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Post by Bill Edwards on Sept 10, 2010 12:55:37 GMT
The only TV dramas that have had any lasting impact on me are Threads and Edge Of Darkness both eighties classics. For me TV means comedy. Python, Blackadder, Spaced are my telly touchstones. And Dogtanian. Like Dave suggests, I can't bare the time thieving American TV dramas that go on and on until the ratings slump. I find American TV drama just very unattractive for that and other reasons. And I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything when people go on about them. The Wire gets a lot of good press from friends but nothing about it intrigues me. And I think it's its length. Were it a feature film I'd be gagging to see it. But twenty two million hours of it? Sixty episodes? Sixty!? This might be lazy thinking but sorry that just puts me right off. Are you sure you're not me? haha That's exactly how I feel too. Comedy all the way. I get my drama from films... only TIE86 has bucked this trend of mine. I started watching The Wire, but I couldn't face the hours upon hours there was to get through. I remember hearing things like, it doesn't get really good until season 2... or was it 3? I'm not investing that much time, I just can't be bothered... I certainly have the time to spare, but I'm not using it to watch a high-brow soap opera. haha ;D Only Seinfeld and Trailer Park Boys are shows I have watched hours and hours of multiple seasons... oh, and I guess Curb Your Enthusiasm is now on season 7! Found this article online. www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/theticket/2010/0910/1224278543578.htmlI don't agree with everything he says but this bit made be laugh. "Oh, no. Somebody is lumbering towards us with an HBO box-set." About says it all really! ;D |
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Post by paulfleetwood on Sept 11, 2010 22:16:24 GMT
Haha the fs1e or fizzy had a go on one of them in my youth and slipped off still holding the rev cable going staight into a garage door! Arhh the memories  I think it is true chromebaby, alot of good filmakers/actors seem to be going to tv nowadays, with the likes of Frank Darabont moving a film he was making called the walking dead to a 6 part series on tv because it gives more scope to make it were as it couldnt be told in a 2 hour film. Also censorship on tv has dropped, that would make Mary Whitehouse turn in her grave and they show things nowadays that say 10 years ago would never been allowed, so more freedom as a artist. Another thing i heard in an interview with George Lucas was his move to tv shows instead of filmaking because of the cost of special effects is cheap enough for tv shows and cinema will eventually become a thing of the past due to illegal downloading costing the film industry. So you never know this could be come the new way, with Shane already pionering ahead of his time in a retro kind of way, whos for King of gypsies the tv show? anyone? |
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Post by stantheman on Sept 11, 2010 22:45:21 GMT
I thought the first episode was brill! This is my kind of period drama!! The clothes and feel are spot on. I can relate to it so much, not because I was part of a skinhead gang, but because I left school in '86 just like Shaun does in this first epiosode.
My only reservation is the bike gang - it all got a bit too 'comedy' when they arrived, although the Sergio Tachinni and Kappa tracksuits brought my school memories flooding back.
The use of music was fucking wonderful - especially Fleetwood Mac's Man of the World at the end.
Woody's hair is fantastic and Lol is one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen.
I've said it on other forums, and I'll say it here. You're a God-damn genius, Mr Meadows!
Sterlin'. Proper sterlin!
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Post by tonyyeboah on Sept 12, 2010 11:57:15 GMT
Shane was on a hiding to nothing making TIE 86 for a couple of reasons.
1.TIE the film was so powerful that any add on's in the story risks producing a weaker finished product than the movie. Shane also risks messing up several decent characters.
2. The 80's are still very vivid for 30 somethings and attempting to portray the period means that you have to be pretty much spot on or be shot down by those who those years meant so much to.
That said the first episode was pretty darned good considering the time period and budget Shane had to work with. He was never going to please everybody
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Post by jill on Sept 12, 2010 18:14:28 GMT
Shane was on a hiding to nothing making TIE 86 for a couple of reasons. 1.TIE the film was so powerful that any add on's in the story risks producing a weaker finished product than the movie. Shane also risks messing up several decent characters. I've posted this elsewhere, but I kind of think fans of TIE have to approach the series as something related but different. Having said that, it's too early to judge-I get the sense that after a fairly 'light' start, the drama is going to be ratchetted up over the series. |
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Post by PatrickCoyle on Sept 12, 2010 18:38:47 GMT
I think it is true chromebaby, alot of good filmakers/actors seem to be going to tv nowadays, with the likes of Frank Darabont moving a film he was making called the walking dead to a 6 part series on tv because it gives more scope to make it were as it couldnt be told in a 2 hour film. I don't think The Walking Dead was ever lined up as a film, was it? |
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kate
Junior Member
Posts: 49
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Post by kate on Sept 12, 2010 21:17:12 GMT
Only just been able to watch the first episode but it was well worth the wait! I'm already looking forward to the next episode. Well done Shane and thank you for once again making something I want to watch over and over.
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Post by paulfleetwood on Sept 13, 2010 22:10:20 GMT
I think it is true chromebaby, alot of good filmakers/actors seem to be going to tv nowadays, with the likes of Frank Darabont moving a film he was making called the walking dead to a 6 part series on tv because it gives more scope to make it were as it couldnt be told in a 2 hour film. I don't think The Walking Dead was ever lined up as a film, was it? Yeh originally it was a few years back they were trying to make a feature film with Gale Ann Hurd on board as producer and Frank Darabont as director as first choice but given the length of the comic book series it was moved to a television serial, with both staying onboard. Interviews with Darabont saying this is uncharted territory to him and Hurd, never making anything for tv before but given the scope of the project and working on somthing that has never been done on tv before, ( obviously never seeing Deadset before ) will be a great oppertunity. Look forward to this coming on FX in november as i am a massive fan of Robert Kirman's comic book series and have read them all upto now, well worth reading the characters are so well written and story is amazing, just hope the series does the book justice. Think it should have its own thread in the coming months, have you read the books too? |
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Post by judecalverttoulmin on Sept 16, 2010 8:17:59 GMT
I've only really watched madmen other than that, thing is the writers constantly rubbing in your face the fact that things were different way back then I don't know whether the writers are rubbing your face in it; they're just showing it like it was. I was Sally Draper with a constantly travelling obsessed career father and a cold, vain mother who couldn't show love - useless f*cked up parents much the same as Don and Betty - and every minute of MadMen, the smoking, the lack of health and safety regs, the placidity of the women (until S4 E8 The Summer Man, just aired in the US, where the zietgeist is finally leading to women fighting back) is just like I remember it, absolutely bang on the money - the clothes, hair, make up, all of it, absolutely perfect. They have a bigger budget, I realise that. for anyone who does like madmen you should watch this documentary "Art & Copy" it starts with the VW think small campaign Cheers for that will have a gander Shane was on a hiding to nothing making TIE 86 for a couple of reasons. I don't agree, even though I'm not the biggest fan of the first two eps. You produce work, and some people won't like it. That's the way it is. You have to take risks, and sometimes they won't pay off, but if you don't take risks, you don't even get off the starting line, so risks are always good. Shane .. ere mate, if you're reading this ... a question that is causing much dilemma on the Sheffield Forum ..and obviously keeping people awake at night, and the guy who noticed it .. God it must have spoled the whole episode .. The mopeds in the show were from the wrong era yamaha fs1e were about around 1976 ten years earlier than the show Shane does read the boards, he's not one of those arrogant wankers who (claim to!) never read their own forum and think the fans are irrelevant - and he's answered the dolts on SF through his PA on this thread. Great answer too  SF is renowned for being populated by armchair tossers with too much time on their hands, although it's a very useful local resource with good admin, and for those of you in Leeds SF has now set up a Leeds Forum which naturally I've joined having a Pudsey lad for a husband. Anyway, hold on I will post Shane's answer here coz it's a cracker. It's so funny how people try and pick period fault with things. On the budget we had, it's a miracle there's any wide shots in the whole series. We had 50% less money per Square Inch than the film and in some places i think the series looks even better (my eps of course ) so the fact that people go on about pizza crusts makes me laugh when I know how bad it could have looked had we all not worked our fingers to the bone and for such pittance to make the series work.
There are tons of 'mistakes' in this and all my other films if you choose to look. I tend to go with the drama and the feel rather than technical perfection, so if hunting out flaws is your bag, I'm your man. But if you don't get an immediate sense of the gang and, lets face it, what a bunch of dicks young lads can be, I've just started watching The Inbetweeners from Series 1 whilst I do a mind numbingly boring html chore for a couple of days, and they get it right there in the first ep. You're right, what a bunch of dicks young lads can be, I hate to think my darling angel 15 year old baby boy is like the scrotes in The Inbetweeners but he probably is when I'm not there! Also, if they had 'toned down' bits or given less screen time to some supporting cast, there'd have probably been folks posting yesterday saying 'what happened to Smell?' or 'more Gadget please' or whatever. You're absolutely right Jill. No matter what you do, someone will complain. Being really good didn't prevent Deadwood from being cancelled long before it had run its course. W Earl Brown, who played Dan Dority, posted this on the HBO boards, which some may find interesting... Having not slept for much of last night, I sit staring bleary-eyed at my computer. That phone call last evening floored me. Never, in my wildest dreams, did I see it coming.
I feel cheated.
I am cheated as an person because the way I was brought up a man's word is his bond. We were given word in Dec. that we'd be back for a fourth season. A formal annoucement of that fourth season was trumpeted in the press in March. Lives were planned accordingly.
I am cheated as an artist because something that I poured my lifeblood into has been given short-shrift and not allowed to conclude properly.
I am cheated as a fan because the verbally fleet and intricately plotted show shall just cease to be. It will just stop. No wrap up. No farewells.
It isn't like DEADWOOD had a tiny audience. No, our ratings -- based on what I've read -- were good, better than all HBO shows but one. They were not SOPRANOS huge, but then again, SOPRANOS did not become the cultural phenomenon until it's third season.
This is not the fault of David Milch. Given his druthers, he would never just leave a show hanging like this. I feel nothing but gratitude toward his largess. As for the coporate bean-counters...
It has been a high-water mark of my career. I seriously doubt I will ever again be a part of something so unique, so daring, and so special. I hang my head in sorrow...
It has nothing to do with pregnancies. It has nothing to do with conservative watchdogs.
It has everything to do with money.
Chris Albrecht, HBO CEO, is in danger of losing his job. The network is bleeding red ink. His production side lost a ton of money. They sunk 120-million into ROME. They are committed contractually to another season, plus they have 120 invested already.
On DEADWOOD, they did not get foreign rights. Paramount had a deal with Milch to work for them. In exchange for them releasing him to HBO, they got foreign rights to our show. So for three years, HBO has not seen that money from around the world.
While we are the second biggest show on HBO, we are the 2nd most expensive to make (half of what ROME costs, mind you). Chris has shareholders to answer to and is panicked to cut the bottom line. Never mind the fact, that in 2004 he posted a 1-Billion dollar profit (the most for ANY network. Ever.) You might've won the Super Bowl last year, but if you go 0-16 this season, you're looking for another coaching job.
We had been given word of season four. They trumpeted the announcment of the season to the press in March. Chris, obviously having not been raised the way I was where a man's word is his bond, reneged on us. He offered Milch the opportunity to wrap up the series with either a 2 hour movie or an order of six episodes. David refused, feeling that to conclude with anything short of a full season (which we'd already been given word of) would demean all the work we'd done prior. I agree.
The shitty part of this is David's Paramount deal is over this year. Starting with season four, HBO would own the show outright. All world monies would be theirs. BUT... that doesn't help Chris with the shareholders today. He is cutting off his nose to spite his face.
Write HBO. Call HBO. Email HBO. It amounts to the bottom line. If the are overun by subscibers and the threatened cancellations are enough of an issue to seriously cut into their cash flow, they might change track.
Bottom line matters. CARNIVALE only had a weekly viewership of 2-3 million. SOPRANOS, on the opposite end, has 10-12. DEADWOOD drew 5-6. ROME has a comparable draw, although their viewership dwindled as the show went on. However (this is solely my opinion having constantly encountered fans on the street, in airports, etc. who are only now getting into the show via dvd of season 1) DEADWOOD is (was) still ascending.
We've been cut off at the knees.
Read this. Memorize this. I'm afraid some Monitor from Big Brother will soon delete it and I will never work for HBO again... at least while Albrecht is at the helm.
 Watch the Wire! ...Sadly, it would have died before it was ever truly born, if it had to struggle in the British TV environment. Had a look yesterday - 60 episodes or something! Good grief! I will watch the first series and see what I think because so many people recommend it. Although I'm due to start rewatching Deadwood all the way through, an ep a day. Just watching the intro makes me happy, I love Deadwood. 1875 was such a crazy year all over the world. Now, I'm off to make Ottolenghi's smoked mushrooms for brekkies (missing out the cinnamon) before spending a tedious day updating another 275 old blog entries with fb like buttons for each separate article. Joy.  |
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Post by Lord Thribb of Hubris OBE on Sept 21, 2010 22:10:20 GMT
just watched the 3rd ep. & I've got tears in my eyes, such powerful emotional scenes
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Zoe
Full Member
Posts: 73
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Post by Zoe on Sept 21, 2010 22:20:34 GMT
Just watched the 3rd episode. I actually am speechless...never has anything ever made me this way (especially a TV programme) It affected me more than I thought - I can't even put into words what I'm feeling - truely powerful and moving. I went from sitting down to standing up with utter shock and distress. Definitely the best piece of drama I've seen in a long while Shane Meadows & co., nice work  |
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Post by jyekkil on Sept 21, 2010 22:21:34 GMT
I have just registered to communicate in some way how disgusted I was that there was absolutely no warning about tonight's episode and it's content at the end. My sister in law has been dealing with troubles of this kind of nature for the past few years; I won't go into any specifics but if she had seen that episode tonight, in all probability every ounce of effort everyone has given to helping her live a normal life and be happy again would be dashed by that disgusting specatcle. I dread to imagine what that did to people so unlucky as to see it who bare the same scars as she does, and I officially take back any praise I ever gave to Shane Meadows or his productions. I hope you realise just how much pain you've caused in the name of stringing out this crap.
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Post by Davros on Sept 21, 2010 22:29:13 GMT
Ive just watched ep.3 and am happy to report my opinion, again, Shane.
You. Da. Man.
That was genuinely amazing. Thank you.
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Post by Gareth on Sept 21, 2010 22:33:52 GMT
there was a warning at the beginning but yeah there maybe should have been a warning before the last section aswell, but thats channel4's responsibility not the director producers or anyone else involved in the production.
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hazza
New Member
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Post by hazza on Sept 21, 2010 22:40:44 GMT
Episode 3 - Speechless. Tears galore.
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SF is renowned for being populated by armchair tossers with too much time on their hands, although it's a very useful local resource with good admin, and for those of you in Leeds SF has now set up a Leeds Forum which naturally I've joined having a Pudsey lad for a husband. Anyway, hold on I will post Shane's answer here coz it's a cracker. 
