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Post by dem bones on Feb 6, 2009 9:01:36 GMT
Whitechapel ITV 1, Monday 2nd Feb. 2009 "Every times there's a stabbing in Whitechapel, they come crawling out of the woodwork. I hate Ripperologists" - Detective Inspector Ray Miles. Did anyone catch the first part on Monday night? Rookie Detective chief Joseph Chandler (Rupert Penry-Jones) has a twin-pronged welcome to Hell when he takes over at Whitechapel during an investigation into the murder of a young woman around the back of the station by the old board school. His team are hard-bitten, scruffy cynics who have as big a down on plum-in-gob, university educated coppers who they suspect are named Rupert in real life as the killer has on young women. Their ring-leader, DI Ray Miles (Phil Davis) is especially uncooperative and sneery - he's intent on driving Chandler from his position in record time. CCTV footage reveals some jester in a top hat, cape and leather apron was prowling Bucks Row on the night of the crime, and before you can say 'Jack's Back!' it appears that he is, or someone very much intent on repeating his butchery. This is certainly the view of Edward Buchan (a ghoulish Steve Pemberton), author and tour guide ("It will be dark, it will be frightening and maybe tonight we will see some of the ghosts of Whitechapel! OK, ladies and gentlemen, that will be ten pounds a person, please."). Buchan offers his services to Chandler, only to be scowled from the room by Miles. But by the end of part one even he has to admit that there's a copycat Ripper on the loose. Plenty of local colour (ie, it's dark and gloomy) and i'm guessing the pub restaurant used was the one upstairs in The Ten Bells because there was a notable absence of slashed sofa. Well looking forward to part two, I am. Bleedin' Ripper Tour Operators!
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Post by David A. Riley on Feb 6, 2009 11:26:56 GMT
Good picture, but I suspect someone on the left was standing on a rather large box! I enjoyed the opening episode. It had polenty of atmosphere, some good action scenes and interesting character development. Just hope the finale doesn't let it down. This, and Being Human, are helping to restore my faith in British TV after wretched productions such as Demons, the less said about which the better! David
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Post by carolinec on Feb 6, 2009 11:36:31 GMT
This, and Being Human, are helping to restore my faith in British TV That's funny. Hubby and I caught a bit of Being Human the other night, and we thought it was absolute crap - bad acting, boring storyline, and awful special effects when the guy was supposed to turn into a werewolf - dreadful! Not heard of Whitechapel - not been able to keep up with what's on TV lately due to being too busy. My weekly dose of The Bill is all I'm getting!
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Post by David A. Riley on Feb 6, 2009 12:27:42 GMT
Perhaps my expectations have been lowered by so much pitiful fare being offered recently by British TV. Though, to be honest, I thought the acting acceptable and the storyline had enough in it to make me want to watch the next episode. As for the special effects, they are not a big issue to me. They were good enough. I would rather have that than some overblown CGI extravaganzas that attempt to mask juvenile tosh, like Demons. The second episode of Being Human seemed okay to me and I have the feeling the series could grow on me. Still not as good as some American series/serials, I'm sorry to say, like Dexter, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Pushing Daisies or Reaper. David
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Post by Johnlprobert on Feb 6, 2009 13:32:00 GMT
I've been watching Being Human and am really liking it! The swings from chatty comedy to outright horror are as broad as you can find in real life, the characters are likeable and there are some interesting storylines developing. Plus if you fancy seeing a bit of where I regularly haunt with my top hat and cane check that bit where the girl got her throat slashed and he refused to reanimate her - that's right in the middle of Bristol that is.
And talking of top hats - Whitechapel has been SkyPlused and will be watched all in one glorious gulp, with the adverts on fast forward.
And finally - I bloody hate Demons - what a misfire, although I think the main thing wrong with it is a lack of someone in charge like a Joss Whedon who could give it a bit of focus. At the moment it's only the older characters that are at all interesting. The younger ones are cardboard cut outs. It's a shame because the money's there, but there have been some woeful missed opportunities - I think it was last week's episode where they could have had bags of fun causing massive amounts of mayhem in a nightclub but the director obviously didn't have the kind of youth I did.
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Post by carolinec on Feb 6, 2009 15:10:30 GMT
Bear in mind my comments on Being Human are based on me only having seen the last 20 minutes of one episode - not sure if it was the first episode or part way through. I'm probably not the best judge, but based on what I saw of it, I wouldn't want to bother again. In fact, I'm definitely not the best judge on good acting, interesting storylines and excellent special effects - don't forget I'm an old series Doctor Who fan! John - the place that they show for the exterior of the house - that's an old pub isn't it? I used to frequent the student district of Bristol with some friends in my younger days, and I'm sure I recognise it. Do you know which part of Bristol that is?
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Post by Johnlprobert on Feb 6, 2009 15:50:59 GMT
Caroline - I'm not sure but it looks like Bedminster. The hospital they film at is most likely the old Bristol General -= whcih really is a (pretty much) closed-down spooky old Victorian hospital in the middle of the city.
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Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Feb 6, 2009 16:03:12 GMT
Missed "Whitechapel". Might need to locate it on the net somewhere. Meanwhile, for some unholy reason I can't seem to miss "Demons". I think it's become a form of masochism, since I can't quite muster up the energy to switch it off. So much stolen from Buffy, but they forgot to purloin the wit. The only character with any spark amongst the regulars is the wannabe girlfriend, who started out annoying but has developed into the only one with any life to her. and kevin McNally was good playing a big rat a few weeks ago.
*SPOILERS AHEAD (in case anyone's actually bothered)*
Saturday's was bland, with no twist to it. Young Van H starts dating newly arrived hot girl just as a demon turns up looking to kill him. Everyone suspects hot girl is demon. Hot girl turns out to be demon. The end.
Mind you, it was even more annoying when they tried to be a bit clever the week before. Vampire called Quincey turns up. Youngsters are told to read Stoker's book to find out who he is. Wannabe girlfriend complaining that there isn't anyone called Quincey in the book. Hmmm... apart from one of the main supporting characters. You know? the one with the dodgy American accent (no, not Phillip Glennister)? And as for Mina sitting joking with the gang after just killing her own son...
Why am I even thinking about this? After all, the writers clearly didn't.
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Post by pulphack on Feb 6, 2009 17:51:34 GMT
Went out of my way to watch Whitechapel as a good ripper yarn is always of interest, and i only read Alan Moore's 'From Hell' the other week, so it's all a bit fresh.
Very curate's egg. Some interesting ideas, some nice filming, and i do like anything with Phillip Davies (He's got to be on a box in that picture! And isn't he too short for a real copper?). But it did seem like the rest of the squad were trying to buod their cahracters when they weren't really given the material to do it with... the actors wroked hard, but a bit more dialogue wouldn't have gone amiss - just a few lines to firm up relationships and heirarchies. I get the idea their interaction will be important to the story, and it just seemed like that was a little lacking. Which was in contrast to the three main characters, who were pretty well drawn. It felt almost but not quite there; enough to watch on Monday, though.
I'm not sure how it goes now, but a few years back there was a real thing amongst ITV drama people that all stories should have their characters go on a journey and learn something, in a very simplistic and positive way, and anything that deviated from that was frowned upon and dismissed. The big names like Lynda LaPlante could buck this trend, but it did make for some very one-dimensional shows. It seems to have changed a bit, but the undertow is still there, hence the simplicity of something like Demons, which would have benefitted from having an HBO approach applied.
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Post by carolinec on Feb 6, 2009 18:38:40 GMT
Caroline - I'm not sure but it looks like Bedminster. The hospital they film at is most likely the old Bristol General -= whcih really is a (pretty much) closed-down spooky old Victorian hospital in the middle of the city. Hmm, not sure if that is the place I'm thinking of then. This was over 30 years ago and my memories from then are pretty hazy (I was stoned for most of the time!). I think the place my friend lived was called Redlands, or something like that? Anyway, it was very much bedsitter land. But I'm sending this thread off on a tangent as per usual. Go on, you folks get back to talking about TV things and I'll just sit and try to recollect what I was getting up to and where over 30 years ago ...
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Post by Johnlprobert on Feb 6, 2009 19:15:32 GMT
Meanwhile, for some unholy reason I can't seem to miss "Demons". I think it's become a form of masochism, since I can't quite muster up the energy to switch it off. So much stolen from Buffy, but they forgot to purloin the wit. The only character with any spark amongst the regulars is the wannabe girlfriend, who started out annoying but has developed into the only one with any life to her. and kevin McNally was good playing a big rat a few weeks ago. *SPOILERS AHEAD (in case anyone's actually bothered)* Saturday's was bland, with no twist to it. Young Van H starts dating newly arrived hot girl just as a demon turns up looking to kill him. Everyone suspects hot girl is demon. Hot girl turns out to be demon. The end. Mind you, it was even more annoying when they tried to be a bit clever the week before. Vampire called Quincey turns up. Youngsters are told to read Stoker's book to find out who he is. Wannabe girlfriend complaining that there isn't anyone called Quincey in the book. Hmmm... apart from one of the main supporting characters. You know? the one with the dodgy American accent (no, not Phillip Glennister)? And as for Mina sitting joking with the gang after just killing her own son... Why am I even thinking about this? After all, the writers clearly didn't. For some reason I can't switch it off either, and it is as terrible as you've eloquently summarised. Am I really so starved for televisual entertainment that I have to watch this? I've got all the episodes of the Survivors revamp taped and I can't actually bring myself to even watch that. Oh well - back to my Night Gallery series 2 set I think - a few classics in there amongst an awful lot of twee rubbish.
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stephenbacon
Crab On The Rampage
www.stephenbacon.co.uk
Posts: 78
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Post by stephenbacon on Feb 6, 2009 20:36:46 GMT
I enjoyed Whitechapel, although two things seemed to bug me a bit.
Firstly, RPJ's character - I realise he was 'fast-tracked' to his current position, but the way he reacted to the investigation was totally unrealistic. It was almost as if he'd spent the previous part of his life (not just his career) wrapped in cotton wool, unaware of the stark brutality of modern Britain, even a fictional one.
Secondly, the investigative team were like something out of 'Carry On Ripping', what with their juvenile behaviour and lack of professionalism. They made the actions of the police in Coronation Street appear almost documentary-like.
But I did enjoy the first episode, and I will watch the final two. It's just a shame the writer 'dumbed-down' these aspects.
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Post by allthingshorror on Feb 6, 2009 20:55:54 GMT
Brilliant first episode - stunningly shot - and I think it was under your skin menacing. Stephen - your points on the police are valid - but these characters are not really supposed to be realistic - I'm sure a real life investigation of this ilk would be way more boring!
The OCD touches of yer main man were very neatly done - and for the first time in a while, I'm looking forward to episode 2.
As to Being Human and Demons. The adverts for BH put me off - and Demons was Eldorado bad.
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Post by pulphack on Feb 9, 2009 22:19:05 GMT
just watched episode 2, and the little qualms i had about the lack of character development amongst the lads in the incident room were put at rest. much more to the fore this week, and rounded out well. also interesting that it's phil davies' character that the 'ripper' sees as his abbeline. could be significant next week?
the way in which the media circus surrounding mitre square - and the chequebook journos with the squaddie - echoed the past was also a nice touch.
next week should be very interesting indeed for what's turned out to be beyond 'good but a couple of doubts', and gone into 'i must not go out next monday'...
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Post by dem bones on Feb 9, 2009 22:33:32 GMT
"He's clearly tried to slice Mary's face off." I sure as Hell ain't planning to miss it either! Tonight's episode was another stormer, even if (slight quibble) the riot in Mitre Square was a little flat. Very cute the way they got around the potentially tricky "double event". I think Steve Pembertone was born to play a self-styled "respected authority on the Ripper" - he approaches the role of Edward Buchan with such commendably creepy gusto you're dying to give him a slap and I'd love to know which tour guides and Ripperologists he modelled him upon. It's not so long ago you could've counted on a novelisation of Ben Court and Caroline Ip's clever script being rushed out to cash in on the interest, but i don't suppose we'll get one, more's the pity. So - one episode to go and we still can't quite rule out the 'supernatural' - for all that the police have incriminating CCTV footage, there's been no DNA found at any of the murder scenes!
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