TV - Sea of Souls / Desperate Housewives

[My Friend Jack]

Anyone else watch the Sea of Souls 2 parter on BBC1 this weekend? Well worth watching, in my view - I would describe it as a Scottish X-Files.

And, of course, we had the UK premier last week of Desperate Housewives, which I also enjoyed. Anything that gets compared with Twin Peaks has to be checked out. But... am I the only person to think that Terri Hatcher has an odd-looking nose? Possibly the most ill-matched nostrils I have ever seen - did she used to be a boxer? :confused:

[Opal]

I meant to watch Desperate Housewives, but missed the first 20 minutes, so I'm hoping I remember when its repeated (Wednesday night I believe), so I can see it all the way through! It looked like the sort of thing I'd like, although I'd not heard it compared to Twin Peaks. Speaking of which, if anyone knows of a way I can get hold of series 2 without spending a fortune or getting series one as well, then let me know... :D

[My Friend Jack]

I've been trying for over a year, Fiona. You might be able to get a Spanish set on DVD via eBay, but that includes Series 1. Beware pirate copies, though. I signed an on-line petition about Series 2 last year, and there is a lot of pressure being applied, but (so far) to no avail.

[Pirate Kate]

I watched both Despaerate Housewives and Sea of Souls and thought that both were very good. I'm not normally the American Sitcom type, but i enjoyed it.

[My Friend Jack]

Kate, I think you've hit the nail on the head re Desperate Housewives. You referred to it as a sitcom, I've seen others describe it as a soap. Like Twin peaks some 15 years ago, it defies categorisation.

[My Friend Jack]

Another quality programme returns to BBC1 tonight - Judge John Deed.

[Opal]

I was watching DH last night... and I think you could be right about Terri Hatcher!

As for Judge John Deed - is it still as good as it was a few years ago? I haven't seen it recently...

[My Friend Jack]

Last year's was the best so far, largely because there was a single case running throughout.

My wife is a huge fan of Martin Shaw, so I wouldn't say this within earshot of her, but he plays the J Deed character superbly.

[Sideshow Meg]

I have been watching Desperate Housewives and think it is very good. beg to differ Pirate Kate, Desperate Housewives is technically not a sitcom more of a drama comedy or as my friend Marty (aka Bill) who lives across the pond has told me it is referred to as a 'dramedy'. I think the casting is perfect. i think Marcia Cross is fantastic as Bree Van der kamp but I seem to be the only one of my school friends who remember her as Susan Howe in 'Cheers'. Please say someone else does!

btw, my quote below is from the episode with Marcia Cross in, oddly enough. She didn't say it though

[Dream Weaver]

I have watched and enjoyed the two episodes of Desperate Housewives shown so far on Channel 4. I like the blend of comedy and melodrama, and while there are a lot of very obvious plot set-ups and it's very manipulative, somehow you don't mind, as it doesn't take itself too seriously.

It is certainly set in what looks like a very unreal world. Do neighbours in the US suburbia really take such a full part in each other's lives? Round where I live, people are barely on grunting terms with their neighbours.

[Pirate Kate]

Do people in America actually just walk into each other's houses and start rummaging in the shopping.
They keep seeming to just walk in, even when there is no answer at the door! e.g. when she set fire to Edie's house, when the woman looking for clothes for Edie, just came in and started looking in the shopping. Does anyone else find that really WEIRD? :confused:

[Opal]

They keep seeming to just walk in, even when there is no answer at the door! ... Does anyone else find that really WEIRD? :confused:
I do indeed! But I know what happens further into the series and believe me it gets much weirder... :p

[Pirate Kate]

oh, ok

[My Friend Jack]

It's the surreal feeling of the series that I like. It reminds me of several other shows from the past... anyone remember Soap? A 1970s sendup of... well, soaps. There's a distict touch of Twin Peaks - last week, some of the incidental music was almost a note-for-note copy from Angelo Badalamenti's score for Twin Peaks, but as I said, it's the surreality that does it for me. And also, that feeling of downright unreality which is slightly reminiscent of Truman (sp?), the Jim Carrey soap send-up.

Nobody else watched Sea of Souls, then? :(

[Mad Dog and Glory]

One of my best presents* this Christmas was the first two series of Soap on DVD Region 1. I watched it when C4 first started, and they showed every episode in turn at 9pm on a Thursday, as opposed to 12.50am which is when ITV used to show it.

* Nothing will beat my Seinfeld box set, perhaps the best packaged DVD in the history of the world.

[My Friend Jack]

Yes, I remember watching it at a ridiculous time back in the summer of '79.

Has it stood the test of time?

[tinminer]

Sea of Souls is IMHO excellent!

Unfortunately, I missed last Saturday's epi, so thought it would have been a waste of time watching it on Sunday. Why don't they repeat it on BBC 3 or BBC 4?
The first season was good, but the first epi of the second series was brilliant!

As you say a (sort of) Scottish X-Files. Isn't Bill Patterson just great! Excellently underplayed.....

[My Friend Jack]

tinminer - I was beginning to think I was the only one who watched Sea of Souls! I see the first series is out on DVD now.

[Junco]

we don't have Sea of Souls in Canada, but it sounds interesting.
Desparate Housewives is a hoot! it began in September, here. Just wait it gets really wild & fun. It's a great ride! :D

[Dr. Strangelove]

I do love Desperate housewives! The guy who plays Mike is so gorgeous! Wow! Also the gardener, but I can't remeber his name. Bree is so annoying, and my favourite is either Lynette or Susan.

[My Friend Jack]

A fine example of how the BBC does sometimes get it right. But where are the 2 sidekicks from the last series (sorry, I can't remember their names, but the female had eyes to die for!). And at last we learn something about - er... I can't recall his name, either - the lead character's past.

Anyone else still watching - this must be series 4?

[megustaleer]

As you can see, I have merged MFJ's new thread with the one he started two years back. ;)

[David]

Anyone else still watching - this must be series 4?
I am, MFJ! Yes, it's a quality series, although 'series' is a bit optimistic for this particular run which is no more than a two-part story, I'm afraid.

I also liked the sidekicks, although my main gripe with the previous series was that they predominated and Bill Paterson's character (Douglas) was sidelined. He's an excellent actor and I thought this was a waste (though in reality I guess it was just expediency due to his involvement in other projects).

I also didn't like the way in which each story lasted just a week last time because I think this is a premise that works well with a longer story, so bravo that this is a return to that format.

My slight disappointment here is that the series' great strength originally was that it featured scientific sceptics investigating the paranormal and both mystery and resolution were never definitive - you were left with the sense of a very grey area rich with possibilities. Now, in the pursuit of more obvious pacy drama the hazy gauze has been dropped and we see unambiguous spookery. It does make for good viewing, but is somewhat less intelligent than of yore.

I certainly enjoyed last night's episode, though, and hope a proper series will be recommissioned.

[My Friend Jack]

Thank you, Meg, your memory is clearly better than mine. Two years ago is far too recent for me to have remembered!

David, I agree on all your points. I thought the full-on spookiness - especially where the scene moved from present to past - was very clever. Also, the use of incidental music - particularly to highlight the spookiness - was absolutely brilliant.

[Bill]

I watched the two-part Sea Of Souls, not having seen the programme before. I'm on a mission to further my TV education by watching dramas that have previously passed me by.

It was essentially a lot of hokum which somehow worked due to the presence of the excellent Bill Paterson. It was a fairly clever twist, although guessable if I'd really thought about it. I wonder though if we looked back to the first episode whether Ian's behaviour matched the twist. There was also a massive flaw in that the house had been for sale for 20 years, so why didn't 'Miller' buy it during that period instead of having to transfer into another body? Also, when Ian was acting the non-believer, why didn't they show him the film of the hanging woman? Perhaps I shouldn't look into it too deeply, as of course the whole plot was deeply implausible, and it was a bit icky when everyone kept saying how they 'believe'.

[David]

Those are very fair points, Bill. The old soul-transference gig is bit hackneyed in the genre, to be honest, though always a good wheeze in its way. I agree that Ian's portrayal didn't ring true when you discovered the twist - a bad case of throwing character consistency out the window in order to disguise a plot device. Though in fairness it worked in its own terms because it had me suckered until about half way through the second episode.

I liked the ending, though, with its bittersweet quality and avoidance of overt, clumsy 'justice' for our evil-doer. Just the hint of it as the re-embodied partner coughs was a neat touch.

I still think the first series was the best, for the reasons I outlined above.

[Bill]

Actually, I was going to say that I liked the fact that Douglas didn't get there in time, and had to accept he couldn't do anything about it. (If it had been Doctor Who - in which the actress playing the sister also appeared recently - as the pretty witch), he'd have waved his sonic screwdriver and the spirit would have departed Karen's body.) That cough was another inconsistency though, wasn't it? Surely the idea of transference is that you leave your illnesses or age behind in the previous body.

[David]

That cough was another inconsistency though, wasn't it? Surely the idea of transference is that you leave your illnesses or age behind in the previous body.
True, but I took that to be the consequence of his messing around with the dark spirits. We were told a few times that if they felt you were simply taking advantage they would bring vengeance, so I saw it as Lucera (? was that the name?) allowing him to re-embody her only to snatch it away from him by giving her the illness again.

[Bill]

True, but I took that to be the consequence of his messing around with the dark spirits. We were told a few times that if they felt you were simply taking advantage they would bring vengeance, so I saw it as Lucera (? was that the name?) allowing him to re-embody her only to snatch it away from him by giving her the illness again.

GPWM (http://www.bookgrouponline.com/forum/showthread.html?p=32735&posted=1#post32735)

[David]

Just finished watching Life Line. I was faintly amazed that in the same Tues/Thurs slot as Sea of Souls last week, this was yet another tale of body-hopping! Was that deliberate or clumsy?! I really didn't understand.

Anyway, after a slow start I thought it worked very effectively by the end of the first episode and kept up the intrigue and pace well in the first half of the second. Then it all went very pear-shaped indeed for the conclusion. The idea of the former partner jumping into a woman's body to spite Peter really didn't work for me and then what about pushing her under a passing truck? Nobody seemed very bothered he'd committed attempted murder. Then very conveniently she ends up in a permanent coma. And what about the Life Line? That was never explained.

Very unsatisfactory, although it's pleasing the BBC is prepared to throw a significant amount of weight behind more 'high-concept' drama.