Post by fenris on Aug 7, 2006 7:26:31 GMT
This show continues to seesaw between scenes of wild farce and moments that are quite heartfelt. Sometimes (as I mentioned in my post of 26/07/06) this works surprising well, but occasionally the sudden shift in tone is quite jarring.
The show's attitude towards it's adult content has unfortunately remained at the level of schoolboy sniggering. For example, in last night's episode, Nathan's father keels over with a heart attack while having sex with a young woman. A few years ago, an episode of Sky One's colourful & unashamedly trashy series Mile High had an almost identical storyline involving Sarah Manners (who went on to play receptionist Bex in Casualty). However, the makers of Sinchronicity feel the need to go one better, and so we have the distraught woman (a porn star no less, just to make it extra saucy) being rushed to hospital trapped under the corpse, as they're locked in position.
Throughout the entire sequence, I honestly wasn't sure whether I liked it or not. Was it outrageous black comedy, or just another desperate, shrill attempt at taboo breaking? The producers and writers of the show clearly want to be regarded as being daring, but this intention is so obvious that it's almost slightly annoying. Things are happening in the series that don't further the storyline, or develop the characters, but are seemingly being included purely so the producers can slap each other on the back while giggling "the viewers will never believe we did that."
I actually believe that British society and the media in this country are too repressed, and so there's nothing wrong with doing something for shock value - provided there's some point behind it. However, the producers of Sinchronicity seem content on trying shock people for shock's sake, which is ultimately meaningless. Alternatively, perhaps it's all just an attempt to divert attention from the show's lack of originality.
Anyway, rant over. On the plus side, some of the supporting characters are developing nicely. Mani was originally quite flash and cocky, so to have him show his vulnerability was a nice touch. I liked the scene where he confessed that the messed-up situation between him, Jase and Fi was his fault, because Jase had told him about being involved with someone when they'd first met. And I hope the potential friendship between him and Nathan continues.
I've also enjoyed the way over the last two episodes that Nathan's transsexual work colleague has become a trusted confidant, someone he can discuss things with that he - understandably - can't talk to either Jase or Fi about.
And after the event's of 'the clap episode' I thought we wouldn't see Rosa again, so her appearance at the funeral - purely to support Nathan, seeing as how she'd never met his father - was a welcome surprise. I loved the moment when she asked him if he still had feelings for Fi, and he said no. He was lying, and she knew he was lying, but she didn't get angry or disappointed because she knows that he's also lying to himself. Rosa has become probably my favourite character, and I hope that the writers keep her around.
On a final note, I thought that the actress playing the porn star was absolutely gorgeous. However, as BBC3 have adopted the ghastly practice of shrinking the end credits to one-third size and zipping them up the side of the screen, I didn't catch her name. The IMDB is no help. Can anyone enlighten me?
The show's attitude towards it's adult content has unfortunately remained at the level of schoolboy sniggering. For example, in last night's episode, Nathan's father keels over with a heart attack while having sex with a young woman. A few years ago, an episode of Sky One's colourful & unashamedly trashy series Mile High had an almost identical storyline involving Sarah Manners (who went on to play receptionist Bex in Casualty). However, the makers of Sinchronicity feel the need to go one better, and so we have the distraught woman (a porn star no less, just to make it extra saucy) being rushed to hospital trapped under the corpse, as they're locked in position.
Throughout the entire sequence, I honestly wasn't sure whether I liked it or not. Was it outrageous black comedy, or just another desperate, shrill attempt at taboo breaking? The producers and writers of the show clearly want to be regarded as being daring, but this intention is so obvious that it's almost slightly annoying. Things are happening in the series that don't further the storyline, or develop the characters, but are seemingly being included purely so the producers can slap each other on the back while giggling "the viewers will never believe we did that."
I actually believe that British society and the media in this country are too repressed, and so there's nothing wrong with doing something for shock value - provided there's some point behind it. However, the producers of Sinchronicity seem content on trying shock people for shock's sake, which is ultimately meaningless. Alternatively, perhaps it's all just an attempt to divert attention from the show's lack of originality.
Anyway, rant over. On the plus side, some of the supporting characters are developing nicely. Mani was originally quite flash and cocky, so to have him show his vulnerability was a nice touch. I liked the scene where he confessed that the messed-up situation between him, Jase and Fi was his fault, because Jase had told him about being involved with someone when they'd first met. And I hope the potential friendship between him and Nathan continues.
I've also enjoyed the way over the last two episodes that Nathan's transsexual work colleague has become a trusted confidant, someone he can discuss things with that he - understandably - can't talk to either Jase or Fi about.
And after the event's of 'the clap episode' I thought we wouldn't see Rosa again, so her appearance at the funeral - purely to support Nathan, seeing as how she'd never met his father - was a welcome surprise. I loved the moment when she asked him if he still had feelings for Fi, and he said no. He was lying, and she knew he was lying, but she didn't get angry or disappointed because she knows that he's also lying to himself. Rosa has become probably my favourite character, and I hope that the writers keep her around.
On a final note, I thought that the actress playing the porn star was absolutely gorgeous. However, as BBC3 have adopted the ghastly practice of shrinking the end credits to one-third size and zipping them up the side of the screen, I didn't catch her name. The IMDB is no help. Can anyone enlighten me?
;D