In the 1980s, the early
and best days of Taggart, stories were split into three episodes, each an hour
long, shown in successive weeks. This template worked extremely well for the
clever and complex Glenn Chandler stories, and I was hooked time after time.
For me, this remains classic TV crime.
Conversely, the rather
stately place of early two-hour single story episodes of Inspector Morse had a
different kind of appeal. One was drawn in by the mood of the show, as well as
the story-line (and, of course, the superb acting, high-calibre screenplays,
and fantastic setting.) This model
continues to work brilliantly with Lewis, and overall the Oxford-based series
are my favourites in the two-hour format. I’ve also enjoyed Inspector George
Gently, and Vera, which are based on the same approach.
The Case Sensitive
template has been used, for instance, in the adaptations of the books of two
fine writers, Peter Robinson and Mark Billingham. I’m not myself convinced,
though, that the two-parter is such a great idea. Really, it’s neither one
thing nor the other. The Other Half Lives was watchable, but somehow, I felt, more
could have been made of Sophie Hannah’s material.
10 comments:
I watched both episodes and was a bit disappointed. It did seem rushed. By the end I wasn't convinced that the story held together. Not having read Sophie Hannah's books, I wouldn't know how they compare - how much has been left out, etc in the TV version. As you say, two-parters are neither one thing or the other and maybe this would have been better split into more episodes. I never felt that with either Morse or Taggart.
I liked the way some of P.D. James's work has been adapted--as rather leisurely-paced multi-episode miniseries. This gives lots of time for plot development and the introduction of secondary characters who would have been jettisoned in a shorter time-frame.
On the other hand, as much as I love the David Suchet Poirot shows, some of them are shamelessly padded (foot chases! car chases!) in order to stretch a brief Agatha Christie short story to an hour of TV time.
For much of the first episode on Thursday I was puzzled, thinking 'Is this the book I read?' I actually had to go and check out my copy of Sophie Hannah's book, because it was so different to the TV adaptation. However, the second episode did pull the story back on track again a bit. Of course, it did leave an awful lot out. I think a 3-4 parter, every night of the week would have been better. There have been some 5 episode mini-series on consecutive nights and sometimes they felt padded and too slow-moving. But in this case, there would have been plenty of material to include.
Margaret, good to hear from you again. The Hannah books I've read are packed with plot, so I think the TV adaptation could have been expanded a bit.
Deb, agreed - it all depends on the richness of the source material. A Christie novel can fill two hours, the short stories almost always struggle to fill an hour.
Hello, Marina, good to hear from you. Despite not having read this particular Hannah novel, I'm sure you're right, and it could have made at least 4 episodes.
For me, as a TV programme alone it did not work that well for a reason given already: rushed. From what I can gather via twitter, it took the theme of the book and not the full story.
As to best length, Martin, I feel it has to be the best length for the story being broadcast. I think current pressures revolve around commercial concerns, especially when on a commercial broadcaster and reliant on advertising income. However, in today’s world of immediacy and short attention span, I think we are also seeing a move to faster broadcasting. I’m not sure the general public would embrace a three-parter over three weeks these days. Following The Killing 1, BBC4 moved to broadcasting crime series at a rate of two episodes per week, thus reducing the waiting time to less than half. It looks like this went down well too. (It did for me for one.) And, of course, for series already broadcast, there’s the boxed set as competition which only adds to the immediacy element…
Very good point, Rhian. There's no "one size fits all" answer, is there?
Enlightening review as always, Martin, thank you.
Sophie Hannah is a psychologically insightful writer of such depth and intensity, I feel a slower pace would suit a dramatisation of her work much better than a severely truncated one. And, in this case, the acting is so good it would be better to have a chance to luxuriate in it. But, of course, ITV ... Commercial channel ... Blahblahdiblahblah (I watch on catch-up with Ad-Blocker on me aul' browser ;-)). Pity they can't follow the French model (no ads on national commercial channels after - I think (alas, how quickly one forgets) 2030h (= one of the few things Sarko got right).
PS Oooh, you liked Vera? I stopped watching, as I couldn't bear how she treated her team [frustrated former manager, here]. She might well yet prove useful as a guide to how NOT to build and motivate a disparate team, tho' ...!
Hi Minnie. Great to hear from you again. I hope you're settling back into England more happily now. Yes, I do like Vera, though needless to say I like the books more.
Post a Comment