Recommended Television Programmes

[Serial_Apologist]

I'm one episode behind but so far, jayne, you articulate my unease with this season - it's just all a bit less compelling than previous seasons, and I've been trying to figure out why. Despite the overall 'Is Hastings "H"?' story arc, the plot seems a lot more episodic, 'action thriller' style, than earlier stories - one of the strengths of Line of Duty used to be how it sustained the tension by (paradoxically, it might seem) following the methodology of the investigation, including the long 'official interview' scenes which had dramatic swings like a 5-set tennis match. In the current season, this seems to have been replaced by jumping from incident to incident - intelligence comes in, there's a quick 'sucking on diesel' scene in Ted's office, meaningful (and now rather clichéd) looks between Kate and Steve, then suddenly armed police are storming a building. I find my attention wandering.

Blimey!

I have yet to watch last night's episode.

[vinteuil]

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... I have given up on Line of Duty. Beyond silly. I 'spect Mme v will persevere.

We have recently re-watched Deutschland 83, having been a bit baffled by Deutschland 86 (we had forgotten how various of the minor characters all fitted in.)

Now that is excellent telly....


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[Richard Tarleton]

Why Gill Biggeloe not Jill Bigelow? There's a doctor called Jimmi in 'Doctors' and a nurse called Robyn in 'Casualty'. These names are only seen in subtitles or end credits so what's the point? Even sillier, 'The Archers' has the surnames Elliott, Pargetter and Phillips with unnecessary double letters, which are never seen unless you look them up specially. Crazy.

I wonder....just a suggestion....there's a mention in John Le Carré's biog of someone claiming JLC had based a character on him and causing all sorts of bother because the spelling was the same. JLC had never heard of this person, of course. Perhaps mixing up the spelling a bit, or using a non-existent spelling (Biggeloe) removes that possibility.

Nothing wrong with Phillips with 2 l's, though!

Carol Midgley also commented on the rubbish quality of Kate Fleming's lines in this series. Perhaps she'll be given a killer interview next week (feature length!).

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Carol Midgley also commented on the rubbish quality of Kate Fleming's lines in this series. Perhaps she'll be given a killer interview next week (feature length!).

... during which it'll come to light that her middle name is Harriet.

(The "mother sacrificing her home life for the job" scene should have been cut from last night - no benefit to anyone except those viewers who like to play Cliché Bingo during a drama.)

[LezLee]

Nothing wrong with Phillips or any of them, I just mean that when these are fictional names sounding the same as the basic one, and rarely seen written down there's no need to spell them differently.
I agree about Kate's lines, really noticeable. I'm also disappointed that Kate says 'haitch', which I suppose means Vicky McClure says it. Nobody's perfect. Ted does too, but I think all Northern Irish people do so I'll let him off.

[vinteuil]

I'm also disappointed that Kate says 'haitch', which I suppose means Vicky McClure says it. Nobody's perfect. Ted does too, but I think all Northern Irish people do so I'll let him off.

... I understood that in Northern Ireland, Catholics said haitch and Protestants aitch.


More worrying, surely, is that Hastings, a Catholic, is also (?) a Freemason. Shurely shome mishtake??

https://www.theguardian.com/science/shortcuts/2013/nov/04/letter-h-contentious-alphabet-history-alphabetical-rosen

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[Serial_Apologist]

... I understood that in Northern Ireland, Catholics said haitch and Protestants aitch.
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Or as we lefties say, Haitch for all, and all for haitch.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

More worrying, surely, is that Hastings, a Catholic, is also (?) a Freemason. Shurely shome mishtake??

Didn't stop Mozart!

[vinteuil]

Didn't stop Mozart!

... mmmnnnyesssbut

"The Catholic Church's current norm on Masonic associations is the 1983 Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith Declaration on Masonic associations. The 1983 CDF declaration states that Catholics "who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion." "

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_ban_of_Freemasonry

[LezLee]

Perhaps he's lapsed then

[eighthobstruction]

I'm one episode behind but so far, jayne, you articulate my unease with this season - it's just all a bit less compelling than previous seasons, and I've been trying to figure out why. Despite the overall 'Is Hastings "H"?' story arc, the plot seems a lot more episodic, 'action thriller' style, than earlier stories - one of the strengths of Line of Duty used to be how it sustained the tension by (paradoxically, it might seem) following the methodology of the investigation, including the long 'official interview' scenes which had dramatic swings like a 5-set tennis match. In the current season, this seems to have been replaced by jumping from incident to incident - intelligence comes in, there's a quick 'sucking on diesel' scene in Ted's office, meaningful (and now rather clichéd) looks between Kate and Steve, then suddenly armed police are storming a building. I find my attention wandering.

....I gave up after 10 minutes of episode 2....thought I could smell the twisted plots being groinched so far they had come off in their hands....twaddle....what a shame...

[Serial_Apologist]

....I gave up after 10 minutes of episode 2....thought I could smell the twisted plots being groinched so far they had come off in their hands....twaddle....what a shame...

To be fair, though, so was the plot line of Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy, but the acting was ace and it didn't stop the series from being pretty gripping.

[eighthobstruction]

....I gave up after 10 minutes of episode 2....thought I could smell the twisted plots being groinched so far they had come off in their hands....twaddle....what a shame...

....

....the biggest shame being that because I have lost faith in most detective/police/thriller/drama formats.....I have a great deal of time on my hands [twiddling] having to entertain myself in other ways....and since I have lost faith in nearly all things, by that time in the day I'm pretty tired [takes a lot of energy all this loosing faith in things]....still....hmmmmm....hey ho....

[DracoM]

Next week is a long'un, and much to unravel. Will be worth watching for all that.

[Stanfordian]

Next week is a long'un, and much to unravel. Will be worth watching for all that.

I'm enjoying the series, I have to say, and I'm looking forward to the finale.