Bonekickers BBC 8th June

[wamdue]

ok ive seen it, honestly not sure what to make of it.

in some ways it reminds me of Relic Hunter, expect with a budget and some half decent actors, however im not overly sure that makes up for it.

a Christian vs Muslims for the heart of Britain plot straight out of Spooks, and apparent evidence of the cross the Jesus died on, later burnt.

 

[Christopher]

You have no idea how melodramatic it is (I've seen the first one at a press screening). As Radio Times points out, it's very appropriate that a partial anagram of the title is 'Bonkers'.

Not even an anagram, since you don't even have to change the order of the letters. More like a kangaroo word.

 

[TedShatner10]

I've seen it, what complete and utter pish. Completely weightless and lifeless, while being sickingly PC and tasteless at the same time.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I'll give it another chance, because I'm hoping they just made a bad choice in the first episode. I mean where do you go from discovering "The True Cross" any way?

 

[Deckerd]

I forgot to watch it but the UK boards are on fire with criticism. The gist I got was that it would insult the intelligence of a 5 year-old.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I forgot to watch it but the UK boards are on fire with criticism. The gist I got was that it would insult the intelligence of a 5 year-old.

It was kinda like TNZ, I'm paraphrasing here, but it's more or less accurate

Wacky Christians "We need to cleanse this land of Muslim evil."
Muslim guy "I'm a good Muslim, and Islam is about peace."
Wacky Christian "You need to die."

Or on another part.

"Muslims are winning because although they don't have true faith in Christ, they at least have the conviction to stick to their beliefs, we don't and that's why we're losing this country to them."

Structured round the idea of finding Templar Knights who were possibly bringing 'the true cross' home, and Saracen weapons and coinage in Bath.

 

[diankra]

I forgot to watch it but the UK boards are on fire with criticism. The gist I got was that it would insult the intelligence of a 5 year-old.

It was kinda like TNZ, I'm paraphrasing here, but it's more or less accurate

Wacky Christians "We need to cleanse this land of Muslim evil."
Muslim guy "I'm a good Muslim, and Islam is about peace."
Wacky Christian "You need to die."

Or on another part.

"Muslims are winning because although they don't have true faith in Christ, they at least have the conviction to stick to their beliefs, we don't and that's why we're losing this country to them."

Structured round the idea of finding Templar Knights who were possibly bringing 'the true cross' home, and Saracen weapons and coinage in Bath.

You forgot the burning crosses. In the underground vault. With the archaeologist and the Christian nutter having a sword fight while dangling from their abseiling lines above them!
It's so far over the top of credibility that it starts becoming fun in an Avengers-ish sort of way (but without the witty wordplay).

 

[Deckerd]

As I say I didn't see it but a friend of mine posted this, which made me lol:

"It was summed up by the 'oo look we've found a bit of wood from the holy land with some blood and metal traces on it dating from around 2000 years ago' (I'm paraphrasing) and then underlined the point by showing a picture of the crucifiction for the hard of thinking viewer."

 

[Bob The Skutter]

You forgot the burning crosses. In the underground vault. With the archaeologist and the Christian nutter having a sword fight while dangling from their abseiling lines above them!
It's so far over the top of credibility that it starts becoming fun in an Avengers-ish sort of way (but without the witty wordplay).

Yeah, what was with that last cross... are they trying to say that was the true cross and it had power... or it was just burning really bright?
I hate these sorts of stories, trying to take credible stories about archaeology, they even included the fact they had real historians involved to keep it "as accurate as possible" in the press release, and then they turn it in to rubbish religious story, and shoehorned miracles and divine power in too.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

As I say I didn't see it but a friend of mine posted this, which made me lol:

"It was summed up by the 'oo look we've found a bit of wood from the holy land with some blood and metal traces on it dating from around 2000 years ago' (I'm paraphrasing) and then underlined the point by showing a picture of the crucifiction for the hard of thinking viewer."

They also had a hospice nurse get a splinter in her finger from it, and then healed a dying man at the hospice.

 

[Captain Shaw]

I thought it was a load of crap but i am going to give it one more go just to see if it was just one bad episode.

 

[wamdue]

yes I think the final cross we saw was the one they were looking for

did I notice a black president in episode 2?

 

[Bob The Skutter]

yes I think the final cross we saw was the one they were looking for

did I notice a black president in episode 2?

Was he president, or just a candidate? Having not seen the ep did anyone else think that "You're not in America now" line sounded a bit forced, and stupid?

 

[TedShatner10]

Oh my Satan on a bus, what complete and utter pish - if Doctor Who's overblown "Journey's End" is very tightly written and well grounded in comparison to this steaming bollocks, then something is very, very wrong.

And to think this trite was made by the same production company behind Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes (although we had "Fear Her" and S1 of Torchwood presided over by LoM veterans).

Who were the character's names? Why the completely weightless directing and camera work, coupled with mostly vapid and cliche' ridden direlogue? I can notice Martha Jones' sister, but that's it.

Fsion mailed...

 

[Haggis and tatties]

Hmmm, i will have to give this another episode or two, but i did seem to lose the plot line slightly at the end somewhere, i don't know if that's my own stupidity or the fact that i become totally befuddled by all the who done it talk in the office near the end of the episode......

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Oh my Satan on a bus, what complete and utter pish - if Doctor Who's overblown "Journey's End" is very tightly written and well grounded in comparison to this steaming bollocks, then something is very, very wrong.

And to think this trite was made by the same production company behind Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes (although we had "Fear Her" and S1 of Torchwood presided over by LoM veterans).

Who were the character's names? Why the completely weightless directing and camera work, coupled with mostly vapid and cliche' ridden direlogue? I can notice Martha Jones' sister, but that's it.

Fsion mailed...

It's not made by Kudos, it's made by Monastic, a production company started by 2 of the people from Kudos. While they are involved in Ashes to Ashes, I think that's simply by virtue that those 2 were co-creators of Life on Mars.

 

[John Clark]

Can't say I was impressed with the show, but I'll take another look next week.

 

[firehawk12]

Just watching it now... and yeah, there's a lot of Jesus in the episode. It's one thing if it's subtle, it's another if it's so patently obvious that you can't help but notice it.

T-shirts with the cross? Really? So tacky...

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Just watching it now... and yeah, there's a lot of Jesus in the episode. It's one thing if it's subtle, it's another if it's so patently obvious that you can't help but notice it.

Subtlety, or ambiguity would have been nice, but they might as well have had moustache twirling and mwahahas, to go with their "We're being topical" story.

I just thought I'd throw this in.

Adrian Lester's little speech about "layers" is basically true, if delivered with a reverential intensity that would get him put away somewhere secure.
Field excavation deals in stratigraphy, the idea that some activities leaves a trace and those traces (a wall, a fireplace, a mud floor) generally stack up to make a heap.
That heap can be pulled apart from the top down, effectively going back in time, activity by activity, event by event.

What it doesn't do so well on is detecting eye-catching little incidents like ambushes in woods or somebody being nailed to a tree.
So that's the opening ploy of Bonekickers. If you want to grab the archaeological attention of the world, then mention religion. It worked for the super-archaeologist Indiana Jones.
And our new heroes have found what could be a bit of the cross.
Now how likely is that? Considering the Romans (and a few other empires) used crucifixion like we use Asbos, the chances of finding a significant cross are tiny.
And despite its popularity, the evidence for how it was carried out is slight - a handful of vague literary references, a couple of clumsy drawings and a controversial skeleton or two. So no-one really knows what a cross looked like, or even if there was a single design.
Plus the first Christian Romans turned the Jerusalem area upside down in the search for relics a thousand years before those pesky Templars turned up.

 

[wamdue]

yes I think the final cross we saw was the one they were looking for

did I notice a black president in episode 2?

Was he president, or just a candidate? Having not seen the ep did anyone else think that "You're not in America now" line sounded a bit forced, and stupid?

it could have been candidate, I am just interested to see what the show has to say to the subject.