There's a lot to be said about Close To The Enemy but not much is complimentary.
Episode 1 was a weak start to what could be an intriguing story, but it rapidly became a series of seemingly unconnected sub-plots. It is possible that 'all will be revealed' Agatha Christie style at the end, but viewers need to feel confident at the outset that a story is going somewhere interesting and is plausible - I was not.
In Episode 2 my attention was flagged. The main story did not develop, but more subplots were added, many of which seemed gratuitous. Maybe the aim was to fill screen-time, rather than actually tell a story convincingly.
Many characterisations seem unnatural. Ferguson's drawling accent is an affected mix of Canadian, Hibernian and public school. However, it is amusing rather than grating. The disturbed brother, Victor, seems to have flown in from the 1970s.
The real disappointment is the story lines ( too many in fact) all seemi to go nowhere in particular within the time allotted. There are some solid threads, but many that appear to be deceptions. There is an art to good story telling - Mr Poliakoff appears to have lost it in an attempt to be much cleverer than is needed.
In Episode 3 especially, it seems to me that Mr Poliakoff does not actually have the credentials to write a convincing historical drama about the period and instead has turned to fantasy and fairy tale. The shallowness of the script and a wobbly realisation on screen are all becoming evident. It revealed many incredible gaffs and misrepresentations that appear to be crucial to the plot, for example:
The Connington Hotel 'Bomb Site'. There are always some oil drums with post-apocalyptic theatrical effect fires in them, but no one around. Occasionally the hotel staff march around the bomb site filling a few moments of screen time and adding an air of surrealism.
Victor's abduction of Lotte. Silly. Only a poor script writer would leave a car where it would immediately be found. And then Victor and Lotte run into a field of maize that was not grown in Britain until the 1960s. If the purpose was simply to get Victor a job, then he could have run away to the park or the railway arches or another randomly inserted location and saved the BBC money.
Military Police had no jurisdiction in civil cases like the 'abduction' of Lotte. The local police Special Branch could have been involved if there was a vague 'security element', but not MPs. At that time, most were in Germany 'training' the German civilian police, or Austria. After the war, they were rarely seen on British streets and did not carry rifles, and probably couldn't find one at short notice. The posse pointing their rifles at Victor is a figment of Mr Poliakoff's overworked imagination.
Spitfire fiasco - The building with the deconstructed Spitfire was laughable. It had the markings JE-J, copied from a website where you can see drawings of that Spitfire used earlier in the war by fighter ace Johnnie Johnson. Somehow, probably due to appallingly sloppy research, it appears in Close To The Enemy. Maybe it is going to re-appear later with Biggles - I mean Ferguson - flying it, with a jet engine fitted, on a supersonic flight? To be honest, I really don't care any more - bring it on!
Supersonic aeroplanes - The plot hinges on the German "Jet Engine Scientist" being employed to design a supersonic aeroplane. Engine and aeronautical design are significantly different. Ferguson & Koehler discuss whether a supersonic aeroplane needs swept wings or "fixed wings". The term 'fixed wing' is incorrect: it is used to distinguish rotating wing aircraft like helicopters from conventional aircraft. Koehler would have known the difference: Germany had experimented with rotating wing aircraft throughout the war. Britain didn't need a German to design a supersonic aeroplane, it already had one - Barnes Wallis - who had been working on that at Vickers since 1945! Anyway, Koehler's "new office" is plain stupid. Anyone working on such an important project would have been placed in a company like Vickers which had worked on top secret designs throughout the war and which had all of the resources needed under the direction of . . . . Barnes Wallis.
Ferguson beating up the Little German - Why? So he needed to find out what was going on, but the story line ignores that just to spice up the action with gratuitous fisticuffs. The secret of Room 605 is revealed later: it could have been revealed earlier, "saving celluloid" and audience patience. Ferguson is now clearly looking tired and bleary-eyed and may even be on amphetamines the way he looks.
Wanted German War Criminal Escapes to Harwich! The explanation was that valuable Germans were "disappeared" and found safe houses where they could work for the British. So, where is he going via Harwich, the principle port for Holland? Oddly, without any authority, Ferguson initiates the chase with the hapless Miss Griffiths in tow. Are they carrying the Arrest Warrant? Who cares! Mr Poliakoff has his own reasons for leaving a trail of incredulity.
These criticisms are not just nit-picking, they point to two conclusions: firstly, the story should be credited to W.E. Johns and titled "Biggles and the German Scientist"; secondly Mr Poliakoff seems to be out of his depth with this subject and is 'punching above his weight'.
The series only lacks a few jokes to turn it into a comedy pastiche. It is certainly not a serious piece of historical fiction - it is a fatuous jumble of fantasy and misconceived pseudo-history. At the end of the day it's just entertainment - and not all that good at that.
Ep. 4 Ridiculously impalusible. Reel-to-reel tape recorders were not around in 1947 FACT!
My son calls it Close To An Enema
Episode 1 was a weak start to what could be an intriguing story, but it rapidly became a series of seemingly unconnected sub-plots. It is possible that 'all will be revealed' Agatha Christie style at the end, but viewers need to feel confident at the outset that a story is going somewhere interesting and is plausible - I was not.
In Episode 2 my attention was flagged. The main story did not develop, but more subplots were added, many of which seemed gratuitous. Maybe the aim was to fill screen-time, rather than actually tell a story convincingly.
Many characterisations seem unnatural. Ferguson's drawling accent is an affected mix of Canadian, Hibernian and public school. However, it is amusing rather than grating. The disturbed brother, Victor, seems to have flown in from the 1970s.
The real disappointment is the story lines ( too many in fact) all seemi to go nowhere in particular within the time allotted. There are some solid threads, but many that appear to be deceptions. There is an art to good story telling - Mr Poliakoff appears to have lost it in an attempt to be much cleverer than is needed.
In Episode 3 especially, it seems to me that Mr Poliakoff does not actually have the credentials to write a convincing historical drama about the period and instead has turned to fantasy and fairy tale. The shallowness of the script and a wobbly realisation on screen are all becoming evident. It revealed many incredible gaffs and misrepresentations that appear to be crucial to the plot, for example:
The Connington Hotel 'Bomb Site'. There are always some oil drums with post-apocalyptic theatrical effect fires in them, but no one around. Occasionally the hotel staff march around the bomb site filling a few moments of screen time and adding an air of surrealism.
Victor's abduction of Lotte. Silly. Only a poor script writer would leave a car where it would immediately be found. And then Victor and Lotte run into a field of maize that was not grown in Britain until the 1960s. If the purpose was simply to get Victor a job, then he could have run away to the park or the railway arches or another randomly inserted location and saved the BBC money.
Military Police had no jurisdiction in civil cases like the 'abduction' of Lotte. The local police Special Branch could have been involved if there was a vague 'security element', but not MPs. At that time, most were in Germany 'training' the German civilian police, or Austria. After the war, they were rarely seen on British streets and did not carry rifles, and probably couldn't find one at short notice. The posse pointing their rifles at Victor is a figment of Mr Poliakoff's overworked imagination.
Spitfire fiasco - The building with the deconstructed Spitfire was laughable. It had the markings JE-J, copied from a website where you can see drawings of that Spitfire used earlier in the war by fighter ace Johnnie Johnson. Somehow, probably due to appallingly sloppy research, it appears in Close To The Enemy. Maybe it is going to re-appear later with Biggles - I mean Ferguson - flying it, with a jet engine fitted, on a supersonic flight? To be honest, I really don't care any more - bring it on!
Supersonic aeroplanes - The plot hinges on the German "Jet Engine Scientist" being employed to design a supersonic aeroplane. Engine and aeronautical design are significantly different. Ferguson & Koehler discuss whether a supersonic aeroplane needs swept wings or "fixed wings". The term 'fixed wing' is incorrect: it is used to distinguish rotating wing aircraft like helicopters from conventional aircraft. Koehler would have known the difference: Germany had experimented with rotating wing aircraft throughout the war. Britain didn't need a German to design a supersonic aeroplane, it already had one - Barnes Wallis - who had been working on that at Vickers since 1945! Anyway, Koehler's "new office" is plain stupid. Anyone working on such an important project would have been placed in a company like Vickers which had worked on top secret designs throughout the war and which had all of the resources needed under the direction of . . . . Barnes Wallis.
Ferguson beating up the Little German - Why? So he needed to find out what was going on, but the story line ignores that just to spice up the action with gratuitous fisticuffs. The secret of Room 605 is revealed later: it could have been revealed earlier, "saving celluloid" and audience patience. Ferguson is now clearly looking tired and bleary-eyed and may even be on amphetamines the way he looks.
Wanted German War Criminal Escapes to Harwich! The explanation was that valuable Germans were "disappeared" and found safe houses where they could work for the British. So, where is he going via Harwich, the principle port for Holland? Oddly, without any authority, Ferguson initiates the chase with the hapless Miss Griffiths in tow. Are they carrying the Arrest Warrant? Who cares! Mr Poliakoff has his own reasons for leaving a trail of incredulity.
These criticisms are not just nit-picking, they point to two conclusions: firstly, the story should be credited to W.E. Johns and titled "Biggles and the German Scientist"; secondly Mr Poliakoff seems to be out of his depth with this subject and is 'punching above his weight'.
The series only lacks a few jokes to turn it into a comedy pastiche. It is certainly not a serious piece of historical fiction - it is a fatuous jumble of fantasy and misconceived pseudo-history. At the end of the day it's just entertainment - and not all that good at that.
Ep. 4 Ridiculously impalusible. Reel-to-reel tape recorders were not around in 1947 FACT!
My son calls it Close To An Enema