It's A Sin (RTD AIDS Drama)

[Jockice]

Careful. Any criticism of Tracy Ann Oberman is now categorised as an antisemitic hate crime.

I had eever knowingly heard or seen her on TV until three weekends ago. Then I watched a music documentary on Channel 5 that she did a voiceover for. And then on the Sunday I saw Toast Of London for the first time AND three episodes of It's A Sin.

I'm trying to avoid her from now on - apart from watching the final two IAS episodes (with subtitles and no sound. A glitch with All4 on my bedroom TV), although I'm not putting this on Twitter because I'd get hunted down and shot. Still never seen Rachel Riley in anything though. In fact I've never seen an episode of Countdown.

New page everything I've ever done, everything I'll ever jew

[neveragain]

Careful. Any criticism of Tracy Ann Oberman is now categorised as an antisemitic hate crime.

I've still not heard a reason why she's horrible.

[chveik]

I've still not heard a reason why she's horrible.

you can find some in the baddiel thread i believe

[jobotic]

Anyway, episode three last night and I can't stop thinking about it today.

Spoiler alert

Colin's death was so sad, and his "dementia" was horrid. Agree with the comment about France being chilling - the realisation that he was losing. I had naively hoped that he did have epilepsy and it was a red herring. I looked up his condition and it's horrid, and so many of us would have it if it wasn't for our immune system.

[close]

By the way, remember cuddly Ken Clarke, the FPBE centrist's friend? What a reasonable decent chap he is

Spoiler alert

[While Colin is a fictional character created by Russell T Davies, his plight appears based on a real-life case from the 1980s.

In 1985, Conservative Minister for Health Ken Clarke enacted powers to keep AIDS victims in hospital against their will. These powers were later used in Manchester, when a 29-year-old gay man with AIDS requested leave to go home for the weekend, and was instead detained in Monsall Hospital's isolation unit

[close]

./quote]

[Malcy]

RTD has given some details of what he would have put in the show had he been able to do it over 8 episodes.

https://metro.co.uk/2021/02/27/its-a-sin-creator-shares-heartbreaking-roscoe-storyline-cut-from-show-14157157/

[paruses]

Anyway, episode three last night and I can't stop thinking about it today.


By the way, remember cuddly Ken Clarke, the FPBE centrist's friend? What a reasonable decent chap he is

Spoiler alert

[While Colin is a fictional character created by Russell T Davies, his plight appears based on a real-life case from the 1980s.

In 1985, Conservative Minister for Health Ken Clarke enacted powers to keep AIDS victims in hospital against their will. These powers were later used in Manchester, when a 29-year-old gay man with AIDS requested leave to go home for the weekend, and was instead detained in Monsall Hospital's isolation unit

[close]

./quote]

I put earlier that that probably happened loads but then it occurred to me it was more likely to be a case RTD heard about and, rightly, wanted to put in. Doesn't really matter because it's still vile. And I agree it was all chilling. I couldn't stop thinking about the whole

Spoiler alert

Colin

[close]

storyline for days.

I wasn't so keen how

Spoiler alert

the lawyer woman swooped in and read them their rights. All seemed a bit too American drama for me. 

[close]

But I was very pleased with the outcome.

[Icehaven]

RTD has given some details of what he would have put in the show had he been able to do it over 8 episodes.

https://metro.co.uk/2021/02/27/its-a-sin-creator-shares-heartbreaking-roscoe-storyline-cut-from-show-14157157/

It's interesting that had he had more episodes he'd have used at least some of them to show what happened in the future, given that wasn't shown in the finished show at all. I said it before but I really think C4 dropped a bollock curtailing this. And yet so many Netflix things are far too long, it seems hard to get it right.

[RicoMNKN]

I put earlier that that probably happened loads but then it occurred to me it was more likely to be a case RTD heard about and, rightly, wanted to put in.

I read Simon Garfield's The End of Innocence after seeing it recommended in an interview with the cast.  There's quite a few cases from that he seems to have worked in.  In particular, someone who was wrongly diagnosed as having psittacosis.  In that case, however, the victim did have a fucking parrot.

Worth a read. Andrew Neil comes across terribly.

[shiftwork2]

Generally completely unaware of C4 and its misery-inducing upper-middle class property and cooking shows, but It's A Sin was clearly tremendous and matched The Virtues as the best TV of the past five years.

C4.  Confusing the fuck out of me at the moment.  Channel 4?

[jobotic]

Was a bit of a wreck after watching the last episode last night.

Keeley Hawes is good isn't she? Not a pleasant character and well out of order not letting them see Richie and yet sympathetic. As was said "taking him back to the womb". Her son is dying of something she doesn't understand - she doesn't understand him - and she tries to take them both back to a place when they made each other happy (in a windmill). Pathetic and heartbreaking.

Colin moved me the most but in same ways he seemed a bit cartoonish - Richie was very well written. Selfish and annoying but charming as fuck and very funny. Would love to be young and be friends with him but wouldn't go to him to pour my heart out if I was upset about something.

Anyway, very good. And I turned off as soon as that bloody song started.

[Jockice]

Colin was the best character I thought. Probably the only one I wouldn't find irritating if I'd known him in real life.

[jobotic]

my cartoonish comment was a bit harsh, and I didn't think it until after I'd watched it all. I thought he was fantastic as I watched.

[Malcy]

Saw that BAFTA Guru posted this today. One of their masterclasses. Having been to a couple of these in person I know that they are usually very good and informative and this one is related to Its A Sin.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=LHscSesu_C4

[Johnboy]

Watched all IAS this week, knocked me flat, can't get it out of my head, brilliant.

[thr0b]

Just watched it all. 

I don't think television gets better than that, does it?

[Malcy]

Just watched it all. 

I don't think television gets better than that, does it?

It's by far the best thing I've seen in years (and years). I'm looking forward to a rewatch but would like to leave it a few years until i've forgotten most of it, which giving how hard hitting it was at times isn't easy. It has quite rightly been picking up a lot of awards as well.

[thr0b]

I put off watching it for a long time - I needed to be mentally in the right place for it. Glad I watched it. It sticks with you, doesn't it?

[Blue Jam]

I highly recommend The Writer's Tale to fans of RTD's writing. It's basically an intimate, candid, detailed diary of his time working on Doctor Who, but you don't have to be a Doctor Who fan to enjoy it. One of the best books about the lonely, stressful art and craft of writing I have ever read. His insights are fascinating.

Just got this on your recommendation and you're right, it's fascinating, so thanks!

A book where a writer attempts to answer the dreaded question "Where do you get your ideas from?"- that itself is inspired. Nice to see a writer admit that it's actually a perfectly good question too, and writers hate it because they can never give a satisfactory answer.

[Malcy]

I've read it a few times and really hope he does one for his next tenure as well.