The lesbian florists must have been thrown in to add a bit of titivation to an otherwise dreary story!
I wondered if the subplots that appeared to have no relevance or be filelrs could have been an attempt to sow some character seeds if they decided to after the intial muder story bring this back again with more storylines
Have I got this right? The mayor (Clunes) let himself into the house and forced two fully grown adults to consume pills and half a bottle of 30cl Vodka whilst under the same roof as a teenage daughter and 75yr old mother, then wait hours for them to die so he could lay them peacefully on their backs and join their hands in a suicide pact looking way?
He knew they killed his son, he said he threatened them with a shotgun that if they did not take the pills he would kill their daughter and the grandmother, so they obviously htought that as they had taken his sons life they maybe deserved it , so took them and lay down together holding hands, he left the photo to throw people off the scent not thinking the policeman would remove it and therefore bugger up his suicide plot scene. Its dramatic licence .
If they hadnt complied there would have been no story.
It was only a tv programe fgs, so what if it wasn't perfect, must everything be before people are able to lighten up and not give it such in-depth analysis as to why it wasn't up to their standards?
You seem to have missed the point of this forum if you think that it is not a place where people should offer their own opinions and analysis about programmes.
I find it best to ignore some of the criticisms, which are in fact laughable - such as someone saying they couldn't follow it because some of the actresses looked too similar; or not knowing why the mayor had killed the couple, though that was clearly explained; or why he'd only done it now, though again, it was explained that he'd only just found out; or how some people wouldn't know what the bun throwing was, as if we are all dim and can't work out that it's a local tradition.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Some people say they watch, but clearly they don't.
I thought the programme was fine. It didn't live up to it's early promise, and the ending was too neat, and it should have been shorter, but it was a bit different from the usual stuff served up.
I'm all for something different from the usual stuff. But that something different still has to hang together and we have to care about the characters, however flawed they might be.
I watched all three parts and the characters remained empty and lacked sympathy. Their backstories felt forced throughout, not least why Mark spent so long away from home. The biggest problem lay with Mark's failure to drive the story - why on earth was he so passive?
I'd agree that some of the problems would have been solved by this being a two-parter, or even a single film. However, there were fundamental issues with this that could and probably would have been spotted by someone with a background in popular drama ... which the credits lacked. On BBC2 (and without Martin Clunes ...), The Town might have worked. On ITV, it didn't.
And, before anyone says it, I would love ITV drama to get back to pushing boundaries in the way it once did. But leaving a writer new to television to flounder isn't the way to do it.
The greatest pity about The Town was the volume of talent wasted. The dialogue was good, the cast strong (Clunes aside) ... just a shame so little attention was given to the characters.
I'm all for something different from the usual stuff. But that something different still has to hang together and we have to care about the characters, however flawed they might be.
I watched all three parts and the characters remained empty and lacked sympathy. Their backstories felt forced throughout, not least why Mark spent so long away from home. The biggest problem lay with Mark's failure to drive the story - why on earth was he so passive?
I'd agree that some of the problems would have been solved by this being a two-parter, or even a single film. However, there were fundamental issues with this that could and probably would have been spotted by someone with a background in popular drama ... which the credits lacked. On BBC2 (and without Martin Clunes ...), The Town might have worked. On ITV, it didn't.
And, before anyone says it, I would love ITV drama to get back to pushing boundaries in the way it once did. But leaving a writer new to television to flounder isn't the way to do it.
The greatest pity about The Town was the volume of talent wasted. The dialogue was good, the cast strong (Clunes aside) ... just a shame so little attention was given to the characters.
But this is merely subjective. I found the characters believable, and was able to understand that they were acting out their grief. Martin Clunes was fine in his role. It never occurred to me to wonder why Mark had stayed away so long.
If you found the characters a turn-off, and therefore didn't like the programme, then fine, it didn't work for you. Some people love Downton abbey, I'd rather watch paint dry. It's all a matter of taste.
I'm not saying this was a brilliant drama, but it was criticised for being hard to follow, and it just wasn't.
Can't believe the negativity in here! Typical DS. It was three hours well spent in my opinion. Was it perfect? No. But the scripts and dialogue were good, the characters were mostly well drawn (particularly Len and the family), visually it had quite a quirky style to it with solid direction, and it kept me guessing until about midway through the last episode when it admittedly ran out of steam a little. The cast were very strong too. No pleasing some people!
Can you explain how the dead parents eye's were open when they were, I think, drugged
But this is merely subjective. I found the characters believable, and was able to understand that they were acting out their grief. Martin Clunes was fine in his role. It never occurred to me to wonder why Mark had stayed away so long.
If you found the characters a turn-off, and therefore didn't like the programme, then fine, it didn't work for you. Some people love Downton abbey, I'd rather watch paint dry. It's all a matter of taste.
I'm not saying this was a brilliant drama, but it was criticised for being hard to follow, and it just wasn't.
I never said it was hard to follow. Just hard to believe.
Sure, my post was subjective. Just like yours was.
And I sure as hell don't want to watch Downton Abbey. Thank you!
I think the comments here criticising the series are, by and large, well-reasoned and thought through. This is in marked contrast to the few comments praising the show, which rely on cheap, patronising insults against those that didn't like it.
Exactly.
Some of these folk come on a discussion forum and then proceed to sneer at anyone who doesn't happen to agree with them.
I thought both this and Last Tango had a great cast which was why I started watching both. However Last Tango's characters and acting (plus their relationships with each other) drew me in to their situation emotionally.
In The Town I found no empathy with any of them and like a previous poster cannot believe why Phil Davis signed up to this (I also thought he might have a speaking part in a last episode flashback). What a waste of some good actors.
I ended up just watching the third episode to see whodunit.
I thought both this and Last Tango had a great cast which was why I started watching both. However Last Tango's characters and acting (plus their relationships with each other) drew me in to their situation emotionally.
In The Town I found no empathy with any of them and like a previous poster cannot believe why Phil Davis signed up to this (I also thought he might have a speaking part in a last episode flashback). What a waste of some good actors.
I ended up just watching the third episode to see whodunit.
I thought both this and Last Tango had a great cast which was why I started watching both. However Last Tango's characters and acting (plus their relationships with each other) drew me in to their situation emotionally.In The Town I found no empathy with any of them and like a previous poster cannot believe why Phil Davis signed up to this (I also thought he might have a speaking part in a last episode flashback). What a waste of some good actors.I ended up just watching the third episode to see whodunit.
One tip (for viewing future dramas/cop shows), the bloke/lady wot done it will always be the big name "star" actor who, up to the last ep/10 mins, has only had a peripheral role:p;);).
A bit of a cheat know, but, since the demise of good old Columbo who's technique was to ruthlessly persue the most unlikely character until revealed as the killer, a plot device used without deviation.:D:D
Comments
I wondered if the subplots that appeared to have no relevance or be filelrs could have been an attempt to sow some character seeds if they decided to after the intial muder story bring this back again with more storylines
He knew they killed his son, he said he threatened them with a shotgun that if they did not take the pills he would kill their daughter and the grandmother, so they obviously htought that as they had taken his sons life they maybe deserved it , so took them and lay down together holding hands, he left the photo to throw people off the scent not thinking the policeman would remove it and therefore bugger up his suicide plot scene. Its dramatic licence .
If they hadnt complied there would have been no story.
You seem to have missed the point of this forum if you think that it is not a place where people should offer their own opinions and analysis about programmes.
I'm all for something different from the usual stuff. But that something different still has to hang together and we have to care about the characters, however flawed they might be.
I watched all three parts and the characters remained empty and lacked sympathy. Their backstories felt forced throughout, not least why Mark spent so long away from home. The biggest problem lay with Mark's failure to drive the story - why on earth was he so passive?
I'd agree that some of the problems would have been solved by this being a two-parter, or even a single film. However, there were fundamental issues with this that could and probably would have been spotted by someone with a background in popular drama ... which the credits lacked. On BBC2 (and without Martin Clunes ...), The Town might have worked. On ITV, it didn't.
And, before anyone says it, I would love ITV drama to get back to pushing boundaries in the way it once did. But leaving a writer new to television to flounder isn't the way to do it.
The greatest pity about The Town was the volume of talent wasted. The dialogue was good, the cast strong (Clunes aside) ... just a shame so little attention was given to the characters.
But this is merely subjective. I found the characters believable, and was able to understand that they were acting out their grief. Martin Clunes was fine in his role. It never occurred to me to wonder why Mark had stayed away so long.
If you found the characters a turn-off, and therefore didn't like the programme, then fine, it didn't work for you. Some people love Downton abbey, I'd rather watch paint dry. It's all a matter of taste.
I'm not saying this was a brilliant drama, but it was criticised for being hard to follow, and it just wasn't.
Can you explain how the dead parents eye's were open when they were, I think, drugged
I never said it was hard to follow. Just hard to believe.
Sure, my post was subjective. Just like yours was.
And I sure as hell don't want to watch Downton Abbey. Thank you!
Exactly.
Some of these folk come on a discussion forum and then proceed to sneer at anyone who doesn't happen to agree with them.
No, I know you never said it was hard to follow, but some did.
And I agree that it was hard to believe in part, eg the way the mayor killed the couple, and why he did it.
I'm not criticising your post for being subjective. As I said, we all like different things. That's what makes discussion interesting.
Out of 8760 hrs in a year it seems to be a small sacrifice. After all, it could have been the best 3 hrs of your life;)
In The Town I found no empathy with any of them and like a previous poster cannot believe why Phil Davis signed up to this (I also thought he might have a speaking part in a last episode flashback). What a waste of some good actors.
I ended up just watching the third episode to see whodunit.
Surprise, it was the biggest star left in it.
Have to agree with you Tellygirl.
One tip (for viewing future dramas/cop shows), the bloke/lady wot done it will always be the big name "star" actor who, up to the last ep/10 mins, has only had a peripheral role:p;);).
A bit of a cheat know, but, since the demise of good old Columbo who's technique was to ruthlessly persue the most unlikely character until revealed as the killer, a plot device used without deviation.:D:D