I never saw The Paradise; maybe I'm enjoying it more because I'm not comparing it to anything?
Yes. Even though I've seen The Paradise, I'm watching the programme to see how this story folds and the other bits like the acting, costume, music, etc.
That said it was an OK episode, there wasn't much to excite me though but I'm still interested to keep watching. Katherine Kelly looked lovely in the blue/navy dress and the brunette hair. Mrs Selfridge reminds me of a younger Mariah Carey in her earlier days, and Henri's a dead ringer for Modern Family's Ty Burrell.
I think I'd stop watching if I wasn't hooked on gazing adoringly at the screen every time Henri (Grégory Fitoussi) appears. That man is just gorgeous!
This. :D
I also find Roddy ( Oliver-Jackson Cohen) very gorgeous...:o:D
This series so far hasn't been great...maybe I'm just comparing it to The Paradise which was much more entertaining and kept my attention span because of the more likeable main characters whereas in this drama the secondary characters seem to be more entertaining (apart from Lady Mae).
I don't care about any of the characters, and its just jumping around. In the first few minutes the girl (whose name cant be bothered to look up) is hit, and then... barely anyone mentions it for the whole episode. Not even her brother? Surely there should have been some confrontation with the father - considering last episode both children said if he ever raised his hand to them again he'd be out. Her brother didn't even seem to notice she had a black eye! And now there's clearly some contrived romantic misunderstanding thats going to happen between the window guy, the waiter and whats-her-face.
Rose is... possibly having an affair? But we spent all of two minutes with her and the artist yet in next weeks promo he accuses her of 'knowing he was falling in love with her'.
Every time that girl opened her mouth to 'sing' I had to fast forward. She sounds awful.
No one else in the house is bothering to watch it anymore, and we usually all sit down to watch period dramas together.
i actually like it better than paradise. Agree, the minute the chorus girls sings I shudder but I think the point is that she isn't all that talented and (just like today), you don't need to have talent to be a celebrity. There were even implied comments this week about her singing ability (Henri). Think the guy playing selfridge has the most engaging smile. And yeh - what's happening down in the shipping department with the fat guy and trowler's brother.. And what about the fact, violent dad has moved back in... not a mention...All will be resolved i'm sure, but things should never go without even a one sentence mention for a whole week
Oh I get they were highlighting that she doesn't actually have any singing talent (or any talent) whatsoever but they didn't need to devote an hour to telling us that! How many references were made? How many times did we have to hear her screeching?!
we really enjoyed sunday's episode:D clever henri showing ellen in her worst sluttish light and bravo harry for going with the springtime theme, hopefully he's dumped ellen, i cant wait for him to meet the dolly sisters!!:D
meanwhile poor dreary drippy mrs selfridge needs to grow a spine and do something with herself, i have no sympathy for her character, whatever did harry see in hexr??:rolleyes:
im waitng for something nasty and deadly to affect agnes' drunken bully father and surely it will..perhaps a tussle in the lodgings that leads to a not so accidental death and heavens above, perhaps vic will help her dispose of the body!! just a few ideas...:D
cant stand lady mae. ...what is the point of her exactly??
You have to wonder if Andrew Davies actually bothered to read the biography on which this is based. Mrs Selfridge was a successful woman in her own right when she married. She came from a wealthy family and had a career as a property developer. She certainly wasn't the timid ingénue portrayed in the programme. She probably knew her husband was a womaniser and made the best of a bad job. And she was pushing fifty at the time of the story, so let's hope the artist doesn't manage to get her out of her kit next week!
You have to wonder if Andrew Davies actually bothered to read the biography on which this is based. Mrs Selfridge was a successful woman in her own right when she married. She came from a wealthy family and had a career as a property developer. She certainly wasn't the timid ingénue portrayed in the programme. She probably knew her husband was a womaniser and made the best of a bad job. And she was pushing fifty at the time of the story, so let's hope the artist doesn't manage to get her out of her kit next week!
V interesting - so, assuming that Mrs S didn't marry a younger man, ITV must have aged down both of them for their fictional reworking of this story. More concerned with audience demographics than the facts, maybe ...? :rolleyes:;)
The version of Mrs S you describe sounds significantly more interesting than the insecure creature who goes up to see strange men's etchings. Andrew Davies has said he 'cherry picked' elements from the book - and I'm sure ITV had a hand in what they were. But not many cherries, by the sound of things ...
V interesting - so, assuming that Mrs S didn't marry a younger man, ITV must have aged down both of them for their fictional reworking of this story. More concerned with audience demographics than the facts, maybe ...? :rolleyes:;)
The version of Mrs S you describe sounds significantly more interesting than the insecure creature who goes up to see strange men's etchings. Andrew Davies has said he 'cherry picked' elements from the book - and I'm sure ITV had a hand in what they were. But not many cherries, by the sound of things ...
Mr Selfridge was born in 1856, which puts him in his fifties. Contemporary photos show him with a waxed, Kaiser Bill moustache, rather than the trendy beard adopted by the actor.
Doris Speed played Annie Walker superbly - but the same can't be said for Piven's portrayal of Selfridge. Pretty much every scene features him doing the same thing - waving his arms around while he talks in a booming voice and shows off his teeth. There are the odd moments where he tries to look 'guilty' or 'concerned' - but then you can see the joins. Although they are struggling with below par material, the rest of the cast outshine him. People wanted to see Annie Walker because her character had real heart and warmth. There's nothing remotely comparable in Piven's performance - and he, unlike Speed, plays the character on which the entire show hinges.
This week's episode was superbly directed - John Strickland is excellent - but what the hell was going on with the stories? Agnes gets hit by her father in the first five minutes ... then she disappears for half an hour and he is never seen again. Her attempts to disguise her black eye fail as soon as she gets into work - then, for the rest of the episode, she goes into an entirely different story about perfume and a possible romance with Henri. :eek: Bizarre story-telling: surely it should have been Henri who spots the black eye, shows kindness to Agnes and that fuels their story together; meanwhile, there should have been a pay-off for the father.
Instead, however, the show is sinking into what I suspected it would become: a period soap with nothing at stake, because we all know Selfridges is a success story, and there are nowhere near enough characters for us to care about. It would seem I'm not the only dissatisfied customer - the viewing figures are dropping ...
Katherine Kelly's character seemed to really come into her own last night I must say, definitely the best thing about last night's episode for me. Lady Mae looks like one not to be messed with.
I don't care about any of the characters, and its just jumping around. In the first few minutes the girl (whose name cant be bothered to look up) is hit, and then... barely anyone mentions it for the whole episode. Not even her brother? Surely there should have been some confrontation with the father - considering last episode both children said if he ever raised his hand to them again he'd be out. Her brother didn't even seem to notice she had a black eye! And now there's clearly some contrived romantic misunderstanding thats going to happen between the window guy, the waiter and whats-her-face.
Rose is... possibly having an affair? But we spent all of two minutes with her and the artist yet in next weeks promo he accuses her of 'knowing he was falling in love with her'.
Every time that girl opened her mouth to 'sing' I had to fast forward. She sounds awful.
No one else in the house is bothering to watch it anymore, and we usually all sit down to watch period dramas together.
I agree with everything you've said but can't seem to stop watching it.
Jeremy Piven looks like a trainee Bee Gee, all beard and teeth (I mean, who would have nashers like THAT back in those days?)
And the Ellen Love character is punchable. They need to cease and desist with the music hall interludes.
Mr Selfridge was born in 1856, which puts him in his fifties. Contemporary photos show him with a waxed, Kaiser Bill moustache, rather than the trendy beard adopted by the actor.
i actually like it better than paradise. Agree, the minute the chorus girls sings I shudder but I think the point is that she isn't all that talented and (just like today), you don't need to have talent to be a celebrity. There were even implied comments this week about her singing ability (Henri). Think the guy playing selfridge has the most engaging smile. And yeh - what's happening down in the shipping department with the fat guy and trowler's brother.. And what about the fact, violent dad has moved back in... not a mention...All will be resolved i'm sure, but things should never go without even a one sentence mention for a whole week
Yes, the Ellen Love character isn't that talented, she's just sleeping and pouting her way to the top, using the fact that Chipmunk is panting over her to her advantage. She certainly loves herself. I want to slap her!!
Surely there should have been some confrontation with the father - considering last episode both children said if he ever raised his hand to them again he'd be out.
Mr Selfridge was born in 1856, which puts him in his fifties. Contemporary photos show him with a waxed, Kaiser Bill moustache, rather than the trendy beard adopted by the actor.
Yes. Even though I've seen The Paradise, I'm watching the programme to see how this story folds and the other bits like the acting, costume, music, etc.
That said it was an OK episode, there wasn't much to excite me though but I'm still interested to keep watching. Katherine Kelly looked lovely in the blue/navy dress and the brunette hair. Mrs Selfridge reminds me of a younger Mariah Carey in her earlier days, and Henri's a dead ringer for Modern Family's Ty Burrell.
Don't you see a similarity between the showgirl ( Miss Love ?) and Kiera Knightly ??
Comments
That said it was an OK episode, there wasn't much to excite me though but I'm still interested to keep watching. Katherine Kelly looked lovely in the blue/navy dress and the brunette hair. Mrs Selfridge reminds me of a younger Mariah Carey in her earlier days, and Henri's a dead ringer for Modern Family's Ty Burrell.
This.
I also find Roddy ( Oliver-Jackson Cohen) very gorgeous...:o:D
This series so far hasn't been great...maybe I'm just comparing it to The Paradise which was much more entertaining and kept my attention span because of the more likeable main characters whereas in this drama the secondary characters seem to be more entertaining (apart from Lady Mae).
And that Artist with the Wife, he's a Knight on the Channel 4 Drama on Saturday.:eek:
I don't care about any of the characters, and its just jumping around. In the first few minutes the girl (whose name cant be bothered to look up) is hit, and then... barely anyone mentions it for the whole episode. Not even her brother? Surely there should have been some confrontation with the father - considering last episode both children said if he ever raised his hand to them again he'd be out. Her brother didn't even seem to notice she had a black eye! And now there's clearly some contrived romantic misunderstanding thats going to happen between the window guy, the waiter and whats-her-face.
Rose is... possibly having an affair? But we spent all of two minutes with her and the artist yet in next weeks promo he accuses her of 'knowing he was falling in love with her'.
Every time that girl opened her mouth to 'sing' I had to fast forward. She sounds awful.
No one else in the house is bothering to watch it anymore, and we usually all sit down to watch period dramas together.
Exactly, and what a beautifully spoken, cultured lady Jean Alexander is in real life.
meanwhile poor dreary drippy mrs selfridge needs to grow a spine and do something with herself, i have no sympathy for her character, whatever did harry see in hexr??:rolleyes:
im waitng for something nasty and deadly to affect agnes' drunken bully father and surely it will..perhaps a tussle in the lodgings that leads to a not so accidental death and heavens above, perhaps vic will help her dispose of the body!! just a few ideas...:D
cant stand lady mae. ...what is the point of her exactly??
Totally agree
I thoroughly enjoyed watching The Paradise - it had it all
Tried watching Mr S but the lead actor puts me off
V interesting - so, assuming that Mrs S didn't marry a younger man, ITV must have aged down both of them for their fictional reworking of this story. More concerned with audience demographics than the facts, maybe ...? :rolleyes:;)
The version of Mrs S you describe sounds significantly more interesting than the insecure creature who goes up to see strange men's etchings. Andrew Davies has said he 'cherry picked' elements from the book - and I'm sure ITV had a hand in what they were. But not many cherries, by the sound of things ...
Mr Selfridge was born in 1856, which puts him in his fifties. Contemporary photos show him with a waxed, Kaiser Bill moustache, rather than the trendy beard adopted by the actor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Gordon_Selfridge
I fear that Andrew Davies is losing his touch.
I have to credit Lady May for that;)
I love her little cameos
I agree with everything you've said but can't seem to stop watching it.
Jeremy Piven looks like a trainee Bee Gee, all beard and teeth (I mean, who would have nashers like THAT back in those days?)
And the Ellen Love character is punchable. They need to cease and desist with the music hall interludes.
He reminds me of Dave Grohl when he's hamming it up in the music vids.
Thank you for clarifying that.
Perhaps someone can do some kind of 'ageism at ITV' expose where they justify why they changed the characters' ages?
Yes, the Ellen Love character isn't that talented, she's just sleeping and pouting her way to the top, using the fact that Chipmunk is panting over her to her advantage. She certainly loves herself. I want to slap her!!
Oh yeah, I like that part too! I thought that part in the casino/betting room place was just done to keep her sweet, clever man indeed!
I mentioned this a few posts back, I'm puzzled at the lack of likeness when more could have been done to the actor to make him look more like the man.
Don't you see a similarity between the showgirl ( Miss Love ?) and Kiera Knightly ??
Sorry - I missed your post!
What they should actually have done was cast someone of the correct age ... which might have helped in the looks department, too!
No worries!!