BBC Original British Drama
- Thread starter Bob The Skutter
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The Shadow Line just continues to blow me away - literally, this week, with the Glickman/Gatehouse confrontation. Only two episodes left, but we're promised answers this week!
Also, I don't recall if it had a thread of its own or not (and it's not really drama), but I have also bloody loved Psychoville 2. Why they felt the need to move the final episode forward 3 days just for Mock the bloody Week I don't understand, but it was spot on. Okay, the returning character came from nowhere really, but I can buy it.
I'd also like to think the mysterious driver in the car park in PV was Gatehouse
Also, I don't recall if it had a thread of its own or not (and it's not really drama), but I have also bloody loved Psychoville 2. Why they felt the need to move the final episode forward 3 days just for Mock the bloody Week I don't understand, but it was spot on. Okay, the returning character came from nowhere really, but I can buy it.
I'd also like to think the mysterious driver in the car park in PV was Gatehouse
So it looks like Luther starts Tuesday and it's gone from 2 feature length episodes to 4 one hour episodes.
So the penultimate ep of The Shadow Line has been and gone and the body count still piles up in a most impressive manner. Who's placing bets on the winner? Will it be Gabriel? Will it be Gatehouse? or will it be the utterly sleazoid police commissioner? Still a great show and still, for me, completely unpredictable, except we all knew Gatehouse was gonna git his assassin, didn't we?
Also Case Histories is really very good, so if you haven't been watching it, catch up. Next ep is on Sunday.
Also Case Histories is really very good, so if you haven't been watching it, catch up. Next ep is on Sunday.
The Shadow Line has veered perilously close to parody at time the last few weeks, but has managed to stay just the right side of it (seriously if Gatehouse is revealed to be a Terminator I wouldn't be that surprised).
I guessed
I seriously wonder how many people are going to be left alive by the end, and yeah what's great about it is that it's in no way predictable for most of the time, except like you say it was pretty obvious what was going to happen in hopsital.
I guessed
Glickman's g/f was going to kill him when she walked into the alley, it was the gloves that did it, a clever touch after Gabriel's comment about Gatehouse
I seriously wonder how many people are going to be left alive by the end, and yeah what's great about it is that it's in no way predictable for most of the time, except like you say it was pretty obvious what was going to happen in hopsital.
Still not caught up with The Shadow Line, going to need to catch up soon.
I wondered at the enormous cast at the beginning of the run but the novel way the writers have dealt with that has solved it. I'm worried about Joe Bede now. It's strange when an out and out villain gets everyone's sympathy vote.
I sincerely hope sleazoid police commissioner is added to the body count before the end but I suspect he'll emerge squeaky clean.
Yeah I'm worried about Jospeh as well, I think he's either going to die or we're looking at a Godfather situation here and he's going to reluctantly end up having to assume Ratten's mantle permanantly.
I really like the guy who plays the commisioner as an actor, he veers from sleezy to scary quite well and he's also very good as the comedy dad in the Sarah Jane Adventures!!
I really like the guy who plays the commisioner as an actor, he veers from sleezy to scary quite well and he's also very good as the comedy dad in the Sarah Jane Adventures!!
I know the commissioner from band of gold,he played a sleazy pimp.
Just read that Stephen Rea first role was on crossroads, well they all have to start somewhere.
I've watched 2 more episodes now. So got 3 more to catch up with before the final one next week.
Good grief. Well it doesn't pull any punches. Overall I'd say The Shadow Line was unique in many ways and very well done. It's not often we get to watch a drama where the story not only takes centre stage but completely overshadows the characters in it. There were a few niggles, like Gatehouse's penchant for toying with his victims in some kind of psychological experiment. He only very rarely resisted the temptation to do this. It was a dramatic device, like Bond villains insisting on telling Bond the evil plot before sending him to his death, but it was overdone. There's a reveal at the end which is frankly ridiculous. You'll know what I mean. Aside from that, a terrific ride.
Was the last episode on last night? I'm up to episode 6 on my watch. Oh, 7 is on my recorder, I'll watch that later. Then I have to watch Luther, too. Too busy reading to have watched that yet.
^That comment about about Gatehouse is even more amusing given Gatehouse's comment that "People don't become villains to stroke a white cat."
Pensions? It was all about pensions? How utterly brilliant, and utterly British and, for me at least, it completely worked. I was majorly depressed at the end though. I guess I knew both Joseph and Gabriel were tragic characters doomed to die, but I had hoped Bede at least would escape his fate. Interesting 'counterpoint' between the two men. One wouldn't walk away and one of them wasn't allowed to walk away--who knew Jay was a criminal mastermind! Have to say I see Gatehouse struggling to keep him in check.
Rhea was simply brilliant throughout, but for me the acting props go to Eccleston who's entire portrayal was quiet, subtle and mesmerising. Interesting that probably the most noble character in the show was a villain.
I knew Honey was going to shoot Gabriel from the moment we saw her target shooting. At least she didn't look happy about it all. And a nice little scene with Patterson and Laura at the end (could have done without the silly salute and all) and the point that she isn't happy but she won't turn down Gabriel's pension/insurance money was very telling.
The show has flaws, blick left too many answers to the last episode, and so we got maybe a bit too much exposition (especially from Commander Penny on the boat, no kettle takes that long to boil).
It'd be nice to see more of Gatehouse, but its hard to see where you could ever go with a sequel (unless it focused on customs bloke) I will definitely keep my eye out for what Hugo Blick does next (and look for what he's done previously!)
Rhea was simply brilliant throughout, but for me the acting props go to Eccleston who's entire portrayal was quiet, subtle and mesmerising. Interesting that probably the most noble character in the show was a villain.
I knew Honey was going to shoot Gabriel from the moment we saw her target shooting. At least she didn't look happy about it all. And a nice little scene with Patterson and Laura at the end (could have done without the silly salute and all) and the point that she isn't happy but she won't turn down Gabriel's pension/insurance money was very telling.
The show has flaws, blick left too many answers to the last episode, and so we got maybe a bit too much exposition (especially from Commander Penny on the boat, no kettle takes that long to boil).
It'd be nice to see more of Gatehouse, but its hard to see where you could ever go with a sequel (unless it focused on customs bloke) I will definitely keep my eye out for what Hugo Blick does next (and look for what he's done previously!)
I agree with everything you say. However
Nevertheless we've been utterly spoiled by the BBC the past couple of months. Long may it continue.
The fact we knew Honey was going to shoot Gabriel didn't detract from the fact it was utterly unbelievable and the only thing that spoilt the story for me. They could have chosen any one of the other characters to do it but Honey? For her pension? Crap.
Nevertheless we've been utterly spoiled by the BBC the past couple of months. Long may it continue.
The Honey thing might have worked, had they not sign-posted it throughout the series.
That being said, it's a very minor gripe for me.
Oh absolutely. The line was very shadowy indeed especially with Joseph out of place on one side and a whole division out of place on the other. Rafe Spall was utterly brilliant. Hugo Blick gave him some of the best lines I've heard in a long time in that last episode.
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