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<blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 409430" data-attributes="member: 23"><p>Oh yes. I think you're right.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Sounds great. I hope you enjoy.</p><p></p><p>I watched <em>The French Connection</em> for the first time a couple of years ago and, looking back over my comments about it, I had mixed feelings. I've never watched <em>Get Carter</em>, so I might consider watching that at some point.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Because I was so invested and Heather's comment was coming from a valid concern, I don't even think the irony of this dawned on me as I watched.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Oh yes, that was great. And so very Heather considering her experiences with the men in her life on the series.</p><p></p><p>She certainly exited the series on a high, with some terrific material in her final months. Considering Heather's home life was frequently very little-seen, it could have been tempting for the writers to simply allow her to fade away, and I love that they went the opposite route and reminded the audience just what the series was losing.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Oh yes. The more mature Damon really struck a cord with me, but (once again) it hasn't consciously registered with me how he's got some of that cheeky side back thanks to Gail.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Ha. Now that's the kind of commentary that could make these scenes tolerable.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>He even had a line when asked about the badge: "it means I'm gay"... as if he belongs to some kind of organisation or stops being gay when he isn't displaying it.</p><p></p><p>There's something very simplistic and childlike about the statement which, thinking about it, could almost suggest an extension of original Gordon's naivety which scupper his attempts to be more worldly (his "pint of bitter beer") or trendy (that secondhand coat). Except here the tone of the writing suggests that Gordon is more worldly and knowledgeable on this subject than his parents (or whoever). Paul and Annabel may be horrified now as they were with the oversized coat, but there's no humour or irony because whatever he says is treated by them (and in turn by the series) as fact. And very dry fact at that.</p><p></p><p>I have rationalised it to a degree. Gordon has spent years living in France where he's essentially "found himself". I can understand his sense of freedom and desire to express himself after this (especially having lived most of his life in an environment where repression and denial are the bywords). I also think the idea of him returning to that environment having changed has potential.</p><p></p><p>I have mixed feelings on the series avoiding his journey of coming out to himself. Like <em>EastEnders'</em> Colin, it avoids the cliche of the coming out angst which is possibly too obvious a route. But it falls down on instead leaning into a heap of other cliches. As you've pointed out, the most unforgivable is that a lot of what made his character work and endear has been lost.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The Gordon scene that's worked the best for me since his return was the one in the last episodes I watched where he spoke to Annabel about his envy at Chris going skiing with friends instead of spending Christmas with him. Even though it was still essentially about "being gay" it still felt the closest we've got to seeing him displaying insecurity or vulnerability.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Yes. It felt a wasted opportunity.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>This has nailed it, I think. I realise the Grants have a lot going on at the moment, but there wasn't any kind of "behind closed doors" discussion about Gordon's badge. Barry was visibly unsettled in the scene itself, but would he have had anything to say about it afterwards. How would it fit with Sheila's strict Catholic faith? I can't imagine Bobby and Damon would have nothing to say about it (remember the fun "pirate" material OG's earring gave them).</p><p></p><p>Of course, had any of these scenarios taken place, they would still have been about Gordon "being gay", but at least there would have been a change of narrator.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Reading this, it occurred to me that there are echoes of a similar storyline in Channel 7 <em>Neighbours</em> where Jim went on his own road safety crusade, wanting to give tuition to the boy down the street who was riding his bike dangerously (which all came to naught when said boy was killed from his lack of road sense). In both cases, the victim and the parent(s) were never really anything more than "them", which gave the main ("us") characters a storyline. Once the stories were over, little had changed. I suppose we did at least get scenes of Paul being the rebellious activist (mileage may vary, but I thoroughly enjoyed that aspect, at least).</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Very true. It has a lot to live up to and always feels that much more disappointing when it doesn't meet the standard.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The casual homophobia has felt truthful. Even Annabelle's colleague's throwaway comment worked because it felt authentic and echoes similar out-of-the-blue jibes I'd occasionally hear colleagues drop into conversation in the Nineties (sometimes about another colleague, but often more generalised).</p><p></p><p>I agree, it's a real shame it's been so short-lived, which all makes it seem a little too convenient.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I love this kind of observation. The Devil's in the detail, after all.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Oh yikes. This has reminded me I have a number of things lined up to watch on the various channels' streaming services. I'd better get my skates on (if they're even still available).</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Oh, I hadn't realised this. For some inexplicable reason I always get <em>BFTB</em> mixed up with <em>Auf Wiedersehen, Pet </em>(even though I've watched neither of them).</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Hope you enjoyed it. I just took a peek and it doesn't appear to be streaming (free) anywhere round these parts, but I've been curious about it since it came up earlier in this thread.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mel O'Drama, post: 409430, member: 23"] Oh yes. I think you're right. Sounds great. I hope you enjoy. I watched [I]The French Connection[/I] for the first time a couple of years ago and, looking back over my comments about it, I had mixed feelings. I've never watched [I]Get Carter[/I], so I might consider watching that at some point. Because I was so invested and Heather's comment was coming from a valid concern, I don't even think the irony of this dawned on me as I watched. Oh yes, that was great. And so very Heather considering her experiences with the men in her life on the series. She certainly exited the series on a high, with some terrific material in her final months. Considering Heather's home life was frequently very little-seen, it could have been tempting for the writers to simply allow her to fade away, and I love that they went the opposite route and reminded the audience just what the series was losing. Oh yes. The more mature Damon really struck a cord with me, but (once again) it hasn't consciously registered with me how he's got some of that cheeky side back thanks to Gail. Ha. Now that's the kind of commentary that could make these scenes tolerable. He even had a line when asked about the badge: "it means I'm gay"... as if he belongs to some kind of organisation or stops being gay when he isn't displaying it. There's something very simplistic and childlike about the statement which, thinking about it, could almost suggest an extension of original Gordon's naivety which scupper his attempts to be more worldly (his "pint of bitter beer") or trendy (that secondhand coat). Except here the tone of the writing suggests that Gordon is more worldly and knowledgeable on this subject than his parents (or whoever). Paul and Annabel may be horrified now as they were with the oversized coat, but there's no humour or irony because whatever he says is treated by them (and in turn by the series) as fact. And very dry fact at that. I have rationalised it to a degree. Gordon has spent years living in France where he's essentially "found himself". I can understand his sense of freedom and desire to express himself after this (especially having lived most of his life in an environment where repression and denial are the bywords). I also think the idea of him returning to that environment having changed has potential. I have mixed feelings on the series avoiding his journey of coming out to himself. Like [I]EastEnders'[/I] Colin, it avoids the cliche of the coming out angst which is possibly too obvious a route. But it falls down on instead leaning into a heap of other cliches. As you've pointed out, the most unforgivable is that a lot of what made his character work and endear has been lost. The Gordon scene that's worked the best for me since his return was the one in the last episodes I watched where he spoke to Annabel about his envy at Chris going skiing with friends instead of spending Christmas with him. Even though it was still essentially about "being gay" it still felt the closest we've got to seeing him displaying insecurity or vulnerability. Yes. It felt a wasted opportunity. This has nailed it, I think. I realise the Grants have a lot going on at the moment, but there wasn't any kind of "behind closed doors" discussion about Gordon's badge. Barry was visibly unsettled in the scene itself, but would he have had anything to say about it afterwards. How would it fit with Sheila's strict Catholic faith? I can't imagine Bobby and Damon would have nothing to say about it (remember the fun "pirate" material OG's earring gave them). Of course, had any of these scenarios taken place, they would still have been about Gordon "being gay", but at least there would have been a change of narrator. Reading this, it occurred to me that there are echoes of a similar storyline in Channel 7 [I]Neighbours[/I] where Jim went on his own road safety crusade, wanting to give tuition to the boy down the street who was riding his bike dangerously (which all came to naught when said boy was killed from his lack of road sense). In both cases, the victim and the parent(s) were never really anything more than "them", which gave the main ("us") characters a storyline. Once the stories were over, little had changed. I suppose we did at least get scenes of Paul being the rebellious activist (mileage may vary, but I thoroughly enjoyed that aspect, at least). Very true. It has a lot to live up to and always feels that much more disappointing when it doesn't meet the standard. The casual homophobia has felt truthful. Even Annabelle's colleague's throwaway comment worked because it felt authentic and echoes similar out-of-the-blue jibes I'd occasionally hear colleagues drop into conversation in the Nineties (sometimes about another colleague, but often more generalised). I agree, it's a real shame it's been so short-lived, which all makes it seem a little too convenient. I love this kind of observation. The Devil's in the detail, after all. Oh yikes. This has reminded me I have a number of things lined up to watch on the various channels' streaming services. I'd better get my skates on (if they're even still available). Oh, I hadn't realised this. For some inexplicable reason I always get [I]BFTB[/I] mixed up with [I]Auf Wiedersehen, Pet [/I](even though I've watched neither of them). Hope you enjoyed it. I just took a peek and it doesn't appear to be streaming (free) anywhere round these parts, but I've been curious about it since it came up earlier in this thread. [/QUOTE]
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