Why, in absolutely none of the eposodes, is an issue never ever made of the fact that Dorothy is overweight? Yet almost an entire eposode (Rich And Fat) is devoted to Tony putting on weight. I wouldn't even describe Tony as being the slightest bit podgy, whereas I would definately say that Dorothy borders on obese.
Surely that would be an ideal bit of bad behaviour for the boys - to keep slagging off Dorothy (in her presence and absence) for being a fat cow!
maybe because she's too scary? Anyway I agree, it's weird.
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"...so it would have been too personal to the actress."
I agree, BUT, dont u think Garys ears are also too personal but still they are "doin them" every 5 mins :D
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one of the lines,
Gary: Im tryin to have nice evening with my lovely girlfriend..
Big guy: What with those ears?
hahah
Why should it matter? Just because narrow minded people like you think that every woman should be a size 6, doesn't mean that the rest of the world does. Get a life, and stop slagging off people who have a sensible approach to their body image.
<font color="orange">I e a t m y p e a s u p g o o d :o</font>
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Being overweight isn't a sensible approach, and to think that some people think it is just goes to show how far we have fallen. Human being didn't evolve to be the size we are growing to, size 6 or even lower is naturally what we should be. You can look around and say, women don't REALLY look like that though, and you're right, but they don't look like that because they eat crap and don't get enough exercise, not because they're SUPPOSED to.
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*SPOILERS*
There was a slight dig (only slight) at Dorothy's weight. In the episode 'In Bed with Dorothy' where she has had her appendix taken out, Gary tries to pick her up from her wheelchair to put her in bed but seems to have some trouble so uses another alternative(!)
I agree in that there were many references to Gary's ears throughout the whole series. But I think Martin Clunes did (or still does) see the funny side of it otherwise, I'm sure he would have said something.
Marilyn Monroe: I don't want to be rich. I just want to be wonderful.
That is a redundant argument mate, if you're going to bring in what we, as a species, are supposed to be doing in terms of evolution and nature, then I bet you fall in to the catagory that does things unnaturally yourself.
Like if you have ever had sex for pleasure then you are a hyppocrite. Sex is meant for nothing more than making babies. The only reason it's pleasurable is coz that's evolution's way of ensuring that people will want to do it as much as possible, thus ensuring more and more human beings are born. But we have perverted this in to a pleasure scheme. We all do it, but that doesn't make it natural.
People should be happy with themselves whatever they weigh. That's more important than being super skinny. All these models that are stick thin are disgustingly ugly but they keep getting all the attention while millions of much better looking women who don't look that stick thin get no attention (speaking of the media). It gives out the wrong signals to people, the ones who are foolish enough to believe they have to look like that to be attractive.
I know this is an old thread but i had to reply when i saw this...
If keithbalbi holds this theory, then what is your excuse on homosexuality? Or Bi-sexuality? Or Transgenders?
Are all these just something man has created and it goes against nature? Or are people born that way and it is normal? Just not to you?
"Every day above ground is a good day!"
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for a start, making fun of dothery for that wouldn't have been funny and for another thing - as other people have said - it would have been too personal for the actress. Anyway, I don't think she is too overweight!
I suppose, but as other people have also said, what about Gary's ears? They are made fun of throughout every series. That is certainly personal to Martin Clunes.
sharei think he would be a lot less senisitive about his ears than caroline quentin would've been about her weight.
shareI don't think actors are so touchy about their body, and actually in the show sometimes Dorothy is insulted about her appearance.
And, talking about personal attacks:
Gary: I'm sensitive.
Dorothy: Ah, that's why you refer to Luciano Pavarotti as "that fat git".
i think the main reason they didnt do it is just because it wouldn't have been funny! :)
shareWhat about Dawn French? Frequent references are made in just about all programmes she features in eg The Vicar Of Dibley, to the fact that she personally is overweight.
shareOne thing that is wonderful about the UK is that a certain percentage of characters on the telly have to be "real-sized" i.e., heavier. I am figuring it relates back to that - and as mentioned in another post, not everyone is a size 6!
Samantha
"Nobody's perfect."
Agree with you totally.
And ofcourse it wouldn't be funny to laugh with a women's weight issues anyway, cause what is more normal than that? (sorry, weird sense of humor)
Oh, and just so you know: Everybody is perfect, it's just all these rules, values and other cultural bagage we drag along in our mind that makes the imperfection so absolute. In fact the imperfection of being is the perfection of mankind.
And now I'm going to annoy someone else with my rubbish talk (or maybe I'll just watch the episode where Tony manages to pull his tooth the old fashioned way ...again)
Hey, stop lecturing! Of course making fun of overweight people is silly and mean. This is WHY it would suit the characters. Nobody says there's something wrong with Dorothy.
shareI think Caroline Quentin is a smart, feisty and sexy woman. Wouldn't mind her licking my ears ;-)
share"Of course making fun of overweight people is silly and mean. This is WHY it would suit the characters"
I don't think that's true. Gary is really the only character with any real trace of meaness in him, and at heart he's too scared of Dorothy (and I think, actually, too sensitive) to pick on an issue that would probably be very hurtful to her.
Tony is too innocent to have ever made fun of her, and as he says in one episode, also finds Dorothy scary.
I always think that she looks slightly chubby, but she in fact isn't. She's top heavy (a large chest), which makes her look a bit plump.
Probably because she's not overweight. She just looks big compared to Deborah who is probably a size 8 or maybe 10 (British sizes). I'd be surprised if Dorothy was more than a 14 - hardly obese!
shareOf course she is overweight.
Ok, maybe not so much so as to be clinically obese, but she is definately what I would call "fat".
I definately think the show could be that bit more funny, if an issue was to be made of this from time to time.
After all, she is not a very likeable character.
She ripped Gary about his ears enough so he should have given her some stick back about her weight.
shareIt makes the show funnier that they can include some personal banter, but I think it would be overstepping the mark if they commented on Caroline Quentin's body shape. Also to call a size 14/16 woman obese would probably alienate a lot of the audience.
Oh, jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars.
I know this much, were I single, went home knacked after a night shift and found Caroline Quentin naked in my bed I'd soon lose all thoughts of sleep. Well upholstered she may be, but she's wickedly funny and had the lovliest eyes, she gets my vote!
shareDorothy is a bit evil, definately NOT a likeable character but Caroline Quentin is an extremely beautiful and sexy woman. So she's a bit overweight, so what?
In fact Caroline Quentin was the main source of inspiration for me to be cured from bulimia because I realised that you don't have to be thin to be beautiful.
She's also an amazing actress and deserves more respect!
Oh yeah also, when Dorothy had her appendix removed, one of the gags was that she was too heavy for Gary to lift from her wheelchair to the bed.
Oh, jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars.
I think that in general, men typically insult each other for laughs (particularly in a group) and women generally don't. So it's become (somewhat) okay to insult a man for his large ears, bald head, etc., as it echos the male sense of humor to do so. Men are supposed to be able to "take it"... (though in my experience they are often as secretly hurt by such comments as a woman would be).
To insult a woman for physical weaknesses is somewhat still seen, even in this day and age, as unacceptable... the old tradition of a "gentleman never insulting a lady" has resulted in many people continuing to see such insults as over the line... therefore, I think that the people here are correct in saying that many people would not find such lines funny in a "sit-com"...
Personally, I think that Caroline Quentin is just fine the way she is. She is a talented, strong, memorable, and attractive person. It's nice to see normal-looking people on TV... in the US we are stuck with too many plastic people who have less character and personality in their faces... it's kinda boring... whatever happened to all of the great character actors/actresses that we used to have???
-KB
... because the show's very premise is geared towards making men the fallguys, not women.
If you had the guys being sexist and downright cruel, then the show's satire would be lost, and you'd have people thinking the male characters were being set up as heroes, rather than the vaguely pathetic menchildren they are meant to be seen as.
You can't show them being really obnoxious, or people would miss the point; look what happened to 'Til Death Do Us Part, or Love Thy Neighbour, in the 70's... Political correctness demands that their behaviour be criticised as stupid, and this is achieved by mostly having women be the sensible ones.
Besides; we're men - we can take being made fun of without crying about it, because the lad culture is to insult and get insulted by your mates... It's not the same with women.
Born when she kissed me, died when she left me, lived whilst she loved me
I actually thought Dorothy was quite attractive, better in her early seasons than Deborah was in the later ones (all shorthaired and scowly). But that adide, obese is a bit of a stretch...
shareWe're men - we can take being made fun of without crying about it, because the lad culture is to insult and get insulted by your mates... It's not the same with women.