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It's A Sin (RTD AIDS Drama)

Started by Malcy, January 23, 2021, 09:21:00 PM

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Malcy

Watched all 5 episodes of this today and it is absolutely superb. Heart breaking but not without plenty of moments of laughter and joy. RTD is a fantastic writer. Every single member of the cast does an amazing job. It's one of the best bits of TV I have seen in a long time.

Truly unmissable TV in my opinion and I can't remember the last time I thought that of a show. Don't want to say too much about it until people have seen it but it's excellent and well worth watching.

Icehaven

I've seen it trailered for a few weeks now and I'll probably binge it at some point next week. The title alone had me sold.

bgmnts

How many times has Russell Davies written about some gay people getting on while being gay?

Norton Canes

Watched the first one last night, will binge the rest ASAP.

This 80's style trailer is absolute genius. In fact it's a shame they didn't film the whole thing like this, because no matter how authentic you make your 80's-set drama, it will never look truly authentic in 16:9 high-definition.

Malcy

Quote from: Norton Canes on January 23, 2021, 09:57:54 PM
Watched the first one last night, will binge the rest ASAP.

The 80's style trailer is absolute genius. In fact it's a shame they didn't film the whole thing like this, because no matter how authentic you make your 80's-set drama, it will never look truly authentic in 16:9 high-definition.

I only seen bits of the trailer and what I saw made me think it would be a different show from what I watched. I'm a bit floored by it to be honest. Just brilliant.

RicoMNKN

Probably going to watch it on a weekly basis, but thought episode one was great.
RTD can get you to care about his characters so fast, can't he?

Found the portent of the empty hospital beds whilst the characters are talking about their hopes for the future gave such a horrible feeling of dread.

Twitter seemed to be mostly people talking about the politics and people's own relation to AIDS , rather than just about the show - which seems a rare thing for a drama to achieve nowadays.


Malcy

Quote from: RicoMNKN on January 23, 2021, 10:09:58 PM
RTD can get you to care about his characters so fast, can't he?

It's one of the biggest plus points of this show and his writing in general.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Quote from: Malcy on January 23, 2021, 09:21:00 PM
RTD is a fantastic writer.
Except for that unfortunate period between 2005 and 2009.

Twonty Gostelow

My immediate thought was that the AIDS in the thread title was an adjective and RTD was going to get a kicking.

This place has ruined me.

non capisco

#9
Thought the first episode was excellent and didn't even realise the rest are all on All 4 so that's my Sunday sorted. As others have said, he's made you like and invest in all the central characters very quickly so I have a feeling this is gonna be a total gutwrencher. Also, great attention to period pop detail. A sexual awakening montage in 1981 set to the clod hopping granny clap beat of one of the many cheap pop classical medley records that were stinking up an otherwise great chart year was a nice touch.

Quote from: RicoMNKN on January 23, 2021, 10:09:58 PM
Found the portent of the empty hospital beds whilst the characters are talking about their hopes for the future gave such a horrible feeling of dread.

Absolutely.
Spoiler alert
Neil Patrick Harris' character was very well drawn and brimming with life in the little screen time he had, him dying utterly alone in that grim quarantine room was a stark contrast to the younger characters all kickstarting their lives and a portent of the dread to come.
[close]
Great bit of writing. The only minus point is it's another good programme I'm going to have to hold my nose and watch Tracy-Anne Obermann in.

Looking forward to cracking on with the rest of these.

jamiefairlie

Quote from: Norton Canes on January 23, 2021, 09:57:54 PM
Watched the first one last night, will binge the rest ASAP.

This 80's style trailer is absolute genius. In fact it's a shame they didn't film the whole thing like this, because no matter how authentic you make your 80's-set drama, it will never look truly authentic in 16:9 high-definition.

13 secs onto that trailer "smell my cheese you mother!"

jamiefairlie

Quote from: Norton Canes on January 23, 2021, 09:57:54 PM
Watched the first one last night, will binge the rest ASAP.

This 80's style trailer is absolute genius. In fact it's a shame they didn't film the whole thing like this, because no matter how authentic you make your 80's-set drama, it will never look truly authentic in 16:9 high-definition.


Even filmed like this you can tell immediately it's a recreation, I wonder why it's so hard to capture the look and feel of the past? I mean there's enough people around from that time to tell them if it's right.

Billy

Later on in the series there's some genuinely well-made fake bits of 1980s TV which really did make me think they were old clips for a second, whether they've actually used old cameras or just got the filters right it's cleverly done. Way more convincing than that (admittedly ok) trailer.

Agreed with the OP on loving this, there's so many moments that seem like they're subtle nods to Covid throughout but the whole thing was filmed late 2019/early 2020, so unless they've done some extra ADR or reshoots since then it must all just be a coincidence.

pigamus

Quote from: jamiefairlie on January 23, 2021, 11:06:39 PM
Even filmed like this you can tell immediately it's a recreation, I wonder why it's so hard to capture the look and feel of the past? I mean there's enough people around from that time to tell them if it's right.

It's clearly harder than it looks - although Arctic Monkeys did a good job with Whistle Test

Zetetic

Quote from: Billy on January 24, 2021, 12:02:34 AM
Way more convincing than that (admittedly ok) trailer.
I suspect the trailer is a compromise so that people can rapidly clock that it won't actually look and sound awful for 5 hours.

phes

Hard to say how good this was because the subject matter is enough to boil my piss to the point that I couldn't focus well on the nuts and bolts. So I guess it is thought provoking, which is the most important aspect. I watched all 5 episodes straight through despite regularly zoning out, so it certainly wasn't bad. 

QuoteA sexual awakening montage in 1981 set to the clod hopping granny clap beat of one of the many cheap pop classical medley records that were stinking up an otherwise great chart year was a nice touch.

Yes, best use of Hooked on Classics in a drama in a while.

It's my favourite Legs and Co. routine, fwiw.

The right mix of joyous bits with genuine horror. The last scene in the isolation ward was really effective.

I think Years & Years did a small amount of late insertions to make it feel real - iirc, they added the most high profile celebrity death to a radio link in the first episode. It wouldn't surprise me RTD doing that again.

lipsink

Loved it. Had weeped fucking buckets by the time it was over and was still crying afterwards thinking about it.

If I was gonna nitpick it would be that
Spoiler alert
the Stephen Fry subplot didn't really feel like it went anywhere. I can understand that it's showing Rosco's journey from trying to distance himself from the horror of what's going on around him and also enjoy the rich Tory lifestyle and it also gives us a bit more context of Thatcher Britain and added a bit more levity but it felt like it was the one thing that didn't gel with the rest of the show. The whole hospital scene in the final episode with Ritchie's parents was incredible and disorientating. There were moments where I genuinely didn't know how to react.
[close]

El Unicornio, mang

Quote from: jamiefairlie on January 23, 2021, 11:06:39 PM
Even filmed like this you can tell immediately it's a recreation, I wonder why it's so hard to capture the look and feel of the past? I mean there's enough people around from that time to tell them if it's right.

Uncanny valley. Too many subtleties which are impossible to figure out but which our brains instantly recognise/notice are missing.

lipsink

Spoiler alert
The "there's something wrong with your skin" moment is one of the scariest things I've seen on TV for some time.
[close]

jamiefairlie

Quote from: El Unicornio, mang on January 24, 2021, 04:59:21 PM
Uncanny valley. Too many subtleties which are impossible to figure out but which our brains instantly recognise/notice are missing.

Couple of thoughts:

People look too healthy and buff
How they interact with each other is rooted in the present

El Unicornio, mang

Quote from: jamiefairlie on January 24, 2021, 05:54:56 PM
Couple of thoughts:

People look too healthy and buff
How they interact with each other is rooted in the present

Definitely need to look a bit more pallid and thin. Also, the hair on these fake retro clips always looks too good. Should be more dry and frizzy looking, less well styled. Probably would need to use the shampoo and styling products of the period to get close to the desired effect.

Mister Six

Quote from: jamiefairlie on January 23, 2021, 11:06:39 PM
Even filmed like this you can tell immediately it's a recreation, I wonder why it's so hard to capture the look and feel of the past? I mean there's enough people around from that time to tell them if it's right.

I think a lot of it is lighting and cameras. You can drain the colour with a filter, crop to 4:3 and make the sound mono and fuzzy, but the base image is still lit and shot with modern equipment, giving a depth and quality that you can't completely shake.

bobloblaw

Quote from: A Hat Like That on January 24, 2021, 02:47:25 PM
Yes, best use of Hooked on Classics in a drama in a while.

It's my favourite Legs and Co. routine, fwiw.

The right mix of joyous bits with genuine horror. The last scene in the isolation ward was really effective.

I think Years & Years did a small amount of late insertions to make it feel real - iirc, they added the most high profile celebrity death to a radio link in the first episode. It wouldn't surprise me RTD doing that again.

There is a scene in which a certain celebrity's secret sexuality is referenced that could have been a last minute addition, given that this was written in 2019

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Just finished watching it. Without a single shadow of a doubt, that was one of the best television dramas I have seen in years (and years). I'd write something more substantial if I could, but I'm too tired and emotional. I feel wrung out.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

#25
In episode five,
Spoiler alert
that almost entirely continuous scene of Keeley Hawes marching through the hospital corridors, as she struggles to accept what's happening, was mesmerising.
[close]

Quote from: Ballad of Ballard Berkley on January 25, 2021, 04:42:03 AM
In episode four,
Spoiler alert
that almost entirely continuous scene of Keeley Hawes marching through the hospital corridors, as she struggles to accept what's happening, was mesmerising.
[close]

I clicked on your spoiler because I've seen episode 4, but I think that must be from episode 5!

Please edit that (if you can!)

phes

It is and it was exceptional, almost jarringly so (not to run down the rest of the show. It's just that good)

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Quote from: Emotional Support Peacock on January 25, 2021, 07:21:14 AM
I clicked on your spoiler because I've seen episode 4, but I think that must be from episode 5!

Please edit that (if you can!)

I am so sorry. I watched episodes four and five in one sleepless go, hence my confusion. I've edited my post accordingly.

sevendaughters

Three episodes in. I fundamentally like it but think that 5 x 45 min episodes has led to a lot of short-cutting in emotional and narrative areas. Will post a proper opinion after I finish it.