Derry Girls Series 3

[Ex_GC]

I found a few news articles from months back that said he was due to make a cameo appearance! So it seems like it was him

[curiousoranges]

The fact that the concert scene only showed a silhouette makes me think he wasn't involved, but I suppose he could have filmed the news bit without having to be on location.

It would need to be some The Irishman style de-aging though. He's pushing 60.

John Cooper Clarke played himself at a much younger age in Control. Helped by the fact that it was in black and white and there weren't any close ups.

[Utter Shit]

Oh my God talk about nailing the landing. That was hilarious and sweet and devastating all at once. I'm in bits, was not expecting to have that reaction at all.

[MigraineBoy]

I had to go Google the post-credits bit, to see it was a thing in season 2.  Seemed a little bit unnecessary that.

Also, I was convinced Sunrise by the Divine Comedy was going to be the last song.

[BritishHobo]

Yeah that was absolutely incredible; just a perfect closer. Perfect balance of fun and sweet character stuff and the political elements, as it always did so well in series 1 and 2.

It's great to know how widely-watched it's going to be, as I spent a lot of the ending thinking about how poorly-taught these events are in the rest of the UK. I don't think that referendum was mentioned once in my entire time at school, and I literally did a module on Ireland in GCSE history.

[BritishHobo]

I had to go Google the post-credits bit, to see it was a thing in season 2.  Seemed a little bit unnecessary that.

Also, I was convinced Sunrise by the Divine Comedy was going to be the last song.

Apparently (don't know how true this is), the series 2 plot point is true to life, and Lisa McGee did it herself as a teenage girl, which gives it a nice extra resonance if true.

[Virgo76]

At last a local newspaper headline that didn't contain either the word 'local' or the name of the town. Unfortunately it was crap. It's unlikely that a front page lead story would have contained a reference to Fatboy Slim as a significant proportion of the local population would have been unlikely to have heard of him. It would have been 'top music star' or suchlike, or at a push (as suggested on the headlines thread on the main board) 'Praise You hitmaker.' Also there's no way there would have been so much space left on the third line of the headline. Wlll TV producers never learn?

Having said that...I thought the episode was pretty bobbins. Apart from the secret recording and the reaction of Sarah's 'fiance' to her dressed as a nun, which were both pretty funny. I think the show has reached the end of the line. And yes, I know there's an episode tonight. But whether I watch it at the time depends on what's happening in the football. If Rangers are winning or losing 5-0 I'll probably turn over. Actually probably not in the latter case as I'll already be laughing too much.

I don't care about football.
Nice to see a clip of Chelsea at home though.

A great end to a fine series.
(Enjoyed the dancing too!)

[A Hat Like That]

It felt like it had been written very early on in the series and returned to with a few changes.

From the extended opening scene, which I thought was great, through to the polling booth montage, I really solidly enjoyed that. Thought the return cameo in the booth was excellently done - how to do an awful lot with very little.

As for not knowing my own history, until this series, I hadn't clocked that there was a referendum on the Good Friday agreement.

[Des Wigwam]

Post credits bit? Did All 4 chip somethunf off for me? I will go back and check but if so thanks for the heads up.

Hang on - just realised I've not watched the final final episode. Ignore. Will stay out of thread until then. There's not many shows I care about being spoilered so this has really done something right.

[Jockice]

I don't care about football.
Nice to see a clip of Chelsea at home though.

A great end to a fine series.
(Enjoyed the dancing too!)

Well, I tried to watch it on plus one - with the match on my phone - but then it went to penalties and people were messaging me (not all about the football. One person (cough, my girlfriend) seemed totally unaware there was a game on) and I lost track. From what I saw it looked like a great episode though. I've been more than a bit iffy about this series but I was very impressed with what I managed to see. I'll watch it without any distractions in the next couple of days. Hopefully.

[Utter Shit]

Bit of a tangent but in the aftermath of last night's episode, and still this morning, I've got such an intense, unpleasantly emotional feeling of nostalgia (or more specifically saudade - that makes me sound like a pretentious wanker, but I've had these feelings before and did a bit of research on it that led me to that phrase, which seems to really nail how it feels) and I don't really know why. Obviously the ending laid the emotion on thick, but it feels like something deeper than that.

I dunno if I'm tying the end of the show to my own sadness at that happy, innocent, exciting period in my life being over (I was 13 in 1998, so a little younger than them but with the same reference points) but Jesus Christ I'm in bits. I didn't think shows could still do this to me. Not really the right place for this sort of post, but it was a direct result of the episode so it's as good a place as any, I suppose.

[Ham Bap]

It felt like it had been written very early on in the series and returned to with a few changes.

From the extended opening scene, which I thought was great, through to the polling booth montage, I really solidly enjoyed that. Thought the return cameo in the booth was excellently done - how to do an awful lot with very little.

As for not knowing my own history, until this series, I hadn't clocked that there was a referendum on the Good Friday agreement.

Yes it had 71% majority support and unsurprisingly the DUP were against it and Michael Gove wrote and published a study likening it to the 'appeasement of Nazis'!

https://www.joe.co.uk/news/michael-gove-good-friday-agreement-peace-process-northern-ireland-235438

[Jockice]

It felt like it had been written very early on in the series and returned to with a few changes.

And probably filmed earlier, hence the uninjured Sister Michael.

[ajsmith2]

Nicola Coughlan's absence from any of the main cast scenes (other than the dancing bit: they were all in that right?) was fairly jarring considering it was the finale. I mean, they dealt with it about as well as they could (making her integral to the party getting moved and having a conversation with the others standing on some ramparts worked well in terms of making it look almost intentional: it was several cuts above say Poria De Rossi in AD se5 ) but it still stuck out.

[Alternative Carpark]

As for not knowing my own history, until this series, I hadn't clocked that there was a referendum on the Good Friday agreement.

They held one on it in Ireland, ie the republic or the 26 counties, on the same day too, because adopting it into law would make it necessary to amend their constitution. Over 94% of the turnout voted in favour.

[dissolute ocelot]

Spoiler alert

Glad I wasn't the only one who felt that the emotional ending was a bit...unearned?

I can't remember if Claire's dad had featured before, but I certainly don't remember him being particularly significant to the plot of the show. Obviously it isn't really necessary to know the character to understand that Claire loved her dad, but it did feel a bit..."here's this character, you should be sympathetic towards him - oh he's dead, you should feel sad now".

Still think the episode was great, and the whole series has been really good. I really liked Hollyoaks Man as the nutter Fatboy Slim fan.

Hopefully the hour-long episode (tonight, in case anyone missed it) will give them enough time for a proper send-off.

Side note: I know that in real life Nicola Coughlan is in her mid-30s so it's fine, but did anyone else feel like the lesbian stuff was a bit weird because Claire is supposed to be about 15-16 (and looks even younger) and the record shop woman seemed to be in her early 20s at a guess?

[close]

Spoiler alert

This bugged me as well, that Claire's dad didn't crop up much and was suddenly killed off to create a big emotional moment that was pretty unnecessary. I wonder if they had originally planned to film more scenes with him but had to cancel that with Nicola Coughlan not being available. The series definitely suffered from her absence. (Or maybe they had planned to kill someone else then realised they needed them for the referendum finale?)

[close]

I thought the Fatboy Slim episode was OK but a bit average, it's a standard low-stakes plot for teen sitcom or movie (not quite asking 2 boys to the Prom but close). Some good moments (poor James), but it would have been a weak final episode. On the other hand, the Referendum finale was great, a proper send-off combining believably mundane with epic (things like the confirmation party felt horribly believable, and who doesn't like monkeys?)

Spoiler alert

Also, were they just not going to refer to Erin snogging James ever again? Not that I wanted a will-they/won't-they romance, but I thought it might have cropped up a bit more. I thought we were going to get the Derry Girls in a "present day" scene which would have contrasted with the 70s flashbacks and capped everything off, but wonder if they're leaving it open for some kind of follow-up.

[close]

Was Halloween really a big thing in Northern Ireland at that time? I'd not heard about that, although I guess it was traditionally bigger in Scotland than England, so it would make sense. Nowadays it's all American Halloween with trick and treating blah blah...

[MigraineBoy]

Was Halloween really a big thing in Northern Ireland at that time? I'd not heard about that, although I guess it was traditionally bigger in Scotland than England, so it would make sense. Nowadays it's all American Halloween with trick and treating blah blah...

Halloween is MASSIVE in Derry.  It hosts Europe's Biggest Halloween Festival; https://derryhalloween.com

[A Hat Like That]

They held one on it in Ireland, ie the republic or the 26 counties, on the same day too, because adopting it into law would make it necessary to amend their constitution. Over 94% of the turnout voted in favour.

I went down the rabbit hole - given its in my nearly-adult lifetime, I felt humbled for not knowing owt about it.

[A Hat Like That]

things like the confirmation party felt horribly believable

"Why are there so many tiny brides?"

[jamiefairlie]

Halloween is MASSIVE in Derry.  It hosts Europe's Biggest Halloween Festival; https://derryhalloween.com

Halloween is MASSIVE in Derry.  It hosts Europe's Biggest Halloween Festival; https://derryhalloween.com

Any priests get lost in it?

[curiousoranges]

Final episode was a big step up from the others. I wish they had gone for more serious moments in the series, as this tone worked a lot better than the usual zaniness.

[dissolute ocelot]

Final episode was a big step up from the others. I wish they had gone for more serious moments in the series, as this tone worked a lot better than the usual zaniness.

Yes. There had been less about the Troubles this series, because of the IRA ceasefire and peace process and all, but it lost something of the gallows humour of earlier series without that risk of being blown up at any moment.

[JohnnyCouncil]

Bit of a tangent but in the aftermath of last night's episode, and still this morning, I've got such an intense, unpleasantly emotional feeling of nostalgia (or more specifically saudade - that makes me sound like a pretentious wanker, but I've had these feelings before and did a bit of research on it that led me to that phrase, which seems to really nail how it feels) and I don't really know why. Obviously the ending laid the emotion on thick, but it feels like something deeper than that.

I dunno if I'm tying the end of the show to my own sadness at that happy, innocent, exciting period in my life being over (I was 13 in 1998, so a little younger than them but with the same reference points) but Jesus Christ I'm in bits. I didn't think shows could still do this to me. Not really the right place for this sort of post, but it was a direct result of the episode so it's as good a place as any, I suppose.

This, alongside 6 music's 97 playlist all day made me very forlorn about the passage of time. I think A Life Less Ordinary will always be a tearjerker for me from now on.

[lauraxsynthesis]

I'm going to pretend that

Spoiler alert

the end bit with Chelsea Clinton didn't happen.

[close]

I also thought it odd that

Spoiler alert

Erin & James didn't come up again

[close]

. It felt like a few things like that were kinda dropped in out of nowhere then forgotten.

I very much enjoyed Conleth Hill as the psychic. That man is such a charismatic screen presence.

Mr Devlin did turn up before this series but only in episode 1. I certainly didn't remember him. I recognised the actor though from other stuff including as the playwright of the barmy and terrific play Cyprus Avenue which was put online for free during the first lockdown. You can still watch it here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1321572068030811

Premise: A Belfast Loyalist believes his five-week old granddaughter is Gerry Adams.

[Des Wigwam]

I am also pretending the last 3 minutes don't exist. Am being harsh now but it's a pure vanity bit that I didn't think resonated particularly well. Having said that you could argue that

Spoiler alert

the wording of the letter - which I imagine is either accurate from memory or verbatim - does leave us with a nice Series one sense of the wee girls. It didn't need Chelsea Clinton to read it out though.

[close]

I thought it was a good send off with a few dud bits which I latched onto a bit too much. Fitting Nicola Coughlin in as much as possible only highlighted that her schedule was an issue. The whole

Spoiler alert

crossed lines, for me,

[close]

was like when someone with the same shaped head is filmed from the back to suggest character A is talking to themselves - it just never looks right. I also felt the ending was a bit rushed and came from nowhere. I didn't really get why

Spoiler alert

everyone would follow Clare who'd just temporarily knackered a pretty good party.

[close]

I liked Michelle's storyline but has that ever been mentioned before? I can understand it's never talked about but it felt like something that would at least have been alluded to. Absolutely gave it to the right character though and handled it well - for all I know about these things.

Am going to pretend I knew the word saudade all along and say that at the end I also felt saudaddy.

I think I'm going to watch this again and just enjoy it.

[Ex_GC]

I'm irrationally annoyed by the

Spoiler alert

letter to Chelsea Clinton ending

[close]

[IsavedLatin]

I'm irrationally annoyed by the

Spoiler alert

letter to Chelsea Clinton ending

[close]

Yes I've now belatedly caught up on the show and it left an appalling taste in the mouth!

Extremely uneven tone this series, but such a likeable show -- the bits that it does well are magnificent.

[BritishHobo]

What is it that people hate about the letter scene?

[IsavedLatin]

What is it that people hate about the letter scene?

Spoiler alert

They ended absolutely perfectly, perfectly, with Granda Joe dancing out the door of the polling station with the little one holding his hand -- a beautiful emotional resolution to the action of the special and the series as a whole.

And then NEEDLE SCRATCH we head over to New York to get a completely gratuitous and mood-ruining cameo from Chelsea fucking Clinton! I don't have any specific beef with CC herself, but putting it there after that beautiful ending -- it's an abject instance of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

[close]

[Twilkes]

Threadbump for no other reason than we just watched the whole thing for the first time over the last few weeks.

VERY strong cast, I count at least eleven belters including the five girls, Erin's mum and dad, aunt and grandpa, Uncle Colm and the Nun; it comes to something when Tommy Tiernan is playing the balanced voice of reason. Some great guests including Peter the Priest who was awesome in the first series. Lots of very funny stuff in every episode, very often due to the delivery, although the individual line writing was also very good.

Can't get enough of Erin's Exorcist voice, Sarah's odd pitch inflections or Colm's stories (amazed to find that Kevin McAleer's standup special from 1993 basically started off as Colm from Derry Girls, identical speech patterns and everything), and Orla is a standout for me especially in S1 - she'd get a few lines each episode but would quietly upstage everybody with whatever she got up to in the background while the scene was going on, like sticking her lollipop to her tie or sniffing the Ukrainian's hair - it's almost worth going through the whole thing again and just watching her the whole time. Would love to know how much was written into the script and how much the actress brought to it on the day.

BUT - a lot of the emotional stuff was unearned, or happened abruptly with little or no buildup. The ending of S1 felt like this, as did James declaring that he was leaving Derry out of nowhere, and the girls declaring he should stay even though they'd not given a shit about him up to that point. And the characters got much broader from S2 onwards, a bit like something like Benidorm that had a really grim undercurrent at the beginning which was absent after a couple of series. Orla in particular got Phoebe-ised into a smiling happy airhead, as opposed to the potential undercover assassin that she could have been in the first series.

Does anyone want a fruit pastille?