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Classic UK TV
“Not exactly Raffles, is it?”: Watching Tenko
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<blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 226706" data-attributes="member: 23"><p><span style="font-size: 18px"><u>Series Two</u></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>Parts Nine and Ten</strong></span></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Well, Series Two has done a nice job of adding layers to the original story and the world in which the characters exist. The new setting, new characters and arguably more complex situations have made this feel like what it is: a quality sequel to a near perfect series that is difficult to improve. Whether it has improved on the first year is debatable, but the fact has been that it’s remained as consistently watchable and of a standard that’s practically on par with the first. In some respects it’s an improvement: one only has to look at Joss to see how the casting and writing is as strong as ever. I did miss the relative simplicity of the first series, but do appreciate the changes made were to expand the story in a way that feels authentic. And it’s all felt so seamless that there’s no real division for me between the two series. It’s just one big story. </p><p></p><p>Even more than the first year, I have to applaud Series Two for its risk-taking in making changes. We’ve had the temporary character absences of Blanche, Christina and Yamauchi, and the more permanently absent Nellie, as well as the departures of Sister Ulrica, Dr Trier, Lillian and Bobby. </p><p></p><p>Bolder still are the main characters who’ve died for the sake of the story. Series One had just one main character dying onscreen. Series Two has killed off Sylvia and Bernard offscreen. And onscreen we’ve had the deaths of Debbie, Sally and Rose, as well as Miss Hasan and Shinya. At this point, I feel there’s nobody on the series that couldn’t be killed (with the probable exception of Marion who frequently seems to be held in higher esteem than other characters by the writers). </p><p></p><p>Rose’s exit from the series was very poignant. Somehow, that haircut seemed very symbolic. Rather like Aslan’s mane being shorn before he was killed in <em>The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.</em> </p><p></p><p>As with her tortured scream an episode or two before, Stephanie Beacham let out a horrifically pained sound on learning of Bernard’s death. Her stage background shone through. The reality of Rose’s condition was very powerful indeed, with the references to her stinking infected sores that could lead to gangrene, and the incontinence. There was no mistaking how much emotional pain she would be in, and this was beautifully portrayed by Stephanie B. As always, this is about the ensemble, and Rose’s situation gave us that journey for Blanche of overcoming her aversion to illness to visit her friend and talk with something approaching real hope of the two of them buying a house in the country together. It’s one of the series’ finest moments. There was also the contrast between who Rose was and who she’s become. Her reminiscence of her first dance with the sweaty boy she treated like dirt while looking out for something better was pure Rose. </p><p></p><p>Before watching, I knew how Rose died. I was relieved that the actual death was offscreen. Anything else might have been too much, and it packed more of an emotional blow this way. This series knows when to pull no punches in intensity and when to take the “less is more” approach.</p><p></p><p>Beatrice’s growing burden is one of the more interesting aspects of this series. It’s fairly implicit, but it hangs over the series in a way that’s quite troubling. I’ve also enjoyed the occasional exploration of her atheism (or perhaps even agnosticism), such as her watching the hymn singing and prayers with something akin to envy while she was weighed down with her moral decision about ending Rose’s suffering. I badly miss her friendship with Sister Ulrica. </p><p></p><p>Back when Nellie was becoming attached to Sally, Beatrice was the first to recognise Nellie’s sexuality, and try- in her way - to make things easier for Nellie. Given a few snippets of dialogue in Series Two, I’m now wondering if Beatrice herself is lesbian. One in particular jumped out at me, but now I’m blowed if I can remember to whom it was spoken. Anyway, it was a character saying they could see how much Beatrice missed Nellie, to which she replied something like “Thought you might”. There was just something about the delivery that made the line even more meaningful. </p><p></p><p>Dorothy’s forgiveness of Shinya as he was preparing to leave was nicely done. I’ve loved the friendship between these two this year and would have been saddened had it not ended well. This is even more the case since Shinya ended up very dead within the day. The irony of him being on the site of the bomb because of Joss’s sabotage wasn’t lost on me. </p><p></p><p>Likewise, Marion and Lillian’s farewell felt very right. Ann Bell was top notch in the scene, where Marion spoke of friendship but looked at Lillian with intense pity. I could almost feel the internal wrestling going on. And there was that tantalising moment where Lillian <em>tried</em> to warn Marion but was interrupted by Vera. </p><p></p><p>The inevitable uprising against Vera was satisfying to watch. Seeing the characters all too slowly work out what had been happening with the Red Cross parcels and the store cupboard was frustrating at times, and this made the scenes of realisation really enjoyable. I’m curious to see if and how Vera makes it into Series Three (at the moment, my guess is she won’t, but I’ll be happy to be wrong). </p><p></p><p>Something in my memory tells me there were no plans for further episodes beyond Series Two. I know there was a two year gap between this and Series Three, and those multiple freeze frames at the conclusion of Series Two feel have an air of finality. But the story is so open-ended and unfinished, that I’m glad there is more to come. I suppose I’ll know more details once I can dive into the book after watching. </p><p></p><p>Well, I’m now two-thirds of the way through the entire run. So far it’s been among the most consistently high quality series I’ve viewed. [USER=21]@Barbara Fan[/USER] has commented that the first two are the best, so I feel it might be helpful to lower my expectations for the third series, but that’s difficult. I’ve just come to expect really good things from every episode.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mel O'Drama, post: 226706, member: 23"] [SIZE=5][U]Series Two[/U] [B]Parts Nine and Ten[/B][/SIZE] Well, Series Two has done a nice job of adding layers to the original story and the world in which the characters exist. The new setting, new characters and arguably more complex situations have made this feel like what it is: a quality sequel to a near perfect series that is difficult to improve. Whether it has improved on the first year is debatable, but the fact has been that it’s remained as consistently watchable and of a standard that’s practically on par with the first. In some respects it’s an improvement: one only has to look at Joss to see how the casting and writing is as strong as ever. I did miss the relative simplicity of the first series, but do appreciate the changes made were to expand the story in a way that feels authentic. And it’s all felt so seamless that there’s no real division for me between the two series. It’s just one big story. Even more than the first year, I have to applaud Series Two for its risk-taking in making changes. We’ve had the temporary character absences of Blanche, Christina and Yamauchi, and the more permanently absent Nellie, as well as the departures of Sister Ulrica, Dr Trier, Lillian and Bobby. Bolder still are the main characters who’ve died for the sake of the story. Series One had just one main character dying onscreen. Series Two has killed off Sylvia and Bernard offscreen. And onscreen we’ve had the deaths of Debbie, Sally and Rose, as well as Miss Hasan and Shinya. At this point, I feel there’s nobody on the series that couldn’t be killed (with the probable exception of Marion who frequently seems to be held in higher esteem than other characters by the writers). Rose’s exit from the series was very poignant. Somehow, that haircut seemed very symbolic. Rather like Aslan’s mane being shorn before he was killed in [I]The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.[/I] As with her tortured scream an episode or two before, Stephanie Beacham let out a horrifically pained sound on learning of Bernard’s death. Her stage background shone through. The reality of Rose’s condition was very powerful indeed, with the references to her stinking infected sores that could lead to gangrene, and the incontinence. There was no mistaking how much emotional pain she would be in, and this was beautifully portrayed by Stephanie B. As always, this is about the ensemble, and Rose’s situation gave us that journey for Blanche of overcoming her aversion to illness to visit her friend and talk with something approaching real hope of the two of them buying a house in the country together. It’s one of the series’ finest moments. There was also the contrast between who Rose was and who she’s become. Her reminiscence of her first dance with the sweaty boy she treated like dirt while looking out for something better was pure Rose. Before watching, I knew how Rose died. I was relieved that the actual death was offscreen. Anything else might have been too much, and it packed more of an emotional blow this way. This series knows when to pull no punches in intensity and when to take the “less is more” approach. Beatrice’s growing burden is one of the more interesting aspects of this series. It’s fairly implicit, but it hangs over the series in a way that’s quite troubling. I’ve also enjoyed the occasional exploration of her atheism (or perhaps even agnosticism), such as her watching the hymn singing and prayers with something akin to envy while she was weighed down with her moral decision about ending Rose’s suffering. I badly miss her friendship with Sister Ulrica. Back when Nellie was becoming attached to Sally, Beatrice was the first to recognise Nellie’s sexuality, and try- in her way - to make things easier for Nellie. Given a few snippets of dialogue in Series Two, I’m now wondering if Beatrice herself is lesbian. One in particular jumped out at me, but now I’m blowed if I can remember to whom it was spoken. Anyway, it was a character saying they could see how much Beatrice missed Nellie, to which she replied something like “Thought you might”. There was just something about the delivery that made the line even more meaningful. Dorothy’s forgiveness of Shinya as he was preparing to leave was nicely done. I’ve loved the friendship between these two this year and would have been saddened had it not ended well. This is even more the case since Shinya ended up very dead within the day. The irony of him being on the site of the bomb because of Joss’s sabotage wasn’t lost on me. Likewise, Marion and Lillian’s farewell felt very right. Ann Bell was top notch in the scene, where Marion spoke of friendship but looked at Lillian with intense pity. I could almost feel the internal wrestling going on. And there was that tantalising moment where Lillian [I]tried[/I] to warn Marion but was interrupted by Vera. The inevitable uprising against Vera was satisfying to watch. Seeing the characters all too slowly work out what had been happening with the Red Cross parcels and the store cupboard was frustrating at times, and this made the scenes of realisation really enjoyable. I’m curious to see if and how Vera makes it into Series Three (at the moment, my guess is she won’t, but I’ll be happy to be wrong). Something in my memory tells me there were no plans for further episodes beyond Series Two. I know there was a two year gap between this and Series Three, and those multiple freeze frames at the conclusion of Series Two feel have an air of finality. But the story is so open-ended and unfinished, that I’m glad there is more to come. I suppose I’ll know more details once I can dive into the book after watching. Well, I’m now two-thirds of the way through the entire run. So far it’s been among the most consistently high quality series I’ve viewed. [USER=21]@Barbara Fan[/USER] has commented that the first two are the best, so I feel it might be helpful to lower my expectations for the third series, but that’s difficult. I’ve just come to expect really good things from every episode. [/QUOTE]
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“Not exactly Raffles, is it?”: Watching Tenko
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