SPOILERS: Small Prophets.

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This is a thread for those who have watched the series and are desperate to post and discuss. It seems that the no spoilers free thread is being inundated with those who understably love it. Post away! I love it.

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt38504111/

I liked all the eccentric little things going on and I loved the focus on the big DIY place and the people there. .makes such a change to see a real workplace in a drama and also used to show how humans find connections and enjoyment anywhere. I though MP was great as the dad and I loved the other actors as well. It made me go back to Detectorists as I needed more at the end.

Thank you to pp for explaining the hare - it had been bothering me as I thought it was a rabbit!

I also disagree about Michael Palin - as someone whose father had dementia I think he plays a man on the edges of it brilliantly - moments of memory loss and agitation alongside clear- headedness. I also love the relationship between him and Michael.

Didn’t they play Watership Down when it was revealed? That was rabbits.

I have to say I was disappointed. There were lots of things I loved about it - Michael and Kasey's (spelling?) relationship, Mackenzie Crook's character, the locked Christmas room... But many things jarred with me. I didn't believe Michael Palin's character and thought the dialogue often seemed stilted or unreal. The contrast between Michael's house and the barren gardens of the neighbours was overdone, as was the giggling work colleague. And there were far too many loose ends. I wonder if they will all be answered in the next series? I've now gone back to watch The Detectorists again, which I thought was much better.

Yes. There's a story there.

I'd also like more from Bev.

And what about the other three jars that were started?

Read on line that MC said a lot of the ‘ ingredients’ you need to make them appear were a bit rude ! Makes me wonder what he did buy and what we couldn’t be told about!

I think you’re right and I don’t think you can read too much into something like this, the more the better! ET was a very magical film. If nothing else I’d like to think that the name Elliott was chosen to be a reference. Maybe he will become involved with the homunculi in some way like Elliott in ET.

I was thinking along the lines of rebirth and fertility but didn’t know about the Otherworld or ability to shapeshifter into humans, that’s really exciting! Something about this reminds me of Donnie Darko too, in a way and also a famous treasure hunt in the 1970s (I think that decade) which was based on the clues that were held within an exquisitely detailed picture book called Masquerade. The treasure was a beautiful golden hare. I was given the book as a child and it is fascinating. The clues on each page created the coordinates to where the treasure was buried.

It’s controversial, but I really don’t like ET. It annoyed me because everyone else loves it and I wanted to like it. I did think of the Elliott link though. I was wondering if he was being abused and that’s why he stayed outside a lot, but could be anything I suppose.
Michael said he used to be sweet.

I think that the boy on the bike is a guardian Angel.

Oh I had that book as well. It was a fascinating book. The illustrations were magnificent.

I have questions about the police. They were always watching him along the tow path. Their names. I think I was missing something with the police. Their reaction to the Christmas room. Were they real or part of the humuncluli

The police did act a bit strange around the toys didn’t they ! They also had ridiculous names, ones that the humuncluli may have just made up from books or the internet to appear more police like.

There were other rabbits though, in the nursing home there was a rabbit on the nurses desk that MP saw through the glass jar and it reminded him of the little jar people. There was definitely a rabbit theme.

I was surprised they could live outside of the jar and the little creatures were attacking people.

Did Micheal deliberately get the same t.shirt as the teenager?

If Micheal had been living in that house for 7 years assuming he had been paying bills etc would he not have a claim on it.

I was a bit puzzled about Paul Kaye's claim on the house. The only way I can make sense of it was to assume that Clea owned the house and Michael lived there with her. Because she and Michael were not married, and presumably Clea hadn't made a will, if she were to be declared dead (which a court could do if provided with evidence that it's more than seven years since anybody last saw or had any contact with her), the house would pass to her nearest blood relative, i.e. her brother. He was really overstepping by saying it was already his, though! I suppose other possibilities are that he did own it and had rented it to Clea and Michael, or that Clea and brother had inherited it jointly but agreed that she and Michael would live in it. Brother seemed to be estranged from his wife and struggling because of a divorce.

The police also turned up and mentioned the report of ‘monkeys’ from the neighbour, Clive. But Clive hadn’t given his address to the animal rescue, who terminated the call because they presumably thought it was a prank call or someone with delusions, so they wouldn’t know where Michael lived. I suppose the animal rescue could have told the police about the call and they’d tracked the address using Michael’s name, but it seemed odd.

The police were strange. They knew he had spoken to the children who were robbing the van, but how ?
Did they also know his name ? He didn’t give the children his name (as far as I can remember )
The whole interaction with the police was just odd.

The recreation of the Christmas room was the single most romantic idea I've ever seen. DH has categorically told me not to get my hopes up!

Mackenzie Crook really is a sublime writer.

I am loving this thread! So many things I missed.

I can't agree about Palin being a bad actor. He's just right for this role. Interesting about the kid on the bike being Eliot like in ET.

I don't think Clea left after an argument - Michael genuinely seems to have no idea why she left. I am sure we will find out. My money is on it being some kind of witness protection or just escaping from some hard men coming for the fenced goods.

On Facebook I often see people put up old photos of Christmas past ( 1970s ) and the photos look like his living room! I guess we all had similar tastes back then or just the fact there wasn’t too much choice of decor to choose from. Why people liked chains across the ceiling was odd , but everyone did that too!
Seven years is a long time to miss someone and you haven’t any idea of where they are. Her car was found by the Severn bridge , but I don’t think she did jump off the bridge somehow and is probably the one writing to his dad. I can’t help thinking it’s cruel to do this to anyone, but it is also more common than you think. You’d really have to go off grid these days though.

I think she had to leave to protect Michael because there were scary people after her for the bird book, although I don't know why so much time had elapsed before they turned up looking for it. I don't think she'd have left voluntarily.

Yes, why did the couple take seven years to try and trace the books? Maybe because of the seven year rule , but it was strange. You would try and trace Clea long before seven years. The woman didn’t even try and blag her way into the lock up did she ( although she may have tried that and it didn’t work or something)
They found the brother.

I enjoyed it. Made a refreshing change and was very well written with good acting.

Binged all episodes yesterday and loved it. Also a Detectorists fan.

Michael was recreating Clea’s happiest Christmas (why that particular Christmas?). I think the house is their family home and the siblings inherited it.
I wondered if M had also replaced his and Clea’s furnishings and decor as part of the surprise. This would explain why there were chairs and sofa in the garage, and the kitchen was modern.

I’ll have to rewatch it and take more notice of the police!
Im puzzled by what Michael says was his reason for recreating that 1970s Christmas (anyone remember the year?). He said it was the last time she was truly happy. But why? It looked like the mid 70s to me and I had the same Girls World and the little skater girl. Was it the last year that she believed in Father Christmas and is he really real in this fantasy? Michael must have been desperate to make her feel better and didn’t succeed and his life seems to have stopped at that point when she didn’t come home and he reminded me of Miss Havisham from Great Expectations for a while.

Edited: I may be misremembering… perhaps it was just her happiest Christmas but that doesn’t mean the successive ones weren’t or that her mh was suffering.. I just assumed that because of her disappearance and the fact that she loves him but won’t be coming home.

The living room had been that way since seven Christmas Eves ago when Clea disappeared. Possible reference to A Christmas Carol where Jacob Marley had died and returned seven Christmas Eves later.