MARRIAGE - sun and mon bbc 1 9pm - TV PACE NO SPOILERS

[Blondeshavemorefun]

New drama starts sun and mon for 1&2

then 3&4 following week on Sunday and Monday

the lovely Nicola Walker and Sean Bean

The acclaimed British actors play Ian and Emma, who are a couple navigating the ups and downs of their 30-year partnership.

They are parents to Jessica (Chantelle Alle) and are dealing with their fears and insecurities as the drama explores the risks and gifts of a long-term relationship.

Marriage on BBC1 sees married couple Ian (Sean Bean) and Emma (Nicola Walker) negotiate the ups and downs of their 27-year marriage. They've dealt with all the insecurities, the ambiguities, the hopes and the fears that are part of all marriages. The drama explores the risks and the gifts of a long-term intimate relationship.

When we first meet married couple Ian and Emma they’re in a Spanish airport returning from a lovely holiday — and bickering over a baked potato! By the time they’re on the plane it’s a full blown argument, setting the scene for what’s to come in this four-part series.

looks good

I’m veering between wanting to like it (only because of Mum) and also thinking this is a bit A level drama project (including the theme tune) 😂 My take was that they lost ‘Nicola’ as a child and then adopted Jessica without dealing with the grief of losing their child before doing so. I think Ian is supposed to be emotionally stunted as a parent after losing their child, afraid to love a child again in case they lose that one and therefore was never available to Jessica. The boyfriend is a ‘record producer’ (a claim which Emma has doubts about) and she is trying to make it as an artist hence why she is desperate to keep him despite the fact that he is a controlling arsehole. I also expect she is drawn to Men who ‘love bomb’ or seem emotionally available as her Dad was the opposite. I also might be overthinking this at 3am 😂

With respect to the Dullness of the marriage, I know plenty of couples my parent’s age (including my own) exactly like this. Long chats about the price of ketchup sachets, the people next door etc.. and complete disconnect from their own elderly parents who lived a different life and are old and a bit jealous of going on holiday abroad etc. It was the reason I got divorced from my husband when I realised I was heading for a marriage like that…long chats about the price of Orange juice, none about hopes and dreams. Maybe the writer did go to Oxbridge and then found he had nothing in common with the people and places he grew up in? Or simply wants to explore why people stay together? 🤷‍♀️Unfortunately I understand the issue only too well of the Brother gaslighting the Dad into thinking Emma is ‘fake’ (checking up on her Dad daily, grieving for a lost child, sibling doing none of that but is the golden child) and a parent who takes all of the help and never asks you how you are, watching the TV when you go round 🙄

If you ever worked in retail or a service industry, there are plenty of Ian’s.. crap at small talk so come across as needy or creepy but just very lonely. I think he is bereft and emasculated after losing his job and his Mum and worries about Emma’s head being turned to someone who can still ‘provide’.

Overall, it might have been better as 8 x 30 min eps than 4 x 1hr.

We watched it and am intrigued. So many questions!

Why did Emma's dad only put the telly on when she arrived and pretended to have been watching it before? 🤔 and why did her brother hide upstairs?

Plus all the other questions pp have outlined.

Found it odd that they were very affectionate towards each other but at the same time so distant.

This was abysmal.

Not much happened in the first episode, and it was a bit dull. There's definitely potential for secrets to be uncovered though. I will watch again tonight just to see if it gets better.

it was definitely a slow burn but I think we'll find out more about the history as the episodes go on.

Ian and Emma seem so far apart emotionally I'm wondering why they are still together but it could be the death of a family member (child?) that keeps them there.

It's very much in the vein of 'Mum'.

I thought it was really interesting, although yes I cringed a couple of times! I was shouting at the TV when he was being weird with the leisure centre girl!

I know a couple like this, awkward with each other because they can’t communicate about anything that really matters. There are a surprising amount of people like that actually.

Lots of back stories going on in this that will slowly be revealed I expect. I assumed the daughter was adopted after they lost their baby. And Ian has some sort of mental health issues.
Dh hated it so I will be watching on my own from now on.

If that was supposedly the best tv of the week - according to the BBC - god help us.
NW came across as very insincere. SB was awkward and his creepiness at the leisure centre.
It came across as completely mundane. I suppose it reflects real life for many but I didn’t find it at all engaging.
Need to watch Rich House Poor House instead I think.

Why did Emma's dad only put the telly on when she arrived and pretended to have been watching it before? 🤔 and why did her brother hide upstairs?

I think he wanted her to feel guilty that she had "abandoned" him. She did ask whether "Paul" had managed to visit him at all (I assumed that was her brother's name... I think it was Paul). I think she is the black sheep of the family for some reason and can do nothing right. He dad didn't want her to know the brother is staying there.

NW & SB are both good actors. I assume the scripts had something that made them want to do this so surely it has to improve?

I was surprised by the reviews to be honest. They were all giving 4/5 stars. Shows how mainstream media are cometely disconnected from real people really. I know they are good actors normally (not sure about Sean Bean, he plays boring, awkward characters too often now), but that doesn't mean it's automatically five stars.

I did like Him and Her, but the characters were much more interesting and varied. I really liked Russell Tovey and the girl that played Becky's sister in it.

I do like stuff that is slow paced and realistic normally - never liked anything too over the top - but this was a bit too boring and realistic. Too many hints at interesting stuff but not exploring it. I think it has aimed to strike a chord with people due to it being mundane, but for me it needed to be more lighthearted and have a bit of humour.

Glad to see a thread on this awful waste-of-money drama. I turned it off.

I’ve never seen NW over-act before but dear god she was struggling to carry that script with any conviction.

The Guardian liked it here

It felt like the episode went on forever.
I can see how it could become interesting as you find out more about them which I assume is going to happen but the first episode was so dull and awkward that it has put me off wanting to watch it again. The daughters boyfriend was a terrible actor.

Should be compulsory viewing for any couples planning to get married.

Missed the first half hour, so will catch up later before the second part.

I liked it. I often think that relationships carry on in mundane mode, each gliding along together on a boating lake.

However, having said that, I would be the mother that is over excited at meeting my daughter's partner - my daughters know this and sent subtle text messages not to do this! By the time my youngest, son, got into a relationship, I had reined emotions in.

I thought it was OK in general, lots of potential so will watch the rest. Some scenes were clunky and jarring - the row over the jacket potatoe felt heavy-handed as well as the writing of the controlling boyfriend. But some moments were almost painfully accurate like the brother's tensions with Emma and the crematory bench scene (brilliantly acted by Nicola Walker and Sean Bean). And I can fully believe Ian feeling lost and lonely and this resulting him in being inappropriate with the leisure attendant.

Poor Nicola Walker having to wear such drab clothes as what she's wearing in this. Emma dresses like she's 90.

I'm so disappointed by it. I am the writers biggest fan, loved everything he has done but something about this didn't click. In Him and Her and Mum , there were a couple of caricatures of characters, who made the normal ones stand out. This seemed rely miscast. No chemistry and Jessica and Emma seemed very distant. I dunno. I will keep watching but I hope it picks up.

I loved Mum, I thought it was excellent.

I actually think the casting is wrong rather than the writing .

Ok. Im going to try the last 30m

and then decide whether to watch tonight e2

I have now watched ep 2 and I will say it gets better
James Bolan is a brilliant actor. He does really shine.
I agree it's the casting not the writing and possibly the directorial decision about how Sean Bean should play it.
There are some clever messages in it about how men see the women in their lives. Dads/husbands competing etc

Mike Leigh films draw you in and I think this was trying to be like one of those. I adored Mum too. Couldn't get into 'him and her' at all but only seen one episode, so maybe I gave up too quickly on that.
This was just a bit boring , good actors loading up dishwashers wasn't that riveting either and the boyfriend is clearly dodgy / controlling. Even the cemetery bench scene left me cold.
Good to see James Bolam though and he always plays grumpy old men really well.
The title music was interesting: I think it was jarring because it was so different to a mostly very quiet drama where nothing much happens. The kind of thing you might hear in a very alternative play or drama ?
They are all side stepping each other as the song says ? Jamie clearly fancies Emma , which I found odd too
It was all just very strange.

The thing I love about this writer is that he puts in characters that seem silly or 2d and then fills in their story with something touching (Derek and Pauline in Mum) and Paul in Him and Her. This seemed to have no slow reveal like that. There wasn't any light relief in it. They never seem to even laugh together. Also, the directing of Mum was quite different, very intimate, often picking up tiny facial expressions of Peter Mullans character. All the things unsaid etc. This felt like the filming style, writing and directing didn't quite match up somehow

It seemed very awkward all round and the crying scene from him didn't ring true at all.
Plus he didn't mention he heard the door at her dads : he knew someone was up stairs but he didn't mention it to Emma ? You would say something.
The girl in the pub toilets , will those people become relevant too ?
Why did they start a row over potatoes? Then they had jacket potatoes for dinner.

Well finished first episode

I still think it’s rubbish and slow but will try tonight’s

assume the grave was their son - looks maybe 5/8yr size

boyfriend weird and controlling

not sure what’s going on with Jamie

rhey just seem so bored with each other

nothing to say

it’s like she panders to him

He clearly isn't looking for a job. Maybe he needs one.