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Topic:
TV Miniseries: Now Discussing: "The Last Enemy"
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soitscometothis
Registered:
Jul '03
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Date Posted:
3/30 2:12pm
Subject:
TV Miniseries: Now Discussing: "The Last Enemy"
- Date Edited:
10/5 12:48pm (6 edits total)
Edited By:
Zaz
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This thread will focus on various TV miniseries. I'm not going by any set list, so if anyone wants to suggest a miniseries that they want to discuss, please feel free to PM me .
Jekyll
Claire: I thought I'd married a man.
Hyde: You miscounted!
This was a BBC miniseries first broadcast in 2007. It was written by Steven Moffat, who's writing credits include Press Gang, Coupling, The Office, and several of the most acclaimed episodes of the new Doctor Who series. James Nesbitt played the titular character, with Michelle Ryan, Gina Bellman, and Denis Lawson also appearing.
The series was conceived as a follow up to Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: in it, Dr. Jackman, a married man living in modern day England, finds himself suffering from an acute case of split personality syndrome, regularly transforming into a version of himself that is smarter, stronger, and a lot less restrained. But there are other parties that are aware of his double-life, and they have their own plans for his alter-ego...
Well first of all, I enjoyed this series to bits. I avoided it when the BBC first showed it because the premise just didn't appeal to me, but having heard some good things about it from people here, I thought I'd give it a go. I'm so glad I did.
Steven Moffat is, imo, one of the most talented writers working in TV today; I'd put him in the same class as Joss Whedon and Aaron Sorkin. Consequently, I thought the dialogue in this was great. Some people will think it's a little over-clever, and there is a case for that, but I'm a sucker for good lines and this has a whole bunch of them. Lots of very clever writing on display here, and a whole bunch of twists to the plot.
Parts of the series are kinda cheesy, some of the plot twists are maybe a little too wild for most, and even I thought it went a little off the rails at the end, but wow, it's a fun trip getting there.
Has anybody else seen this series?
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Zaz
Title: Manager:
The Amphitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
3/30 2:41pm
Subject:
RE: TV Miniseries: Now Discussing "Jekyll"
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Not I, but it does sound very interesting.
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Cobranaconda
Title: Ex-FF-UK: South CR
Registered:
Mar '04
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Date Posted:
3/30 3:21pm
Subject:
RE: TV Miniseries: Now Discussing "Jekyll"
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I saw a few episodes and then gave up. Nesbitt's awesome as a comic actor, but I got fed up of him in this.
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soitscometothis
Registered:
Jul '03
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Date Posted:
3/30 3:36pm
Subject:
RE: TV Miniseries: Now Discussing "Jekyll"
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It got a lot of mixed reviews, that's for sure. Again, good dialogue is something I love, and I tend to place that above plot. Nesbitt did rather dominate the proceedings, but then he was playing two characters.
I can see why a lot of people would be turned off by how over the top it could be, especially Patterson Joseph's character, who had the worst attempt at an American accent I've come across for years - that was something that really grated on me.You want an American character, hire an American actor.
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Zaz
Title: Manager:
The Amphitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
3/30 5:23pm
Subject:
RE: TV Miniseries: Now Discussing "Jekyll"
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Is it available on DVD?
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soitscometothis
Registered:
Jul '03
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Date Posted:
4/1 2:27pm
Subject:
RE: TV Miniseries: Now Discussing "Jekyll"
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It is available on dvd, at least on Amazon.
People expectecting a pretentious psychodrama might be disappointed - things like cloning, super-human abilities, and one-hundred year conspiracies are very much in evidence. It's kind of unrestrained, and there are a lot of one-liners.
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Zaz
Title: Manager:
The Amphitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
4/1 2:37pm
Subject:
RE: TV Miniseries: Now Discussing "Jekyll"
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I like humour. 
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Mastadge
Title:
Manager Emeritus
Registered:
Jun '99
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Date Posted:
4/1 3:10pm
Subject:
RE: TV Miniseries: Now Discussing "Jekyll"
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I rented this a few months ago. It's brilliant. Here's a review I posted elsewhere: directed by Douglas Mackinnon and Matt Lipsey and written by Steven Moffat, who's quickly become one of the best, most trustworthy writers of television. This movie is brilliant. Go and rent it now. For those who are willing to try things simply because they have Star Wars connections, and I know there are several of you here, the movie co-stars Denis Lawson, who plays Wedge. The real star is James Nesbitt, who proves to be an amazing actor. Remember Christopher Reeve shifting from Clark Kent to Superman just by changing his posture and demeanor? Nesbitt does a similar thing -- the changes between Jekyll and Hide are not physical (except for a slightly different hairline and black eyes), but all in personality. The man does an astounding, brilliant job. There are a few missteps -- the twist ending was useless and predictable, and that supersoldier fellow with the insanity test ringtone was ill-advised from the get-go, and there was never any question as to how his subplot was going to wrap up, but in a six-hour miniseries there's always going to be a mistake or two, and here the production values are good, the acting ranges from good to, as I've noted, terrific, and some bits are downright scary. And Michelle Ryan has an absolutely smashing bod -- I'm now tempted to try out the new Bionic Woman. . . Anyway, definitely check this thing out. Great television.
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Zaz
Title: Manager:
The Amphitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
4/2 7:43pm
Subject:
RE: TV Miniseries: Now Discussing "Jekyll"
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Sounds really good...I'll try to rent it.
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soitscometothis
Registered:
Jul '03
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Date Posted:
4/4 3:13am
Subject:
RE: TV Miniseries: Now Discussing "Jekyll"
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Dune
This was a miniseries based on Frank Herbert's award-winning sci-fi novel of the same name. First broadcast on December 3rd, 2000 on America's Sci-Fi Channel, it was a ratings success and won Emmys for cinematography and visual effects.
Alec Newman starred as Paul Atredies, and the supporting cast included William Hurt, Ian McNeice, and Saskia Reeves. Casting in general was very international, with a number of different accents being obvious between the various characters.
This adaptation was pretty faithful to the book, much more so than Lynch's film version. There were a few changes, mainly adding a subplot involving Irulan investigating behind the scenes intrigue, but it seemed to work pretty well.
I really enjoyed this when I first saw it. It was faithful, and kept most of the strengths of Herbert's original novel. It does also have the books chief weakness (in my view) of being rather humourless - I can't recall any witty lines or particularly memorable dialogue.
On the other hand, one thing that worked really well for me in this version was that I suddenly saw (or rather heard) the similarity between the sound of the word Mahdi (the name of the Fremen's prophesied mesiah), and Paul's Fremen name of Muad'Dib - when chanted by a large crowd, the two sound incredibly similar. It makes me think that the original Fremen prophet who looked into the future might have heard the people chanting "Muad'Did" and unintentionally distorted the name into Mahdi, or it happened over the years (yes, I'm aware that the word Mahdi is from the Islamic religion, but you get what I'm saying).
The effects, sets, and costumes were okay considering the budget. I wasn't always sold on the actors (P.H. Moriarty as Gurney in particular anoyed me), although I liked Alec Newman and Saskia Reeves and I thought they gave really good performances.
Overall I thought it was very good - it got in all the plot points, and did its best on a TV budget to show Herbert's epic story in all its glory. I know a new film adaptation is in the works now, and yeah, that bigger budget for sets and effects is going to be a boon,but I wonder how much they will chop out of the story - in that at least I don't think this miniseries can be bettered.
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Chancellor_Ewok
Registered:
Nov '04
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Date Posted:
4/4 1:57pm
Subject:
RE: TV Miniseries: Now Discussing "Dune"
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Dune was an extremely well put together miniseries. I will be curious to see what this new movie is like.
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I robbed the second largest bank in France using only a ballpoint pen
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Soontir-Fel
Registered:
Dec '01
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Date Posted:
4/4 2:10pm
Subject:
RE: TV Miniseries: Now Discussing "Dune"
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Surprising amount of boobies for a sci fi channel show.
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The2ndQuest
Title: :
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Registered:
Jan '00
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Date Posted:
4/4 2:32pm
Subject:
RE: TV Miniseries: Now Discussing "Dune"
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soitscometothis posted:
I can't recall any witty lines or particularly memorable dialogue.
"Myyy brotherr comes..." 
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soitscometothis
Registered:
Jul '03
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Date Posted:
4/5 11:48am
Subject:
RE: TV Miniseries: Now Discussing "Dune"
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The miniseries is notable for showing the Fremmen riding the sandworms wriggling (flat) across the desert, rather than rearing up, as portrayed in countless illustrations as well as the Lynch movie. The miniseries is closer to what Herbert had in mind, I think.
I did like the duel at the end of the mini, but then I like fight scenes. Alec Newman went on to play the character "Drogyn" in two episodes of Joss Whedon's Angel.
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rumsmuggler
Registered:
Aug '00
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Date Posted:
4/5 5:30pm
Subject:
RE: TV Miniseries: Now Discussing "Dune"
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I'm a fan of the miniseries, especially the extended dvd version.
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soitscometothis
Registered:
Jul '03
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Date Posted:
4/6 1:53am
Subject:
RE: TV Miniseries: Now Discussing "Dune"
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What does the extended version add?
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