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Us BBC1

164 replies

unique1986 · 20/09/2020 19:02

Starts tonight 9pm
I haven't read the book or anything but looks good.
Also The 7.39 is repeating tomorrow and Tuesday same writer.

OP posts:
awaynboilyurheid · 30/09/2020 17:55

I'm enjoying it, not got to the end, not sure he is autistic, just more very stuck in his ways and doesn't know how to change. Albi's girlfriend is a real pain though. I would be annoyed if she crashed a family holiday. Cycling in Amsterdam is not for the faint hearted but as others have noted, the streets were empty, only in TV land does that happen!

LadyEloise · 30/09/2020 20:47

I was disappointed they didn't get to Munich. I've never bern and wanted to see what it was like. I've been to Amsterdam and Venice.

FatimaMunchy · 30/09/2020 21:20

LadyEloise me too. I went two years ago and was looking forward to it, hoping they would go up the Zugspitze.
I loved all the scenes from Barcelona.

Hyperfish101 · 30/09/2020 21:29

I really liked it. Have watched so much Netflix overblown stuff recently so I liked the pace of this. I thought it was well acted.

PortugeseManoWar · 30/09/2020 23:04

I’m surprised people are surprised at the seventeen year old travelling around Europe by himself — didn’t any of you go interrailing at that age? I saved up from pt jobs all year and went with my boyfriend and two friends, and we busked incredibly badly when funds were low. And slept on trains or in doorways. We were grubby and permanently hungry. It was wonderful.

TheNewLook · 30/09/2020 23:18

My favourite line:
Albie :Dad, are you ever going to do something spontaneous ?
Douglas : Well, I haven't planned to

Grin Yes! Brilliant. And I also guffawed at Albie saying “the gestapo weren’t this keen” when they were dashing off to their booked slot at Anne Frank’s house.

2Rebecca · 01/10/2020 08:02

You had to book a slot at Ann Frank's house weeks ahead when I was there 2 years ago so we couldn't go. Ditto most places now with Covid restrictions. No planning means sitting in cafes is all you do on holiday. I'm in favour of planning but you have to involve everyone. He was selfish and didn't

rookiemere · 01/10/2020 08:22

@2Rebecca aw see this is where I find myself turning into Douglas. Had he tried to involve them, they'd have told him off for not being spontaneous and they wouldn't have got in anywhere.

LadyEloise · 01/10/2020 08:51

I thought they were a bit casual about the Anne Frank House too.
It's a special place and you really do have to book a slot as it is quite small so numbers are limited.

eggandonion · 01/10/2020 09:25

My dh and my dd1 are in charge of booking places. We learned the hard way that not booking leads to queues or not getting in.
Dh is watching Us, he devoted years to showing teenagers the cultural highlights of Europe with mixed success. But an ability to read timetables and travel by train has stayed with them.

rookiemere · 01/10/2020 09:40

The series has certainly inspired me to want to do a train trip around Europe, although I think we'll wait until our own darling Albie is old enough to be left home alone or is away on field trips obviously not going anywhere for the next few months at least anyway.

Stillgoings · 01/10/2020 10:07

Douglas' family are so annoying. Of course you have to book..I bet they weren't even slightly interested when he was doing the booking.

eggandonion · 01/10/2020 10:27

My ds gave the impression of being totally disinterested in everything, but took it all in and used bits in English essays and to generally bullshit.

honeybeedream · 02/10/2020 10:50

I found it a bit clunky and twee. I am actually a fan of Tom Hollender but Douglas was not very likeable (I guess he played that well) but I didn't really find any of the characters sympathetic and even though a lot was made of the marriage not having been a mistake and them loving each other they were clearly both married to the wrong person. In reality I don't believe she would have ever dated him, let alone marry him. I just felt like she was bullshitting him.

Perhaps the book is better?

rookiemere · 02/10/2020 11:01

I would say the series is very true to the book, so if you disliked it, you'd probably not enjoy the novel either.

However I do think in the book it is more compelling as to why they are together and also why they need to split.

polkadotpjs · 02/10/2020 22:15

I just finished it and it made me feel sad. Sad that she was still leaving but angry with myself for excusing him what may have been a terrible marriage. Food for thought
I need to be more Connie with my sons and stick up for them more rather than worrying about appearances. Though Connie was mute and didn't stick up for Albee either.

ageingdisgracefully · 05/10/2020 07:59

@polkadotpjs I thought the same about Connie. Despite her outrage at Douglas's treatment of Albie, her own behaviour towards him isn't that great either. At least Douglas tries.....

I really disliked the Connie character and found myself far more sympathetic to Douglas.

I think he was well-played by TH - who managed to bring out his pathos and vulnerability very effectively.

I couldn't warm to Albie either.

StCharlotte · 05/10/2020 08:43

I imagine she married him because she was pregnant?

I was cringing and shouting "nooooooo!" at the quiz scene (don't think that gives anything away) until DH pointed out - correctly - I would do exactly the same Blush

polkadotpjs · 05/10/2020 12:13

I would’ve seethed angrily about the quiz but not got up like he did! I still feel
Unsettled by it all. If it was intended to warn us not to take our partners for granted then it did that. Connie wasn’t very likeable really especially at the end but Douglas was very irritating in the current scenes yet seemed lovely in his younger days. Strange development of character into the slightly bombastic guy we see from the shy type from the first episode

StCharlotte · 05/10/2020 13:46

Unsettled by it all. If it was intended to warn us not to take our partners for granted then it did that.

Agreed. At first.

I did think if there's no hope for them then there's no hope for any of us. And then I thought hang on, it's a story. A story written by a bloke who thought Anne Hathaway was perfectly cast as Emma in One Day.

mothtoaflame · 06/10/2020 13:26

I'm loving this show, really enjoying the different dynamics and thought the scenes between Douglas and Scandi divorcee were lovely. DH hasn't watched it but I am definitely Douglas to his Connie Confused
Would hate to think my son would feel so detached at 17.

MadamBatty · 06/10/2020 19:02

Just watched episode 3. Kat seems to have gone from having a New Zealand to a maybe Derry accent???

StCharlotte · 06/10/2020 19:04

@MadamBatty

Just watched episode 3. Kat seems to have gone from having a New Zealand to a maybe Derry accent???
Yes I found that quite confusing too!

Thought the son's acting was appalling to begin with but he seems to have loosened up a bit.

Itsinthetreesitscoming · 06/10/2020 20:17

I enjoyed it. I liked how Freya and Douglas seemed much more compatible than Connie did.

What happened to the dog at the end though - who got custody?

Thought Connie and Douglas got on better than a lot of married couples I know - but at the same time, I can see why they split, they did seem fundamentally incompatible. Thought Connie very brave to seek something else in life.

It was really acted (even Albie, who really looked like he was related to Saskia Reeves), but yes the leads seemed too old, compared to how old they were supposed to be.

MadamBatty · 06/10/2020 20:43

Connie was very colourless to me. Just seemed to be the Douglas show.

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