One more thing: it seems Louisa here has already slipped into the land of marital stereotypes and expectations, while Martin in still processing and living more in the moment. Total role reversal!
Like CC said - the Bickersons. It is a land of stereotypes and a bit of misogyny. I thought he was supposed to be difficult. He was ok with his patients except the woman he already didn't like. I am disappointed that they regressed. Can't Louisa be allowed to accept responsibility for her part just once? You wouldn't even have to change the script. It was clear she was the main one at fault at the dinner - a moment of her thinking about would have been nice. We only see action from her and no reflection despite seeing her so much in the episodes. This episode was stuck in series 5.
Like CC said - the Bickersons. It is a land of stereotypes and a bit of misogyny. I thought he was supposed to be difficult. He was ok with his patients except the woman he already didn't like. I am disappointed that they regressed. Can't Louisa be allowed to accept responsibility for her part just once? You wouldn't even have to change the script. It was clear she was the main one at fault at the dinner - a moment of her thinking about would have been nice. We only see action from her and no reflection despite seeing her so much in the episodes. This episode was stuck in series 5.
I have to disagree. I think we are in a much different place that series 5. I'm hearing the bickering, and it's disappointing that it has become their dominant diction so soon, but there is a whole subtext of intimacy which I'm also hearing and which I didn't hear in S5. They argue, but they argue like husband and wife.
One more thing: it seems Louisa here has already slipped into the land of marital stereotypes and expectations, while Martin in still processing and living more in the moment. Total role reversal!
To poorichard.....I was intrigued by that genital exam and I can't fathom what he was talking about...erections comes to mind...10 to 20 a day...not unless you're 16. Relieving discomfort...no idea. Of course they gave us E1 as a carrot. Now it's back to business. Louisa has got to grow. The blood, just blood....not family's. the phobia is coming back....too many issues unresolved....the adventure is just beginning....
The reason given by Caroline Catz for why it would have been wrong to marry them to one another at the end of S3 is that Louisa was determined to change him. Do you think she's gotten past that impulse (sure didn't seem like it in this episode)?
No, definitely not. I think, since you don't read spoilers, you probably didn't read the initial press pack from ITV. It had an interview with CC in which she said that her character kept trying to change Martin, which was obviously ridiculous.
on the other hand, I don't see her as particularly "shrewish" here. I think Martin can be very aggravating -- if my husband invited people I didn't like to dinner "tomorrow" without consulting me, I think I'd be rather annoyed myself. And he was anything but a gracious host to them, despite the "major sporting event" effort. It must have been very trying for Louisa. He has managed to drive away the local supply of baby-sitters, and now is thinking about hiring someone as nanny who clearly sets Louisa's teeth on edge
This is all to say that yes, despite last week's sweet moments, they are in fact "chalk and cheese" and have their work cut out for them in the episodes ahead. It may not end well.
But I do agree with you that while they are bickering, they are not operating from a place of hurt feelings and defensiveness, as in so much of S4, and much of S5.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKJPROHa-EM I uploaded the Loose Women interview to my channel. It was uploaded via phone by one of the FB people already but some said it was hard to hear. This might be easier to understand.
I have to disagree. I think we are in a much different place that series 5. I'm hearing the bickering, and it's disappointing that it has become their dominant diction so soon, but there is a whole subtext of intimacy which I'm also hearing and which I didn't hear in S5. They argue, but they argue like husband and wife.
You're lucky you see that because I sure don't. I wish I did. I am disappointed in this episode, I feel they have regressed. I wish I shared your point of view.
I cannot believe so many people thought this was a better episode than last week. I cannot fathom how they made that opinion.
I hated it.
I'm with dcdmfan who said LG was shrewish again. She can't say anything without it being bitchy to DM. Really, pushing the pencils on the kitchen table; how childish! I found her terribly annoying the whole show and yes, very much back to S5.
In fact, this whole episode could have fit into the middle of season five. All gone were the first episode long sentences of DM, the romance, their looks and touches, the kisses, the joking the laughter. If this is what Ben Bolt thought S6 should look like, I'm glad he's gone!
They repeated the nutritional dinner with almost the same veggies, and the salt comment. They repeated the person with the neurosis type neat freak tendencies as we saw with the neurotic OCD teacher. Al is kicked out of his bedroom like he was when Mickey was there. They repeated the same child care problems, with LG leaving JH with DM. There was hardly any originality to the story.
What a lack of creativity!
I did love seeing DM working on his clocks again! I hated that LG can't spend even a few minutes with her husband, enjoying his hobby with him, supporting him, but has to storm out when in a few minutes of his free time he doesn't celebrate their two week anniversary but enjoys a hobby he has clear expertise in. But, of course expects, she expects him to cater to attending her school show.
I can't believe that she yells at DM for the terrible dinner party when he righteously states she called the Chair a moron and the couple drunks. Really, she comes off as a terribly unpleasant woman to me the whole episode!
Sure, DM has reverted too--he's more monosyllabic, and very rough and rude to patients and the first baby sitter.
I was also disappointed with the idea that DM missed the diagnosis of the Parkinson's fellow as a big thing happening this season. Actually, DM did pretty well. The fellow was was drinking the two times DM saw him--after the school show and then at his dinner party--so it was logical to assume he was a drunk. I mean, his wife was drinking like an alcoholic at dinner. Coming upon him on the ground, nearly immediately DM pieces together the Parkinson's diagnosis in his usual amazing way. This was nothing for DM to be ashamed about.
If the tone of this episode continues, waiting two years was a waste for me. I do not find constant bickering something to look forward to. Strong words, yes, but I really was disappointed by this episode and certainly do not relish seeing six more of them if they maintain the same tone.
To poorichard.....I was intrigued by that genital exam and I can't fathom what he was talking about...erections comes to mind...10 to 20 a day...not unless you're 16. Relieving discomfort...no idea. Of course they gave us E1 as a carrot. Now it's back to business. Louisa has got to grow. The blood, just blood....not family's. the phobia is coming back....too many issues unresolved....the adventure is just beginning....
Answering my own post....after reading the wrath of Mona...I can't disagree with her...she's got a lot of good points. But, I think I have the medical mystery solved. I thought he eas examining the guy's danglers...he may have been...but what he was talking about is farting. It probably is normal to fart 10 to 20 times a day...and of course doing so would relieve discomfort. The guy thought he was too gassy. Leave it to these guys to bring up such a subject. I will now go back to bed because that is where I came up with this brilliant deduction. I had to get back up and post it. Big red herring that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKJPROHa-EM I uploaded the Loose Women interview to my channel. It was uploaded via phone by one of the FB people already but some said it was hard to hear. This might be easier to understand.
He didn't want to discuss the newspaper article about PB's hospital visit and his reaction to it did he? :D:D
Have to agree with Mona. Only difference in this episode between season 5 Louisa and Season 6 Louisa is her clothes are much better now. I thought Morwenna and Ruth were great and showed good character development. Doc and Louisa are stuck in Bickerland
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKJPROHa-EM I uploaded the Loose Women interview to my channel. It was uploaded via phone by one of the FB people already but some said it was hard to hear. This might be easier to understand.
Thanks for that's I love martin in interviews as he always looks like he is having fun.
I think the only reason he sounds quiet is because of those loud mouthed women.
I cannot believe so many people thought this was a better episode than last week. I cannot fathom how they made that opinion.
I hated it.
I'm with dcdmfan who said LG was shrewish again. She can't say anything without it being bitchy to DM. Really, pushing the pencils on the kitchen table; how childish! I found her terribly annoying the whole show and yes, very much back to S5.
In fact, this whole episode could have fit into the middle of season five. All gone were the first episode long sentences of DM, the romance, their looks and touches, the kisses, the joking the laughter. If this is what Ben Bolt thought S6 should look like, I'm glad he's gone!
They repeated the nutritional dinner with almost the same veggies, and the salt comment. They repeated the person with the neurosis type neat freak tendencies as we saw with the neurotic OCD teacher. Al is kicked out of his bedroom like he was when Mickey was there. They repeated the same child care problems, with LG leaving JH with DM. There was hardly any originality to the story.
What a lack of creativity!
I did love seeing DM working on his clocks again! I hated that LG can't spend even a few minutes with her husband, enjoying his hobby with him, supporting him, but has to storm out when in a few minutes of his free time he doesn't celebrate their two week anniversary but enjoys a hobby he has clear expertise in. But, of course expects, she expects him to cater to attending her school show.
I can't believe that she yells at DM for the terrible dinner party when he righteously states she called the Chair a moron and the couple drunks. Really, she comes off as a terribly unpleasant woman to me the whole episode!
Sure, DM has reverted too--he's more monosyllabic, and very rough and rude to patients and the first baby sitter.
I was also disappointed with the idea that DM missed the diagnosis of the Parkinson's fellow as a big thing happening this season. Actually, DM did pretty well. The fellow was was drinking the two times DM saw him--after the school show and then at his dinner party--so it was logical to assume he was a drunk. I mean, his wife was drinking like an alcoholic at dinner. Coming upon him on the ground, nearly immediately DM pieces together the Parkinson's diagnosis in his usual amazing way. This was nothing for DM to be ashamed about.
If the tone of this episode continues, waiting two years was a waste for me. I do not find constant bickering something to look forward to. Strong words, yes, but I really was disappointed by this episode and certainly do not relish seeing six more of them if they maintain the same tone.
Well I can see where you are coming from but I think there is a bit of movement from s5.
LG moved the pencils because she was offended by Mike's OCD tendencies. It was her reaction to that, just as she moved the glass out of alignment. I don't think it was childish.
LG definitely was unreasonable which is a pity because it would have been just as funny if the tone had been the same as e1. Last week they had disagreements but it was in a much happier tone and frame of mind.
It was nice of LG to thank DM for coming to the concert.
Perhaps this was a blip on an otherwise fun series. I am hoping for a continuation of e1 for the rest of s6.
I can't believe they got a chubby actor to play the part of the first nanny!!!!
I loved the splashing of the baby. I didn't think I would but it was funny. Great reaction by the baby and done in one take (so MC says). I even thought it was funny for LG to blame "daddy" in that particular circumstance.
Don't you hate it when you've lost something and someone says: "Where did you have it last?". Drives me batty. :rolleyes:
I still love the show, but this episode wasn't quite up to the same level as the first epsode this series. I don't want them to suddenly turn LG and DM into compatable angels but I don't really want to see them bicker unnecessarily/incessantly.
I gave it another try last night after the slapstick wedding episode .It went from slapstick to niggly arguments and it just is not the DM I loved this time around .
I gave it another try last night after the slapstick wedding episode .It went from slapstick to niggly arguments and it just is not the DM I loved this time around .
I agree, it's not as good as previously, I don't know if shall stay the course.
What did you all expect? That the Doc would magically turn into [insert name of your favorite romantic male leading character here]? That Louisa would magically become an understanding and tolerant woman who patiently helps her husband as he tries to interact in a world that is psychologically alien to him? That once they got married the choir invisible would sing and it'd be all sunshine, rainbows and lollipops for those two?
As MC has said more than once "That would be someone else's show."
I stand by the comment that I made in January that it is Louisa who will be the one who makes or breaks this marriage. After seeing the first two episode I'd say the fork is about it be stuck into it. He is trying, she isn't. Soon he will give up and start to shut down.
It's not just the writing, it's choices by the actors and director. Would it kill them to have a moment where we see Louisa questioning herself? A great opportunity would have been the moments after the dinner guests left. She should have been embarrassed. Or a richer frustration with Martin, and still blame him if that is point they wanted to get across. However, that she played it like the character is about as childish as a 10 year old. It was a choice to play that moment like that. It was a choice by either the actress or the director. I blame the directing because he could have thought of less superficial way to play it. She goes to apologize to the man, so her actions later on show that she knows she was in the wrong. The other couple played the scene with much more depth and texture than MC and CC did. His moron line had anger and the realization that his relationship with LG was just the same if not worse than it was. He got that across with one line. There is no reason that CC couldn't do that in her scenes.
Another choice was the clock scene. She could have been frustrated with him and walked off angry. But she played it with petty anger. She could have done it more with a rolling of the eyes and a frustrated "whatever" facial expression and still have been angry instead of a childish huff. That is just a suggestion off the top of my head, and maybe that's not the right way to play it. But had they tried it in rehearsal that idea would have informed her acting and brought more to her playing that moment. It still could have shown the anger and the hurt she feels by Martin's behavior.
Yeah, what about the hurt? Can't she possibly feel a little, tiny bit of that? What about frustration that he won't change even though she wants him to? The "maybe he doesn't love me because he won't change." The hurt is totally missing from the episode. She should feel hurt by the fact that he won't change because she wants him to. The way she played the line "You should want to" was another lost opportunity.
I have a masters degree in directing, and I have been in hundreds of rehearsals. Could they not see that there was another way? Does she have to be a one trick pony and play every moment the same? Can she not play anger, frustration and hurt? You can play those and get the point across in a meaningful way that would still carry the writer's intent. I know they want her to be convinced she can change him. It should be for more reasons than petty anger and embarrasment and I blame the director because it's his job to point out options to the actress. I am sure Caroline Catz is perfectly capable of doing something different. Any actress at her level is able to do that.
Maybe they don't rehearse enough or think through the options. It seems like MC can jump into the scene and give it some texture, I have seen him do it. But maybe she isn't able to and needs to be directed more. It would be a much richer and interesting show if they had considered another way to play the scenes. It can't be satisfying to the actress to be shreaking all the time. It is just not necessary to play it that way. I am convinced they could still get the point across. Maybe Nigel Cole directed it that way because Ben Bolt wrote it and knew that BB would have directed it that way.
What did you all expect? That the Doc would magically turn into [insert name of your favorite romantic male leading character here]? That Louisa would magically become an understanding and tolerant woman who patiently helps her husband as he tries to interact in a world that is psychologically alien to him? That once they got married the choir invisible would sing and it'd be all sunshine, rainbows and lollipops for those two?
As MC has said more than once "That would be someone else's show."
I stand by the comment that I made in January that it is Louisa who will be the one who makes or breaks this marriage. After seeing the first two episode I'd say the fork is about it be stuck into it. He is trying, she isn't. Soon he will give up and start to shut down.
We're on the same page here. E1 and the marriage was a way to move the plot along to having the same old difficulties, but this time married. And it was a bone tossed to the faithful audience, who have made their feelings about romance plenty clear in a number of forums. Essentially, they let him revert to S1, but only for about half an hour. Now it's back to the same old difficult, characters that we have seen. And, they're not going to change -- that's the takeaway message that is finally, after much resistance, dawning on me.
They are incompatible -- and they grate on each other when in close proximity. Louisa is not going to become a far more patient and less reactive person, or stop needing him to show her more (some) demonstrable affection. He's not going to become a conventionally "nice" man, or develop empathy for others. It's like expecting him to grow wings.
BTW, think how you might feel if, when you were frantically looking for something, and then expressed a totally legitimate need for a space of your own, your husband told you that you wouldn't need it if you were better at your work. Wouldn't it be a struggle to refrain from throwing the nearest object at him? I really have sympathy for Louisa here. It's easy to characterize her as a shrew -- but we have to keep in mind, I think, what she's reacting to. He's not a really nice guy underneath who just needs a little TLC and patience for it to come through -- he's difficult, aggravating, annoying, irritating, and above all, judgmental and self-righteous. I feel that Louisa would be behaving much "better" in a marriage that suited her temperament better. As would Martin.
However, it is clear that the show-runners are taking a big risk here -- I think the audience will get sick and tired watching the same old thing, with only the minor variation that now they are legally yoked together.
What did you all expect? That the Doc would magically turn into [insert name of your favorite romantic male leading character here]? That Louisa would magically become an understanding and tolerant woman who patiently helps her husband as he tries to interact in a world that is psychologically alien to him? That once they got married the choir invisible would sing and it'd be all sunshine, rainbows and lollipops for those two?
As MC has said more than once "That would be someone else's show."
I stand by the comment that I made in January that it is Louisa who will be the one who makes or breaks this marriage. After seeing the first two episode I'd say the fork is about it be stuck into it. He is trying, she isn't. Soon he will give up and start to shut down.
No, we don't expect that great of a leap. There is somthing between a petty and immature wife and a patient and understanding woman. I don't expect that her to become the iconic woman who always understands and makes no demands. But a little variation in the way they play the scene. I don't think any of us expects that great of a change in the character. But some texture would be nice.
How about impulsive? How about a woman who is at the end of her rope?
Her unplugging the guy's saw was the writing. She played that moment very well. Her intention was clear. I get the feeling that she and that actor rehearsed that scene.
I think we also have to keep in mind how difficult living in the surgery must be. Notice that the baby is still in their bedroom (why? what happened to the spare bedroom?) which is shot from angles that make it look particularly small and cramped. Louisa doesn't have a work space of her own; there's really no place to go to get away from each other and take a breath. I think they would be faring better in a larger house like Applegarth, or dare I say it, the farm.
And, I would really HATE it if someone messed with my kitchen and rearranged things, even if to make them obsessively orderly. I don't even like it if my dishwasher is loaded by someone else different to how I would do it! so yes, I can empathize with Louisa being teed-off in that situation.
I think we also have to keep in mind how difficult living in the surgery must be. Notice that the baby is still in their bedroom (why? what happened to the spare bedroom?) which is shot from angles that make it look particularly small and cramped. Louisa doesn't have a work space of her own; there's really no place to go to get away from each other and take a breath. I think they would be faring better in a larger house like Applegarth, or dare I say it, the farm.
And, I would really HATE it if someone messed with my kitchen and rearranged things, even if to make them obsessively orderly. I don't even like it if my dishwasher is loaded by someone else different to how I would do it! so yes, I can empathize with Louisa being teed-off in that situation.
I agree, her feelings are justified as are his. But MC gets it across better than CC does.
She is stuck on one end of the pendulum while he plays it with variation. Every pendulum is in the middle sometimes. I think it's the direction. She is just complaining about it while we get to see his reasons. The scene where she loses her paper was well played, imo. She was somewhere in the middle in that scene. Thank goodness, a moment where we can sympathize with Louisa!
It's interesting that LGE sees something is up with Mike re: possible OCD. Martin doesn't seem to see it, or he just wants to ignore it since Mike's obsessiveness works to his benefit. It's not a criticsm of Martin, but shows that Louisa is more intuitive than he is. That scene in the bedroom where they discuss Mike was well played, imo.
I'm not saying there aren't any bright spots in the show, I just wish that some of her other scenes were played with more depth and texture. I just don't sympathize with her in those moments, and I just want to do that sometimes. Then when she is being unreasonable we can witness when she is being completely unreasonable and can sympathize with him. There just needs to be more back and forth for me in that respect.
We haven't seen that monocle on Martin before when he's been fixing his clocks. Just the look of him made me giggle -- reminded me of Doc Oc in Spiderman.
That's not a monocle it's an eye glass that magnifies small objects. Jewellers and antique dealers use them.
Comments
Like CC said - the Bickersons. It is a land of stereotypes and a bit of misogyny. I thought he was supposed to be difficult. He was ok with his patients except the woman he already didn't like. I am disappointed that they regressed. Can't Louisa be allowed to accept responsibility for her part just once? You wouldn't even have to change the script. It was clear she was the main one at fault at the dinner - a moment of her thinking about would have been nice. We only see action from her and no reflection despite seeing her so much in the episodes. This episode was stuck in series 5.
I have to disagree. I think we are in a much different place that series 5. I'm hearing the bickering, and it's disappointing that it has become their dominant diction so soon, but there is a whole subtext of intimacy which I'm also hearing and which I didn't hear in S5. They argue, but they argue like husband and wife.
To poorichard.....I was intrigued by that genital exam and I can't fathom what he was talking about...erections comes to mind...10 to 20 a day...not unless you're 16. Relieving discomfort...no idea. Of course they gave us E1 as a carrot. Now it's back to business. Louisa has got to grow. The blood, just blood....not family's. the phobia is coming back....too many issues unresolved....the adventure is just beginning....
No, definitely not. I think, since you don't read spoilers, you probably didn't read the initial press pack from ITV. It had an interview with CC in which she said that her character kept trying to change Martin, which was obviously ridiculous.
on the other hand, I don't see her as particularly "shrewish" here. I think Martin can be very aggravating -- if my husband invited people I didn't like to dinner "tomorrow" without consulting me, I think I'd be rather annoyed myself. And he was anything but a gracious host to them, despite the "major sporting event" effort. It must have been very trying for Louisa. He has managed to drive away the local supply of baby-sitters, and now is thinking about hiring someone as nanny who clearly sets Louisa's teeth on edge
This is all to say that yes, despite last week's sweet moments, they are in fact "chalk and cheese" and have their work cut out for them in the episodes ahead. It may not end well.
But I do agree with you that while they are bickering, they are not operating from a place of hurt feelings and defensiveness, as in so much of S4, and much of S5.
You're lucky you see that because I sure don't. I wish I did. I am disappointed in this episode, I feel they have regressed. I wish I shared your point of view.
I hated it.
I'm with dcdmfan who said LG was shrewish again. She can't say anything without it being bitchy to DM. Really, pushing the pencils on the kitchen table; how childish! I found her terribly annoying the whole show and yes, very much back to S5.
In fact, this whole episode could have fit into the middle of season five. All gone were the first episode long sentences of DM, the romance, their looks and touches, the kisses, the joking the laughter. If this is what Ben Bolt thought S6 should look like, I'm glad he's gone!
They repeated the nutritional dinner with almost the same veggies, and the salt comment. They repeated the person with the neurosis type neat freak tendencies as we saw with the neurotic OCD teacher. Al is kicked out of his bedroom like he was when Mickey was there. They repeated the same child care problems, with LG leaving JH with DM. There was hardly any originality to the story.
What a lack of creativity!
I did love seeing DM working on his clocks again! I hated that LG can't spend even a few minutes with her husband, enjoying his hobby with him, supporting him, but has to storm out when in a few minutes of his free time he doesn't celebrate their two week anniversary but enjoys a hobby he has clear expertise in. But, of course expects, she expects him to cater to attending her school show.
I can't believe that she yells at DM for the terrible dinner party when he righteously states she called the Chair a moron and the couple drunks. Really, she comes off as a terribly unpleasant woman to me the whole episode!
Sure, DM has reverted too--he's more monosyllabic, and very rough and rude to patients and the first baby sitter.
I was also disappointed with the idea that DM missed the diagnosis of the Parkinson's fellow as a big thing happening this season. Actually, DM did pretty well. The fellow was was drinking the two times DM saw him--after the school show and then at his dinner party--so it was logical to assume he was a drunk. I mean, his wife was drinking like an alcoholic at dinner. Coming upon him on the ground, nearly immediately DM pieces together the Parkinson's diagnosis in his usual amazing way. This was nothing for DM to be ashamed about.
If the tone of this episode continues, waiting two years was a waste for me. I do not find constant bickering something to look forward to. Strong words, yes, but I really was disappointed by this episode and certainly do not relish seeing six more of them if they maintain the same tone.
Answering my own post....after reading the wrath of Mona...I can't disagree with her...she's got a lot of good points. But, I think I have the medical mystery solved. I thought he eas examining the guy's danglers...he may have been...but what he was talking about is farting. It probably is normal to fart 10 to 20 times a day...and of course doing so would relieve discomfort. The guy thought he was too gassy. Leave it to these guys to bring up such a subject. I will now go back to bed because that is where I came up with this brilliant deduction. I had to get back up and post it. Big red herring that.
He didn't want to discuss the newspaper article about PB's hospital visit and his reaction to it did he?
Thanks for that's I love martin in interviews as he always looks like he is having fun.
I think the only reason he sounds quiet is because of those loud mouthed women.
Well I can see where you are coming from but I think there is a bit of movement from s5.
LG moved the pencils because she was offended by Mike's OCD tendencies. It was her reaction to that, just as she moved the glass out of alignment. I don't think it was childish.
LG definitely was unreasonable which is a pity because it would have been just as funny if the tone had been the same as e1. Last week they had disagreements but it was in a much happier tone and frame of mind.
It was nice of LG to thank DM for coming to the concert.
Perhaps this was a blip on an otherwise fun series. I am hoping for a continuation of e1 for the rest of s6.
I can't believe they got a chubby actor to play the part of the first nanny!!!!
I loved the splashing of the baby. I didn't think I would but it was funny. Great reaction by the baby and done in one take (so MC says). I even thought it was funny for LG to blame "daddy" in that particular circumstance.
Don't you hate it when you've lost something and someone says: "Where did you have it last?". Drives me batty. :rolleyes:
I still love the show, but this episode wasn't quite up to the same level as the first epsode this series. I don't want them to suddenly turn LG and DM into compatable angels but I don't really want to see them bicker unnecessarily/incessantly.
Despite the little niggles it is still the best show on TV and I love it. :cool::cool::cool:
I'm not sure some of the dialogue would have made a lot of sense if they hadn't.
I agree, it's not as good as previously, I don't know if shall stay the course.
Yes but I meant it was awful for the actor.
As MC has said more than once "That would be someone else's show."
I stand by the comment that I made in January that it is Louisa who will be the one who makes or breaks this marriage. After seeing the first two episode I'd say the fork is about it be stuck into it. He is trying, she isn't. Soon he will give up and start to shut down.
Another choice was the clock scene. She could have been frustrated with him and walked off angry. But she played it with petty anger. She could have done it more with a rolling of the eyes and a frustrated "whatever" facial expression and still have been angry instead of a childish huff. That is just a suggestion off the top of my head, and maybe that's not the right way to play it. But had they tried it in rehearsal that idea would have informed her acting and brought more to her playing that moment. It still could have shown the anger and the hurt she feels by Martin's behavior.
Yeah, what about the hurt? Can't she possibly feel a little, tiny bit of that? What about frustration that he won't change even though she wants him to? The "maybe he doesn't love me because he won't change." The hurt is totally missing from the episode. She should feel hurt by the fact that he won't change because she wants him to. The way she played the line "You should want to" was another lost opportunity.
I have a masters degree in directing, and I have been in hundreds of rehearsals. Could they not see that there was another way? Does she have to be a one trick pony and play every moment the same? Can she not play anger, frustration and hurt? You can play those and get the point across in a meaningful way that would still carry the writer's intent. I know they want her to be convinced she can change him. It should be for more reasons than petty anger and embarrasment and I blame the director because it's his job to point out options to the actress. I am sure Caroline Catz is perfectly capable of doing something different. Any actress at her level is able to do that.
Maybe they don't rehearse enough or think through the options. It seems like MC can jump into the scene and give it some texture, I have seen him do it. But maybe she isn't able to and needs to be directed more. It would be a much richer and interesting show if they had considered another way to play the scenes. It can't be satisfying to the actress to be shreaking all the time. It is just not necessary to play it that way. I am convinced they could still get the point across. Maybe Nigel Cole directed it that way because Ben Bolt wrote it and knew that BB would have directed it that way.
But it's in the can and it may not change at all.
We're on the same page here. E1 and the marriage was a way to move the plot along to having the same old difficulties, but this time married. And it was a bone tossed to the faithful audience, who have made their feelings about romance plenty clear in a number of forums. Essentially, they let him revert to S1, but only for about half an hour. Now it's back to the same old difficult, characters that we have seen. And, they're not going to change -- that's the takeaway message that is finally, after much resistance, dawning on me.
They are incompatible -- and they grate on each other when in close proximity. Louisa is not going to become a far more patient and less reactive person, or stop needing him to show her more (some) demonstrable affection. He's not going to become a conventionally "nice" man, or develop empathy for others. It's like expecting him to grow wings.
BTW, think how you might feel if, when you were frantically looking for something, and then expressed a totally legitimate need for a space of your own, your husband told you that you wouldn't need it if you were better at your work. Wouldn't it be a struggle to refrain from throwing the nearest object at him? I really have sympathy for Louisa here. It's easy to characterize her as a shrew -- but we have to keep in mind, I think, what she's reacting to. He's not a really nice guy underneath who just needs a little TLC and patience for it to come through -- he's difficult, aggravating, annoying, irritating, and above all, judgmental and self-righteous. I feel that Louisa would be behaving much "better" in a marriage that suited her temperament better. As would Martin.
However, it is clear that the show-runners are taking a big risk here -- I think the audience will get sick and tired watching the same old thing, with only the minor variation that now they are legally yoked together.
No, we don't expect that great of a leap. There is somthing between a petty and immature wife and a patient and understanding woman. I don't expect that her to become the iconic woman who always understands and makes no demands. But a little variation in the way they play the scene. I don't think any of us expects that great of a change in the character. But some texture would be nice.
Her unplugging the guy's saw was the writing. She played that moment very well. Her intention was clear. I get the feeling that she and that actor rehearsed that scene.
And, I would really HATE it if someone messed with my kitchen and rearranged things, even if to make them obsessively orderly. I don't even like it if my dishwasher is loaded by someone else different to how I would do it! so yes, I can empathize with Louisa being teed-off in that situation.
I agree, her feelings are justified as are his. But MC gets it across better than CC does.
She is stuck on one end of the pendulum while he plays it with variation. Every pendulum is in the middle sometimes. I think it's the direction. She is just complaining about it while we get to see his reasons. The scene where she loses her paper was well played, imo. She was somewhere in the middle in that scene. Thank goodness, a moment where we can sympathize with Louisa!
It's interesting that LGE sees something is up with Mike re: possible OCD. Martin doesn't seem to see it, or he just wants to ignore it since Mike's obsessiveness works to his benefit. It's not a criticsm of Martin, but shows that Louisa is more intuitive than he is. That scene in the bedroom where they discuss Mike was well played, imo.
I'm not saying there aren't any bright spots in the show, I just wish that some of her other scenes were played with more depth and texture. I just don't sympathize with her in those moments, and I just want to do that sometimes. Then when she is being unreasonable we can witness when she is being completely unreasonable and can sympathize with him. There just needs to be more back and forth for me in that respect.
That's not a monocle