One of the reviews here is so full of sap you could sop it with a pancake. The point of this television police drama set in the Swinging Sixties hardly is to require the viewers to lacerate themselves over conventional notions of family life, the complexities of life, nor a demand to cry because babies are involved, as the reviewer seems to think it is.
The Gently show, typically, had long settled into a simplistic police show formula with a mod veneer and a good actor (Martin Shaw) wasted by mediocre plot lines painfully aimed at contemporary issues before this episode aired. The settings, set decoration and costumes make up most of the pleasure of watching the show, additional to interesting guest performances in most episodes. The worst part of the show is an inevitable and tedious recap with heavy-handed moralistic overtones. The producers and writers simply don't trust the audience to get that life is hard, people are confused, crime is messy, and so on. Throw in race relations, homophobia, child abuse, and whatever else seems like dramatic bait and you get the same kind of complacent viewer who must chatter about treating it all like a mum' version of an after-school special.
If I weep, I weep at the waste of talent and potential. As well as the multi-year quandary they all obviously have dealt with concerning what the heck to do with Gently's hair. The Bacchus character, unfortunately, is beyond all help - that was simply an initial casting error.
The Gently show, typically, had long settled into a simplistic police show formula with a mod veneer and a good actor (Martin Shaw) wasted by mediocre plot lines painfully aimed at contemporary issues before this episode aired. The settings, set decoration and costumes make up most of the pleasure of watching the show, additional to interesting guest performances in most episodes. The worst part of the show is an inevitable and tedious recap with heavy-handed moralistic overtones. The producers and writers simply don't trust the audience to get that life is hard, people are confused, crime is messy, and so on. Throw in race relations, homophobia, child abuse, and whatever else seems like dramatic bait and you get the same kind of complacent viewer who must chatter about treating it all like a mum' version of an after-school special.
If I weep, I weep at the waste of talent and potential. As well as the multi-year quandary they all obviously have dealt with concerning what the heck to do with Gently's hair. The Bacchus character, unfortunately, is beyond all help - that was simply an initial casting error.