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Post by amanda on Aug 3, 2007 0:04:28 GMT 1
Hey Dave - I enjoyed reading everyone's opinions on the show! Here in the US it has caused quite a buzz. ABC has released some successful shows in the past few years including 'Ugly Betty' which nobody thought would do well, had ended up being a major success. I do hope that it's success will be continuous!!! (at least to a sucessful first season and perhaps a second!) There are so many television shows in the US, 'P.D' will have a lot of competition, not to mention the fall season is approaching when several already popular shows are going in to their second and third seasons. I think Anna and the rest of the cast has a hit on their hands I'm quite pleased to hear she's in LA filming at the moment! I'll be moving back in a few weeks, hope she doesn't mind the quote 'lovely' Los Angeles smog V_V (hope you are enjoying LA, Anna!)
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Post by joe17 on Aug 5, 2007 17:37:50 GMT 1
Expect a fair few of us have seen the whole of the first episode by now. Who is going to break the ice and offer the first review? Or is it going to be a case of 'After You, Claude'.....
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Post by davec on Aug 5, 2007 20:45:19 GMT 1
For anyone who's interested there are 6 short excerpts of Anna and Lee Pace being interviewed. Normal levels of high enthusiasm are shown by all abc.go.com/video/index
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Post by joe17 on Aug 5, 2007 23:20:42 GMT 1
For anyone who's interested there are 6 short excerpts of Anna and Lee Pace being interviewed. Normal levels of high enthusiasm are shown by all abc.go.com/video/indexCaught some nice snatches of 'Rochdalese' in there. Love a flat vowel. Does anyone out there really understand body language. I was trying to see what I could detect between Anna and LP....
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Post by gossipcom on Aug 6, 2007 1:29:56 GMT 1
Does anyone out there really understand body language. I was trying to see what I could detect between Anna and LP.... I guess it depends what you want to see/hear The body language I detected were that they had a very friendly banter and didn't have a problem being in each other's company (well that's the impression I got).
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Post by Dave on Aug 6, 2007 2:11:22 GMT 1
I got the feeling that they were friendly and get along - I doubt Anna would have planted the big smacker on Lee at the Q&A session the other day if they didnt !!
just seems like the usual "media interview" style ... it's a bit hard to detect body-language when the focus is towards interviewer...
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Post by davec on Aug 6, 2007 4:20:18 GMT 1
Joe, I loved Anna's more natural accent too. I thought she sounded like she was actually deliberately making a statement to the Yanks about her origins, either for personal reasons or because the producers think it will help with the hype.
As for body language, I thought it was interesting. For the most part I thought they were fine and comfortable together, but on a couple of clips Lee butted in while Anna was talking and I thought I detected some irritation from Anna - and I don't blame her!
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Post by joe17 on Aug 6, 2007 9:22:01 GMT 1
Wasn't trying to make some snidey point about them not getting along, just wondered what anyone else thought. It is clearly going to be important for the future of the show and for Anna's peace of mind at the very least. Maybe I was hinting at something else, I don't know...
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Post by joe17 on Aug 11, 2007 20:29:28 GMT 1
Having watched the show a couple of times now, am beginning to have doubts. Plot (such as it is) doesn't hold up to scrutiny; just because it is a fantasy doesn't mean you can get away with leaving gaping holes. Characters are mainly good, as is the dialogue, but I don't know.............. Maybe it's Anna's wardrobe!
Is everyone convinced by Anna's American accent?
What about the narration?
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Post by Dave on Aug 11, 2007 20:57:03 GMT 1
LOl joe, I think you're reading to much into an American mainstream series - I cant think of one that doesnt leave gaping holes which could have been filled in, if they had time to fit into a 40-42 minute episode... I remember watching The X-Files and thinking "what happenend there ??", or watching "Lost" and thinking "surely that was never there, how could they have missed that before?" etc etc...
I guess the limits of "artistic licence" get tugged and extended to their greatest amount for US TV series... having said that some UK series and shows are no better....
I'm not 100% in favour of Anna's wardrobe - think they need to make them a bit more glam or sexy without going over the top... her accent seems fine...in fact seems to be one of the surprising factors in a lot of the reviews I've read...
As for the "possible" recent dental work, obviously changed since Brookie but thats a while ago now . Having looked back at some recent and not-so-recent photos, cant see any change myself...... so I'll say "no" unless I see/hear any different....
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Post by joe17 on Aug 11, 2007 23:40:40 GMT 1
Feel a bit bad about the dental work reference. I've just remembered the awful problems she had during her pregnancy. Will strike it from the record.
Sure, if you look too closely, most plots will dissolve into a series of coincidences, frauds and writer's wishfulfilment. Strikes me though, that maybe 'P.D.' is going to cut corners on just that little bit too much. By all means set your fantasy drama in a parallel world (or worlds, as is hinted at here: twins, double named places etc) but certain plot elements have got to make some sort of narrative sense. You're saying that the show is fluff, should be watched as fluff and, if possible, enjoyed as fluff. In which case you're probably going to have to count me out, because I've a horrible feeling that there is not going to be enough in there to hold the attention past the first two or three episodes. Think that Anna and LP mooning at eachother with the cowiest of eyes may begin to grate after a while. Feel harsh saying this because there are a lot of things to like. The script is pretty sharp and there is a rapport between the principles. Really liked Chi McBride, top worldweariness, great comic timing. Having a lot of problems with the narrator. All that '28 years, 11 months, 23 days, 17 hours and 55 seconds' stuff...........And that kid who plays the young Ned, is he on heavy tranqs or under instruction to 'underplay'. (Why do they never cast young actors who look like the adult they are meant to grow into? And Young Chuck and Adult Chuck are not exactly two peas in a pod.)
I'm definitely conflicted. Maybe I should have agreed with davec all along. Maybe I just expected too much.
Oh, and don't bring up 'Lost', please Dave. Anyone could see that was garbage after about ten minutes. Talk about making it up as they went along.
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Post by gossipcom on Aug 12, 2007 0:59:56 GMT 1
Regarding her dental work she did make a comment in one of her interviews after she gave birth to Gracie that she wore braces so that could be an explanation of it. Well partial explanation.
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Post by joe17 on Aug 12, 2007 1:05:39 GMT 1
Laying to rest the dental stuff. I always preferred the old, pointy-toothed Anna. Didn't see the need for porcelain crowns.
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Post by joe17 on Aug 14, 2007 9:28:43 GMT 1
On Anna's accent etc. Guess what I'm trying to drive at concerns the type of stuff we got in that Cadwaladr piece in The Observer a few weeks back. Like a lot of media journos Ms C has Anna down as a bad'un. She went into that 'P.D.' screening wanting to hear Anna botch the American accent and that is exactly what she heard (at least in her own mind). Imagine Anna giving a truly great performance in a truly great film. (Go on, try!) You just know that Kermode, Tookey, Bradshaw et al would not give her even an ounce of credit. Likewise with TV , Shelley, Ross, Catchpole, Stephen, Gill etc will see in any (Anna) show exactly what they want to see. When 'P.D.' is screened on ITV1 sometime later this year these characters will not judge it objectively. Now while Hollywood works on box office and TV execs work on viewing figures (in deciding the success of a film/show), it is the critics who set the agenda for posterity. In America Anna is much more of an unknown quantity and it is more likely that she will get a fairer response from critics. (Perhaps.) Over here most critics have already made up their minds.
I've been nit-picking on 'P.D.' deliberately, having an argument with myself really; pondering how American 'quirk' (with Anna in it) is going to play on ITV1, though American audiences will ultimately decide the show's future. (Don't understand the mind of the average ITV viewer so haven't a hope of predicting what an American audience response might be.) Maybe I was disappointed that the show wasn't darker in tone and that, for all the talk of how much money they'd spent on the pilot, it didn't look as striking as I was expecting. Thought the CGI at the start was particularly duff, despite it's saturated colourfulness.
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Post by davec on Aug 20, 2007 21:17:17 GMT 1
Well I finally got round to watching the PD pilot over the weekend (thanks Dave) and I'm happy to put on my amateur TV reviewer hat and say what I thought. Firstly, this is absolute whimsical fantasy. There is no attempt at all to place this show in the real world with its brightly coloured sets and occasional slapstick farce moments. Thus the impossible and inconsistent central plot device of bringing the dead back to life is fine, as are the huge narrative gaps. If you want tightly crafted comic TV with incredibly well thought-out episodic stories then get the 'Fawlty Towers' DVDs. You must not have your logic button switched on while watching this! I liked the fast pace of the show and I liked how Mr Pace delivered some of his clever lines, and I thought the script was occasionally witty and mostly inoffensive. I generally disliked the narration, but understand it helps set the scene quickly giving a brief history that explains key issues around Ned's 'gift' and his relationship with Chuck that would otherwise take a long time to tell the audience. I absolutely hated the annoying gag about telling the exact age of characters, especially after the first time As for the characters, cast and the acting, I didn't think the show really gave the cast much opportunity to show their skills. This was for a number of reasons: Firstly, the narrator told the viewers all about the characters, even to the point of what they were feeling at key times. He even explained the bit when Ned and Chuck held their own hands in lieu of each others'. I hated this - surely we can hope the actors can adequately portray their feelings so the viewers can understand them without having it spelled out in words of one syllable Secondly, the show had lots of very short scenes, often edited quite sharply. While this helped move the show on apace, it doesn't allow the cast to really interact very much. Thirdly, it's quite a big cast for a 40 minute show and we never really got to see very much of any of them so the cast haven't yet been able to develop their characters past their most obvious stereotypical characteristics. For the main series I really hope they ditch the narration and let the cast tell the story through their acting. As far as future plots go, it's all tosh so they can be as wacky and unbelievable as they like - probably the wackier the better, and a musical episode will be fine as long as they lay off the toothy close-ups. I thought the cast were OK, subject to the caveats above, but I really couldn't warm to Kristin Chenoweth. Maybe I wasn't supposed to. Now for the crux as far as this forum is concerned - Anna Friel Well she was fine. The part is well within her scope as an actress and she seemed very comfortable, confident and competent. She looked pretty and what man on earth wouldn't bring her back from the dead if he could? Oh, and her accent - well that was OK, the few stray vowels caused no problem for me. I'd actually prefer her to do the show in Rochdalese, after all this is make believe Will it bring Anna a higher level of success? - well maybe on TV where some of us believe she is best suited. I can't imagine what she's being asked to do in this show particularly impressing a heavyweight Hollywood director or producer, though. That's my point of view. Others are very welcome to disagree. By the way, this type of show is not one I would ever dream of watching normally. Does it show?
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