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Original poster

Happy Valley. I don’t get it

258 replies

BillyNighysWife · 05/02/2023 14:48

It seems everyone thinks Happy Valley is the best thing ever. I started watching series 1 recently to find out what all the fuss was about. I found it quite watchable but I really don’t think it’s great. It seems to be full of cliches about people. Despite its dark subject matter there is a cloying, mediocre English cosiness about it. Sarah Lancashire is good and as an older woman myself it’s great to see older women as main characters in big narratives. But there have been great, strong women in soaps for decades. What is special about her character and what she does in HV? I don’t get it.

It seems to be very similar to Mare of Easttown, except that was better.

Does anyone agree with me or am I on own with my strange opinion?

OP posts:
KatherineJaneway · 05/02/2023 14:51

I don't get it either. But then anything called 'gritty,' is usually a huge pass for me.

toomuchlaundry · 05/02/2023 14:54

What sort of things do you normally watch?

Tilllly · 05/02/2023 14:55

We can't be friends

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TV
Newusernameaug · 05/02/2023 14:56

For me it’s a combination of lots of things, great acting, interesting story lines, the feel of typical Britishness, big mixed family…. It feels cosy to watch!

Original poster
BillyNighysWife · 05/02/2023 14:56

I watched Mare of Easttown and thought it was great. That was really similar, a middle aged female cop with a complicated personal life investigating murder, secrets etc in a small town. I don’t mind gritty at all. It just has to be well done.

OP posts:
Original poster
BillyNighysWife · 05/02/2023 14:57

I think it’s the cosy Britishness that puts me off. It seeps into the acting and writing. It’s all a bit mediocre.

OP posts:
caffelattetogo · 05/02/2023 14:58

Mare of Easttown was based on happy valley.

JaneJeffer · 05/02/2023 14:59

Cosy?

Original poster
BillyNighysWife · 05/02/2023 15:01

@JaneJeffer yes cosy. I know lots of nasty things happen and the aesthetic is ‘gritty’ but to me it wallows in cliches about salt of the earth Englishness.

OP posts:
Original poster
BillyNighysWife · 05/02/2023 15:03

@caffelattetogo interesting that Mare of Easttown is based on HV. That’s like the American The Office being better than the British one.

OP posts:
RainbowZebraWarrior · 05/02/2023 15:03

I binge watched seasons 1 and 2 in early January and loved them. Started Season 3 with much anticipation. I think it's been shite. Spoke to my Mum about it and she's also been underwhelmed. I do think the hype plays a part in these things.

However, it did lead me to Last Tango in Halifac which I've thoroughly enjoyed binge watching.

JaneJeffer · 05/02/2023 15:04

it wallows in cliches about salt of the earth Englishness
Nah. I'm Irish and I don't watch and think that's so English at all.

FatOaf · 05/02/2023 15:05

I've never seen it, as I can't stand crime/cop shows (I presume it's just yet another version of Taggart: ""Murrrrderrrr, d'ye say?"). But I have to say I've also never heard anyone talking about it, despite the fact the media seem to be full of stories about it.

CaptainMyCaptain · 05/02/2023 15:06

Its one of the best things I've seen on TV for a long time.

newnamethanks · 05/02/2023 15:06

Sometimes things just don't 'click'. I've been slogging through His Dark Materials on tv. In theory I should love it. In reality I've found it overdone, difficult to follow and boring. I can see the special effects are spectacular though. I'll watch to the bitter end.

Telephome · 05/02/2023 15:08

FatOaf · 05/02/2023 15:05

I've never seen it, as I can't stand crime/cop shows (I presume it's just yet another version of Taggart: ""Murrrrderrrr, d'ye say?"). But I have to say I've also never heard anyone talking about it, despite the fact the media seem to be full of stories about it.

No, there is crime in it obviously, but it's not a crime show. It's about a family basically.

Anyway, it would be a boring old world if everyone liked the same stuff

PurplePansy05 · 05/02/2023 15:10

American The Office better than the British? Wow. I've seen it all on MN now, officially.

I enjoy HV mainly because I share many traits with Catherine. It's not the best series ever, but it's good.

illiterato · 05/02/2023 15:11

BillyNighysWife · 05/02/2023 15:03

@caffelattetogo interesting that Mare of Easttown is based on HV. That’s like the American The Office being better than the British one.

What? You honestly think that? I’ve never met anyone else who thinks the US one is better.

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 05/02/2023 15:11

I never watch tv. I’d like to, but there’s nothing l like. I particularly hate cop dramas.

Then l discovered Happy Valley. I’m gripped. I can’t remember feeling like this for 35 years. Cracker was the last thing that gripped me.

Even Bob Dylon watches it. It’s massive in the US. I live I Sheffield, it’s so nice to see the North on TV instead of London. This was one of the main things that attracted me.

CaptainMyCaptain · 05/02/2023 15:13

illiterato · 05/02/2023 15:11

What? You honestly think that? I’ve never met anyone else who thinks the US one is better.

Show quote history

I only watched half an episode of the US one and hated it.

Plaidparty · 05/02/2023 15:13

illiterato · 05/02/2023 15:11

What? You honestly think that? I’ve never met anyone else who thinks the US one is better.

Show quote history

Everyone I know thinks the US one is miles better (including me!) I hated the U.K. one but could watch the US one on repeat.

RomansTheyGoTheHouse · 05/02/2023 15:14

I'm with you, OP.

I should love HP but am three episodes into the first series and having to gird myself to watch another.

I am clearly in the minority because everyone I know loves it.

JaneJeffer · 05/02/2023 15:14

The US Office is way better. The English one gives me the cringe and I can't watch.

IglesiasPiggl · 05/02/2023 15:14

I think it's compelling. I was born and raised not far from where it's set and I love the scenery shots. But mainly I like that Catherine is a flawed character doing her best to live through heartbreak.

MichaelFabricantWig · 05/02/2023 15:17

I like happy valley, I found the first series really tense and gripping. I discovered it just before the end of the first series so I was able to binge it all or I don’t think I could have coped! It’s not just SL but JN as TLR is an absolutely brilliant villain IMO

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