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March 28, 2024, 11:55:14 AM

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Ever Decreasing Circles

Started by non capisco, July 13, 2022, 10:32:56 PM

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neveragain

Always loved the title, it demands more thought and reflection from the viewer than At Home With Martin or Bryce Up Your Life! (obviously a version made in the 90's.)

Ignatius_S

Quote from: rectorofstiffkey on July 19, 2022, 09:48:43 PMGlad to hear that some CaBBers love Ever Decreasing Circles as much as I do.  If anyone's interested in the rejected plot idea mentioned in the spoiler above, this blog post gives it very thorough consideration. http://foreverdecreasingcircles.blogspot.com/2015/06/am-i-imagining-that.html

There's some fantastic stuff in that blog and was going to link to the post about the play that the series evolved from - http://foreverdecreasingcircles.blogspot.com/2014/09/one-or-two-hiccups_18.html?m=1

It's a great comparison and interesting to think how Paul being less than charming.

Also interesting that Geraldine Newman played Hilda in it as well and that Sam Kelly portrayed the prototype Martin.

Ignatius_S

Quote from: rectorofstiffkey on July 19, 2022, 09:51:10 PMI always thought it was a good title?  It seems that everybody interprets it in their own way.  My interpretation was that Martin was going through life with his little world getting smaller and smaller, and being bothered by increasingly trivial things.

For me, it's a title like Only Fools and Horses, where I wasn't quite sure what it meant at first, but subsequently thought was perfect.

It's been interesting to read what other people's takes have been on it.

According to that blog, one of the discarded titles was The Proper Trousers, which amuses me more than it should.

Quote from: Ignatius_S on July 19, 2022, 11:20:03 PMThere's some fantastic stuff in that blog and was going to link to the post about the play that the series evolved from - http://foreverdecreasingcircles.blogspot.com/2014/09/one-or-two-hiccups_18.html?m=1

It's a great comparison and interesting to think how Paul being less than charming.

Also interesting that Geraldine Newman played Hilda in it as well and that Sam Kelly portrayed the prototype Martin.

that's amazing - hadn't seen that one, thanks for posting!

Reading the synopsis is like being in a creepy parallel universe where some stuff is the same but others totally different.  Alternative Paul is clearly horrible.

grainger

Paul was pretty horrible in an early episode of the actual TV show. I think it was the first episode. It's the bit where he deliberately gets Martin's roles taken away from him in the local group meeting. Paul wasn't like that in the rest of it.

monkfromhavana

Quote from: grainger on July 20, 2022, 05:05:05 PMPaul was pretty horrible in an early episode of the actual TV show. I think it was the first episode. It's the bit where he deliberately gets Martin's roles taken away from him in the local group meeting. Paul wasn't like that in the rest of it.

IIRC Paul wasn't really being arsey just calling Martin out. Martin had thrown a strop having a go at the others as he had to bear the burden (when he actually enjoyed it), of running the group, so Paul basically went "OK then" and reallocated the roles to Martin's horror.

grainger

That's true, but he was still being an arse. He knew the roles were important to Martin, and he went out of his way to take them away from him. Yes, Martin was being a dick, but Paul wasn't even interested in the local group - he just decided to wind Martin up for his own amusement.

mjwilson

This wasn't a show we watched when I was a young'un so thanks to people here for pointing it out.

Glebe

Quote from: Ignatius_S on July 19, 2022, 11:25:06 PMAccording to that blog, one of the discarded titles was The Proper Trousers


Glebe

More corpsing... Egan is a repeat offender!


gilbertharding

Quote from: Ignatius_S on July 19, 2022, 11:25:06 PMAccording to that blog, one of the discarded titles was The Proper Trousers, which amuses me more than it should.

This week's BBC4 repeat contains the fantastic line (from Howard, of course): "I'm not MADE of trousers, Martin."

neveragain

Does anyone else think the actress playing Paul's wife was... a bit rubbish?

robhug

When I first entered this thread I had a scratch I just couldn't itch, then about a week ago I sort of remembered it was Egan related, then this morning I unsolicited apropos of nothing blurted it out when I wasn't expecting it to a surprised work colleague.

Joint Account. I doubt many fuckers remember that, so I'm proud I did.

greencalx

Peter Egan and Hannah Gordon, wasn't it? Don't remember much about it, other than I watched it off the back of Egan's performance in EDC.

robhug

Yes

both series must have been pretty close to (or were) overlapping at some point. would you have remembered the title?

Bad Ambassador

The two series of Joint Account were broadcast January-March 1989 and March-May 1990, with the final EDC screening between them on Christmas Eve. Both series of JA were then repeated March-June 1991.

greencalx

Quote from: robhug on July 28, 2022, 01:12:25 PMboth series must have been pretty close to (or were) overlapping at some point. would you have remembered the title?

If you'd asked about Egan's other late 80s sitcom, I think I would. Not sure why, though - the series itself didn't make much of an impression on my teenage self.

mjwilson

From what I can see from early season 2, Hilda and Howard have planned to retire when they reach 90. Don't know if they just love their work or if they don't have much faith in the state pension.

monkfromhavana

Whichever poster(s) that are watching this for the first time, have you got to the snooker tournament and cricket match episodes yet? I'd love to hear your opinions of them.


Glebe

Quote from: gilbertharding on July 28, 2022, 09:17:52 AMThis week's BBC4 repeat contains the fantastic line (from Howard, of course): "I'm not MADE of trousers, Martin."

Haha, yeah saw that last night!

Armed Traffic Warden

Quote from: grainger on July 20, 2022, 06:45:43 PMThat's true, but he was still being an arse. He knew the roles were important to Martin, and he went out of his way to take them away from him. Yes, Martin was being a dick, but Paul wasn't even interested in the local group - he just decided to wind Martin up for his own amusement.

  I liked the writing/performances in this regard especially. It could be me reading something that's not there but in series 1 and maybe even series 2 a bit, I got the impression Paul basically put up with Martin (taking the piss a bit along the way) because Paul admired Ann (and felt sorry she was lumbered with Martin) but as it went on they both acquired a mutual respect and like for each other despite very different personalities. With time he sees the man Ann sees. Frustrating but ultimately a good egg.


Quote from: Armed Traffic Warden on August 02, 2022, 07:13:29 PMI liked the writing/performances in this regard especially. It could be me reading something that's not there but in series 1 and maybe even series 2 a bit, I got the impression Paul basically put up with Martin (taking the piss a bit along the way) because Paul admired Ann (and felt sorry she was lumbered with Martin) but as it went on they both acquired a mutual respect and like for each other despite very different personalities. With time he sees the man Ann sees. Frustrating but ultimately a good egg.


Yes, that's spot on - one of the most satisfying aspects of the series is how Paul starts off seemingly a rival to Martin (for both his position in the community and his the affections of his wife) but ends up becoming a good friend to both of them, even if Martin doesn't always recognise it.

It would've been a very different series if they'd gone with the original idea of
Spoiler alert
Anne cheating on Martin
[close]
but I'm glad they didn't, it makes later episodes like where
Spoiler alert
Martin becomes mistakenly convinced Anne has left him
[close]
feel much more meaningful.

grainger

Quote from: Armed Traffic Warden on August 02, 2022, 07:13:29 PMI liked the writing/performances in this regard especially. It could be me reading something that's not there but in series 1 and maybe even series 2 a bit, I got the impression Paul basically put up with Martin (taking the piss a bit along the way) because Paul admired Ann (and felt sorry she was lumbered with Martin) but as it went on they both acquired a mutual respect and like for each other despite very different personalities. With time he sees the man Ann sees. Frustrating but ultimately a good egg.



Yep, I wouldn't disagree with that.

mjwilson

Surprised to find that Martin is so enthusiastically pro-metric. I thought he'd be a bloody Brexiteer hankering after the good old imperial days. (S2 E3)

Glebe

Quote from: mjwilson on August 05, 2022, 10:15:29 PMSurprised to find that Martin is so enthusiastically pro-metric. I thought he'd be a bloody Brexiteer hankering after the good old imperial days. (S2 E3)

"No Ann, they've got the metric system in France, they wouldn't know what the fuck a Quarter Pounder is!"

mjwilson

Quote from: monkfromhavana on July 29, 2022, 09:06:49 PMWhichever poster(s) that are watching this for the first time, have you got to the snooker tournament and cricket match episodes yet? I'd love to hear your opinions of them.

Snooker tournament
Spoiler alert
"You should have seen what he did to me in the car park" and the reaction to that line, just extraordinary stuff.

I was expecting that Ann and Paul would be overheard discussing their plan to throw the game. Feels a little surprising that there isn't a confrontation between Martin and Ann over her (somewhat dishonourable) ruse.

Still at least Martin gets one win. (Well, presumably 4 wins before the final.)

Don't know why I've put this in spoiler tags really.
[close]

Endicott

Yes, that went out the other night, will be on iplayer now. The officious way they run their tournament is hilarious. And their world appears to be so small.

Cricket one was 3 wks ago, and is still on iplayer. It's another brilliant example of small town life, and the cricket is very well done, esp considering Egan couldn't actually play for toffee. Absolute wonders done in the edit.

Spoiler alert
Really good moment when martin gets accused of cheating. Typical small mindedness going on there from the oppo captain
[close]


Sgt. Duckie

Quite liked its German remake Ever Decreasing Merkel's.

non capisco

New Badass Howard and his death stare in the snooker one is brilliant.

"You're hurting my arms!"
"I'm tempted to say....AM I?"