She wasn't training UK Military personnel, she was training Afghan medics. And it wasn't a conference but a training session where she was speaking. She had volunteered for the training tour (she said so to the other Medic when she went back to Afghanistan) so it makes perfect sense that she would be doing some training...........
I think the poster was talking about the bit at the end.. Not the bit in Afghanistan
I think they could have made this a lot better if, like so many of you have said, they hadn't gone down the falling in love with her Officer route. I don't sit watching a drama series and rip it to pieces for factual inaccuracies but this was ridiculously far fetched. All we saw Molly do was disobey orders and repeatedly put herself, and others, in danger. Yet that gets her a medal, and the heart of her posh boy boss when she can barely string a sentence together. Although of course, come the end of it, she strings her sentences together so well that she is speaking at conferences and running training.
Having said that, I stuck with it and found it watchable - possibly because the acting from the main characters was very good, despite the rather dodgy scripting at times.
So, if there was a second series I'd probably watch it. Not sure there will be though, what with Lacey being back on Eastenders full time.
One question - I never saw the pilot/one off film, although I did watch the ten minute recap we were offered. How did Molly go from nail technician to trained medic? Was that covered. I was quite surprised as I'd have expected them to be recruiting people with some previous training and experience.
Wouldn't her OC have been cashiered for fraternisation?
I'd forgotten boss man was in Lark Rise. He was though a dish in his civvies. If he decided to resign his commission presumably due to his injury why would the corporal rock the boat?
One thing that bothered me was the behind the curry house comment. Are we to assume that was off camera between pilot and series 1? I don't remember much of the pilot TBH.
I'd forgotten boss man was in Lark Rise. He was though a dish in his civvies. If he decided to resign his commission presumably due to his injury why would the corporal rock the boat?
One thing that bothered me was the behind the curry house comment. Are we to assume that was off camera between pilot and series 1? I don't remember much of the pilot TBH.
I think it was supposed to be then. She hadn't really done too much of her basic training at the end of the pilot and her and Smurf were in different areas.
As far as I remember anyway (I was laid low with a bad chest infection during the pilot).
Watching it from Canada, my wife loved it, I liked it but thought it jumped the shark with the IED "do you love me?" moment when any rational officer (or NCO, or junior rank) would have replied "STFU!". I suspect reaction to this show splits very evenly along gender lines. As noted above, good acting but unbelievable situations. The fancy-restaurant-in-Bath scene was so OTT that I thought it had to be some kind of dream sequence.
Maybe my expectations were a little high, as the stand-alone TV-movie handled some flirting between Molly and her training corporal (am I detecting a theme here?) with wit and believability.
Bless UK TV for (mostly) not bleeding shows dry with season upon season of diminishing returns, but I think the huge positive reaction on social media will dictate one more go-round. Though the writer has painted himself into a corner.
Couple of semi-relevant URL's, first being a story not unlike Molly's (sans sex) and the latter being what Army folk make of the series:
Well the first four episodes were quite average, no where near as dire as people are making out to be on here though.
But the finale was amazing, I thought. It wound everything up nicely and was so emotional, I would've preferred her to stay single (or end up with Smurf) but I can let that go.
Smurf's death was incredibly sad, I didn't see it coming at all. I cried a LOT and I never do that. I think the last time I did was Lexie's death on Grey's Anatomy! Iwan and Lacey had such amazing chemistry and their friendship was so believable. It was too much.
I don't think we're getting another series, Lacey herself said it'd be hard to continue it in an interview with DS. Plus I wouldn't want to watch it without Smurf anyway. Overall though I enjoyed the series and am glad I watched it.
Two weeks on the trot now we've seen how Mollie's romantic problems have caused grave danger to the other men and put all their lives at risk.
It reminds me of the similar theme in Scott and Bailey with Suranne Jones's character and her love life and personal life taking over so she is almost completely unsuitable for the job.
I was convinced all along that she would end up with Smurf. They had great on-screen chemistry. I think she had zero with the Captain and their relationship seemed forced (from the writers) - So I was rightly pissed off when they stroked Smurf out!!
I thought we were going to get to see them in Vegas and all. Ah well.
I remember years ago having arguments with a friend of mine who is an ER doctor in New York. He hated Grey's Anatomy and every time it aired he'd be pointing out inaccuracies or how someone would get fired for half the antics the Grey's crew got up to. I just couldn't get it through to him that it wasn't supposed to be factual. Seems there are a few on here that fall into that category too ;-) Albeit, I do agree with the "do you love me" scene during all out mayhem was a bridge too far.
One question - I never saw the pilot/one off film, although I did watch the ten minute recap we were offered. How did Molly go from nail technician to trained medic? Was that covered. I was quite surprised as I'd have expected them to be recruiting people with some previous training and experience.
basically it showed her as just turning 18, working as a nail tech and that she was fed up with her life, felt like it was going no where and could imagine her life mirroring her parents (load of kids, husband crap, etc). and wanted something different, she then went out with her "friends" on her 18th birthday and found her supposed best friend and her boyfriend together in a club loos, she leaves the club, as she's drunk throws up outside an army recruitung centre. goes back there the next day and starts talking to one of the recruiters who talks her into taking the test. it shows here on the early stages of training, but not the medic stuff at that time
i really liked the pilot episode (its available on iTunes for a couple of quid iif any one wants it (and on dvd on amazon)
I'm pleased I'm not the only one who swooned over Captain James I thought the chemistry between Molly/Smurf and Molly/Bossman was great, fabulous acting from all three. And yes, I agree, that in reality, the merging of Captain James' and Molly's families wouldn't bode well, but the viewer can be left to hope they would live 'happily ever after' in Bath.
As for accuracy, I'm ok with programmes not being accurate, from Casualty to Downton, it happens all the time. Although, I have had to stop watching Holby, as it's sooooo inaccurate as to what actually happens in a hospital I can't bear it. But as I've never been in the Army, I could enjoy it at face value. I was left realising how dangerous it has been for our troups out there, and how brave they are, regardless of your political views on the 'war'. And as for it turning into a Catherine Cookson-esque romance - well it was pitched against Downton Abbey on a Sunday night so I think the target audience was possibly female?
I really did enjoy this programme and thought that Lacy Turner did a great job even if she looked like she was in pain most of the time.
However....it could have been soo much better! After the first episode it turned very much in the direction of a romance novel not paying much attention to reality. How did she manage to save the day so many times? It really made her fellow soldiers look like idiots. I'm sure the army would have a few things to say about the tactics on display. I don't mind that there is a romance at the centre of the story but would a trained soldier be stupid enough to bring the subject up in such a life and death situation. It just didn't ring true. There was also some pretty dumb dialogue as well such as Molly if 'complications' were serious? She's a trained medic for goodness sake.
With a few tweeks it could have been so much better. Shame, but still enjoyable.
Well it had a very tough slot against Downton Abbey and it didn't have an enormous audience but it held onto most of its viewers-basically because it was very watchable drama telling a story plainly. Maybe the romance element was a bit far fetched in a few scenes but (having just watched the episodes over two days) Im glad I made the time to view. It did ok and it was ok.
Have to say Lacey Turner looked quite stunning in those restaurant scenes towards the end. She doesn't tend to get those kind of scenes in Eastenders.
Well it had a very tough slot against Downton Abbey and it didn't have an enormous audience but it held onto most of its viewers-basically because it was very watchable drama telling a story plainly. Maybe the romance element was a bit far fetched in a few scenes but (having just watched the episodes over two days) Im glad I made the time to view. It did ok and it was ok.
Have to say Lacey Turner looked quite stunning in those restaurant scenes towards the end. She doesn't tend to get those kind of scenes in Eastenders.
It also seems to be doing fairly well in the dvd/itunes market, both the origional single episode and the series link purchase for this one are on the iTunes top tv download charts (when i looked earlier today the iTunes listing had them as number 5 and 17 for the download series chart, and amazon had them at number 2 and 3 on the tv best sellers, which given the series on dvd is only on presale and not out till 3 November is good)
The only inaccuracy that really bothered me was her form when she went out for a run, awful!
Have to say I was completely convinced that she suddenly would change her mind and end up back with Smurf (even after the Bath scenes (had to rewatch them mind because I missed what was being said first time due to swooning over the captain)) so I was a bit shocked when he died, although talk about the shitty end of the stick, his poor mum was well and truly bashed with that!
I don't want another series though as this ended just nicely for me. (Apart from poor Smurf )
Some of those who enjoyed this are asking why we who didn't continued to watch it.
Well it was just 4 episodes and I was hoping it might get better. It didn't. So I'm not watching the 5th.
Its not as if I've watched series after series constantly slating them. Just 4 episodes.
Perspectives. I guess there are those who watch soaps just for entertainment and either love or loathe them irrespective of story, background, reality context etc. Fine.
For me this as a drama should reflect reality in Afghan. Its about life and death and soldiers getting on in a war zone. So its as important to be realistic here as it is for say Downton Abbey or Our World War. its a drama that is a form of reenactment. So it should be accurate or at least realistic. Like with Downton and Our World War.
I actually complained to the BBC about one of the opening scenes in Our World War. One scene where a British soldier, in 1914, actually went and ...'hugged'... another soldier. This behaviour would have been inconceivable in 1944, let alone 1914. Unless he were 'homosexual' in which case he would have been charged with a criminal offence in 1914 (and 1944), and quite possibly shot in a war situation for 'behaviour detrimental to moral and good order and military discipline' or some such thing. Someone didn't get their period military social attitudes right for that one. Very sloppy production.
These dramas about war are not 'just for entertainment'. They portray another world that isn't Eastenders or Holby or ...etc. But is their target audience one that cares, gives a damn about this reality, or simply one that wants an Afghan war version of Eastenders...?
Ignoring all the hilarious bad comments on here, it was actually a really good series. Hope we'll get a series 2.
Exactly right. If I thought it were that bad I'd've stopped watching by the end of the first ep; assuming I even got that far. Yet there seem to be some on here who have watched all five episodes just so they can come on here and complain about it.
Personally, I only watch programmes I enjoy. But each to their own I suppose
Lets face it when it comes to accuracy in BBC dramas, the Beeb have already admitted they don't care about facts.
On POV this week they said it didn't matter that Churchill mentioned being in a Battle that the British were never a part of, on Peaky Blinders. rolleyes.
Wrong. They said that these are dramas not documentaries and factual accuracy is sometimes not as important as telling the story. (Though on this one specific point I agree that it was a "fail".)
I watched all the series and loved it ! But i do have one question don't soldiers have to wear dog tags anymore ? Even when the lads were in the shower I don't remember seeing one or maybe I was just busy looking elsewhere?
And yes I too have fallen for the delectabley lush Captain James so please another series even if it is only a 90 min one off.
I enjoyed it. I don't care that' it wasn't accurate, I don't care that it jumped the shark a bit with the romance. For me she and James had great chemistry and it was obvious from the start that they would end up together whilst Smurf would be relegated to the friends bench. They had great chemistry as mates but for me it was one sided all the way through with no ambiguity whatsoever. Shame they killed him though. I think it would have been nice to explore their friendship further in another series
Lots of potential for a second series in terms of what Molly does next in her career and how she manages to maintain a relationship with James. She and James aren't that different IMHO.
Yes it lacked depth at times and yes some of the dialogue was a bit far fetched but sometimes you don't want serious, accurate and heavy in your Sunday evening viewing.
Comments
I think the poster was talking about the bit at the end.. Not the bit in Afghanistan
At that point yes, because they were both worried about Captain James. But why not later?
Or even Mrs Smurf?
Me three. When he was in the restaurant I think I lost breath for a moment.
Possibly - if it was 1895...
One thing that bothered me was the behind the curry house comment. Are we to assume that was off camera between pilot and series 1? I don't remember much of the pilot TBH.
I think it was supposed to be then. She hadn't really done too much of her basic training at the end of the pilot and her and Smurf were in different areas.
As far as I remember anyway (I was laid low with a bad chest infection during the pilot).
Maybe my expectations were a little high, as the stand-alone TV-movie handled some flirting between Molly and her training corporal (am I detecting a theme here?) with wit and believability.
Bless UK TV for (mostly) not bleeding shows dry with season upon season of diminishing returns, but I think the huge positive reaction on social media will dictate one more go-round. Though the writer has painted himself into a corner.
Couple of semi-relevant URL's, first being a story not unlike Molly's (sans sex) and the latter being what Army folk make of the series:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/9947012/Girlie-girl-who-braved-Taliban-fire-to-help-shot-soldier.html
http://www.arrse.co.uk/community/threads/new-bbc-drama-our-girl.196430/
But the finale was amazing, I thought. It wound everything up nicely and was so emotional, I would've preferred her to stay single (or end up with Smurf) but I can let that go.
Smurf's death was incredibly sad, I didn't see it coming at all. I cried a LOT and I never do that. I think the last time I did was Lexie's death on Grey's Anatomy! Iwan and Lacey had such amazing chemistry and their friendship was so believable. It was too much.
I don't think we're getting another series, Lacey herself said it'd be hard to continue it in an interview with DS. Plus I wouldn't want to watch it without Smurf anyway. Overall though I enjoyed the series and am glad I watched it.
It reminds me of the similar theme in Scott and Bailey with Suranne Jones's character and her love life and personal life taking over so she is almost completely unsuitable for the job.
I thought we were going to get to see them in Vegas and all. Ah well.
I remember years ago having arguments with a friend of mine who is an ER doctor in New York. He hated Grey's Anatomy and every time it aired he'd be pointing out inaccuracies or how someone would get fired for half the antics the Grey's crew got up to. I just couldn't get it through to him that it wasn't supposed to be factual. Seems there are a few on here that fall into that category too ;-) Albeit, I do agree with the "do you love me" scene during all out mayhem was a bridge too far.
basically it showed her as just turning 18, working as a nail tech and that she was fed up with her life, felt like it was going no where and could imagine her life mirroring her parents (load of kids, husband crap, etc). and wanted something different, she then went out with her "friends" on her 18th birthday and found her supposed best friend and her boyfriend together in a club loos, she leaves the club, as she's drunk throws up outside an army recruitung centre. goes back there the next day and starts talking to one of the recruiters who talks her into taking the test. it shows here on the early stages of training, but not the medic stuff at that time
i really liked the pilot episode (its available on iTunes for a couple of quid iif any one wants it (and on dvd on amazon)
As for accuracy, I'm ok with programmes not being accurate, from Casualty to Downton, it happens all the time. Although, I have had to stop watching Holby, as it's sooooo inaccurate as to what actually happens in a hospital I can't bear it. But as I've never been in the Army, I could enjoy it at face value. I was left realising how dangerous it has been for our troups out there, and how brave they are, regardless of your political views on the 'war'. And as for it turning into a Catherine Cookson-esque romance - well it was pitched against Downton Abbey on a Sunday night so I think the target audience was possibly female?
However....it could have been soo much better! After the first episode it turned very much in the direction of a romance novel not paying much attention to reality. How did she manage to save the day so many times? It really made her fellow soldiers look like idiots. I'm sure the army would have a few things to say about the tactics on display. I don't mind that there is a romance at the centre of the story but would a trained soldier be stupid enough to bring the subject up in such a life and death situation. It just didn't ring true. There was also some pretty dumb dialogue as well such as Molly if 'complications' were serious? She's a trained medic for goodness sake.
With a few tweeks it could have been so much better. Shame, but still enjoyable.
Have to say Lacey Turner looked quite stunning in those restaurant scenes towards the end. She doesn't tend to get those kind of scenes in Eastenders.
She actually reminded me of Kate Middleton!
It also seems to be doing fairly well in the dvd/itunes market, both the origional single episode and the series link purchase for this one are on the iTunes top tv download charts (when i looked earlier today the iTunes listing had them as number 5 and 17 for the download series chart, and amazon had them at number 2 and 3 on the tv best sellers, which given the series on dvd is only on presale and not out till 3 November is good)
Have to say I was completely convinced that she suddenly would change her mind and end up back with Smurf (even after the Bath scenes (had to rewatch them mind because I missed what was being said first time due to swooning over the captain)) so I was a bit shocked when he died, although talk about the shitty end of the stick, his poor mum was well and truly bashed with that!
I don't want another series though as this ended just nicely for me. (Apart from poor Smurf
Well it was just 4 episodes and I was hoping it might get better. It didn't. So I'm not watching the 5th.
Its not as if I've watched series after series constantly slating them. Just 4 episodes.
Perspectives. I guess there are those who watch soaps just for entertainment and either love or loathe them irrespective of story, background, reality context etc. Fine.
For me this as a drama should reflect reality in Afghan. Its about life and death and soldiers getting on in a war zone. So its as important to be realistic here as it is for say Downton Abbey or Our World War. its a drama that is a form of reenactment. So it should be accurate or at least realistic. Like with Downton and Our World War.
I actually complained to the BBC about one of the opening scenes in Our World War. One scene where a British soldier, in 1914, actually went and ...'hugged'... another soldier. This behaviour would have been inconceivable in 1944, let alone 1914. Unless he were 'homosexual' in which case he would have been charged with a criminal offence in 1914 (and 1944), and quite possibly shot in a war situation for 'behaviour detrimental to moral and good order and military discipline' or some such thing. Someone didn't get their period military social attitudes right for that one. Very sloppy production.
These dramas about war are not 'just for entertainment'. They portray another world that isn't Eastenders or Holby or ...etc. But is their target audience one that cares, gives a damn about this reality, or simply one that wants an Afghan war version of Eastenders...?
Personally, I only watch programmes I enjoy. But each to their own I suppose
That said, yes the "love triangle" was annoying
Shows how much you don't know about TV if you think this series was "cheap" to produce.
On a male note, Lacey Turner also scrubs-up quite nicely
Wrong. They said that these are dramas not documentaries and factual accuracy is sometimes not as important as telling the story. (Though on this one specific point I agree that it was a "fail".)
It wasn't "real time" you know!
And yes I too have fallen for the delectabley lush Captain James so please another series even if it is only a 90 min one off.
Lots of potential for a second series in terms of what Molly does next in her career and how she manages to maintain a relationship with James. She and James aren't that different IMHO.
Yes it lacked depth at times and yes some of the dialogue was a bit far fetched but sometimes you don't want serious, accurate and heavy in your Sunday evening viewing.