Our Girl and Captain James XLVIII

[Ilovelblue]

All discussion on the latest series of Our Girl, with particular reference to Captain James, is welcome here.

I agree 100 per cent eejit very very sloppy writing. Love your image of them tossing ideas around, pity they couldn't come up with some more credible ones and not spoil a reasonable story. Series 1 and 2 were fine. Elvis was alive and it looked like they could sort themselves out and CJ was mentioning Molly in an "I'm proud of my wife who's a serving soldier" sort of way. Since then it has really failed. Pity.

Could someone post the direct link to the Our Girl discussion/comments at BBC's writer's room? My Google-fu let me down.

It took me a while to find it again Delphin but hopefully this will work. Not a lot of comments but the last one is quite precise.

www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/entries/5e15d160-c72c-43d3-89c5-37e36332e61f#comments

When you consider CJ's stance for most of series 1 "Nothing is stronger than army regulations" and let's talk about this at Brize Nor'hun with the CJ who's prepared to get it on with corporal whilst in barracks there is a world of difference.

I'm guessing from reading the post again on that site about regulations and customs, it's not necessarily against regs to conduct a private relationship if there is no direct chain of command but given the difficulties of such relationships it's definitely frowned upon and discouraged unless the parties are stationed a long way apart and it's unlikely to encroach on the work of the other. Assuming, Molly and CJ could have married in those circumstances, I guess they probably only had a bit of a weekend marriage and not even that with CJ going on tour all the time and Molly too.

"Viewers love the Elvis/Georgie storyline, do you enjoy writing that?

I love writing Elvis and Georgie. It’s a real burning love story where they can’t function without each other or function with each other. It’s a passionate love and its wonderful writing it for Michelle and Luke."

Blithering tosh! I reckon they can function perfectly well with each other. In fact, on all the evidence, they did so very well until Laura arrived on his doorstep the day of the wedding. Certainly, when she was suffering etc when she was back in Manchester, it was Elvis she turned to, rather than her fiance. And there was that text she nearly sent him the night before the non-wedding to Jamie. What would have happened had she done so? A certain someone shinning up a drainpipe? Then the intimacy in the ambulance after Abu was shot. All of which makes the Syria precursor to the Nepal series inexplicable. SURELY she didn't abandon him at the hospital after that ambulance trip! SURELY they could have had some time to talk things through. And where was she when Elvis and Maisie were in decompression in Cyprus? Too many holes, which are not sufficiently explained away as plot devices.
Exactly the same criticisms apply to the CJ storyline (both with and without the GL complication).

So that's the final episode of this series?

I had to rewind to see how far they planned to jump. They all looked quite chipper considering.

Eh well.. it's good that they got the little boy back.

lego - [big grin][big grin]

Argh! - been a long day.

It's going to be strange tonight with no OG to watch! There's another drama starting which might be ok.

What's everyone up to at the moment?

Back from Sicily and still haven't seen the last 3 eps. Because of the Wimbledon and World Cup shenanigans, ep 7 didn't even record, so only got 6 and 8 on tape. Have seen a couple of bits, including the bloody ridiculous and completely unnecessary getting together of CJ and Lane, plus the jumping off the cliff and have obviously read all the comments on here and elsewhere. I am so depressed, I'm not even sure I want to bother watching the rest although I will at some point because of BA! I know I haven't seen the last 3 eps but it feels as if TG has really sold all of us original CJ and Molly fans down the river. If BA hadn't have said in interviews that CJ was suffering from PTSD, would anyone really have twigged? Not sure I would, I think it could probably have been explored a lot more. As for him and Lane, don't get me started He waited out for Molly (who he called out for when he was delirious in Belize good title for a book?) in Afghanistan but can't control himself with Lane.....bollocks! We all knew that LT was never going to return but that doesn't mean you have to break them up. As they couldn't serve together, they wouldn't be on screen together anyway, unless there was a domestic scene, so why not keep them together. CJ now looks like a serial lothario, which I don't think is how he started out and certainly is not what we all bought into.
Sorry for the rant, too much vino perhaps

No need to apologise Kazza most of us feel the same and would happily join you in your rant. It has all just been one big disappointment.😙

Evening! Welcome Lego!

After 8 weeks of griping a bit, getting annoyed, lambasting and then trying to forgive CJ, lamenting series 1 and the loss of Molly and generally musing all things OG it's a bit strange to have nothing new to talk about tonight.

Actually, eejit your comments about the inconsistency between the end of series 2 and the start of series 3 did make me think a bit. It's true that when we next see Georgie and Elvis together she's a bit short with him despite the way everything ended after the Abu story and Elvis taking a bullet for her. Just how many times does a man have to prove he loves you? And yes, where was Georgie when Maisie was having her decompression fling with Elvis? Are we supposed to think she was somewhere else and Elvis was disgruntled enough to go off with Maisie?

I still keep thinking there was maybe a different story originally planned for Bones as the article in the Express implied things changed during shooting. He certainly appeared to be the potential interest for Georgie at the start of Nigeria. It was only after he was blown up that the wife and children briefly emerged with his coffin making him appear not only a bit of an angry robot but also a sleazy, unfaithful one too.

Glad you enjoyed your holiday kazza. If the rant is wine induced, then I hope it's some nice Sicilian bottle you opened.

I do wonder how BA felt about his changing character? Do actors just see it as a job to be done? If he is as invested in the character of CJ as we are, he will surely be disappointed that he has turned into a bit of a slimeball. Maybe he just sees it as a challenge to portray CJ like this.

Rhu I did think the Maisie/Elvis getting together during decompression was Elvis' way of making Georgie jealous. Then I realised Georgie only found out by chance so that theory didn't really hold up.

I think that Express interview implied that Olly Rix/Bones was disappointed he was only in OG for two episodes, didn't it and that there had been a change of producer?

Mind you, the Maisie / Elvis decompression thing was well worth it for the delicious scenes, first when CJ tells Elvis that he and Georgie know about it and, second when Elvis gives her the heave. LP's range of facial expressions is impressive.
It is also one of the joys of the Nepal / Afghan series, the little chats between Elvis and CJ. The chats come across (to me, at least) as genuine chats between genuine friends. A bit like that one in Series 2, when CJ calls Elvis into his office and E comes out with that line about tapping him for a fiver and, after being told off by CJ, gives that really sarcastic salute.
On the Olly Rix / Bones angle, I thought it was well set up for some strong plot development, given the Sword of Honour thing between Bones and CJ. Given Elvis had been written out, there could have been a good story line about harassment (as I may have mentioned before) with 2 Section rallying round Georgie to protect her (or not, as the case might be). But that couldn't have happened, once they injured CJ and sent him home to rehab. Pity, because harassment of Georgie might have opened CJ's eyes to problems Molly might have been experiencing (in the parallel universe in which we all exist). Am I making sense?

Perfect sense eejit.

That scene in Afghan where Elvis tells Maisie there's somebody else in his life is great! I've watched it a time or two or more! When Maisie says he's gorgeous and Elvis pulls that "Yeah I know I am" face makes me giggle every time.

I've just been watching Age Before Beauty which was on at 9 pm, replacing OG. It was ok, quite watchable but I've looked on the thread somebody started about it and had to laugh as somebody's comment was ...."but am I the only one really bored of male infidelity as a plot device?"

ilove in that article Olly Rix does say he was a bit fed up with the role ending so soon but he says that after South Africa the producer changed and the production went through its own "inner turmoil". He said he hadn't known about the fate of Bones when he signed up for it and it was a bit open-ended. After the change of location and producer he thought the potential direction of the show and the storylines was "in play again and were a little bit up in the air." I suppose you can read what you like into that but it made me wonder if there was a change of mind after the Nigeria part was filmed because Bones seemed different after that. It also made me wonder if that's when the CJ and Georgie bit started in earnest or maybe that was always on the cards given the fact that CJ already had Molly troubles in Nepal and after Elvis RIP died they were both spare parts.

We'll never know but I think I'd like another series as I just feel as if there's unfinished business as far as CJ and Molly fans are concerned. I mean is her last word on everything really a conversation about chest of drawers? We've sadly travelled a long way from "I want you to be the last thing I see"...."Ditto"

V interesting , Rhu, I've just checked. Series 3 ep 4, listed only TG and Caroline Skinner as Executive Producers. By Nigeria ep 2, Chris Aird was Executive Producer for the BBC, with Lizzie Rusbridger as co-producer, John Griffin as Series Producer, and TG / Caroline Skinner as Executive Producers, but by Belize, it was Mona Qureshi Executive Producer for the BBC, retaining John Griffin as series Producer and TG / Caroline Skinner.
If you look at MQ's cv, she was script editor on The Nigh Manager, and executive producer in a couple of Call the Midwife eps and The Woman In White (has it been on?), and the forthcoming The Little Drummer Girl. She's part of 'the new team' the Controller of Drama announced last year, so OG must have been one of her first involvements.
Chris Aird was Head of Drama and if you look down his cv, it's well impressive, including Death In Paradise and Shetland.

www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/997145/Our-Girl-season-5-spoilers-season-4-Michelle-Keegan-BBC-One-Coronation-Street-new-series

Make of this what you will.

Well that's interesting ilove. I suppose it doesn't necessarily mean there will be another series but if they are actually talking about it then it must be a possibility. From a selfish point of view I'd like another series so we have reason to go on chatting here and I guess it would be a least a year before anything appeared. However, I don't want to see a whole series of Georgie and CJ loved up.

eejit on the surface that long list of producers looks like a lot of fingers in the pie but maybe it's normal on multi-location shoots of that length to have all those changes of involvement. I guess changes to stories are sometimes dictated by what can actually be done in reality when they are out on location. It still sounds a bit confusing though.

Also I was slightly miffed to see Digital spy report that story with the headline referring to it as "Michelle Keegan's Our Girl". That reminds me a bit of things like 'Joanna Lumley's India' or something. To me it will always be 'Molly Dawes Our Girl'.

OK, a bit of fun here - let's assume we get another series - so what do we want to see happen? After that cliff jump anything is possible however crazy, serious or self-indulgent. Come on ladies throw out some ideas akin to eejit's vision of the writing team on the last series.

I'd like to see a balance between the domestic stuff at home and some action abroad. It was great to get the locations but I think we need a little bit of realism as well. I'd like to see some of Two Section's family - maybe Monk on babysitting duties with assistance from Two Section and possibly having to call in SF to deal with a particularly bad nappy change moment?

Over to you...I've got to go to work unfortunately.

Number one, I want Molly back and to know what she’s being doing. A step backwards in time to see what the hell happened at home with CJ, PTSD and the chest of drawers convo would be good. Mostly I want to know how he wasn’t functioning at home to understand the character changes.

I want more UK based stuff, more in depth about the characters families and more realism. Would love to see Molly interacting with Two Section. Her and Maisie would be double trouble in the best way.

Deal with the Lane CJ fall out.

CJ getting help for PTSD and a real in-depth exploration of this subject. It’s a huge problem for Armed forces and many others. It deserved a platform to be explored and explained properly.

Fix Molly and CJ, realistically. Without compromising Molly characters or CJ’s.

Expand out on Georgie’s character away from her needing a man or going off piste in the most mad ways as plot devices. That’s getting boring and is unrealistic and while I might not be that fond of Georgie as a character, I thing Michelle is a good actress.

Ohh, having Corporal Geddings back would be a bonus.

If I can’t have all that, I’d go for a re-boot with a new Character as the female focus.

Must have BA whatever happens.

Agreed CJ complete necessity!!

Hi guys.
I've watched the pilot & most of Series 1 & I like how the army has softened Molly & shown her vulnerability.
You are right about CJ he's definitely not himself & I think Georgie is also experiencing PSTD.
I think that's why CJ & Georgie are bonding plus they both miss Elvis so much.
I love the relationship & banter between Maisie & Rab. I think Rab is replacing Elvis in my affections (I've always had I thing about tall, dark, handsome men; got lucky with my husband )
Really hope there will be a Series 5.

Bonnefoi a big fat YES to every one of those suggestions!

Tracybeaker so glad you've enjoyed the pilot and series 1. Rab is a favourite here too. I'm not sure he'd beat Elvis on most levels but I'd happily settle for more Rab and Maisie in another series.