A night's telly

[caddyman]

We sat and watched torrented copies of the second episodes of both City of Vice and Torchwood tonight, not having managed to get the aerial problem sorted.

I can't help but feel that colloquial English has lost something since the late eighteenth century. I am going to have to pay more attention to the slang they use in the programme; it's far more colourful than anything we have now. That said, my brane being what it is, I have forgotten most of it except for a couple of the truly rude ones which I shan't reproduce here. I thought the producers quite brave, too, in making the Afro-Jamaican Runner gay and then having him sacked because of it. Accurate treatment by the mores of the time, I guess, but it was interesting that two persecuted groups were rolled into one character when they could have shared the prejudice about a little. I hope it's not the last we see of him: he was an interesting character and as Henry Fielding himself observed between moments of self-righteous piety, his insights into London's demi monde would have been very useful to their embryonic police force.

Anyway, if it keeps up the quality, I may be tempted to pick it up on DVD in due course.

Ganymedes and Macaronis, eh? Blimey.

Torchwood continues its improvement over series one. It shows that they have spent more time on it. The scripts hang together better, there is humour and horror and Jack is showing signs that the charisma by-pass he suffered in season one has worn off.

Two episodes in and references to, but no appearances by, Barry Back Plot. This can only be a good thing. Unless he is used rather better than in season one.

Comments

[failing-angel.livejournal.com]

I'm rather enjoying 'City of Vice' - I'm hoping for a cameo with Charles Fox, that noted Macaroni.

[binidj.livejournal.com]

I, on the other hand, am finding City of Vice progressively more tedious. It all seems terribly authentic but the script is just dreadful. The language used is right but other than that there seems very little depth or imagination. I wonder if the series is intended to be a documentary or a drama ... currently I feel that it is failing at both. I seem to recall having seen a Timewatch (or somesuch) which covered almost exactly the territory that last week's programme did (with dramatisations) and which I found both more entertaining and more enlightening.

I'll give it one more try tonight and then that's it.

[caddyman.livejournal.com]

That's odd, because I like it for perhaps the reasons you don't - the fact that it has a documentary drama feel to it.

I don't recall the script being dreadful, but then I could be more easily pleased than you. I have noticed before that my critical facilities in these areas tend not to click in to the same degree as many of my friends' do!

As last week I shall have to torrent it as the aerial bloke failed to turn up on Saturday, though he did phone ahead to apologise!