Series 3 & 4 Observations

[codfanglers]

Series 3 & 4 Observations

I thought I would do one more topic before I travel off to Kenya for a month. Lately with finishing up my school year (I am a teacher) and getting ready for the big family trip I have only been able to catch Summer Wine sporadically. The main PBS station here is currently airing Series 4 while two secondary stations are in the Truly era. I have been catching a few of each randomly. Each time I go through a particular era my understanding of things increases and my views change. So here is my latest personal reflection thread.

1. In one day I caught "Getting on Sid's Wire" and then "The McDonough's of Jameison Street" on a different station. It is amazing how different that show had become. However, the bigger difference doesn't seem to be the characters or the humor. The most stark difference appears to be the number of scenes. For example, in "Getting on Sid's Wire and Isometrics and After" ", there really is only 4 or 5 scenes in the entire episode. Then I caught "Jameison Street". It is only when I watch the two eras simultaneously do I realize the huge difference. "The McDonough's of Jameison Street" is a typical late episode where there are sooooo many short scenes, especially at the beginning. Many seem to last less than a minute. Is this primarily a difference between Lotterby and Bell's directing?

2. Sid- In my years of being in two different forums I didn't get why so many people rave about Sid. I always "liked" him but he was just OK. So me, he was more of a regular character to play off the more extreme characters, like Ivy, Compo, and Foggy. However, I now see how funny he was and how much of a natural fit he was for the show.

3. Foggy - I absolutely love Foggy. Recently in a thread comparing the different Foggy era's , I wrote about how I liked the earlier episodes and earlier Foggy better. He could arguably be my favorite character. However, I spotted one very tiny flaw in his character. As much as I love his dillusionary military and upper class demeanor, I think sometimes it became overdone. Sometimes, every single line he used was authoritative and somewhat militant. The character could have been a little less extreme and be just as effective.

4. We have recently discussed Clegg's character and how he went from bold to timid (especially around the ladies). I believe I see signs of this as early as Series 3 and 4. Although this is primarily with Ivy in the cafe.
So did Clegg start becoming timid at this time or is this an exception because EVERYONE feared Ivy at times?

Thanks for reading, and I will return in mid-July!

 

[wstol]

Re: Series 3 & 4 Observations

I suppose later episodes did have more scenes, as
a) there were much more characters to write for
b) there didn't have to be any lengthy studio scenes to make an audience's journey worthwhile
c) possibly technology meant it was easy to set up more scenes.

Sid was a marvellous character, only because he was so realistic. You didn't have to write anything over the top, he just played it natural. I like to think John Comer was like that in real life.

I think the Foggy character did become a little wooden towards the end of his spell - but I put that down to familiar plots, and not Brian Wilde.

I think as early as Series 2 Clegg was timid at times. I think there was a scene where Ivy scares him off, as he quickly sweeps up his cigarettes and nervously asks for her recipe for chips.

Series 3 was very important, as it bridges a lot of differences between Series 2 and Series 4. I think Series 4 had everyone settled in their character.

 

[Adanor]

Re: Series 3 & 4 Observations

I suppose later episodes did have more scenes, as
a) there were much more characters to write for
b) there didn't have to be any lengthy studio scenes to make an audience's journey worthwhile
c) possibly technology meant it was easy to set up more scenes.

Sid was a marvellous character, only because he was so realistic. You didn't have to write anything over the top, he just played it natural. I like to think John Comer was like that in real life.

I think the Foggy character did become a little wooden towards the end of his spell - but I put that down to familiar plots, and not Brian Wilde.

I think as early as Series 2 Clegg was timid at times. I think there was a scene where Ivy scares him off, as he quickly sweeps up his cigarettes and nervously asks for her recipe for chips.

Series 3 was very important, as it bridges a lot of differences between Series 2 and Series 4. I think Series 4 had everyone settled in their character.

As I understand it, Brian Wilde was suffering from some ailment (and eventually had to leave the series due to this ailment) which may or may not have been shingles. Could have it been possible that his acting was a little more wooden due to his ailment?