.......and it was just pure class as the the original series was.
Yes, the Bowles and Keith are much older but they still possess that wonderful comic timing and chemistry that made this show as possible as it was.
EDINA: Inside of Me is a thin person screaming to get out!!!
MOTHER: Just the one dear?
Agree. I was a little worried about the script, but as the programme settled in it became a believable sequel. And, thankfully, the main cast have aged well, and as you say, the Bowles/Keith chemistry is just as good as it ever was!
I wonder if they're hoping to make more? The ratings were very good.
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I absolutely LOVED it. When they bring back older shows, there is always such a risk of it not working, but I always thought it was going to be great - with the same wonderful cast, scriptwriter & director, I didn't see how it could fail, & I was right! As someone else said, the cast have aged very well, & the old chemistry is still there. I almost cried when Richard asked Mrs Pou for advice about Audrey, & Marjory's line about ecstasy being better than Wine Gums was wonderful. One other thing that stood out for me was the casting of Alexander Armstrong as Adam. I could really see him as the new Richard (even if he was on Audrey's side of the family) - if they ever remade the series (unlikely, I know, but never mind), he would do it brilliantly.
Did anyone else think it was a shame that Audrey & Richard didn't have children? (The TV guide I had named Adam as "DeVere" so I assumed he was their son, which confused me as far as Alexander Armstrong was concerned because he's about 20 years too old!) I can't make up my mind about it. I think it might have been nice, but would it have made things entirely different?
Catriona x
"Fate shuffles the cards and we play" (Schopenhauer)
Are you from the UK or USA ... is USA, how were you able to watch this ... reason I ask is when I found out about this special last month, I e-mailed the BBC One and was told there was no plan to show this in the USA ... I tried YouTube and found nothing ....
I am SUCH a big fan of this series (having the complete DVD set) and was so disappointed not to be able to see this.
Thanks and happy holiday
SGF
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I'm glad to hear it did well in the ratings, and I can't wait to see it! I have a few more hours to wait.
shareSome wonderful soul has posted it on YouTube. Just finished watching it and it was as enjoyable as the original series.
Yes, sir, I'm going to do nothing like she's never been done before!
I couldn't watch the X-mas special when it was on TV the 25th, because I was with my parents celebrating Christmas.
Thank God someone put the X-mas special on YouTube, so I could watch it after all.
I thought it was great fun seeing them all, after all those years.
Didn't even know the original series was that old, I'm 31, so I must have seen the reruns on TV.
All in all I loved it and I hope the series (including the X-mas special) will be on dvd soon in the Netherlands.
With love, Dani
Thanks for the message ... got on YouTube tonight and was able to watch the special ... was great! Thanks again
shareAh...found it...
The show was much better than I'd even hoped. There were so many ways it could have gone wrong--going for an easy, sentimental script, the longer length feeling padded, actors losing their chemistry. None of those pitfalls happened.
Audrey was still pushy and ever so slightly socially rigid but there was a warmth the character could rarely show in the original episodes. Richard was still a hard-edged businessman, but his country tweeds showed that he'd allowed himself to mellow. Marjorie was allowed to look really good this time around, but I loved how she'd turned the Lodge into something out of "How Clean is Your House?"
The higher production values were also a pleasant surprise. The manor rooms gently expanded with extensive use of the real home. Also loved the carriage racing! Very realistic country upper-class hobby! And props to the actors for even doing the establishing shots on that thing!
A nice little symbol of the badger, first run over by Richard, only to be nursed back to health by Marjorie and released by she and Audrey. I loved the little moment of the two old friends walking together at the end, so much like the opening shots of the old series, with the two walking after her husband's funeral.
The only jarring moments were the odd Oedipus complex assigned to Richard, with pictures of the dearly departed Mrs. Poo in head scarf on every surface of the manor. Although the cemetery scene was great, and I loved the little detail of her European style headstone with its small picture, among the moss-covered, very English, stones.
Oh dear, I keep getting mixed up between this thread & the "2007 Special was brilliant" thread - I think I've repeated myself quite a few times. So if any of you have had to read it all twice, I apologise! But I don't quite see what your problem with the pictures of Mrs Pou is - I mean, she was Richard's mother & Audrey loved her greatly too, it's only right she should be remembered. I'd wondered in advance how many of the old characters were going to be mentioned, so it was lovely to see Mrs Pou & Brabinger in there. Maybe I missed it, but was anything said of Ned, or the Brigadier? I know they weren't as important characters as the other two, but I'd like to know what became of them. I suppose nothing else could've happened other than death (sounds v morbid, but it's the truth).
Catriona x
"Fate shuffles the cards and we play" (Schopenhauer)
On rewatching, I realized they had to put Mrs. Poo pictures in different rooms because scenes happened in different rooms. It just felt odd--I mean, do you have 8x10 glossy pictures of *your* mother in every room? LOL!
I didn't really like the new butler character--I know they were going for something different, but ugh. Seen that sort way too many times.
I was surprised how few old characters were used. A Young Ned wouldn't have been out of order, and why introduce new neighbors when they at least had names of the old ones? Sadly, I realize the Brigadier probably is gone. Checking, it seems that many cast members died in the early 80's.
Then there's and the poor Old Rector! My goodness. He's going to hang on forever. But that could make a nice conflict, the young rector comes to the village, "Just call me Pete." Cue nostrils flaring from Audrey.
Yes, I didn't really take to the butler, though I think he did well to speak his mind - maybe it wasn't really his place to do so, but he thought he should, so he did it. Sort of like Audrey in old times, really. And Young Ned might have been good, but I suppose he'd have to be some sort of nephew or something, since Ned didn't marry - or so we think. He could have been a friend to Adam, perhaps, as presumably he'd know about farming & suchlike. As for the Rector, I always thought he was a bit of a pain in the bum really, though he did have some good lines. A young rector would be fun - I laughed out loud at your "Just call me Pete" comment. Maybe HE could be a friend for Adam, or perhaps our hypothetical "Maria". (To those who are confused, see the plans for "Adam + the next generation" on the "Richard's wife" thread - it's a bit bizarre, but fun. Hope you forgive me, skagway, for saying that, lol!)
Catriona x
"Fate shuffles the cards and we play" (Schopenhauer)
I thought Peter Bowles looked pretty good considering he's what 70 odd... must be the dapper facial hair.
Tache' back!
"What are you, some kind of doomsday machine, boy?"
Yeah, he looks great for a 70-year-old - wonder what his secret is? He's the only man I've ever found facial hair attractive on - don't know if that's correct English, but you know what I mean. Penelope & Angela were looking good too. Hope I look like that when I'm 70, but that's another 26 years away, so time enough to worry about that, lol.
Catriona x
"Fate shuffles the cards and we play" (Schopenhauer)
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Well, each to their own. It's nearly seven months on & there doesn't seem to be any news, so I guess that's the end. :(
Catriona x
"I'm free!" - Mr Wilberforce Clayborne Humphries, "Are You Being Served?"