Talking Heads

[lotusbell]

Anyone remember the original and will you be watching the new one? I studied it at A Level and still have my copy with all my notes in.

[notacooldad]

Re the repeat of certain words - having watched them all, someone saying "whatnot", or "and whatnot" seems to be in every one?
Phases like that are used repeatedly where I live. When I moved 'up north' and met my SIL she used to ( well, still does) say that all the time. It used to drive me crazy but I am used to it now. I may have even said it myself a few times!!

[HyggeTygge]

@CurtainWitcher

I shouldn't have binge-watched them, as I got bored of "only" (rather than 'but' or 'except', nearly ironed blouses and cardis, brooches and teapots for one cup of tea.
I like Maxine Peake but felt she was too young for the role of Miss Fozard.

This (re "only") did make me smile! I can't imagine binge-watching them... think it'd spoil it.

[CaptainMyCaptain]

'the upshot was...' was repeated several times in different monologues.

[SchadenfreudePersonified]

I preferred the Eileen Atkins version, personally. I thought she was funnier than KST and better bringing out the conniving nature of Celia.

I liked the original better, too.

But I did enjoy the Kirsten Scott Thomas version, as well

[notacooldad]

'the upshot was...' was repeated several times in different monologues
Well it would be. The characters are from the same region, common phrases are used repeatedly by people.
I hear the equivalent,'at the end of the day' all the time in my area.
I think the repeated use of words gives a feeling of continuity an bring the works together giving it a regional feel.

Someone said earlier about some of the characters having a Les Dawson feel to them and women aren't like that. Alan Bennet is a Yorkshire man in his mid 80s. He would have been familiar with women who worked on the looms. They exaggerated words and facial expressions to be heard over the machines. les Dawson and Roy Barraclough used these mannerisms for the Cassie and Ada characters they created. They used real life people for inspiration. I'm in my late 50s and know older women who do behave and talk this.

[southeastdweller]

I love the idea of Maureen Lipman as a talking head! The scripts for the two new Talking Heads were published yesterday and in the introduction, Nicholas Hytner writes that one day he'd like to film A Cream Cracker Under the Settee and Waiting for the Telegram. Think ML would be perfect for either of those.

[Tana433]

I have watched all of them and really enjoyed each and every one. The stand out episode for me by far though was the Martin Freeman one, he was superb in it, i was mesmorized from beginning to end. I have only seen a couple of the originals, A Cream Cracker Under The Sofa being the one i most vividly remember. Am i right in thinking that Alan Bennett did the original monologue for A Chip In The Sugar?

[Hesperatum]

I thought Harriet Walter and Lesley Manville were superb. Not so taken by Jodie Comer in this rôle, though I think she is an excellent actress.

[StampMc]

Haven’t watched all of them yet but I’m a huge fan of the originals. I liked Tamsin Grieg almost as much as Penelope Wilton but I don’t think the outside dog was nearly as good as the Julie Walters original.

I hated the Sarah Lancashire one. Not so much for the subject but because it was so unsubtle. It was like someone who had only heard of Alan Bennett through a third party attempting to mimic him. Vicars and jam and Maureen. When there is abuse in others such as soldiering on (she was always his little girl - bloody psychiatrist) or all the way through playing sandwiches (the liquorice allsort buying and “didn’t you used to work at the baths?” And not being godfather because he’s not motorised and the mocking at the christening party) and even in parts of nights in the gardens of Spain it’s spoken about in a way that makes you think “ohhhh.....shit”

[The80sweregreat]

I think all the characters lived in the same village or town. It was just the odd nod here and there to other talking heads characters and the vicar and jam making references! Plus some houses looked similar lay outs.
I'd love to think they all were in a five or ten mile radius of each other!

[CaptainMyCaptain]

The houses looked probably looked familiar because they were Eastenders sets.

[The80sweregreat]

Yes, the outside dog was the slaters kitchen!

[southeastdweller]

Overall I've enjoyed this series but thought revisions to the original scripts weren't warranted and the miscasting (Jodie Comer, Lucian Msamati, Rochenda Sandall) was distracting.

[Lottapianos]

Just watched 'The Shrine' with Monica Dolan and I'm confused! Her husband secretly hung around with a load of bikers, who all thought he was gay, and there was a woman in the group who was particularly fond of him. And his wife is determined not to look at whatever is on his laptop. And there was an odd encounter with a vicar. Can someone help me join the dots?!

[xsquared]

Never saw the original series but it's been recommended by a friend from work. I have enjoyed Imelda Staunton and Martin Freeman's performances the most. They seem to more dynamics in their delivery of their stories.

Really hated the subject matter on An Ordinary Woman. I have a 15 year old and there is absolutely no way he would be asking me to inspect his genitals at 15. He'd have asked dh for that.

[CaptainMyCaptain]

@Lottapianos

Just watched 'The Shrine' with Monica Dolan and I'm confused! Her husband secretly hung around with a load of bikers, who all thought he was gay, and there was a woman in the group who was particularly fond of him. And his wife is determined not to look at whatever is on his laptop. And there was an odd encounter with a vicar. Can someone help me join the dots?!

I think he was leading some kind of double life but not an affair. It didn't really ring true and was rather strange.

[chunkyrun]

Where's everyone watching the originals?

[Lottapianos]

Thanks Captain. I was very confused by it. Felt we needed a bit more information to make sense of what he had been getting up to

[southeastdweller]

Where's everyone watching the originals?

On DVD.