My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

Telly addicts

I just dont get english dramas - dark and boring

17 replies

sherbetpips · 24/11/2014 12:48

So this weekend we attempted to watch The Fall and also the new Michael Palin one - Remember Me. I am sorry just dont get English Drama. why does everything have to be in the dark - are there no lightbulbs or are they using those energy saver ones? Also I don't mind a bit of scene building but for the first 30 minutes all I did was watch either the gillian anderson staring at something or the baddy staring at something. Totally mind numbingly boring. Throughout that whole episode nothing happened to move it along at all. So we switched off and tried Remember Me instead. More of the same, people standing around staring out of windows, making tea, small talk. Very little that actually added to the storyline or made any sense. I have to admit that the american drama series annoy me with there 'everyone looks like a supermodel at work everyday even when they are doing an autopsy' but at least the stories move along - anyone with me on this?

OP posts:
Report
BamBam21 · 24/11/2014 14:19

No sorry, I don't agree at all. I think that British (not necessarily English Smile) drama is fantastic for slowly building tension and drama. Remember Me was utterly brilliant and terrifying in a very understated way, and often it's the sheer normality of what the characters are doing most of the time that makes the drama.

I don't honestly think that American dramas do understated or subtle very well at all and, like their sports, have to be glitzy and fast paced to suit the audience's attention span. I don't mean that to be offensive, I just think that American audiences demand more action, whereas British audiences look more for substance. Smile

Report
southeastastra · 24/11/2014 14:21

i think it;s the knock on of dramas like the killing, it seems to be fashionable Grin

midsomer murders always looks bright and gay

Report
harryhausen · 24/11/2014 14:23

Sorry but I think a lot of British dramas are excellent. Just that Benedict Cumberbatch BBC ad at the moment that shows drama clips over the years hits that home for me.

I was gripped by Remember Me. Totally chilling and I have no idea what the story will turn into. I also like The Fall.

Report
harryhausen · 24/11/2014 14:24

Also everyone was so gripped by BroadChurch a few years ago that it made national news and several threads on here.

Report
diddl · 24/11/2014 15:49

I do enjoy the nothing really happening & getting to know the characters tbh, where everyone isn't good looking/well off...

Report
DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 24/11/2014 19:56

I love gritty , dark dramas especially The FallSmile

Report
Ir1na · 25/11/2014 02:17

I think OP literally means filmed in the half-dark, not "dark" as in serious! Smile And one person's "boring" is another person's "interesting setting the scene/character development".

Report
Ir1na · 25/11/2014 02:19

Never heard of Remember Me before though, is it WW1-related?

Report
SheHasAWildHeart · 26/11/2014 22:19

That's like the Harry Potter movies, everything dark & brown. I'd like to see an American version of it.

Report
PseudoBadger · 26/11/2014 22:22

The Fall isn't English...
Plenty of stuff happened in Happy Valley.

Report
PrincessTheresaofLiechtenstein · 26/11/2014 22:24

I was gripped by Prey, the John Simm thing that was on a few months ago. Very fast paced but not at the expense of understanding the characters.

Report
squoosh · 02/12/2014 15:14

Broad Church was just a rip off of The Killing.

Report
specialsubject · 02/12/2014 17:27

two programmes where the OP has a point. Not every single programme from the UK's massive output is the same, though.

Not everything is filmed in the dark, although it does seem to be a trend. As does mumbling actors.

(old fart mode ON)

Report
squoosh · 02/12/2014 17:40

I think mumbling reached its annoying peak with the recent adaptation of Jamaica Inn. Looked fantastic but I really struggled to understand most of what was being said.

Report
Idontseeanysontarans · 02/12/2014 17:43

The amount of recent gritty northern dramas are getting a little boring.. And I live in a gritty northern village! (and about 3 miles away from where they filmed Happy Valley).
Nobody ever smiles..

Report
squoosh · 02/12/2014 17:47

Oh I loved Happy Valley, thought that was quite fresh, aside from the gritty Northern-ness.

Report
farendofafart · 02/12/2014 17:49

Totally agree about Remember Me. Doesn't anyone have a decent lightbulb in these houses? I found it unwatchable for that reason and also for its use of American horror film tricks of sudden screamy noises accompanying stuttery images - ruined what might otherwise have been a great drama.

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.