New posts

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 289222" data-attributes="member: 23">Uncharted territory for me, as my new Britcom is as contemporary as it gets.<img src="https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Flaurencerickard.com%2Fuploads%2Fimages%2FGhosts%2FGhosts_poster.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=cbd48b047bd9dd0386017a51b6d668ce2cfe0abbb1b3710cd39b177d54bf45e9&ipo=images" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 826px" /> In fact the third series of Ghosts is still airing for the very first time (Episode Four is in the schedule for its 'live' debut this very evening).When the premise was described to me, I immediately recognised it as being almost identical to The Ghosts Of Motley Hall. Indeed, so far it feels very much like a prime time remake of that series, though no credit appears to be given by any source.Let's get the numerous gripes over with:My struggles with the series so far are the ones I would expect to have from a series which began in 2019: namely the contemporary rhythms. And abundant Americanisms.The "live" couple who inherit the house feel very much like they're played by actors who've grown up watching exclusively American sitcoms and play this the same way. They have that frenetic "we're being quirky and funny" thing imported from caricature TV in the states.  The woman in particular is doing my box in. I really want to like her because she has that endearing Karen Allen/Karen Carpenter/Margot Kidder quality to her looks, but she's not making it easy. If there's a way of making a line feel more American she finds it. She even does that Chad Michael Murray thing where she'll say a sentence and then wait a few beats before saying the other person's name. I think it's an attempt to sound natural, but to me it always sounds like the actor has briefly forgotten the other character's name. That said, I've found her more tolerable now that she's had her head injuries and can see the ghosts, rather than simply being one half of a fast talking trendy couple.The Americanisms aren't just restricted to rhythms of speech. They're to be found, too, in the dialogue. Said woman, for instance, has described the permanently trouserless MP as having "no pants" (I'm happy to say I've NEVER heard a British person say this before). And she and her hubby talk about being "mad" when they actually mean angry. But then she's also concerned about being insane because she can see ghosts, and describes this, too, as being mad. It's confusing.Even the ghosts speak in the same way. There's the odd concession to archaic language, but then there's also "OK" and "good on him" and suchlike. I'm not expecting historic accuracy, but my tolerance threshold for the Millennial London thing so abundant here is fairly low.There's also the weirdness of making a quirky comedy in an age of political correctness. I wouldn't say the series is overly stifled by this. In many ways it makes the humour gentler and more accessible to all and there's no sense of malice to the humour.All the same, there are times when it does stifle and becomes problematic. In the age of cancel culture and closing down conversations that are might be deemed offensive or inappropriate there's that strange sense of skirting around certain topics that will probably date the series and make it seem laughably twee and safe when the bubble bursts and culture changes and people in future decades look back on it.For instance, isn't it a bit strange that centuries old characters - some of whom, like Lady Button, are obsessed with class and propriety - don't seem to have even noticed that the people who inherited the house are an interracial couple.  And so the anachronisms in the ghosts' language extends to their attitude as well, which is not for the best. That they are as accepting and inclusive on such matters as their twenty-first century hosts irrevocably takes away potential for conflict and growth for characters.On this note, I must also observe what appears to be a hierarchy when it comes to comedy relating to protected characteristics. We've established that there's a no talk rule when it comes to race. But it's evidently all right to make fun of a woman ghost for being ladylike because that's old-fashioned and gender stereotypical and binary. Interestingly, it's also acceptable in this show to make another (ghostly) character an object of ridicule for being a closeted gay man. Perhaps because it's unfashionable to be in the closet and so that's apparently really funny. Protected characteristics, it seems,  are only truly protected when they align with Millennial sensibilities.Putting cultural analysis to the side, there is a lot to enjoy in this series. As previously mentioned, it does feel as though it owes a great deal to Seventies and Eighties kiddies TV such as The Ghosts Of Motley Hall or Rentaghost, which is a good thing. Because of this there's something comfortingly familiar about it. The premise may not be original in the least, but it's a proven one and this balances out the inevitable Twenties flourishes (some of which work). It's proving easy enough to watch and I'm hoping to find more to enjoy as the series unfolds.</blockquote>

Verification: 6 + 4 =