SS-GB (BBC 1)

political analyst · 26-02-2017 5:21pm

How exactly did Archer's wife die? Was it in a German air raid or was it in a British Resistance attack?

PS: On my integrated digital TV, subtitles can be activated only with the use of a menu that has a voice-over and so I would have missed other dialogue in the episode if I had tried to put on the subtitles.

Strazdas · 26-02-2017 7:36pm

political analyst wrote: »

How exactly did Archer's wife die? Was it in a German air raid or was it in a British Resistance attack?

PS: On my integrated digital TV, subtitles can be activated only with the use of a menu that has a voice-over and so I would have missed other dialogue in the episode if I had tried to put on the subtitles.

Can't remember how it was described but reading a review of the show it says she died during the Blitz, which would have been a year or so earlier.

political analyst · 26-02-2017 8:49pm

According to the BBC radio bulletin at the start of Episode 1, the Spitfire would be presented to a Soviet officer by Helmut Wick. Presumably, he was the Luftwaffe pilot who was assassinated. Why was the pilot not referred to in the credits as Helmut Wick, given that he was a real-life Luftwaffe ace?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmut_Wick

Del.Monte · 27-02-2017 9:11am

Anybody who thought Episode.1. was slow moving must have been pulling their hair out watching Episode.2. with still no sign of Stallone or Chuck Norris bursting onto the scene.

cml387 · 27-02-2017 11:35am

It moved the story on a bit I suppose.
One point was the gory death of the police constable. It would not have been hard to miss his appearance in the first episode (in the book he has more to do) leaving some viewers (Mrs CML was one) wondering who exactly he was.

NellyJelly · 27-02-2017 11:13pm

Finally watched the full first episode after three attempts. Fell asleep during it three nights in a row. Not a critique of the show just putting it on too late. I wasn't blown away by it but it think the start stop way I watched it might have detracted from it. Is Episode 2 worth a spin?

Harry Palmr · 27-02-2017 11:24pm

Just watched part 2, Atomic Bomb ahoy!

Del.Monte · 28-02-2017 9:37am

NellyJelly wrote: »

Finally watched the full first episode after three attempts. Fell asleep during it three nights in a row. Not a critique of the show just putting it on too late. I wasn't blown away by it but it think the start stop way I watched it might have detracted from it. Is Episode 2 worth a spin?

Doesn't sound like it's your type of series and episode 2 was even slower than the first one. In all honesty if you (or I) had the patience it would be better binge watched when the season ends.

cml387 · 28-02-2017 12:09pm

Having read the book I'll avoid giving away spoilers, but I do believe that many excellent scenes from the book have been left out for no reason.

So far:

When the school where Archer's child is raided by the SS, we hear that teachers and the older children are being arrested.The television series has this.
In the book this happens out in the open, in the school playground. The children and teachers are loaded into lorries and as they drive away you can hear the teachers starting a sing-song to keep the spirits up:

"If you're happy and you know it clap your hands"

Archer is deeply affected by this show of optimism and resistance by the school.

In the book, Archer sees a glimpse of Himmler in a railway carriage at a Southern Region railway depot.
Afterwards Huth drives Archer to his house in a motorcycle side car, shouting at the top of his voice manically "You'll see what your friends in the resistance can do!", all the while swerving around railway points switchgear looming out of the mist like spears.

Now I know that books and films are separate art forms, but surely cinematic moments as I have poorly described from the book would look good on television.

TerrorFirmer · 28-02-2017 11:54pm

I think it's quite good, slow but interesting. I have to say I don't agree with the apparent difficulty with understanding what's being said; having finished two episodes I wasn't even aware it was a thing until I read this thread.

That said, it's uncanny how the lead detective sounds exactly like Tom Hardy does in 'Taboo' - an actor infamous for his mumbling!

Overall though it's fairly good stuff, looking forward to the next episode. The BBC riding the coat tails of 'Man in the High Castle' and it could be a lot worse...although equally it could be better.

ThisRegard · 01-03-2017 11:29am

Del.Monte wrote: »

In which case as I posted earlier in this thread the deaf twit should see his GP or go to Specsavers for a hearing aid.

It's nothing to do with 'deaf twits's, it's the mumbling and lack of diction.

Joe_ Public · 02-03-2017 9:13pm

Finally got round to watching the opening 2 episodes of this last night. It's passable. Can't say a lot more than that.

Also watching The Man in the High Castle which I'd never heard of until seeing it referred to during an SS-GB discussion on the Guardian website. It's a slightly disorientating experience watching them side by side, SS-GB seems almost tame and homely in comparison with the intensity and savage ferocity of the other. It seems incredible that approaching the half-way mark, for instance, that the single most barbarous act in SS-GB has been committed by the Resistance which is a bit hard to get your head around (though there must be doubt as to whether the Nazi leader was, in fact, telling the truth about this - only speculating as I've never read the book!).

All told, just makes me want to go and read the novel because the books, in my experience, are almost always vastly superior to the adaptions in the most important ways.

Agent Coulson · 02-03-2017 9:34pm

Caught up with it today and watched both episodes I found the lead character very weak and what's with the whispering.

I'll stick with as I think there is a good story in there somewhere.

Strazdas · 02-03-2017 9:38pm

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Caught up with it today and watched both episodes I found the lead character very weak and what's with the whispering.

I'll stick with as I think there is a good story in there somewhere.

I'm sticking with it too. Episode 2 was perfectly watchable at least, though Archer (the lead character) is not exactly the most charismatic or interesting person.

cml387 · 06-03-2017 10:12am

Well the soundtrack was a lot more audible, and things are moving along nicely.
One thing though is the scenes between Archer and Brabara Braga are a but cringemaking.

Del.Monte · 07-03-2017 1:00am

Just got through Ep.3. and even I thought it dragged a bit but I'll stick with it. The trouble is that I'm also watching "24: Legacy" and "Designated Survivor" and the change of pace is quite difficult to come down to.

Joe_ Public · 07-03-2017 10:31am

I won't go as far as describing the third episode as "boring" but it definitely dragged a bit. The extended scene with Archer and Braga was indeed cringeworthy, went on way too long and that whole love interest thing is typical BBC and infests almost every drama they do.

At least, the ending suggested a picking up of the pace next episode so will stick with it to the end.

9or10 · 07-03-2017 11:02am

cml387 wrote: »

When the school where Archer's child is raided by the SS, we hear that teachers and the older children are being arrested.The television series has this.
In the book this happens out in the open, in the school playground. The children and teachers are loaded into lorries and as they drive away you can hear the teachers starting a sing-song to keep the spirits up:

"If you're happy and you know it clap your hands"

Archer is deeply affected by this show of optimism and resistance by the school.

I remember this as a hugely powerful scene in the book.

It also played to Archer's uncertainty and danger. Which is a sense that I don't get from the tv series.

Joe_ Public wrote: »

The extended scene with Archer and Braga was indeed cringeworthy, went on way too long and that whole love interest thing is typical BBC and infests almost every drama they do.

.

They could have trimmed this schlock and included the scene above. Kids would have loved doing it, I'm sure.

Joe_ Public · 07-03-2017 11:30am

9or10 wrote: »

I remember this as a hugely powerful scene in the book.

It also played to Archer's uncertainty and danger. Which is a sense that I don't get from the tv series.

They could have trimmed this schlock and included the scene above. Kids would have loved doing it, I'm sure.

Yeah, spot on, absolutely. They simply opted for the road well travelled. Lazy, formulaic, hackneyed...could have been so much better.

DvB · 07-03-2017 6:00pm

Watched the first 2 episodes of this over the weekend, having read the book a while back I was looking forward to it, sadly I was hugely disappointed & haven't the will to watch any more, a shame though as it had potential. It just seemed too 'clean' or something.

Del.Monte · 16-03-2017 11:12am

Just watched Ep.4. last night and thought it was a big improvement on the previous one with the tension ramping up nicely. Still no sign of Jason Bourne though.

steve_r · 19-03-2017 8:16pm

I'm in a minority it seems of actually enjoying this!

Agree with all the comments on the first episode and I struggled to follow/hear it myself.

I think it's picked up a lot since then - stakes are high by the end of episode 4. Looking forward to the closer this evening.

cml387 · 20-03-2017 4:41pm

Well that was that.

The best was kept for the last episode, Kellerman turned out to be a bastard, Huth a noble if cynical SS officer, and Mayhew the supreme mandarin pulling the strings.

steve_r · 20-03-2017 5:11pm

Agree with that, but maybe put that in spoilers for people who are on the fence about watching the last one.

cml387 · 20-03-2017 5:13pm

steve_r wrote: »

Agree with that, but maybe put that in spoilers for people who are on the fence about watching the last one.

I carefully wrote it that it wouldn't have spoilers except only to pique the interest of those who haven't seen it yet.:P

Del.Monte · 20-03-2017 11:37pm

The final episode had a few interesting twists - I'm also in the 'minority' who've been enjoying it. Will there be 2nd series? Can the BBC afford it? There's lots of loose ends - Archer's son; Harry; the negatives that Archer has in his cigar tube; Archer's American lady friend - did she get away from the Germans and anyway we all want to see something unpleasant happen to Kellerman.

political analyst · 21-03-2017 8:56pm

The differences between the novel and the adaptation.

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-03-21/bbc-drama-ss-gb-has-a-dramatically-different-ending-to-the-original-len-deighton-novel

political analyst · 22-03-2017 3:02am

Del.Monte wrote: »

The final episode had a few interesting twists - I'm also in the 'minority' who've been enjoying it. Will there be 2nd series? Can the BBC afford it? There's lots of loose ends - Archer's son; Harry; the negatives that Archer has in his cigar tube; Archer's American lady friend - did she get away from the Germans and anyway we all want to see something unpleasant happen to Kellerman.

I don't think so.
https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/2203451/len-deighton-drama-series-ss-gb-bbc-tv/p21

MilesMorales1 · 22-03-2017 3:29pm

I think the ending is wide up for a second series. Hope they follow through.

cml387 · 22-03-2017 10:06pm

I think the ending is deliberately ambiguous so as to leave people imagining there'll be a sequel because the ending in the book is a bit downbeat for many tastes.

TerrorFirmer · 26-03-2017 10:57pm

Pretty good finale. I enjoyed the series in general, good performances - some better than others admittedly, loathed Kate Bosworth as a cardboard cut out in particular - and set pieces were quite good but lacked the scale and convincing polish of something like Man in the High Castle.

Finale was a step up from the previous two episodes and I would certainly like to see more.

the_syco · 23-04-2017 6:41pm

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Finale was a step up from the previous two episodes and I would certainly like to see more.

Agreed.

JP Liz V1 · 10-07-2017 10:10pm

It is starting next week on RTE

corks finest · 11-07-2017 8:26am

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

I think it's quite good, slow but interesting. I have to say I don't agree with the apparent difficulty with understanding what's being said; having finished two episodes I wasn't even aware it was a thing until I read this thread.

That said, it's uncanny how the lead detective sounds exactly like Tom Hardy does in 'Taboo' - an actor infamous for his mumbling!

Overall though it's fairly good stuff, looking forward to the next episode. The BBC riding the coat tails of 'Man in the High Castle' and it could be a lot worse...although equally it could be better.

Enjoy it immensely, costume bang on,only annoying thing for me is that they all have fags in their mouths,,know it's the way it was,just looks desperate

SS-GB (BBC 1)

Comments

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year" - Charles Dickens