[miss buzzybee]

Was going to watch pt2 on iPlayer but oh dear sexy Harry Silent Witness is on Alibi now!!

[DavetheScot]

Originally Posted by saralund

There was something very odd about the last five minutes. We went from the slow buildup of Sharon Small meeting her daughter (or is it 'daughter'), and the meal with the gift of the bracelet...to suddenly someone combing the Thames shingle, Sharon Small having DNA taken and the girl's body being found. It was about the most action we'd seen since the start, but treated as if it was a mood moment, with the slow doomy music robbing it of any pace. Very strange. I actually wondered if I'd missed a link, and we were being shown the 'Next Time in Silent Witness' bit at the end.

The pre-credits bit in part 1 was also really odd. Didn't like it - too self-consciously "clever".

I think it was a bit of a shame we didn't get the pay-off of seeing the loathesome Michael arrested.

I don't mind Harry being gone. As long as Nikki remains, I'm happy!

[saralund]

Originally Posted by DavetheScot

The pre-credits bit in part 1 was also really odd. Didn't like it - too self-consciously "clever".

Yes, a lot of it IS self-consciously clever, Lots of smartarse dialogue, handheld camera shots and 'I want to make this look like a Bourne film' editing.

Different team, I guess.

[Jo09]

Deleted post.

[davidseven]

Originally Posted by saralund

Yes, a lot of it IS self-consciously clever, Lots of smartarse dialogue, handheld camera shots and 'I want to make this look like a Bourne film' editing.

Different team, I guess.

Ah! I was going to ask if they had taken on some of the talent free, from Kudos? Smartarse dialogue, chroma shifting, people talking over each other, soft focus for no discernible reason in some shots, close ups so close that the camera has to be moved around to keep only half of the head in shot at any one time, using a cameraman suffering from chronic alcohol withdrawal given the amount of tremor.

What were they thinking? All a bit pathetic and rather embarrassing to anyone having watched any Scandinavian drama on BBC4 recently.

[Sue_Aitch]

Really liking Liz Carr's character, Clarissa.

[gilesb]

While I did enjoy the two episodes I thought the end was really rushed and poorly explained. It never did explain how Deanna ended up in the drain "she woke up here and panicked".... But how did she get there? I assume Michael put her there?

Also what was the purpose if the union guy?

Furthermore it was pretty signposted that Michale was the killer, for one he was the only smoker and smokers are always evil!

Just seem a bit garbled and they made massive leaps connecting elements out of nowhere!

Hope it gets better.

Additionally is this new pathologist an actual killer? The guy he elbowed at the start of episode 1 looked pretty dead and then he took the cop down the drain and he said he was going to beat him up..... Really?!?!?

[holly berry]

That's the trouble with Brit tv dramas - they overdose on over-the-top backstories that are all about upping the tension rather than developing our understanding of a character's motivation. It will be interesting to see how Jack and Clarissa pan out.

[Sue_Aitch]

Good article on http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ouch/2013...on_become.html

[valkay]

I didn't understand the last 5 minutes, mind I was dozing off by then, when the pathologist said she had checked the DNA data base and found her real daughter, was she in a home? and why would the daughters DNA be on the data base unless she had a criminal record.?

[bilsheene]

Originally Posted by bookaddict

I like the new guy, David Caves. I saw him on stage at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre last year, in The Taming of the Shrew. He was excellent - I'm looking forward to seeing what his character does in Silent Witness.

He wil not be loooking at "victims of accidents, heart attacks, natural causes, etc" as they "are stacked in the chill cabinets while the pathologists are off solving crimes." (gurney-slade above)

[DavetheScot]

Originally Posted by gilesb

While I did enjoy the two episodes I thought the end was really rushed and poorly explained. It never did explain how Deanna ended up in the drain "she woke up here and panicked".... But how did she get there? I assume Michael put her there?

Also what was the purpose if the union guy?

Furthermore it was pretty signposted that Michale was the killer, for one he was the only smoker and smokers are always evil!

Just seem a bit garbled and they made massive leaps connecting elements out of nowhere!

Hope it gets better.

Additionally is this new pathologist an actual killer? The guy he elbowed at the start of episode 1 looked pretty dead and then he took the cop down the drain and he said he was going to beat him up..... Really?!?!?

Michael killed Deanna; they found parts of her on his car. What was never really explained was why. I assume Michael was behind Deanna in her impersonation of the missing granddaughter, but it was never clear why; was it just to get money out the grandfather? Obviously after his death Michael wanted her to disappear and she wasn't playing ball, but what was her motivation and why did it matter so much to Michael that he was willing to kill her? A very poor job of explaining IMO. Similarly, we know Schwartzman killed Annette due to the rash on his arms from the pesticides in the field where she was killed, but it was never explained why.

[lammtarra]

Jack the new forensic scientist seems to have sociopathic tendencies, judging by the way he steamrollers the police, and also Leo into employing Clarissa.

As for Jack's moonlighting as a cagefighter, I bet the producers were spitting tacks when they realised Ripper Street beat them to it by a fortnight.

[malcy30]

Originally Posted by valkay

I didn't understand the last 5 minutes, mind I was dozing off by then, when the pathologist said she had checked the DNA data base and found her real daughter, was she in a home? and why would the daughters DNA be on the data base unless she had a criminal record.?

Yes the real daughter was in a residential care home. Looked as if she was supposed to have something like Downs Syndrome. They made a comment the adoptive parents handed her back when they discovered she was not "perfect".

Did not explain how her DNA was on the police national database.

[Killary45]

Originally Posted by lammtarra

As for Jack's moonlighting as a cagefighter, I bet the producers were spitting tacks when they realised Ripper Street beat them to it by a fortnight.

Perhaps both writers have seen the Robert Downey Jr Sherlock Holmes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOS9R0PcQyQ

[Sam Solitude]

Originally Posted by Sue_Aitch

Really liking Liz Carr's character, Clarissa.

I'm not really warming to her,despite her disabililty.
I kept getting 'scare-shocks' everytime Clarissa appeared.

[mills705]

I enjoyed it- I think they have brought the forensic guy in to make if more realistic. You always used to have the pathologists do DNA etc which wouldn't happen In real life.
Are the two new people good? Or is there some sinister undertone? When ebtook her outside it appeared that he was warning her to behave so thy they could get in?

[Philip_Andrews]

Originally Posted by Sam Solitude

I'm not really warming to her,despite her disabililty.
I kept getting 'scare-shocks' everytime Clarissa appeared.

I'm going to be very PiC here. SW has been getting too dark, grim and PC for me for some time now. I've watched it as a great fan of the team, the team made the rest worth putting up with. For me Tom Ward as Harry was an English gent. I really liked his charcter, could identify with him completely. I love Emilia Fox as Nikki and Willioam Gaminara as Leo also.

Now Tom is gone. Dire. The gentleness and charm and old fashionedness of Harry is no more. Instead we have a guy who attacks like a human pit bull. OK I exagerate but he is so far from Harry as to be off the planet. Who ever heard of a medical person who fights like a pit bull for relaxation?

Then the assistamt. I'm disabled so I have to deal with it every day. I don't want disability as PC shoved down my throat on TV. TV is supposed to entertain, not become a PC assault course. I want to see normal people on TV. People who can make me smile, laugh and enjoy the programme.

SW has become everything opposite to this. I only watch now for Emilia and Willoiam. The programme had them both repeating 'move on' 'change is good'. Well damn the scripwriters for shoving that down our thrtoats too. But if it gets any darker I may just abandon it altogether. They are taking it down a wrong road. He is just too aggrasive, she in the wheelchair I just don't like period in or out of a wheelchair. The wheelchair actually makes no difference. It merely represents 'conformity to the Religion of PC'. Its all an encumbrance to 'enjoyment'...?

First they destroyed New Tricks, now they doing the same to SW. I think I'll stick to DVDs and episodes of Inspector Montalbano. Theres a normal human being, and Italian man and very funny and enjoyable to watch. At least we'll also have some Foyles War to watch soon. Lets hope they won't make a modernist merss of that.

I'm 57 and grumpy and crochety about the 'PC' modern and that's my 2 cents for what they are worth.

[valkay]

[QUOTE=Philip_

Then the assistamt. I'm disabled so I have to deal with it every day. I don't want disability as PC shoved down my throat on TV. TV is supposed to entertain, not become a PC assault course. I want to see normal people on TV. People who can make me smile, laugh and enjoy the programme.


I thought so too, they have a black detective and a disabled assistant, trying too hard to be P.C and tick all the boxes, is there a gay one?

[miss buzzybee]

I thought it was not too bad. Don't see what the hoohah is about having a black detective and a disabled assistant - this is set in London I think and we have moved on from such things!.

This weeks episode looks interesting, Gary Linkaker's Mrs is in it!?. I do still miss Harry though, funnily enough the old SW on Alibi last week was the one where they had just lost Sam and were going through change with Harry and Leo going for promotion.

[NaturalDancer]

Originally Posted by valkay

I didn't understand the last 5 minutes, mind I was dozing off by then, when the pathologist said she had checked the DNA data base and found her real daughter, was she in a home? and why would the daughters DNA be on the data base unless she had a criminal record.?

That's what I was going to ask. Nikki say she's checked the database - what of the whole country??? and Sharon's daughter happened to be on the one she checked, which one would that be? Can anyone explain? I thought I'd missed something.

[Jo09]

Originally Posted by NaturalDancer

That's what I was going to ask. Nikki say she's checked the database - what of the whole country??? and Sharon's daughter happened to be on the one she checked, which one would that be? Can anyone explain? I thought I'd missed something.

Adoption database?

[Jo09]

Originally Posted by miss buzzybee

I thought it was not too bad. Don't see what the hoohah is about having a black detective and a disabled assistant - this is set in London I think and we have moved on from such things!.

This weeks episode looks interesting, Gary Linkaker's Mrs is in it!?. I do still miss Harry though, funnily enough the old SW on Alibi last week was the one where they had just lost Sam and were going through change with Harry and Leo going for promotion.

Wasn't the detective asian?

[Philip_Andrews]

Originally Posted by miss buzzybee

I thought it was not too bad. Don't see what the hoohah is about having a black detective and a disabled assistant - this is set in London I think and we have moved on from such things!.

This weeks episode looks interesting, Gary Linkaker's Mrs is in it!?. I do still miss Harry though, funnily enough the old SW on Alibi last week was the one where they had just lost Sam and were going through change with Harry and Leo going for promotion.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that it's becoming both 'dark and grim' and PC. If it were as in the beginning lighter and more humourous and PC, or a balance of darker and grimmer with lightr and more humourous it would be more enjoyable for me. The humour is becoming darker. The scene set up (lighting) is becoming darker. The background (patholgy scrambling for funds) is becoming darker. Its becoming more of a Marxian commentary on social/socialist realism than 'merely' entertainment.

One episode around a prison based story last series was so violent the BBC got 500+ complaints. One of the producers said they wanted the story lines to be 'challenging'... What is this an entertainment or a College degree in social commentary?

I want actors I can enjoy looking at and listening to, lots of humour, interaction of the personal variety, charm, gentleness (they say David Caves charachter adds 'testosterone' to the series; What?! No, thanks) intelligence and a well lit story line that makes me come out smiling inwardkly. Bash me on the head with PC, and testosterone, overanalyse everything with all the PC boxes ticked, and I'll happily walk away and find Tom Ward and Emilia Fox somewhere else, ptobably on DVD. Then I'll watch old TV series and old movies and stuff the modern.

End of my story, sorry for banging on...

[PrinceOfDenmark]

Just catching up with this now, and I'm finding the camera work is making it almost unwatchable