Motherland - Season 3

[dead-ced-dead]

I understand that this is going to be remade in the US and I sort of feel like this is the perfect show to remake; something that has certain qualities but has obvious flaws that can iron out.

Although it could end up with the same problems or bigger ones.

[paruses]

The "senior management at GSK" thing was a bit much, but my waif thought it was a good example of what life is like pre and post children. Before kids, you've got a career, life is on the up, you're going places, literally and figuratively, then you have kids and your just a mum. Obviously that's an extreme it's not like that for everyone one, but it does happen. So if they'd just said she was a PA at GSK, it wouldn't have been addressing that point as succinctly.

Have been thinking about this more than I should and come to the same conclusion. I get what they were doing and I did find that bit one of the funniest for the performance of the actors. Thought they held it nicely in the air batting Greggs and GSK around but neither committing.

I understand that this is going to be remade in the US and I sort of feel like this is the perfect show to remake; something that has certain qualities but has obvious flaws that can iron out.

Although it could end up with the same problems or bigger ones.

Isn't there already a Canadian one that might even be called Motherland (or Parenthood)? That's what I imagine a US remake of this would be.

[dead-ced-dead]

Isn't there already a Canadian one that might even be called Motherland (or Parenthood)? That's what I imagine a US remake of this would be.

Perhaps you're thinking of Catastrophe, which was made in French speaking provinces of Canada? Or Parenthood, the TV series remake of the Steve Martin movie?

[paruses]

Hmm - I hesitated with Parenthood cos of the Steve Martin film. And I don't think it's Catastrophe because I would have thought of the Sharon Horgan thing and also there are a few eps in the Canadian thing where she gets relocated to the French speaking provs. Should I try and remember or just look it up?

It's quite good.

[paruses]

Working Moms!

[Otisberg]

Did anyone feel that the last episode ending felt utterly unearned?

Spoiler alert

Julia's husband has been a class-a shite for 3 series, and he wanders in all smiles and it's a happy ending.

[close]

[frajer]

I think the idea is that from Julia's perspective he has been a relentlessly absent piece of shit, but her perspective is not necessarily honest, as he's actually been around enough to notice her crush on the builder.

So she (and the viewer) can only see all the times he's absent or unhelpful, rather than the presumably off-screen times where he's actually at work or being a dad. The way I read it was that Julia's self-absorption blinds her to him actually being an alright if flawed person.

But yeah I agree it did feel like a strange gear shift as he's been portrayed as being comically selfish and absent for every other episode.

[Drygate]

Yes, you are probably right about perspectives. But I did find it a bit weird he went from total shit to totally understanding that his wife wants to bang the builder.

[phes]

That gear change had a touch of the Merchant Navy about it.

[paruses]

Yes, you are probably right about perspectives. But I did find it a bit weird he went from total shit to totally understanding that his wife wants to bang the builder.

I'm not sure he was a total shit it's just that we only ever saw Julia talking to him when he was doing something solo and she wanted help. I think frajer makes a good point he's only ever seen through the lens of Julia and might be perfectly reasonable most of the time, as well as taking the time to notice how Julia is feeling - something that she doesn't do.

I don't know if it was a last minute decision to go that way. It did feel like the conceit was we never get to see them together. The feeling of S3 is that it's an episode short.

I'd forgotten one thing that really made me laugh - Julia telling her client she was going into a hospice on Friday thanks to autocorrect.

[A Hat Like That]

I think the idea is that from Julia's perspective he has been a relentlessly absent piece of shit, but her perspective is not necessarily honest, as he's actually been around enough to notice her crush on the builder.

So she (and the viewer) can only see all the times he's absent or unhelpful, rather than the presumably off-screen times where he's actually at work or being a dad. The way I read it was that Julia's self-absorption blinds her to him actually being an alright if flawed person.

But yeah I agree it did feel like a strange gear shift as he's been portrayed as being comically selfish and absent for every other episode.

Yes, that was how I decided to read it, given also that the children are absent for the most part and, when present, don't speak.

[jobotic]

That gear change had a touch of the Merchant Navy about it.

I feel strangely proud that I know what that means. I've arrived.

[Janie Jones]

Did anyone feel that the last episode ending felt utterly unearned?

Spoiler alert

Julia's husband has been a class-a shite for 3 series, and he wanders in all smiles and it's a happy ending.

[close]

This point inter alia was noted in this opinion piece in the Independent a couple of days ago.
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/motherland-race-motherhood-b1850947.html?amp

[jobotic]

Still got serious reservations about this programme but I did laugh out loud during last night's episode when Julia said "for me?" when the builder gave her that spare tap.

[Huxleys Babkins]

Amanda and Mr Goodsir

Spoiler alert

bonking

[close]

was rather a clichéd development.

But quite nicely pulled off, I thought. It felt like they were telegraphing Kevin

Spoiler alert

immediately losing his driving licence by being talked into running some errand for her whilst pissed, so them just shagging was quite a subversion, even though it was the most obvious cliché they could find.

[close]

Good series overall, I thought. Fave moment was Kevin

Spoiler alert

screaming whilst reversing

[close]

.

[A Hat Like That]

I liked the peach/world book day joke.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

A bit grim witnessing *two* mums with dysfunctional relationships with their own mums in the same episode ( Lucy Punch with the well- cast Joanna Mumley, as well as AMM being mardy as fuck cos her mum has to live with her. I can well imagine her not talking to her own mum between the ages of 13 and 22 ). Punchy just turning her back on her mum, leaving her to drive off after dismissing her with a cold, insincere " Happy Mother's Day"" actually depressed me. Also, Philomena Cunk has been friends with that drippy bloke for well over two series now, shouldn't she know that his mum is dead?
Still, at least you got to see Anna Maxwell- Martin in her bra.

[paruses]

A bit grim witnessing *two* mums with dysfunctional relationships with their own mums in the same episode ( Lucy Punch with the well- cast Joanna Mumley, as well as AMM being mardy as fuck cos her mum has to live with her. I can well imagine her not talking to her own mum between the ages of 13 and 22 ). Punchy just turning her back on her mum, leaving her to drive off after dismissing her with a cold, insincere " Happy Mother's Day"" actually depressed me. Also, Philomena Cunk has been friends with that drippy bloke for well over two series now, shouldn't she know that his mum is dead?
Still, at least you got to see Anna Maxwell- Martin in her bra.

Really? I thought Amanda telling her mum to fuck off was quite uplifting. Seemed to be turning a corner. I like how Johnny just mumbles regardless but he seemed more positive about things.

Julia seemed a bit too horrible towards her mum. And also I can imagine her being a difficult teen but they made it sounds like she was a problem on a more clinical level than that.

[Drygate]

This point inter alia was noted in this opinion piece in the Independent a couple of days ago.
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/motherland-race-motherhood-b1850947.html?amp

Quite a good article but I'm not looking forward to series 4 so much now

I wish the series had explored class, race, infertility, sexuality, gender identity: all aspects of "otherhood" that continue to be invisible and ignored in mainstream motherhood.

Doesn't sound very funny.

[paruses]

Quite a good article but I'm not looking forward to series 4 so much now
[...]
Doesn't sound very funny.

I don't really agree with her take on a lot of that. Kevin doesn't want to return to his old job and wants to continue to be the primary carer. His wife is just painted as someone who doesn't like him or the kids much. But then we are only given Kevin's side of events; maybe she just can't stand Kevin. Julia herself seem a very difficult person - her own mother finds her needy and exploitative (just look at the cringeworthy way she treats the guy she shares a table with) - and it doesn't seem unreasonable for her husband to have some recuperation time after his penis is cut off. The non-white character is the broadest of all and they've chosen to go with strong and capable super-woman. Maybe a successful mixed-race middle-class family was as comfortable as the writers felt dealing with from their experience.

I do agree that the racist incident was dealt with way too quickly - seemed another victim of being an episode short.

I wonder how watching Motherhood religiously while writing a book on motherhood affected that interpretation compared to mine (not looking after children and being man). I think the idea of packing in 'all aspects of "otherhood"' sounds terrible - way too busy and not enough time to look at spend any proper time on anything.

[Huxleys Babkins]

Read that article and it's basically criticising Motherland for not having the exhaustive scope of her new book, which just so happens to be in all good bookshops next Thursday. You just have to looooooooook fer it.

[Icehaven]

I've just watched all 3 series of this over the last week or so as my Mum recommended it so I thought I should give it a go out of politeness. I didn't love it tbh, but I kept watching so I must have got something out of it, although the more I think about it the more I think it might be that I just enjoyed hate-watching. What put me off most was how much it relies on people behaving completely unreasonably, or just plain stupid things happening like Kevin's pictures disappearing from the photocopier or the school secretary refusing to give Diane Morgan her phone back, then handing it to her so she can use it so you assume she's going to walk off with it, but she prank calls the secretary then gives it back to her?! It just very frequently seems to fall back on unlikely events and people being exaggeratedly horrible, useless, selfish or stupid, which seems like lazy writing to me but given it's the driving force behind the whole show is obviously intentional so maybe it's just not for me.

My prurient side is interested in how it worked between Glinner and his ex though as I noticed his name disappeared from the credits at some point.

[Better Midlands]

the school secretary refusing to give Diane Morgan her phone back, then handing it to her so she can use it so you assume she's going to walk off with it, but she prank calls the secretary then gives it back to her?!

That was annoying, the scene would have been funnier if she just walked off with the phone after making the call, I thought that maybe it was a plot device and later Morgan would need to use her missing phone for some reason - but IIRC it's not mentioned.

My prurient side is interested in how it worked between Glinner and his ex though as I noticed his name disappeared from the credits at some point.

I think Motherland was adapted from a pilot that Sharon Horgan had developed for a US network some years earlier that wasn't picked up.