I cannot understand why the vastly superior ending from Phillipa Gregory's excellent book was not shown in this tv adaptation.
Maybe the writer thought he could do better, but considering it was the same writer who created the ITV six part garbage that was Identity, if topping the book ending was his goal then just like Identity it was yet another massive fail.
I've Sky+'d this and was going to watch it in one sitting.... but not sure I will now I've read that they've changed the ending from the book (which I've read). Why would they do that? Ruined it :mad:
Would you mind putting it down (in spoilers)? Would love to know what the book ending was..
It's been a few years since I've read the book, but from what I remember
Ruth set up the murder of Elizabeth so that she could take over control of Patrick and the house, and Thomas too of course. It was literally a matter of life and death - in the book it felt as if Ruth would commit suicide but instead she murdered her MIL and made it look like an accident.
The tv adaptation just rushed it a bit. I also recall that Fiona didn't really have a story in the book either, so the tv adaptation didn't really leave anything out there much.
I don't really remember the book very well - just how much I hated the character of Patrick. He came over better on tv. in the book he was a bully and loved himself.
It's been a few years since I've read the book, but from what I remember
Ruth set up the murder of Elizabeth so that she could take over control of Patrick and the house, and Thomas too of course. It was literally a matter of life and death - in the book it felt as if Ruth would commit suicide but instead she murdered her MIL and made it look like an accident.
The tv adaptation just rushed it a bit. I also recall that Fiona didn't really have a story in the book either, so the tv adaptation didn't really leave anything out there much.
I don't really remember the book very well - just how much I hated the character of Patrick. He came over better on tv. in the book he was a bully and loved himself.
Thanks Bambi:)
That to me gives a lot more depth to the final scenes, much less ambiguous as well
I thought it was good, if a bit unexplained. I was surprised you forumers didn't slate it for a "predictable ending", I had a feeling one of them would die to conclude the story, and as soon as they left the bedroom onto that balcony it was pretty obvious to me one of them was going over. Some niggles:
-Why were the male teacher and Fiona brought into it if they were never to be explained?
-How was the mother's death explained? And why was the picture of her and the dog beside her? Is it seriously true that they would have believed she'd "jumped over because she was upset the dog had died"?
-What was the business with the headscarf? Why was Ruth so shocked that Elizabeth was wearing a beige headscarf, because when she'd seen her "mother", she was wearing a red gingham one...
-Why (eww) was the mother sniffing the bed sheets!? This really shocked me, were we meant to believe the whole point was that the mother was in love with her son and she only wanted Ruth out of the way so they could be "together"?
And what was the ending about?! Ruth going cold, was this meant to mean she was possessed by the dead MIL, or she was in fact the mad one all along, or she was just a bitch?
I'm probably reading too much into this, but if (particularly the last two) questions could be explained, I'd be grateful
I thought it was good, if a bit unexplained. I was surprised you forumers didn't slate it for a "predictable ending", I had a feeling one of them would die to conclude the story, and as soon as they left the bedroom onto that balcony it was pretty obvious to me one of them was going over. Some niggles:
-Why were the male teacher and Fiona brought into it if they were never to be explained?
-How was the mother's death explained? And why was the picture of her and the dog beside her? Is it seriously true that they would have believed she'd "jumped over because she was upset the dog had died"?
-What was the business with the headscarf? Why was Ruth so shocked that Elizabeth was wearing a beige headscarf, because when she'd seen her "mother", she was wearing a red gingham one...
-Why (eww) was the mother sniffing the bed sheets!? This really shocked me, were we meant to believe the whole point was that the mother was in love with her son and she only wanted Ruth out of the way so they could be "together"?
And what was the ending about?! Ruth going cold, was this meant to mean she was possessed by the dead MIL, or she was in fact the mad one all along, or she was just a bitch?
I'm probably reading too much into this, but if (particularly the last two) questions could be explained, I'd be grateful
According to one of the ITV spoiler thingys, she was thought to have been retrieving a picture of the dog, and fell over or lost her balance. Or something
That to me gives a lot more depth to the final scenes, much less ambiguous as well
Also Devon I also read into it that the character of Patrick was so horrible in the book that we were meant to get some satisfaction from the conclusion that he essentially married his mother lol. I think the book made it clearer that the MIL was the one who was doing all the bad things. The tv prog didn't make that so clear.
I thought it was very good actually. It was an incredibly simple, but effective story, mainly because the acting and writing were both above par (for ITV) and like the best stories/thrillers, it played on a genuine fear - in this case, the dreaded MOTHER IN LAW! :eek:
I mean, lets be honest, who hasn't, at one time or another, wanted to push their mother in law over a banister?:D
Thats why it worked.
Mine wasn't as manipulative and sociopathic as this one, but she tried her hardest. I wondered if my MIL's other daughter in law MIL's was watching also.......:rolleyes::eek:
Also Devon I also read into it that the character of Patrick was so horrible in the book that we were meant to get some satisfaction from the conclusion that he essentially married his mother lol. I think the book made it clearer that the MIL was the one who was doing all the bad things. The tv prog didn't make that so clear.
(Not having read the book) - I thought Patrick came across as a manipulator like his mother. He got wifey a little tiddly and seduced her in the toilets to get her pregnant - she was his baby machine.
The FIL was manipulated by his wife and son (inasmuch as they influenced his opinion) and he was just as unlikeable.
The three of them shut wifey out and she didn't impose herself on them as she should have done.
I thought it was good, if a bit unexplained. I was surprised you forumers didn't slate it for a "predictable ending", I had a feeling one of them would die to conclude the story, and as soon as they left the bedroom onto that balcony it was pretty obvious to me one of them was going over. Some niggles:
-Why were the male teacher and Fiona brought into it if they were never to be explained?
-How was the mother's death explained? And why was the picture of her and the dog beside her? Is it seriously true that they would have believed she'd "jumped over because she was upset the dog had died"?
-What was the business with the headscarf? Why was Ruth so shocked that Elizabeth was wearing a beige headscarf, because when she'd seen her "mother", she was wearing a red gingham one...
-Why (eww) was the mother sniffing the bed sheets!? This really shocked me, were we meant to believe the whole point was that the mother was in love with her son and she only wanted Ruth out of the way so they could be "together"?
And what was the ending about?! Ruth going cold, was this meant to mean she was possessed by the dead MIL, or she was in fact the mad one all along, or she was just a bitch?
I'm probably reading too much into this, but if (particularly the last two) questions could be explained, I'd be grateful
OK, lets see.
1. They were just friends. There was nothing to explain beyond what we saw.
2. An accident, I assume.
3. The significance of the headscarf was that Ruth realised it had been her MIL who she saw in the woods in part one - Not a vision of her departed mother, as she thought at the time.
4. I assume MIL sniffed the sheets to try and confirm whether her son and DIL had been to bed. She wanted rid of DIL, so obviously if they were sneaking back to Little House to have sex her plan wouldn't have been going too well.;) I don't think there was meant to be an incestuous undercurrent to their relationship. MIL was more about control than perverted desire, I think.
5. Ruth was enjoying her triumph over her ghastly MIL. She was also happily slipping into the role of the family matriach, which possibly hints that in time she may have become a (hopefully less evil) domineering MIL herself. As many women ultimately do.
I thought it was good, if a bit unexplained. I was surprised you forumers didn't slate it for a "predictable ending", I had a feeling one of them would die to conclude the story, and as soon as they left the bedroom onto that balcony it was pretty obvious to me one of them was going over. Some niggles:
-Why were the male teacher and Fiona brought into it if they were never to be explained?
-How was the mother's death explained? And why was the picture of her and the dog beside her? Is it seriously true that they would have believed she'd "jumped over because she was upset the dog had died"?
-What was the business with the headscarf? Why was Ruth so shocked that Elizabeth was wearing a beige headscarf, because when she'd seen her "mother", she was wearing a red gingham one...
-Why (eww) was the mother sniffing the bed sheets!? This really shocked me, were we meant to believe the whole point was that the mother was in love with her son and she only wanted Ruth out of the way so they could be "together"?
And what was the ending about?! Ruth going cold, was this meant to mean she was possessed by the dead MIL, or she was in fact the mad one all along, or she was just a bitch?
I'm probably reading too much into this, but if (particularly the last two) questions could be explained, I'd be grateful
I'm not sure but this is how I saw things:
The male teacher didn't need explaining as such, he was just in it as a link to Ruth's 'normal' life before the baby came along and everything turned weird in her life. He was just someone for her to talk things through with other than her husband and his nutty family and to give us a better idea that Ruth wasn't a 'fruitcake'..that someone who'd known her a long time believed she was a normal person.
The MIL's death I thought Ruth cleverly chucked the photo with the dog on it next to her body to make her husband and FIL presume the MIL was reaching for the photo and just fell.
I think Ruth was shocked when she saw the MIL wearing a headscarf because she (and we) hadn't seen her wearing one before and it made her suspicions that it was the MIL posing as her mother that day in the woods even more real...it may have been a different head scarf but the MIL happened to be wearing the scarf in the exact same style as the lady 'mother' in the woods.
The sheet sniffing I took as the MIL wanting to know for sure if her son and Ruth were getting things back on track so to speak, she knew it would be more difficult to get rid of Ruth if her son and Ruth were in the 'loving spirit' (lol) as it would mean her son saw Ruth in the same way as when they fell in love I guess.
I thought the ending wasn't particulary Ruth going cold, more a woman who'd been through so much finally knowing everything was going to be ok as the evil MIL was out of the way...such relief. She could finally have a happy family life with her husband and child without being in fear of losing everything and her life being out of her control. I think she'd got to the point that she wasn't taking anymore crap from anyone, the MIL did things to make her feel like a nutter, but she knew all along she wasn't a nutter and those who didn't believe her (husband/FIL) where going to be doing things her way from now on and she was standing up for herself finally being able to speak/assert herself without being talked down.
Well that's how I saw things, the only thing I am confused about is Fiona...I have no clue what that was all about and wished they'd expanded on that part of the storyline.
EDIT: Just noticed David Wright above beat me to posting..seems we had similar conclusions to the sinister goings on!
A bit boring to be honest. I didn't know it was adapted by the same writer who did Identity. I haven't read the book so don't know the original ending. I found the story a bit too predictable with the whole "evil mother-in-law" thing going on.
The dog dying was plot device to show that MIL had drugged the chocolate moose and was now at a level where she was even willing to kill her DIL to get rid of her.
- not at all surprised it comfortably beat tired old Spooks.
Depends on your defnition of 'won' is. In the Key demo ABC1s Spooks won by a large margin-[50%].
Overall viewers don't count much to ITV. Remember Heartbeat was still able to get 6m viewers when it was axed but it's audience demographics were unattractive to advertisers.
Comments
Maybe the writer thought he could do better, but considering it was the same writer who created the ITV six part garbage that was Identity, if topping the book ending was his goal then just like Identity it was yet another massive fail.
Would you mind putting it down (in spoilers)? Would love to know what the book ending was..
Could it be that ITV 9pm dramas have acquired a reputation for being poorly produced that many viewers expected it to be rubbish so didn't bother ?
It's been a few years since I've read the book, but from what I remember
I don't really remember the book very well - just how much I hated the character of Patrick. He came over better on tv. in the book he was a bully and loved himself.
Thanks Bambi:)
That to me gives a lot more depth to the final scenes, much less ambiguous as well
-Why were the male teacher and Fiona brought into it if they were never to be explained?
-How was the mother's death explained? And why was the picture of her and the dog beside her? Is it seriously true that they would have believed she'd "jumped over because she was upset the dog had died"?
-What was the business with the headscarf? Why was Ruth so shocked that Elizabeth was wearing a beige headscarf, because when she'd seen her "mother", she was wearing a red gingham one...
-Why (eww) was the mother sniffing the bed sheets!? This really shocked me, were we meant to believe the whole point was that the mother was in love with her son and she only wanted Ruth out of the way so they could be "together"?
And what was the ending about?! Ruth going cold, was this meant to mean she was possessed by the dead MIL, or she was in fact the mad one all along, or she was just a bitch?
I'm probably reading too much into this, but if (particularly the last two) questions could be explained, I'd be grateful
According to one of the ITV spoiler thingys, she was thought to have been retrieving a picture of the dog, and fell over or lost her balance. Or something
Mine wasn't as manipulative and sociopathic as this one, but she tried her hardest. I wondered if my MIL's other daughter in law MIL's was watching also.......:rolleyes::eek:
(Not having read the book) - I thought Patrick came across as a manipulator like his mother. He got wifey a little tiddly and seduced her in the toilets to get her pregnant - she was his baby machine.
The FIL was manipulated by his wife and son (inasmuch as they influenced his opinion) and he was just as unlikeable.
The three of them shut wifey out and she didn't impose herself on them as she should have done.
What was the ending in the book? The ending left me a bit puzzled and not impressed at all, all seemed a bit obvious?
I was expecting the daugher in law to actually be mad and the mil was just trying to protect her son and grandson...
OK, lets see.
1. They were just friends. There was nothing to explain beyond what we saw.
2. An accident, I assume.
3. The significance of the headscarf was that Ruth realised it had been her MIL who she saw in the woods in part one - Not a vision of her departed mother, as she thought at the time.
4. I assume MIL sniffed the sheets to try and confirm whether her son and DIL had been to bed. She wanted rid of DIL, so obviously if they were sneaking back to Little House to have sex her plan wouldn't have been going too well.;) I don't think there was meant to be an incestuous undercurrent to their relationship. MIL was more about control than perverted desire, I think.
5. Ruth was enjoying her triumph over her ghastly MIL. She was also happily slipping into the role of the family matriach, which possibly hints that in time she may have become a (hopefully less evil) domineering MIL herself. As many women ultimately do.
I'm not sure but this is how I saw things:
The male teacher didn't need explaining as such, he was just in it as a link to Ruth's 'normal' life before the baby came along and everything turned weird in her life. He was just someone for her to talk things through with other than her husband and his nutty family and to give us a better idea that Ruth wasn't a 'fruitcake'..that someone who'd known her a long time believed she was a normal person.
The MIL's death I thought Ruth cleverly chucked the photo with the dog on it next to her body to make her husband and FIL presume the MIL was reaching for the photo and just fell.
I think Ruth was shocked when she saw the MIL wearing a headscarf because she (and we) hadn't seen her wearing one before and it made her suspicions that it was the MIL posing as her mother that day in the woods even more real...it may have been a different head scarf but the MIL happened to be wearing the scarf in the exact same style as the lady 'mother' in the woods.
The sheet sniffing I took as the MIL wanting to know for sure if her son and Ruth were getting things back on track so to speak, she knew it would be more difficult to get rid of Ruth if her son and Ruth were in the 'loving spirit' (lol) as it would mean her son saw Ruth in the same way as when they fell in love I guess.
I thought the ending wasn't particulary Ruth going cold, more a woman who'd been through so much finally knowing everything was going to be ok as the evil MIL was out of the way...such relief. She could finally have a happy family life with her husband and child without being in fear of losing everything and her life being out of her control. I think she'd got to the point that she wasn't taking anymore crap from anyone, the MIL did things to make her feel like a nutter, but she knew all along she wasn't a nutter and those who didn't believe her (husband/FIL) where going to be doing things her way from now on and she was standing up for herself finally being able to speak/assert herself without being talked down.
Well that's how I saw things, the only thing I am confused about is Fiona...I have no clue what that was all about and wished they'd expanded on that part of the storyline.
EDIT: Just noticed David Wright above beat me to posting..seems we had similar conclusions to the sinister goings on!
Pet dogs/cats and bunnies always die in TV progs and films for some reason. It's always part of the plot. I could write these things myself! :yawn:
Depends on your defnition of 'won' is. In the Key demo ABC1s Spooks won by a large margin-[50%].
Overall viewers don't count much to ITV. Remember Heartbeat was still able to get 6m viewers when it was axed but it's audience demographics were unattractive to advertisers.
Sky subscribers can watch episodes on weekdays on Sky Arts 2 (channel 245)