The Reckoning

[magister]

So if he used condoms, was the TCP just for disinfecting his balls?

Davies' book has an interview with someone who he forced to give him oral sex. It's clear from her description that he wasn't wearing a condom.

[Psybro]

Morbid curiosity had me put the first episode on.  I gave up after the Duchess went to confession and went "Father, I'm worried my son may turn out to be the notorious paedophile and serial rapist Sir Jimmy Savile."  And then the guy in charge of Leeds General Infirmary makes a concerned face like Richard 'the Hamster' Hammond.

[Norton Canes]

Watched the first episode. Factual errors and performance niggles aside, its worst problem is that it commits the cardinal sin of being dull. Obviously this is an issue in any biopic where you're already familiar with the subject's life but this is forced to be so worthy, there's no room for any light or shade (unless it's teal, ha ha). I guess this might be of interest to people who haven't read In Plain Sight but I have, and don't need a monotonous retread.

Was Coogan wearing some sort of darkening make-up type stuff on his lips? They looked almost blue.

[ollyboro]

PC Datta from The Bill was the mother of the girl who killed herself. Why didn't she investigate it herself?

[Senior Baiano]

PC Datta from The Bill

Your thinking of star trek mate

[ollyboro]

"A paraplegic wants to scale Ben Nevis in a wheelchair"

Partridge meets Jim'll Fix It.

[ollyboro]

"Every prime minister needs a Jimmy" - Savile in The Reckoning

"Every prime minister needs a Willie". - Thatcher in real life.

[Oh, Nobody]

Can't believe the first line of dialogue of the first episode was "Now then"

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

Did he swear that much in real life? I know he let fly a few F words in the Theroux documentary when he thought he wasn't being filmed, but it seems he was a right foul mouthed so and so. A bad egg.

[Des Wigwam]

Am feeling very much like Paul Whitehouse's bloke in the pub character while reading the two threads on this so I haven't much on that score.

I read the Dan Davies book ages ago and have dug it out for a re-read. Because of this I'm a bit more in to the aesthetics of the whole thing as I don't think much is added - more the opposite that I feel bits are missed out which is more irritating. The main thing for me is following Coogan's performance (and being by turns wowed and hyper-critical).

Anyhow - can someone remind me who the protoge is in the first episode? The guy who calls him / he makes him call: Father? Don't remember that at all.

[madhair60]

why is it called the reckoning. he never had a reckoning. the lad got away with it

because they reckon this is how it went down

[Bad Ambassador]

Other than giving his victims their due and a platform to have their stories told, I don't really see the point of this, well-made though it is. Maybe that'll change as it shows more of how Savile was able to insulate himself from consequences, but it contrasts with The Long Shadow, ITV's drama about the Yorkshire Ripper showing in the same slot, which focuses on the plight of his victims and their families, and how they were failed by the police.

[George White]

Am feeling very much like Paul Whitehouse's bloke in the pub character while reading the two threads on this so I haven't much on that score.

I read the Dan Davies book ages ago and have dug it out for a re-read. Because of this I'm a bit more in to the aesthetics of the whole thing as I don't think much is added - more the opposite that I feel bits are missed out which is more irritating. The main thing for me is following Coogan's performance (and being by turns wowed and hyper-critical).

Anyhow - can someone remind me who the protoge is in the first episode? The guy who calls him / he makes him call: Father? Don't remember that at all.

Ray Teret.

[Des Wigwam]

Ray Teret.

Thanks - I forgot to say that I keep falling asleep during the episodes so might have missed if his significance is explained and I haven't watched ep 4 yet.

[Senior Baiano]

Davies' book has an interview with someone who he forced to give him oral sex. It's clear from her description that he wasn't wearing a condom.

Frankly think it's poor form for Davies to include details of his own sex crimes, people want to read about Savile

[studpuppet]

Can't believe the first line of dialogue of the first episode was "Now then"

In related news, over in Beatleland people are up in arms because they thought that the release of the previously aborted third Threetles track was imminent, and it hasn't happened yet.

Its title? Now & Then...

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

Am feeling very much like Paul Whitehouse's bloke in the pub character while reading the two threads on this so I haven't much on that score.

"Paedo eh? Hardest job in the world, that is. Done it meself, see? Thirty years I did that, man and boy. Tell me, do you like the music of Frank Sinatra?"

[Akabusi tho]

You were looking at the wrong thing. To the right was a packet of prophylactics.

Yeah but the way it was shot, the spirit jumped out a mile as well. If they'd only wanted you to focus on the condoms the bottle would be way less prominent.

The surgical spirit might be a nod to the popular 1970s public information film where Duncan Preston (from the sitcom Surgical Spirit) plays a nonce in a Ford Cortina  outside a school.

This explanation makes a lot of sense in light of the prominence of the bottle.

[oggyraiding]

I've watched 3/4 of the first episode. I think it's fairly tastefully done. As others have said, Coogan in his fifties playing a much younger Savile is a bit weird. And the photoshopping of Coogan-Savile into the photos seems unnecessary. He really does pull off that switch between charismatic zany guy and cold absolute bastard. The bit with his mum in the confession booth a bit on the nose. "I worry my son has darkness in him".

[rue the polywhirl]

Finished it even though it was pretty difficult at points. I think it was definitely worth making because it's a subject better worth elucidating rather than sweeping under the carpet. I thought that Steve Coogan was absolutely magnificent in it and overall it was fairly well judged until episode 4 where it slightly fell apart for I'm not sure what reason. It was easily the most horrible but also less convincing. First 3 eps are great tho so.

[Phoenix Lazarus]

the photoshopping of Coogan-Savile into the photos seems unnecessary.

In the one with Elvis, he looked like Paul Whitehouse.

[Capt.Midnight]

Also, why bother Photoshopping Coogan into photos, then using real Savile photos in other scenes?

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

That campervan was in the Theroux doc as well wasn't it? I think they all travelled up to Scotland to a cottage he owned and Savile slept outside in his van. Can't remember if it was the original 70's rape van though. Maybe he'd splashed out on a newer model.

[rectorofstiffkey]

Here's me thinking he was doing something sinister with surgical spirit. Cheers.

Back in the day they used to use little dabs of it on cotton wool to put on shaving cuts.  I assumed it was to give us the idea that pretty much all of his hygiene activities were going on in the van.  And of course as others have pointed out, it was probably the prophylactics that were really the focal point.

[rectorofstiffkey]

I keep getting glimpses of Partridge's face and Paul Calf's voice.

I kept getting flashes of Partridge voice, but no offence meant to Coogan who I thought was great;  it's just a bit unfortunate that both Alan Partridge and Jimmy Savile have vocal patterns where they put unpredictable over-emphasis on fairly random words.

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

Spiritgate

[Jockice]

In the one with Elvis, he looked like Paul Whitehouse.

He did!

[Blumf]

it's just a bit unfortunate that both Alan Partridge and Jimmy Savile have vocal patterns where they put unpredictable over-emphasis on fairly random words.

Was wondering about this; did Coogan base some of Partridge's mannerisms on Savile?

[Phoenix Lazarus]

I kept getting flashes of Partridge voice, but no offence meant to Coogan who I thought was great;  it's just a bit unfortunate that both Alan Partridge and Jimmy Savile have vocal patterns where they put unpredictable over-emphasis on fairly random words.

Marvel comic strips did that by emboldening certain bits of text in speech bubbles or captions, for reasons that weren't always obvious

[Des Wigwam]

Just had a guilty chuckle at the beginning of ep4 when he picks up the two girls at the school and entices them into the car. Feels pure Partridge as they get in and the car pulls away and you hear a disembodied voice absently says "clunk click"