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<blockquote data-quote="Spells &amp; Karma" data-source="post: 352040" data-attributes="member: 23"><p>After watching the first episode of <em>Mind Your Language,</em> there was some hope that I might grow to enjoy the students in the same way I did those in <em>Please Sir!</em> In both cases, my initial impression was underwhelming and it seemed I would struggle to tell them apart, much less enjoy each one as a unique character. If anything, <em>MYL</em> has proved even more rewarding than <em>Please Sir!</em> in that regard. Each of Mr Brown's students regularly makes me laugh and I've grown very fond of them. At this point, I would miss any one of them if they weren't around.</p><p></p><p>There's also a sense of genuine friendship underneath all the gags and little battles. I never thought I'd end up saying this, but the series does feel almost progressive in that way. Despite their (in some cases) extreme cultural differences, everyone finds a way to exist somewhat harmoniously. More than this, it feels they care about one another and have each other's backs. This was very true in the episode where Anna's "weesa" was due to expire and she feared being deported. She wanted to stay, and her classmates wanted her to stay. So badly, of course, it led to hijinks with them trying to marry her off to Mr Brown. But the episode particularly reinforced the bonding that's taken place among the characters which I suspect is rooted in genuine offscreen friendships. It certainly cascades over to give this viewer a warm glow of enjoyment in each episode.</p><p></p><p>I've now finished Series Two and have even watched most of Series Three. Since I won't be watching the revival series, I have just two remaining episodes to watch, which I feel a little sad about. Series Three has gone back to the original recipe regarding the ensemble. With Ingrid and Zoltan gone, we're back to the original ten students. It's turned out to be a good move since the original formula worked so well.</p><p></p><p>While I'll miss the series, it probably is getting time for it to end. The Series Three episode<em> Just The Job,</em> in which Brown took a new job had very strong echoes of Series One's <em>Come Back All Is Forgiven </em>where Brown had been given the push. In both cases, the students decided to drive away the new teacher and, while the methods varied ever so slightly, it did have the overall feel of a reworked old script. Incidentally, Zara Nutley particularly impressed me during the scene where Miss Courtney introduced the students to their new teacher and reeled off all of their full names at a rapid fire pace without pausing for breath and all in a monotone that suggested she was bored with the whole thing. It was a delight to watch.</p><p></p><p>Series Three's <em>Guilty Or Not Guilty </em>was one of those slightly daft episodes best enjoyed with suspension of disbelief. Yes - it's a huge coincidence that on the very day Miss Courtney first mentions being a JP as she disappears to court, her very next case sees all ten students brought before her. Yes - it's bizarre that nobody particularly minds this conflict of interest. Yes - it's surreal that the students are brought to the stand two at a time. And yes - it's downright peculiar that Mr Brown would end up representing all of them. But, hey ho... It's a fun change. It feels a lot of money was spent on this episode with an abundance of location filming and stunts for the flashbacks of students getting into conflict at Speakers' Corner; riding elephants at the zoo and crashing motorboats on the Thames. It feels like that money was recouped by using resources of productions in nearby studios as they crash into Russell Harty's studio; interrupt Dickie Davies filming <em>World Of Sport </em>and presumably utilise the courtroom set from another series (I'm guessing not Crown Court since that was Granada rather than LWT). Was <em>Ballet For Schools</em> a real TV series, I wonder? Or was it created to give the studio crashes a bit of a climax? Whatever else it was, this episode was silly, enjoyable fun.</p><p></p><p>I'm curious to know how the series will wrap up. The end to Series Two - with the students and Mr Brown performing the series' theme tune on stage - will be hard to beat as a memorable ending.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Spells & Karma, post: 352040, member: 23"] After watching the first episode of [I]Mind Your Language,[/I] there was some hope that I might grow to enjoy the students in the same way I did those in [I]Please Sir![/I] In both cases, my initial impression was underwhelming and it seemed I would struggle to tell them apart, much less enjoy each one as a unique character. If anything, [I]MYL[/I] has proved even more rewarding than [I]Please Sir![/I] in that regard. Each of Mr Brown's students regularly makes me laugh and I've grown very fond of them. At this point, I would miss any one of them if they weren't around. There's also a sense of genuine friendship underneath all the gags and little battles. I never thought I'd end up saying this, but the series does feel almost progressive in that way. Despite their (in some cases) extreme cultural differences, everyone finds a way to exist somewhat harmoniously. More than this, it feels they care about one another and have each other's backs. This was very true in the episode where Anna's "weesa" was due to expire and she feared being deported. She wanted to stay, and her classmates wanted her to stay. So badly, of course, it led to hijinks with them trying to marry her off to Mr Brown. But the episode particularly reinforced the bonding that's taken place among the characters which I suspect is rooted in genuine offscreen friendships. It certainly cascades over to give this viewer a warm glow of enjoyment in each episode. I've now finished Series Two and have even watched most of Series Three. Since I won't be watching the revival series, I have just two remaining episodes to watch, which I feel a little sad about. Series Three has gone back to the original recipe regarding the ensemble. With Ingrid and Zoltan gone, we're back to the original ten students. It's turned out to be a good move since the original formula worked so well. While I'll miss the series, it probably is getting time for it to end. The Series Three episode[I] Just The Job,[/I] in which Brown took a new job had very strong echoes of Series One's [I]Come Back All Is Forgiven [/I]where Brown had been given the push. In both cases, the students decided to drive away the new teacher and, while the methods varied ever so slightly, it did have the overall feel of a reworked old script. Incidentally, Zara Nutley particularly impressed me during the scene where Miss Courtney introduced the students to their new teacher and reeled off all of their full names at a rapid fire pace without pausing for breath and all in a monotone that suggested she was bored with the whole thing. It was a delight to watch. Series Three's [I]Guilty Or Not Guilty [/I]was one of those slightly daft episodes best enjoyed with suspension of disbelief. Yes - it's a huge coincidence that on the very day Miss Courtney first mentions being a JP as she disappears to court, her very next case sees all ten students brought before her. Yes - it's bizarre that nobody particularly minds this conflict of interest. Yes - it's surreal that the students are brought to the stand two at a time. And yes - it's downright peculiar that Mr Brown would end up representing all of them. But, hey ho... It's a fun change. It feels a lot of money was spent on this episode with an abundance of location filming and stunts for the flashbacks of students getting into conflict at Speakers' Corner; riding elephants at the zoo and crashing motorboats on the Thames. It feels like that money was recouped by using resources of productions in nearby studios as they crash into Russell Harty's studio; interrupt Dickie Davies filming [I]World Of Sport [/I]and presumably utilise the courtroom set from another series (I'm guessing not Crown Court since that was Granada rather than LWT). Was [I]Ballet For Schools[/I] a real TV series, I wonder? Or was it created to give the studio crashes a bit of a climax? Whatever else it was, this episode was silly, enjoyable fun. I'm curious to know how the series will wrap up. The end to Series Two - with the students and Mr Brown performing the series' theme tune on stage - will be hard to beat as a memorable ending. [/QUOTE]
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