British TV/General Discussion

Solar, that is what caused the whole kerfuffle with Brian True-May the original producer of "Midsomer". His remarks regarding the lack of diversity - he doubled down on the "lillyness" (made-up my own word there) got him booted from the series. This was unfortunate because I understood where he was coming from, the countryside of England was not known for being a basion of diversity in years gone by - he was trying to emulate a "Miss Marple" village feel, and let's be honest, where ever was the diversity in any of Joan Hickson's episodes. There was none and I have never read any criticism of that.

The thing is though that the Miss Marple franchise was smart enough to realize the life had changed in the countryside overtime and the population is certainly more diverse with residents from all over the world residing there. They started to incorporate that diversity in their more recent productions starting with the Geraldine McEwen remakes - and hence, this did not become the issue it did with "Midsomer".

I wish Brian True-May would have handled that question from the Radio Times differently and acknowledged the fact that when they started the series they were trying to emulate a "bygone year" Miss Marple village, but that he understood it was important to reflect the diversity of countryside population as it is now and they would move in this direction in the future. That is all that was needed to be said (and ultimately done). 

Doubling down when the issue was raised helped nothing and no one. In terms of stories, the quality was never quite the same after his departure. That's when some started getting silly/questionable. The solidness of the show eroded without him. You look at the beginning stories and compare them to the ones after his departure and in my opinion there was a difference. 

Brit, did you go 'huh?' at the end of episode 3 of Chasing Shadows?

I did, and went 'huh?' again looking ahead to see the number of episodes of The One That Got Away (Acorn). Seemed good, with a good cast, and there it was, 2 episodes.

Huh?

Reddit had the answer. Seems the streaming greedy gobs are now limiting the number of episodes of series, even when they have all dropped. In both of the above cases, 6 episodes, not sure if CS eps are all out there, whilst the other series are.

The reason, so the streamers don't binge on episodic series and then cancel their subscriptions. 

Nice, eh?

Deedee, we seem to be on the same page with "I, Jack Wright". I finished the third episode and said exactly what you did to myself... "I don't like any of these people". 

You bring up a good point, that may be the aim - to give us a dysfunctional family filled with self absorbed people who will go to any lengths to fulfill the destinies they feel they are owed from life. John Simm's character is really dispiscable - although I did feel a bit for him when he realized that no one was going to help him. He didn't deserve it, but I wished someone had, because it put a whole lot of stuff in motion - that didn't need to be - out of his narcissist meanness and desperation. 

Sometimes it is better to help, even if you know that you shouldn't, when you smell desperation. Not one of them picked up on it (I do realized they had heard the same story so many times before) because this time was different, and it impacted all their lives negatively.

The thing, it seems that Gary is one of the only people we see, at least to date, come out of this whole. He is sitting looking heathy in front of a recording studio, where everyone else so far is in jail or looking down on their luck. 

Not sure what happens to his brother John in the end as the only later shot of him is with a beard in casual clothes - which tells us little of his ultimate circumstance other than he no longer has his old life. Nor have we gotten a glimpse yet of where Emily winds up. 

I am going to stick with it because I am curious to see how this all plays out, but it is a real kick in the pants (I think) if Gary is the only one standing strong in the end. That, to me, he does not deserve.

@BritMystery wrote :

Solar, that is what caused the whole kerfuffle with Brian True-May the original producer of "Midsomer".

Yeah Brit  ...   this  diversity business  with True-May ,  your post is bringing it back to me now  ...   much like  the diversity issue between  Clint Eastwood and director Spike  Lee  where Lee accused  Eastwood  of  no diversity in his movies  .  Eastwood fought back , stood his ground and things became heated between the two.     

Brit, I'm curious to see how you make out with Episode 4 of I,JW.

I fast forwarded through approximately 80% of it. I'm curious how Quality Control watched the rushes (are they called rushes in television?) and said, yup, it's a keeper.

At any rate, if Britbox and Acorn keep up the miserly doling out of an episode or two a week, I look to save a few dollars.

I have enough drek on cable that I won't watch, I don't need to pay on top of already paying.

@deedee713   wrote :

I have enough drek on cable that I won't watch, I don't need to pay on top of already paying.

Soo  right  dee  ....   The only external  I have from  cable is  Netflix  and as I scan thru the  selections  I'm  wondering   '  Why am I paying  for this  cra* ,  cable  costs enough. 

Yea, it is pretty meager out there. Nothing much is grabbing me at the moment. Haven't gotten to E4 yet Dee, plan on viewing it tonight. 

Solar, saw an interview with John Nettles and the actor playing him in the Bergerac reboot. It was nice to see them interacting. Apparently (which I didn't realize) the new series has aired in the UK and has gotten the green light for a second season. 

I read the reviews for the reboot first season on FB and three quarters of the comments were pretty negative - in most of the viewer's eye (as well as mine) no one can replace John Nettles in the role and the changes that were made to the supporting cast (and lack thereof) did not go over with the die heart fans. 

But ... interestingly, the other quarter of the comments were very positive - people loved it. Those with a more open mind and not as attached to the original gave it a two thumbs up. There must have been enough of those people 'cause it got a second season!

Yeah  Brit  ...   that  interview with  John  Nettles  and his  Bergerac  replacement  would have been a good  watch .   Reboots  are a tricky  business  and is hard to compete with an original .  Only natural to  compare the two.  Good ta see it getting a second  season thou .  Wish they would bring  ' both '  over here .  As for Netflix ,  I keep it  as I run  into a good view from time to time .  

Thanks, solar. I agree, the minute I got rid of either Acorn or Britbox, they'd have a stellar series.

Brit, Acorn finally doled out episode 4 of The One That Got Away. 

the minute I got rid of either Acorn or Britbox, they'd have a stellar series 

Deedee, yes, the absolute minute...always the way.

I don't have Acorn, haven't had it for a long while, but glad the episode finally dropped because I know that feeling. Most times I wait until the entire series is aired before I even start so that if I get caught up in the story and want to watch two episodes back to back I can.

Something I didn't do with Britbox's latest - I, Jack Wright. I watched E4 and it wasn't bad, let's say it was better than I expected. We are still in the mediocre category and at this point that won't be changing I think. 

I am caught up in finding out what is (or was) truly going on with this group. John Simm's character, Gary is still taking up all the oxygen in the room and he has become soo tiring to watch. Well, he's not the only one - John Wright's wife, Emily is right there alongside him taking up whatever oxygen he leaves for everyone else. Two of the most irritating characters I have seen in a long while. 

There are moments I really feel for Gary, it is obvious that his father was a narcissistic, cold, emotionally void individual who impacted him greatly, but as said to him by everyone who cared about him at some point in his life (no one does now) he continues to go through life blaming his father for everything - and I mean everything and will take no responsibility for his own actions - ever. He is exhausting.

So we end the episode on Sally, Jack Wright's second wife, who is presumingly sitting in jail saying that the worst thing she did was to look for his lap top and read the contents found within. Did she not say an episode or so back that the worst thing she did was to exhume Jack's body and she wished she hadn't? So now she wishes she never looked at his lap top... so, what's next on that "I wish I never" list.

Maybe she should consider that everything she did from the moment that will was read and she realized she wasn't getting any of his money was the wrong move. 

She was given the use of their homes for a five year period (obviously they were all in his name otherwise how could he do this) - the five years seemingly coincides with his children then being of an age where they would be moving on with their own lives... so he could throw her out without feeling any neglect of them on his part. 

He didn't leave any of his three sons any considerable money, so she wasn't alone. The point I am making is sometimes it is best to just walk away if you are able to, and she was able to. Live in the houses and enjoy them; raise your children and while doing that, build up your law practice. When the five years are up, move on.

These people messed up their own lives out of greed and unfulfilled expectations - and had to live with the consequences, except for Gary it seems. 

These people messed up their own lives out of greed and unfulfilled expectations - and had to live with the consequences, except for Gary it seems. 

Quite right, Brit. 

Didn't they also show the son John with a full beard laughing it up at some point? Either he's gone doo lally, or he makes out as well.

Either he's gone doo lally, or he makes out as well.

We at least know he is not in jail. With this group that is saying something, but he is certainly not whooping it up in recording studio like Gary. So what situation, or mental state, he is in at the end of this saga we have no real information about. That laugh coming out of him was not a good indication that he is in the best of circumstances. It's concerning.

He's the one I am most curious about out of all of them.  He got railroaded in to this situation as his father gave him no indication that he was going to pull the rug out from underneath him concerning the business. Somewhere in his will he stated that John would thank him for taking everything away from him (or did he state that to his attorney? - I think the that's what he did) - and may be in the end dear old dad was right, but that was a heck of a way to find out. Jack seemed to relish the turmoil he was going to cause a bit too much - not something a loving father would do. If he had a good reason (and he may, we don't know yet) he could have softened the blow with even a small amount of forewarning. 

John really isn't the best at running the company as we've seen. He doesn't have the business acumen needed - the niece Emily does, so Jack was right to pull her in. Together she and John made a good team. 

Jack knew that John's wife Georgia would never accept that John lost his position in the firm and was left with no money to speak of. He doomed John and he knew it. Was Jack hoping Emily would leave him and John be the better for it? Maybe, but he should also have realized that John did not have the strength to go against Georgia on his own. She is the definition of a barracuda. 

If he wanted to get Emily out of John's life he needed to come up with a plan that would lead to her exit without pulverizing John in the process. Tricky? Yes. But Jack was no fool, we understand that and if anyone could come up with a plan, he could.

Correction! Okay, I just realized I was calling John's wife Georgia, Emily in my last post. I got the names confused. I wrote Emily, but I meant Georgia. After Gary, she is the most irritating character in this saga.

Deedee, I am finally reading back what I wrote (it has been a busy day) and if you can follow it bless you!! Even after realizing I got John's niece and his wife's name mixed up in my last post - I still went ahead and did it again! Dear Lord. What I meant 🙄 was " if he (Jack) wanted to get Georgia out of John's life... 

I should have come back earlier so I could have fixed my grammar mistakes - you only have a short window and I didn't make it in time. 

LOL, I followed it all, Brit. Remember, I am sticking with this mishegoss unto the bitter end, so your post was child's play.

The show, not so much. Thankfully, Ep 5 just dropped, don't know if you've seen it yet. It's almost over.

But as you shared, if I keep the two steaming channels, I'll wait until all the episodes are out there. This is too much like work, and I've been retired too long to endure work!

Freudian slip! Streaming channels.

Read after I, Jack Wright Review. Don't read it until you've seen all the episodes, #6 is finally available.

https://reelmockery.com/i-jack-wright-series-1-finale-episode-6-recap/

BTW, I 'chatted' with Britbox and here is the gist of their explanation. Yup, they're blaming it on the BBC, who bought them out in 2024.

Our releasing of episodes of a series is based on licensing agreements.

Acorn had no answer for the same question.

Deedee, I am planning to get to E5 tonight - life has been on a roll lately so I am behind! I'll be back!

Has this been discussed here? I can't recall.

I caught the last five minutes of a documentary that reminded me of Midnight Diner. It is being replayed on a public broadcasting station named WORLD (473 on FIOS) on May 28th at 5:00am and 11:00am. It is also available on Amazon for a $2.99 rental.

It had the same premise and location.

https://www.comebackanytime.com/

OMG, Deedee, what a find!! I have my DVR recording set for both airings (just in case something goes wrong). TY, TY, TY. A real life Midnight Diner!

Okay, now after that nice surprise... "I, Jack Wright", Wow! I watched E5 and gees, that was good. Because I was behind with my viewing, I had E6 waiting and I flew right in to it. This is why I like to hold off until some (if not all) of the episodes have dropped. As I said, this time I didn't do it because I was starved for something to watch, but it is always better to be able to dive in to the next episode if you are in the middle of an exciting storyline so you don't lose continuity. 

Now that you mention it, I had read that series licensing agreements do stipulate how and when a show can be aired, and more and more it seems (at least for the newer productions), are only allowing one episode a week to be shown. We can't fault Britbox for that, it is not their choice - it is either that or the series goes to another streaming service that will agree. Especially when they feel they could have an hit on their hands - they certainly are not going to fuss and stall trying to change that requirement.

Back to I,JW... those last two episodes were really good. I don't know what happened, but they were chock full of information and action and the pacing was spot on. It is almost like a different director and a new writer were brought in to the team. I gotta say, I enjoyed them both even though I do agree with much of what was said in the "Finale Episode Recap" you posted. The writer hits on all valid points and inconsistencies, but I sill enjoyed it all. Sometimes you just want to be entertained.

Now for the ending, which leaves us up in the air until S2 (which we know is coming). There are going to be twists and turns, but this is what I think will be going down.

We all know Rose, Gemma Jones's character didn't kill Jack. She's trying to help her granddaughter out of the situation she is in and with her cancer looming over her, and her age, she sees her live as expendable. It is a selfless thing to do (as is financially helping that young girl with her treatment), but no way would she ever have brought herself to kill Jack. She was still carrying a torch and making excuses for him at this point in her life even though she knew he was a horrible person. 

Neither did Emily kill him, she may not be an innocent, but she didn't do it. Not did her boyfriend, Reuben. He did something that ended him in jail, it wasn't murdering Jack.

Now we know how drug addict Gray winds up happily in a recording studio. He did well with his 5M.

Did the cheating, gambling addict Georgia murder Jack? If anyone, I would have put my money on her, but I don't think she did it either. She winds up in jail as well, but for something else I have a feeling. 

So Sally killed someone and yes, we are lead to believe it is Arnaud. We'll see. It's not Jack though, I think. She had no reason to kill Jack - she liked her lifestyle much too much and wasn't looking to change it by getting rid of him. Maybe if he was going to divorce her... with her prenup she would have been left in the same financial situation as she is now after his death. Truth is, she was in the best situation with Jack alive and married to her. 

(We haven't heard mention of his divorcing her, that may have eventually happened. But, that has not been said in this time and place to my recollection.)

They are retesting Josh's DNA, maybe with a full test we will find "inconclusive" results that leave everyone still questioning his parentage. 

We certainly now know why she did all that she could to fight the will - she has Arnaud breathing down her neck for 3M she doesn't have. Not a good place to be. 

I am going to say it once again, because nothing in these last two episodes changed this - if there is a wrong decision to make on anything, Sally will make it. The woman consistently makes bad decisions that blow up in her face. Her son has more sense than her. She is a nightmare because everything she touches from the minute she finds out Jack is dead turns against her. 

I am still worried for John as they are making him look down and out and half out of his mind. I hope that is not the case. Yes, he got 5M like Gray, his financial situation though actually is worst than his. John paid his debt, Grey is now free and clear, but John has no personal funds due to Georgia, and who knows what he might wind up owing out of that inheritance to get he and Georgia out of the mess she created. 

He moved that company money from the sale to an account he has access to. I wonder how that is going to play out. I just hope out of everyone he doesn't get burned in the end. Yes, I know Georgia is sitting in jail and he is not, from my perspective Georgia put herself there, so no tears from me. She is a real piece of work.

So where does this all leave us? Who did kill Jack... maybe no one and we find he killed himself and set them all up. I truly think he hated all of them, and definitely has a  personality that would take out his last revenge. 

After now rereading my post, and I did take time to edit it, there are typos there that I know I corrected that still are there. Not complaining, just saying. I am starting to think I am fighting with auto correct - seems it doesn't like the word nor (or life). 😏