it's entirely accurate to say that Netflix and Amazon originals are meant to be seen on TV. They are designed for showing on a wide range of devices for which 2:1 is perfect. It is an increasingly popular AR in the film world and it's not intrusively awkward on TV so I suspect you'll see more of it erelong.
A bomb dropping on a hotel during the war might be a great culmination for the series finale - but what did it do at the top of the series? We had no idea if any of the characters might be in danger, and of course we couldn't care about them, either, because we didn't know them.
I can't help but wonder if the decision to open the series in this way was something that happened after the filming ended, and ITV panicked because there wasn't a big hook into the series, so someone (Chris Croucher?) came up with what we saw last night …
Very well put. Didn't have any complaints about the episode otherwise, an enjoyable opener, but the pre-credits sequence just didn't work for me.
I quite liked it. It was well filmed, well acted and looked nice.True the characters were a bit cliched and the whole set looked a little small, everyone was well groomed and rather too shiny and new for the time period. Sand bags piled neatly everywhere, no passers by on the pavements but hey you always get that on these types of shows.
It was a worthy replacement for Downton but after the first series I felt that was stretched farcically thin plot wise so perhaps it's quite clever, the Halcyon being a hotel gives more opportunity to introduce more characters naturally.
It's not a must watch for me-yet- but I think it'll do well.
I quite liked it. It was well filmed, well acted and looked nice.True the characters were a bit cliched and the whole set looked a little small, everyone was well groomed and rather too shiny and new for the time period.
Well that's the understatement of the year. Every cliche in the book, basically. Not that I mind necessarily but I can't help feeling that if it had been 'on the other side' you'd have heard the howls from space!
Well that's the understatement of the year. Every cliche in the book, basically. Not that I mind necessarily but I can't help feeling that if it had been 'on the other side' you'd have heard the howls from space!
Well yeah, perhaps I was being a bit kind, possibly because I wasn't watching as intently as I should have been. I mean we had the fallen woman, the tart with the heart, the working class girl who aspires to more, the corrupt Lord, the cuckolded wife who knows, the middle aged harridan and various cheeky 'cockney' working class staff. Worse for me was the seemingly endless young posh sorts that I muddled up with each other- oh except one had an American accent. I could go on.
However, it was an opening episode so hopefully many of these will become more rounded and fleshed out in the coming episodes..
A bomb dropping on a hotel during the war might be a great culmination for the series finale - but what did it do at the top of the series? We had no idea if any of the characters might be in danger, and of course we couldn't care about them, either, because we didn't know them.
I can't help but wonder if the decision to open the series in this way was something that happened after the filming ended, and ITV panicked because there wasn't a big hook into the series, so someone (Chris Croucher?) came up with what we saw last night…
It seemed a perfectly fine way to start the series to me. We will get to know the characters over the next few weeks, all the time knowing there's this bomb hanging over them.
Apparently it was her bum. Well that's what she said in interviews. She said she was very anxious about it beforehand. But looking at the end result, there was no need to be.
Did her bum have to audition separately?
I must say, it was one of the nicest bums I've seen, and I've seen a lot.
Wow,
Charity bet bonked again (CTTE), then KT decides to bath in the Lords bath then stand up naked, so do we assume she "Knew" him!!. BTW she is a singer as she sung in TSOM last year.
It seemed a perfectly fine way to start the series to me. We will get to know the characters over the next few weeks, all the time knowing there's this bomb hanging over them.
The only way that teaser would have worked would be if we'd seen a number of altercations between characters with several of them leaving the bar - then the bomb went off, and we'd be left wondering if the characters we'd seen had been caught in the blast, i.e. who survives, who dies, etc. That would have been dramatic (if unoriginal).
What we saw instead was some banter between Garland and Emma, her torn between two admirers, KT singing happy birthday as a (cardboard-looking) cake was wheeled out - and then there was a big hole in a wall. So what?
All this only confirms my suspicions that the idea to create a teaser out of a scene in the final episode came well after the series had been filmed …
The only way that teaser would have worked would be if we'd seen a number of altercations between characters with several of them leaving the bar - then the bomb went off, and we'd be left wondering if the characters we'd seen had been caught in the blast, i.e. who survives, who dies, etc. That would have been dramatic (if unoriginal).
What we saw instead was some banter between Garland and Emma, her torn between two admirers, KT singing happy birthday as a (cardboard-looking) cake was wheeled out - and then there was a big hole in a wall. So what?
All this only confirms my suspicions that the idea to create a teaser out of a scene in the final episode came well after the series had been filmed …
I didn't analyse it in quite such detail - it worked fine for me.
Comments
Chris Croucher says in the press pack
So you expected them to tell 7 months of story in one episode? Now that would have been weird! At that rate the war would be over by episode 6! There was no way that you couldn't tell the two parties apart so I really don't understand what the problem is. It's a standard narrative device to start with an ending of sorts (always incomplete) and then go back to the beginning of all the threads that culminate at that point.
Annabelle Apsion was also in Doc Martin and Shameless. And The Village with Maxine Peake and John Simm a couple of years ago.
And I also remember, her in the dramatisation of the Hillsborough disaster - as the mother of the two teenage sisters who died.
She is one of those actresses who crop up in lots of things.
I'll definitely watch again next week.
Ps. Nice bum! A body double ya reckon?
I had a sneaky feeling that may have been a body double. However when they said "nudity" at the beginning of the show I was rather hoping it would be Kara.
Yes, it is - within one episode. Unless it's a big thriller/whodunit, of course. But starting with one party within the hotel and then culminating with another, seven months earlier, is just weird. It's not like there were that many big moments within the teaser - the rivalry for Emma was no different to what we saw in the main body of the episode, and the only thing that was in any way different was Emma having set up the party then thinking that she'd get a song dedicated to her. Hardly a big deal.
The equivalent of this would be, for instance, the last series of CTM opening with a funeral for one character, but there would then be no reference to it until the end of the series, when we found out it was Sister Evangelina who died. That would have been odd and would not have worked - and this didn't, ether. Kind of a shame, as the episode would have been much better without it, and certainly didn't need it to work.
Apparently it was her bum. Well that's what she said in interviews. She said she was very anxious about it beforehand. But looking at the end result, there was no need to be.
FABULOUS Darlin'
More please:p
BIB : No pun intended ?
Absolutely none.
A bomb dropping on a hotel during the war might be a great culmination for the series finale - but what did it do at the top of the series? We had no idea if any of the characters might be in danger, and of course we couldn't care about them, either, because we didn't know them.
I can't help but wonder if the decision to open the series in this way was something that happened after the filming ended, and ITV panicked because there wasn't a big hook into the series, so someone (Chris Croucher?) came up with what we saw last night …
And she's been in the last few series of Call the Midwife - she's the shopowner who is now married to Fred.
Recently The Crown (Netflix),The Collection (Amazon Prime) and In Plain Sight ITV 3 part drama) were all filmed in 2:1 A/R
Why? They were meant to be shown on TV
I'm not sure it's entirely accurate to say that Netflix and Amazon originals are meant to be seen on TV. They are designed for showing on a wide range of devices for which 2:1 is perfect. It is an increasingly popular AR in the film world and it's not intrusively awkward on TV so I suspect you'll see more of it erelong.
Very well put. Didn't have any complaints about the episode otherwise, an enjoyable opener, but the pre-credits sequence just didn't work for me.
It was a worthy replacement for Downton but after the first series I felt that was stretched farcically thin plot wise so perhaps it's quite clever, the Halcyon being a hotel gives more opportunity to introduce more characters naturally.
It's not a must watch for me-yet- but I think it'll do well.
Well that's the understatement of the year. Every cliche in the book, basically. Not that I mind necessarily but I can't help feeling that if it had been 'on the other side' you'd have heard the howls from space!
Well yeah, perhaps I was being a bit kind, possibly because I wasn't watching as intently as I should have been. I mean we had the fallen woman, the tart with the heart, the working class girl who aspires to more, the corrupt Lord, the cuckolded wife who knows, the middle aged harridan and various cheeky 'cockney' working class staff. Worse for me was the seemingly endless young posh sorts that I muddled up with each other- oh except one had an American accent. I could go on.
However, it was an opening episode so hopefully many of these will become more rounded and fleshed out in the coming episodes..
It seemed a perfectly fine way to start the series to me. We will get to know the characters over the next few weeks, all the time knowing there's this bomb hanging over them.
Did her bum have to audition separately?
I must say, it was one of the nicest bums I've seen, and I've seen a lot.
They offered her a bum part as she was arsing about in the audition.
I think it's clearly evident here. In my opinion, slightly more of it than last night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQLODYQBVJg
Charity bet bonked again (CTTE), then KT decides to bath in the Lords bath then stand up naked, so do we assume she "Knew" him!!. BTW she is a singer as she sung in TSOM last year.
The only way that teaser would have worked would be if we'd seen a number of altercations between characters with several of them leaving the bar - then the bomb went off, and we'd be left wondering if the characters we'd seen had been caught in the blast, i.e. who survives, who dies, etc. That would have been dramatic (if unoriginal).
What we saw instead was some banter between Garland and Emma, her torn between two admirers, KT singing happy birthday as a (cardboard-looking) cake was wheeled out - and then there was a big hole in a wall. So what?
All this only confirms my suspicions that the idea to create a teaser out of a scene in the final episode came well after the series had been filmed …
I didn't analyse it in quite such detail - it worked fine for me.