The Detectorists Christmas Special is on tonight

[Cocolapew]

BBC 2 at 9pm, just in case anyone didn't realise 🙂

Yes and that would be a great start to another series.

I did feel the pressure to love the whole thing - out of pure gratitude for its existence.

Ambition is always to be applauded, so I’m ready to accept the insertion of the Holy Grail.

Terra Firma were always all about appearance - they probably wouldn’t mind bankrupting themselves in order to assault the sensitivities of their rivals. It was a lovely image, anyway!

If I have a tiny complaint - and it’s been the same through every season - it’s that Becky always seems to exist in a different show to Andy. Different level of intensity and intent. And married couples usually grow to resemble each other in appearance and expression - that’s definitely not happening here.

I felt desperately cheated of the cottage. That was unbearably sad.

I really hope he notices it!

I loved the final episode of series 3 where they let S&G into the group and they all welcomed them with open arms, so I was disappointed to learn what had happened since. Though of course their rivalry was a massive part of the show, so it would make for a more interesting series 4 🤞🏻

I’ve always thought Becky and Andy do not work as a couple at all.

It was good apart from a couple of clunky bits .

The appearance of Simon and Garfunkel , not really needed was it .
And the holy grail stuff was a bit silly , spoilt what has been a wonderful few series of programmes for me .

I think after 5 years it should have been left alone .

It is a very gentle type of humour. I love it. Think Mackenzie Crook is a genius. But you do really need to 'understand' the dynamic between Lance and Andy (from the previous three series) for the extended one-off to make sense.

I had not clocked that Stan had used the missing Holy Grail cup in his piece of eccentric art.

Not sure there could be another series though, as surely finding the HG is the 'Holy Grail' of archeology and being a detectorist? Where else could plot-lines go?

Am I odd in not finding the humour ‘gentle’ at all?

Lance’s Gollum moment was like a punch to the gut.

MC as writer was perfectly happy to have me believe for a moment or two that Andy’s wife and child had burned to death in the cottage fire!

(And, in a previous episode, Lance’s reaction to (so as not to spoil) ‘a woman’ coming into the kitchen with a breezy “good morning!”) was one of the most visceral things I’ve ever seen on TV. I often relive that moment with awe. Definitely not gentle.)

After all the build-up, I was disappointed. I thought series three ended on a beautiful note, with them making their peace with Simon and Garfunkel and then the coins falling from the tree. This new episode pissed all over that. And then Lance behaved decidedly out of character by trying to keep his find a secret from Andy. The Holy Grail storyline was ludicrous.

I agree that it feels as if Becky is in a different show. I feel a bit sorry for Rachael Stirling, as her main role seems to be to introduce a bit of conflict into the storyline by picking fault with Andy.

It's a shame, because I loved the series.

MC as writer was perfectly happy to have me believe for a moment or two that Andy’s wife and child had burned to death in the cottage fire!
Where on Earth did you get that idea from?

Also I have no idea what you mean by Lance's visceral reaction to a woman coming into the kitchen. He's socially awkward that's all.

How did you not get that?

They avoid driving past, he goes in when he realises which way they're going, he wanders around the burnt down house with echoey voices in the background from birthday parties etc. You only know they're ok when she hollers from another room back at her mums house.

It's literally what you're being fed to assume.

Thought it was brilliant. But you do need to have watched the previous series, or the subtleties will not make sense. Don't have an issue with Becky - Andy does need a kick up the arse at times!

I don't think that Lance will spot the HG pot. I think that's the point - he'll chuck it away after 3 weeks.

Completely agree. Didn't even cross my mind Becky and Stan were lost in the fire, and Lance is nothing more than an awkward bloke with a soft centre.

I really don't think so. He was just remembering happy times in the house. It never occurred to me.

I agree. It crossed my mind fleetingly.

It's literally what you're being fed to assume.

But isn’t that the point? You get tense thinking something terrible has happened and then relief as you find out that it didn’t. It’s a pretty common writing technique.

It didn’t cross my mind either; I also presumed he was just very upset because he loved that cottage, and that he was remembering happy times there.

But isn’t that the point?

Yes … But I’m slightly alarmed (as always when talking about TV / film here) to realise other people weren’t experiencing the show in the same way I was.

I though Becky and Stan had died in the fire.

I also assumed that Becky's mum had died (not in the fire) when we saw that they were living in Becky's mum's house, because no way would they still be together, if they were still all living in that house.

And then Lance behaved decidedly out of character by trying to keep his find a secret from Andy. The Holy Grail storyline was ludicrous

I think this was the issue for me tbh. I said to DH this morning that it just didn’t sit right that he would hide the find from Andy, it didn’t make sense.
I also briefly assumed Becky & Stan had died in the fire, his whole demeanour approaching the place and looking around gave the impression he wasn’t just sad about the loss of the house.

I had only recently watched all the episodes back to back so was really looking forward to the Christmas special, the episodes were a lot funnier.

I hadn’t twigged until this thread that Rachael was Diana Riggs daughter!

Yes I assumed from the first scenes at the burned out cottage that something horrible had happened. He returns to his MILs house with his jar of clay pipes and lovingly picks up/looks at a photo of his wife and child. Then Becky calls down and asks him to turn over the fish fingers to break that tension. It can’t not have been written to direct us there.

I assume as she was there for the press conference too and they had talked about her on the train? Just another of those near misses that happen in this series :)

@Luana1 the question was what superstition prompted the three to touch the sculpture by the door?

I don’t have an answer …

I feel like she only got the part so Diana Rigg would agree to be in it - I find Rachel Stirling the weakest actor in the series, the way she plays Becky is so wooden.

Ahh I see! I used to work there many years ago and have no idea, I just assumed it was showing that she was a kindred spirit to them even though they were destined not to meet.

I loved it. I think he and Becky need to be so different for his character to be believable (financing it all and being a detectorist so seriously without being one dimensional). I really enjoyed the prolonged sense of jeopardy in this too. The look they gave each other when they had that realisation about the holy grail was brilliant as I felt I was reacting in the moment with them!