last tango in halifax

[stottiecake]

anyone else looking forward to the 3rd series? has been a great run up to Christmas for the past couple of years!

I got the idea Gary's wife was signalling severe marital problems, rather than lesbianism. I was wondering what made him get in touch with his dad and thought - possible mid life crisis? Could he have also been dating other women?

I wondered if they couldn't have children?

Gillian definitely confessed to murder - she told Caroline when they were pissed (!) in series two and Caroline promised not to tell anybody. Gillian said that was the reason why she could never have a relationship with his brother (Robbie.) Her Dad believes that Gillian discovered her ex-husband half-dead and just left him to die.

For what it's worth - am I the only person to jump to the conclusion that it was John driving the car that knocked Kate over?? Still over the limit from the night before? (Is this a twist too far?) It just seemed strange that they didn't show the accident or any of the build up but I may well have too active an imagination!

Gillian said that was the reason why she could never have a relationship with his brother (Robbie.)

Except she is having a relationship with him.

I'm not sure if she actually killed him or feels she murdered him by failing to help. It could be either.

Why are these people, neither of whom is in a relationship with Gillian, both proposing to her?

And WHY did she say she would actually quite fancy marrying John? He's awful!

Am new to the programme this series, but finding that completely inexplicable.

I remember Alan telling Celia that Gillian killed her husband with a block of wood. I also remember Gillian telling Caroline she killed him when they'd been drinking

Maybe she'll do everyone a favour and bump John off next time they have 3 bottles of wine then? :)

I quite like John as a character

I remember her saying she'd just left him to die though maybe they've been deliberately confusing about it :)

I thought John's comment about many relationships having a certain shelf life had alot of truth in it. We beat ourselves and each other up too much about relationships not lasting forever.
I find him intensely clingy and irritating though and why doesn't he have a job or if he has one why doesn't he go to it?
It's hard to see what Caroline ever saw in him at the moment. She doesn't seem to suffer fools gladly so why did she want a manchild?

iamEarthymama - I'm not going to watch it again if Kate is dead, for pretty much the same reasons.

I would overlook it if it weren't for all the offensive nonsense in series 2 re Kate deciding to have sex with her ex-boyfriend in order to get pregnant. Can you imagine if a heterosexual couple found that the husband was infertile, decided to use a sperm donor and then the wife said 'I know. I'll just have sex with my ex-boyfriend instead!' And the infidelity was treated like it was far less serious than in heterosexual relationships e.g. the current Alan storyline.

I'm not even particularly a massive Kate fan (although I do think they have good chemistry together) but it really would be the last straw and you have to think what is next in the list of lesbian TV tropes? Probably Caroline falling into the arms of some guy the moment the funeral's over

I agree. I think the Kate Caroline relationship should have been doomed the moment Kate put having a baby now this instant before her new relationship and started doing the emotional blackmail stuff.
They both seem more like a heterosexual bloke's idea of lesbians than any lesbians I know as well.
They don't seem to have given Kate much of a personality in this series and not much more before. She seems to have no hobbies or interests.

I think John is an author. the actor played a similar charcter in lead balloon with jack dee n everytime he appears i think of the cafe owner! In a warped way i can see Gillians attraction to him, he is more fun than solid reliable Robbie, but not marriage / relationship material. Maybe being married to caroline just changed him for the worst..? She is also hard work, smug self centred etc etc. none of them are that pleasant apart from Alan!

We've not seen them, but after Gary met Gillian (for what she thought was a date) the first time, it was said that he was married with 2 daughters.

I don't think Kate's infidelity was treated as less than Alan's - it is only Celia who has a problem with Alan's historic infidelity.

Ah, but remember that Kate split up with Caroline due to her reluctance to publicly acknowledge their relationship, and she then sleeps with her ex to get pregnant - which they had all been trying to discuss and come to an arrangement before Kate dumped Caroline.

So what I mean is, Kate didnt bugger off and sleep with her ex. It was a very different situation from Alan's.

Kate didn't give Caroline long though, and considering Kate worked at Caroline's school an employer/ employee relationship when the employee is younger than you can be seen as a bad idea in many organisations without adding the same sex bit in which parents and governers will find gossip worthy. Kate seemed very naive.

Much as I dislike the John character, and don't want Gillian to take things further with him, he was the only one to consider that the emergence of Gary might have an emotional impact on her. Everyone else takes the view that practical, capable Gillian can cope unsupported with anything and everything.

I also thought kate and Caroline largely split up because Kate invited her exboyfriend along to their romantic weekend away and cosied up to him all evening because she was sulking that Caroline booked 2 rooms not 1 and wasn't ready to discuss babies.

I think Caroline has been the one calling all the shots with Kate, blowing hot and cold with her, that time they went to a hotel and Caroline was embarrassed to ask for a double room then in a fairly short space of time asking her to marry her. While her ex-husband still feels he can come and go freely from their house. John is very annoying and I can't see for the life of me what Gillian sees in him, but that's part of her character that she's drawn to unsuitable men and he is a good character. Part of me would like to see her settle down with Robbie but I think it would spoil the dynamics of the show.

The writer, Sally Wainwright, has created a complex character with Gillian, someone who feels she let her parents down by getting pregnant so young, leaving school before doing her A levels, the business with her now deceased husband ( he used to beat her up). no wonder she is attracted to people that are a bit off the wall ( like John), who despite being as flaky as she is, did ask her how she felt about having a half brother and seems to understand her. He seems to have more in common with Gillian though than he ever did with Caroline - despite his obvious 'posh' background! I love this show because people are flawed in Real life, there are people around like Cecila and they do tend to speak as normal people do ( unlike in soaps sometimes) Its a very good programme but I hope they don't go on to make a fourth as not sure what else can happen to them all really!! ( any suggestions...?)

That's the problem, they are going to run out of possible plotlines pretty soon at this rate.

Don't forget John wasn't proposing marriage to Gillian - he was proposing he help her financially after he'd moved in. He said something like 'we could get married' after she told him about Robbie's marriage proposal.

Have just discovered this after watching with my mum over Christmas. Really enjoying it - great cast and I love the fact it's set in Yorkshire. One question - is that baby really called Calamity?