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Close To The Enemy - New Stephen Poliakoff Drama On BBC 2 Tonight at 9pm |
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#101 |
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 942
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Quote:
You could bullshit for Britain.
![]() ![]() I think you may have a little bit of a chip on your shoulder. I mention a possible and perfectly feasible reason for the narrowing of the potential audience for this programme because someone had mentioned viewing figures a couple of post back. You get all butthurt and wade in as if you had been personally accused of being an idiot. Maybe chill out a little? |
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#102 |
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Join Date: Sep 2011
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Quote:
A classic comeback from someone who knows they are wrong but feels they have to have the last word.
![]() I think you may have a little bit of a chip on your shoulder. I mention a possible and perfectly feasible reason for the narrowing of the potential audience for this programme because someone had mentioned viewing figures a couple of post back. You get all butthurt and wade in as if you had been personally accused of being an idiot. Maybe chill out a little? So I suggest you take a chill pill and don't judge everyone based on a TV show. |
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#103 |
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 942
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Why on earth would I have a chip on my shoulder for pointing out you said people who don't enjoy this programme are dumb if they don't understand it.
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Usually someone who is losing the argument suggests the other poster has to have the last word.
That may be the usual case. In this instance it was because you made a basic logic error and when I explained that to you you seemed unable to come up with a substantive response - effectively resorting to name calling (i.e. bull-----er).Quote:
You must be incredibly egotistical if you think people are intellectually beneath you just because they don't like this show.
ROFLMAO.There you go again! You really don't understand the association fallacy you are perpetrating. Quote:
So I suggest you take a chill pill and don't judge everyone based on a TV show.
LOL (again)I don't need a chill pill, because I'm not the one getting my panties in a bunch. But I'm not going to withdraw a perfectly good explanation of low viewing figures; namely that the programme in question is not simple and easily understood, and hence many will not understand it and thus will not enjoy it. Are you seriously suggesting that absolutely everyone can understand absolutely every drama well enough to enjoy it? |
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#104 |
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Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: 🇬🇧
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Because you got you panties in a bunch and didn't comprehend that because some people who don't enjoy a programme are not intellectually equipped to understand it does not mean that everyone who does not enjoy it is dumb.
That may be the usual case. In this instance it was because you made a basic logic error and when I explained that to you you seemed unable to come up with a substantive response - effectively resorting to name calling (i.e. bull-----er). ROFLMAO. There you go again! You really don't understand the association fallacy you are perpetrating. LOL (again) I don't need a chill pill, because I'm not the one getting my panties in a bunch. But I'm not going to withdraw a perfectly good explanation of low viewing figures; namely that the programme in question is not simple and easily understood, and hence many will not understand it and thus will not enjoy it. Are you seriously suggesting that absolutely everyone can understand absolutely every drama well enough to enjoy it?
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#105 |
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Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 7,533
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It's quite clear Vetinari was not suggesting anyone who doesn't like the programme is stupid. S/he was merely suggesting that some would have switched off as the nuance/quiet depth/subtle complexity may either: not have sat well with them/been registered at all, or been registered as 'boring'. There's a reason it's on BBC2 (like all Poliakoff I believe) because his work is an acquired taste, and most unique.
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#106 |
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Join Date: Sep 2011
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Quote:
It's quite clear Vetinari was not suggesting anyone who doesn't like the programme is stupid. S/he was merely suggesting that some would have switched off as the nuance/quiet depth/subtle complexity may either: not have sat well with them/been registered at all, or been registered as 'boring'. There's a reason it's on BBC2 (like all Poliakoff I believe) because his work is an acquired taste, and most unique.
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#107 |
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Join Date: Aug 2009
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It certainly came across that way in their first post which other posters included myself picked up on. Then Vetinari backtracked and altered what they meant.
Phrases like "you could bullshit for Britain" though, amount to ad hominem and little else. Sorry. |
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#108 |
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Les Pays-Bas
Posts: 1,468
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Last night I only recorded this rather than watching it. It's been a bit dull in places and I can't stand the main character's Swiss Toni voice.
The other wartime drama on Sundays My Mother and Other Strangers is holding my attention better... |
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#109 |
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Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: London
Posts: 6
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Jim sturgess' head?
YESS Calum 's voice has been very Alan Whicker from Whicker's World from the start. Swiss Tony is also a good description! And why is his head constantly tilted to the right? (Camera right) . If he'd cricked his neck during filming then that'd be ok but I haven't been able to find anything about that. If he has a neck disability then I apologise- they've been quite creative about sitting him in a certain way or shooting him from a certain angle to cover it...
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#110 |
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: Richmond, Surrey.
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Yes. It's deceptively uncomplicated. Even the title, I suspect, has a double (maybe triple) meaning. Who exactly is "the enemy"? So many people seem to be fighting personal wars of their own, long after the conclusion of the main one over a year ago - as if to say that yes, they were victors but it sure doesn't feel it at times. Or yes, they were victors, but what exactly was it that they won?
I also love its mix of genres: spy, psychological, romance, social realism, thriller. I like how it evokes an eerie post-war paranoia that persisted in the immediate aftermath of the war. Its presence sits on the drama like a ghostly fog. I've even got used to Callum's accent. And his brother has grown on me. Most of all, I love that the writing and stories doesn't give me a clue how they might end. On the surface the acting appears almost amateurish, the characters have been drawn much larger than life. The debonair spy, the good-time girl, the villains who look to be out of central casing in the 1950's. Even the blues/jazz singer plays the part way OTT. To me that makes it all very dream-like. We know they are all very accomplished actors, so what is the writer trying to convey ? Add to that the beautifully filmed surroundings and extravagant set pieces, and the result is something quite unique. It is almost as if the actors are all playing a part within a part, nothing seems actually "real". But this also appears to be very intentional, so I'm left asking why ? |
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#111 |
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Join Date: Aug 2011
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I wanted to watch this it's usually the kind of thing I enjoy but I stopped watching halfway through the first episode because the lead actor's voice annoyed me so much it ruined the whole programme for me.
Don't know what that makes me!! |
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#112 |
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,237
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I had to laugh when Lindsay Duncan's character said, "You've come here unshaven!" Callum's designer stubble didn't really look any different from usual.
Lindsay Duncan's character was said to be "absolutely terrifying" but she didn't seem so at all. I would have thought it was a problem with the director not understanding what the writer wanted, but it is written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff. |
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#113 |
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,237
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Oh, and wouldn't they have burned those files instead of throwing them out to be collected by the dustmen? Seemed very contrived.
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#114 |
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 1,433
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Oh, and wouldn't they have burned those files instead of throwing them out to be collected by the dustmen? Seemed very contrived.
Also there were some healthy looking onions on that dump site - surely during rationing some use would have been made. Freddie Highmore is not good in this at all. Maybe the whole child to adult actor bit not working out for him. |
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#115 |
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,237
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I'm wondering whether Alfred Molina's character actually planted that document in the Foreign Office files and wanted to set things up so that Callum would be seen to find it there, and that he got upset about Callum ripping it out of the file and bringing it to him because it ruined his plan as anyone who sees the document will think it is a fake now.
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#116 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 37,019
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Quote:
It is almost as if the actors are all playing a part within a part, nothing seems actually "real". But this also appears to be very intentional, so I'm left asking why ?
I don't think being writer/director suits him and on the basis of this flabby seven parter it's clear that a stronger commissioning hand at the Beeb would also benefit the work. Is he too much of a name now to accept or even be offered constructive criticism? Is the small-screen Kubrick too readily inhabiting the Emperor's new cast-offs? |
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#117 |
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,237
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This latest twist about what was in the files about Dieter means that Callum's original task - to persuade him to work for the British by being nice to him - was completely unnecessary, as all they had to do was threaten him with prosecution for his crimes if he didn't work for us. Or are we supposed to think that nobody knew how to look through files till now?
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#118 |
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: North-West England
Posts: 25,847
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This has had its moments, but I'm not over-impressed.
But I was, with the original Art Deco styled Wurlitzer 1015 jukebox from 1946, they installed in the basement. I like it when they get such aspects of the production values right. Sometimes they are "wrong" for the year. "A thing of beauty," to its many contemporary admirers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUaYy4ds2OE |
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#119 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 3,464
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Quote:
YESS Calum 's voice has been very Alan Whicker from Whicker's World from the start. Swiss Tony is also a good description! And why is his head constantly tilted to the right? (Camera right) . If he'd cricked his neck during filming then that'd be ok but I haven't been able to find anything about that. If he has a neck disability then I apologise- they've been quite creative about sitting him in a certain way or shooting him from a certain angle to cover it...
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#120 |
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: Essex/ex NW London
Posts: 1,410
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Recorded all episodes but not watched until today. For whatever reason I can't be bothered to fathom, it doesn't hold my interest, even though some of the actors and actresses are the reason I wanted to watch in the first place (plus I do like a good spy story). Anyway 3/4 way through I deleted the lot. I now openly admit I must be dumb.
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#121 |
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Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: 🇬🇧
Posts: 60,766
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Quote:
Recorded all episodes but not watched until today. For whatever reason I can't be bothered to fathom, it doesn't hold my interest, even though some of the actors and actresses are the reason I wanted to watch in the first place (plus I do like a good spy story). Anyway 3/4 way through I deleted the lot. I now openly admit I must be dumb.
![]() Be careful or you'll be told to stick with X Factor and TOWIE next.
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#122 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Les Pays-Bas
Posts: 1,468
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Quote:
This has had its moments, but I'm not over-impressed.
But I was, with the original Art Deco styled Wurlitzer 1015 jukebox from 1946, they installed in the basement. I like it when they get such aspects of the production values right. Sometimes they are "wrong" for the year. "A thing of beauty," to its many contemporary admirers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUaYy4ds2OE |
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#123 |
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: North-West England
Posts: 25,847
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Quote:
That certainly is a beauty. There used to be one of these (in not quite as good condition) standing in the Corn Exchange market in Manchester prior to the IRA bomb. What happened to it I have no idea.
The Wurly replica was the "One More Time." Which is a possible candidate. This was a 1987 version that played 45s. (a similar one that played CDs, came out in 1993). Now both no longer made. http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/...psgm2480gg.jpg If you're interested and live locally have a look in Arighi Bianchi the up-market furniture shop in Macclesfield. The owner is an enthusiast and has at least four classic jukeboxes on permanent display set on "free play," for the husbands of female customers to use, while they sell them new furniture. Last time we were in there, (spending a fortune) I took photos of three of them, all classics and all completely restored, Rock-Ola, Ami, Wurlitzer. Worth collectively well over £20,000. http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/...psyq25llje.jpg |
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#124 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 37,019
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RT preview/review hacked off with this too for at least the last couple of weeks. Quote:
...Poliakoff's painful drama inches towards a close. So much of this drama is laughable or annoying...
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So what have the past seven weeks been about? No idea. Tiresome, certainly.
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#125 |
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Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 915
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Quote:
RT preview/review hacked off with this too for at least the last couple of weeks.
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