Normal People [BBC - RTE] - [**SPOILERS**]

Higgins5473

TheBlaaMan wrote: »

OK, we get it.
Every single post in the thread from you is a downer. Fine, you dont like the story.
Jesus.....

It's worth analysing and dissecting it because of all the ridiculous adulation it is getting. If it was an episode of Fair City and someone kept going to town on how sh*t it was, you might have a point.

One of the major faults I found with it were the drawn out sex scenes, I found them incredibly boring. I heard an interview with Abrahemson (spelling?) before I watched it and he was singing his praises for some 'sex scene coordinator' who has basically carved a new career and profession for herself to be some kind of sex scene advisor, shes done other shows. He admitted himself he gave her free reign for this. I think it was a mistake, reckon its gone to the coordinators head about how great she is at this new role. Those scenes were like they were from a different programme, some late night Channel 4 art bollocks. I didn't find them in any way offensive and don't know how anyone could but they were just so long and boring. Started fast forwarding through them after a few episodes.

1 sheep2

Higgins5473 wrote: »

I went to UCD, the 'D4 Heads' were as plentiful as the culchies and I hadn't a single bad interaction with them. They hung about together just like the Galway muldoons did also, it's natural that you have a connection with a group from where you come from, that doesn't make you insular. They went to school together, grew up in the same area, same clubs etc. I'm from Raheny, and guess what, I ended up hanging out with a bunch of northsiders, and this will be even more surprising to you clearly country folk lumping southside dubliners into one bracket; although we were northsiders we weren't all a bunch of junkie layabout dole drawing scumbags :eek:

And if we're using the show as source material, Marianne's English boyfriend invites Connell for a coffee and then to a party, her friend asks for his number, and, other than by Jamie, Connell seems to have been warmly embraced by the rest of her friends. Doesn't seem insular to me.

kowloon

Higgins5473 wrote: »

One of the major faults I found with it were the drawn out sex scenes, I found them incredibly boring.

Agreed, but most people on here seem to think drawn out love scenes are necessarily in a programme with a 30 minute run time. They could have used that time to flesh out the plot over fleshing up the series.

Beechwoodspark

TheBlaaMan wrote: »

OK, we get it.
Every single post in the thread from you is a downer. Fine, you dont like the story.
Jesus.....

Woah woah - I came to it expecting great things as I’d heard all the gushing and fawning over it. I was let down and more or less amazed at the adulation it got.

That then got me thinking why exactly was it a disappointment.

And it’s not all negative posts - I have said my 17 year old niece loves it.

wakka12

Mad_maxx wrote: »

there are degrees of " rich "

obviously marianne is a lot better off than connell , the house marianne lives in in sligo however is nothing special , if they are wealthy enough to own a lavish place ( and it is lavish ) in italy , marianne would be attending a private school and the likes of connell would never have come next or near to her during her education years


inconsistency

Not really, several of the most sought after secondary schools in South Dublin are not private. Muckross park, colaiste Eoin, just off the top of my head

Wouldnt be that many schools to pick from in a rural area anyway. I would say their house in Sligo looks lavish also, especially in a Sligo context

lainey_d_123

Higgins5473 wrote: »

I went to UCD, the 'D4 Heads' were as plentiful as the culchies and I hadn't a single bad interaction with them. They hung about together just like the Galway muldoons did also, it's natural that you have a connection with a group from where you come from, that doesn't make you insular. They went to school together, grew up in the same area, same clubs etc. I'm from Raheny, and guess what, I ended up hanging out with a bunch of northsiders, and this will be even more surprising to you clearly country folk lumping southside dubliners into one bracket; although we were northsiders we weren't all a bunch of junkie layabout dole drawing scumbags :eek:

Most of the D4 heads I encountered were decent enough people underneath, especially one on one, but there were a few 'Jamies' around, alright. He isn't just a D4 head, he's also suffering from short man syndrome, deeply insecure and as a result possessive and abusive to Marianne. I agree that they hammed him up a bit too much, like during the dinner scene, a real person like him would be far more subtle with their digs, would probably be nice to Connell's face and rude behind his back, but overall I found him realistic enough.

MoonUnit75

1 sheep2 wrote: »

And if we're using the show as source material, Marianne's English boyfriend invites Connell for a coffee and then to a party, her friend asks for his number, and, other than by Jamie, Connell seems to have been warmly embraced by the rest of her friends. Doesn't seem insular to me.

Don't forget Connell stunned those 'free speech and freedom of thought' defenders with his 'amazing' Tumblr level arguments which would barely surpass the character limit of a tweet. They only had to hear a handful of syllables before his talent for high level debating became obvious.

ziedth

Watching BBC pace at the moment and my opinion of the show hasn't changed much.

It's good, They are both decent actors (At times they are very good) There is a layer Missing from Connells character that I can't put my finger on while for an Irish Drama its definitely up there with one of the better produced shows.

However, I don't get the love in for it. I thought Pure Mule was better......

1 sheep2

MoonUnit75 wrote: »

Don't forget Connell stunned those 'free speech and freedom of thought' defenders with his 'amazing' Tumblr level arguments which would barely surpass the character limit of a tweet. They only had to hear a handful of syllables before his talent for high level debating became obvious.

Yeah, apparently that's all you need to be recommended to get involved in debating.

That was a weird scene for me because it seemed to exist only to demonstrate Connell's moral purity and the opposite of his Trinity peers. And, in doing so, it undermines the coherence of Connell's character. At that point, he had been presented as someone too shy to socialise with his flatmates or express a thought in a tutorial, yet somehow finds his voice in unfamiliar surroundings and repeatedly pushes back against strident debaters on a topic he knew nothing about.

olestoepoke

pappyodaniel wrote: »

The house in Sligo, their permanent residence is no great shakes. Looks like a fancy-ish bungalow to me.

The childhood home of TD Shane Ross in Enniskerry I think.

Wombatman

gmisk wrote: »

I see the rights have now been sold to more than 20 countries.
Including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Pretty impressive

Can't see the point really. Sure won't they all just turn off when they are slapped in the face by the idea that somebody from Sligo could own a villa in Tuscany. If that doesn't sink it, Connell being "too old" for the part will. Surprised the distributors haven't seen this :rolleyes:

Mad_maxx

wakka12 wrote: »

Not really, several of the most sought after secondary schools in South Dublin are not private. Muckross park, colaiste Eoin, just off the top of my head

Wouldnt be that many schools to pick from in a rural area anyway. I would say their house in Sligo looks lavish also, especially in a Sligo context

I wasn't claiming that private schools were better, wasn't my point

Higgins5473

Wombatman wrote: »

Can't see the point really. Sure won't they all just turn off when they are slapped in the face by the idea that somebody from Sligo could own a villa in Tuscany. If that doesn't sink it, Connell being "too old" for the part will. Surprised the distributors haven't seen this :rolleyes:

His mother in the show is 11 years older than him, and looks it. Or is this some deeper meaning to the show that will be studied and come out in years to come? His mother gave birth to him at 11 and that's why hes so messed up?

olestoepoke

I watched it and liked it a lot and almost all of the hang-ups that people have about Connel's age to the families wealth never occurred to me. If you didn't like it have a valid reason, don't nitpick at silly "holes in the plot line" like why do they have a villa and the likes. The thread has fallen into a hole of whingers and moaners looking for stupid reasons to back up their personal dislike of the show. The rights to the show have gone international and it has been mostly well received by critics and I'd wager it will will several awards much to the disdain of the wingers, moaners and nitpickers.

pappyodaniel

There's a seaside village (Rosses Point) a few miles outside Sligo town which is essentially where the poshos live. Some of the accents out there are as D4 as D4 itself. Most of the teens from there would go to the Grammar School in Sligo town and there is definitely a class dynamic going on. So to say that Sligo is immune to that element in society is wrong.

I lived up there for a few years and had friends from council estates and friends from the more exclusive parts in or just outside the town. I'd say it's true in most big towns in Ireland but not as exaggerated as in the big smoke obviously.

Hrududu

Higgins5473 wrote: »

His mother in the show is 11 years older than him, and looks it. Or is this some deeper meaning to the show that will be studied and come out in years to come? His mother gave birth to him at 11 and that's why hes so messed up?

Sean Connery was only 12 years older than Harrison Ford when he played his father in Last Crusade (for all I know he still is).

I think his mother was meant to be pretty young when she had him. I can’t remember from the book but I think she was in her teens.

Higgins5473

Hrududu wrote: »

Sean Connery was only 12 years older than Harrison Ford when he played his father in Last Crusade (for all I know he still is).

I think his mother was meant to be pretty young when she had him. I can’t remember from the book but I think she was in her teens.

teens as in 13?

difference is in the last crusade, ford he didn't look like he had a dad 12 years older. they looked like they could be father and son. in normal people his mother could be his girlfriend. if I saw the two of them walking down the road hand in hand I wouldn't bat an eyelid.

Anyway, I was just pointing out something that was mentioned like the age and wealth was nitpicking by the OP. It's not, the show has a lot of flaws which have been pointed out quite rightly on this thread, so therefore, all this ridiculous adulation...is ridiculous. I'd say the book was a tough read, fair play for seeing it out.

olestoepoke

Higgins5473 wrote: »

teens as in 13?

difference is in the last crusade, ford he didn't look like he had a dad 12 years older. they looked like they could be father and son. in normal people his mother could be his girlfriend. if I saw the two of them walking down the road hand in hand I wouldn't bat an eyelid.

Anyway, I was just pointing out something that was mentioned like the age and wealth was nitpicking by the OP. It's not, the show has a lot of flaws which have been pointed out quite rightly on this thread, so therefore, all this ridiculous adulation...is ridiculous. I'd say the book was a tough read, fair play for seeing it out.

You're entitled to your opinion of course. The book is critically acclaimed as is the show so people who thought it was a "tough read" seem to be in the minority.

Higgins5473

olestoepoke wrote: »

You're entitled to your opinion of course. The book is critically acclaimed as is the show so people who thought it was a "tough read" seem to be in the minority.

What book isn’t ‘critically acclaimed’ these days. Reviews are largely divisive also like the programme. Some fairly damning reviews on Amazon after a quick glance.

olestoepoke

Higgins5473 wrote: »

What book isn’t ‘critically acclaimed’ these days. Reviews are largely divisive also like the programme. Some fairly damning reviews on Amazon after a quick glance.

Not all books win awards though right? This one has won several. Would you like me to list them or do you have the time to google it. I saw that you edited your post and took out the part where you said it didn't win any awards "not even an Irish one" so I'm assuming you have already seen the many awards it has received.

Hamachi

Hamachi wrote: »

Totally agree. I had a very similar experience there as recently as 2004 / 2005. I was surprised at how insular the D4 / Foxrock types are. They tend to stick strictly to their ‘own’ for friendship and dating.

Peggy’s reaction rang true to me. Jamie is one of the tribe; in her eyes Connell is a spud muncher that she has to tolerate. Even Marianne is only accepted as she speaks and dresses the right way. However, she too would be very vulnerable to being ejected from the group if she undermines a core member of the tribe, which she has done in inviting Connell to the Italian villa.

I had virtually forgotten about college social dynamics until I watched ‘Normal People’. The show pretty much nailed this, particularly for alumni of the Dublin universities.

Completely at odds with my experience. I think you're projecting your own prejudices. Peggy had a valid point that it's not a good idea bringing an ex over like that and basically going on a date with him.

bitofabind

Yeah Jamie was an abusive arsehole, but a lot of the things Marianne did in Italy raised question marks for me. From the cycling date to Connell sleeping in her bed the night after the fight. Where was Jamie then? No way in hell would any boyfriend of mine have stood for that, fight or no fight.

otnomart

bitofabind wrote: »

Yeah Jamie was an abusive arsehole, but a lot of the things Marianne did in Italy raised question marks for me. From the cycling date to Connell sleeping in her bed the night after the fight. Where was Jamie then? No way in hell would any boyfriend of mine have stood for that, fight or no fight.

I thought Jamie left after the fight, as he is nowhere to be seen on the train in the following scene.


On this note,

Have been at a couple of similar awkward dinners - where someone brought their ex/still good friend - and the boyfriend/girlfriend got drunk and acted the maggot - just as Jamie did.
And they were even older than that Normal People set.

1 sheep2

Deleted User wrote: »

Completely at odds with my experience. I think you're projecting your own prejudices. Peggy had a valid point that it's not a good idea bringing an ex over like that and basically going on a date with him.

bitofabind wrote: »

Yeah Jamie was an abusive arsehole, but a lot of the things Marianne did in Italy raised question marks for me. From the cycling date to Connell sleeping in her bed the night after the fight. Where was Jamie then? No way in hell would any boyfriend of mine have stood for that, fight or no fight.

If you take away the class element, Jamie remains obnoxious but it becomes easier to sympathise with why he might have felt threatened, something Marianne acknowledges in a previous episode. The writers have kind of backed us into a corner by having Connell be faultlessly polite and unimposing, and Jamie be unremittingly foul. If Connell could just once have overstepped the mark, or Jamie hadn't been quite so one-dimensionally awful, it could have been more interesting.

The whole point of a Rooney novel is supposedly the emotional subtlety - people do things for complicated reasons. So why is poor Connell given an out for his bad behaviour while Jamie is cast as irredeemably prickish?

Muahahaha

Big slow clap to RTE for spoiling what happens in the next episode with their current ad promoting it.

Connells friend commits suicide

Well done RTE you fcuking muppets :mad:

1 sheep2

Muahahaha wrote: »

Big slow clap to RTE for spoiling what happens in the next episode with their current ad promoting it.

Connells friend commits suicide

Well done RTE you fcuking muppets :mad:

The continuity announcer on RTE introduced the third episode by saying something like,

'Connell finds out that his friends don't mind after all that he's with Marianne.'

Insane! That is the twist at the end of the episode and one of the two or three key moments in the series. How could they be so stupid?

Beechwoodspark

1 sheep2 wrote: »

The continuity announcer on RTE introduced the third episode by saying something like, 'Connell finds out that his friends don't mind after all that he's with Marianne.' Insane! That is the twist at the end of the episode and one of the two or three key moments in the series. How could they be so stupid?

Total hunch but Maybe RTÉ noticed viewing figures have fallen off a cliff and want to bring back ppl to it?

Sittingpretty

I’m trying to find the remaining episodes 9-12 on YouTube as someone said they are there but I can’t find them?

Any one have a link to them?

TIA

Higgins5473

olestoepoke wrote: »

Not all books win awards though right? This one has won several. Would you like me to list them or do you have the time to google it. I saw that you edited your post and took out the part where you said it didn't win any awards "not even an Irish one" so I'm assuming you have already seen the many awards it has received.

Have you read the book? Doesn’t seem like it to be honest.

Higgins5473

Beechwoodspark wrote: »

Total hunch but Maybe RTÉ noticed viewing figures have fallen off a cliff and want to bring back ppl to it?

Probably right, in fairness if you’ve the slightest understanding of tech anything broadcast on any streaming service you’ll have the full series as soon as it’s released.