The Trip

[garcia]

The Trip

i liked the counterpoint last night of coogan doing the yorick speech, rather powerfully, in his own voice, with brydon telling the story of his infidelity as hugh grant.

overall, though, i wasn't as fond of this series as the first - because while there were some nicely observed moments - like the competitive dinner bored mentions above - it wasn't quite as funny. i speak as someone whose favourite moment of the last one was probably "gentlemen to bed!" so you can gauge my tastes from that. maybe there's a certain element of fatigue with the notion of brydon and coogan doing impressions, although no, to be honest i could watch them doing that stuff all day. it just didn't really take off like the last one.

i was puzzled, for instance, by the recurring henry kelly "guess the bill" bit - what was the point of that?

[Bored Of Education]

The Trip

So that we can decide the restaurants that we can afford to go to when we inevitably try to copy the trip.

Last night's introduction of the son helped break up the duologue as well. Indeed, the series is very slow, deliberate and sparse in introducing the realities of the non-Italy worlds of Brydon and Coogan. Not in anyway a bad thing but it does mean that larger interventions like the two girls and Coogan's son work well as, well, counterpoints.

[garcia]

The Trip

yeah, so amazing did those destinations look i wondered if the show was part-funded by italy's tourist board. i liked brydon's "i'm a simple man... all i need is just a simple breakfast, a simple view..."

[Ray de Galles]

The Trip

The introduction of the son worked surprisingly well (and seemed to be a deliberate attempt to "soften" Coogan) , the return of the assistant less so because, as my wife pointed out, "she is just really annoying, shut up!".

I presume she was there as a plot device for Brydon to confess/boast about his infidelity to but that part of the show was such a huge jarring misstep it only made it worse.

I don't want these "characters" to develop, I just want the two of them to sit opposite each other making the other one (and me, and themselves) laugh.

I'm going to a screening of the movie edit next week with some live by satellite Q&A with Coogan and Brydon. Wonder how it will all work.

.

[Bored Of Education]

The Trip

Digital streaming. Video conferencing works in a similar fashion.

[Ray de Galles]

The Trip

I'm aware that may be a gag but I mean the film edit and how they'll be in the Q&A, not the technology.

[Bored Of Education]

The Trip

It was a gag. I don't many chances to do digital streaming gags.

[Jah Womble]

The Trip

Like many, while I found moments laugh-out-loud funny, I had reservations (appropriately) about this second series, which too often descended into a repetitious battle of impressions. It was still enjoyable but expectedly far more mannered than the first, and the contrived set-ups didn't feel as inspired somehow.

I really didn't see much point in Rob Brydon's supposed 'indiscretion' if they weren't in any way going to develop the story (which they didn't) - and given the show's deliberate verité style, felt it slightly at odds. (I do hope it'll all be explained clearly to his kids.) Still better than most comedy on TV at present, obviously, because of the quality of the two performers.

[Bored Of Education]

The Trip

Hold on, last week's was the last one?

[Slightly Brown]

The Trip

For me, this series was "too "meta"". Multi-multi meta. As such, a few scenes aside, it wasn't actually funny. You're going to eventually be Lenny Bruce if you keep going down that road. One thing, though: you're average Italian lunch will lead to mid-life waddling and clutching-gaaaaah heart-attacks.

[Bored Of Education]

The Trip

I have had Italian Sunday lunches where you have been at the table eating so many courses and for so long that tea is being served.

[Ray de Galles]

The Trip

Bored of Education wrote: Hold on, last week's was the last one?

Yes, six episodes like the last series.

[Slightly Brown]

The Trip

Bored of Education wrote: I have had Italian Sunday lunches where you have been at the table eating so many courses and for so long that tea is being served.

Really? I know Orson Welles's lunches used to bleed into dinner, but I thought that was because he didn't want to re-cut The Magnificent Ambersons.

I'm not a fan of long dinners. Good food - quickly consumed - then an stiff adjournment with cigars to the map room is the only way to engorge.

[Bored Of Education]

The Trip

Harry Truscott wrote:

Hold on, last week's was the last one?

Yes, six episodes like the last series.

I hadn't really been counting. Last week's just didn't seem like an ending.

[ad hoc]

The Trip

I've just watched the film version of the Trip to Italy on a plane. I saw two or three of the episodes rather than the whole series, but the film worked for me. It held together much more (contrast the first one where I found the episodes much richer and the film version missing too much, though in that case I had seen all the episodes). And it had a clear and obvious ending too, which the comments above suggest it didn;t really in the TV version.

Also, the Michael Parkinson interview bit was fucking hysterical. The person in the seat next to me kept trying to look at my screen to work out what it was that was cracking me up so much.

[Ray de Galles]

The Trip

Like last time, excited about but nervous as to if they can keep the quality up :



.

[RobW]

The Trip

Unfortunately, The Trip to Spain will be shown on Sky Atlantic, rather than the BBC.

Ray de Galles wrote: Like last time, excited about but nervous as to if they can keep the quality up :



.

[Jah Womble]

The Trip

Bah - Sky effing Atlantic.

You need to charge your mobile.

[Bored Of Education]

The Trip

Oh, for fuck's sake. Wankers.

[Wouter D]

The Trip

Bordeaux Education wrote: Oh, for fuck's sake. Wankers.

Well, I too thought that Jah's advice was premature (I mean, 36% of battery power will still last you for a bit, if you lay off the youtube), but this reaction seems a bit over the top.

[Various Artist]

The Trip

Bollocks.

Er, the Sky Atlantic revelation I mean, not Smallcaps' reaction above, which in contrast I am perfectly in agreement with. Still have The Trip To Italy recorded, so may just have to go back and watch that again instead, given that enough time has elapsed for most of it to appear entirely fresh all over again.

[Giggler]

The Trip

Smallcaps wrote:

Oh, for fuck's sake. Wankers.

Well, I too thought that Jah's advice was premature (I mean, 36% of battery power will still last you for a bit, if you lay off the youtube), but this reaction seems a bit over the top.

Also, double tap your home button and close down everything you're not using by swiping upwards.

[Jah Womble]

The Trip

'But you can get it on Netflix!' I don't want bloody Netflix.

Interesting responses re mobile charge - personally, I'd feel enormously vulnerable with under 40% battery.

[Bored Of Education]

The Trip

Oh, I've got Netflix. Everything is fine.

[Ray de Galles]

The Trip

I thought Sky-produced programmes didn't end up on Netflix?