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Post by maximus on Nov 23, 2011 10:40:59 GMT -5
I did like some aspects of it, though. I think Nic handled the hopelessness of Gary very well as he waited for the portal to reopen. Emma did a great job of conveying Yvonne's despair while trying to connect with Gary through the fence.
I understand why you were dissatisfied with it. However, I liked how you directed the episode. Everything was underplayed, and you gave the actors time towards the end to simply feel. Another director might have felt it necessary to go out with a bang. That wouldn't have been appropriate for the script.
If you had been in control of scripting the final episode, how would you have liked it to end? Did the cast ever tell you how they would have liked their character to finish?
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Post by Terry Kinane on Nov 23, 2011 10:54:16 GMT -5
Thank you for your kind remarks. I was happy with the rhythm of the episode and the performances; I just think that we were lazy with the resolution to the series. I think I would have ended it with a sad Ron standing at the time portal missing his friend, Gary. As he reaches out to touch the fence, his arm starts to disappear. I would have ended on Ron's reaction.
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Post by maximus on Nov 23, 2011 14:41:17 GMT -5
Very funny That ending would have left the story open for a Christmas special or two. In fact, if they ever decided to do a one off special, that is exactly how they could do it. 12 years later, Ron decides to go to the shop, which is now a butcher shop, and finds he can go through. Maybe they could tie Gary and Ron into the Cold War, similar to the episode where Gary interferes in the events of Pearl Harbour? Terry, I believe you directed the episode where Ron went back to the 1940's. What is your view of that episode? Was Vic happy with that story, or did he feel that it was a missed opportunity? I felt that Ron didn't really seem himself. There was a lot of potential in that storyline that didn't materialise for whatever reason.
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Post by Terry Kinane on Nov 23, 2011 16:14:20 GMT -5
Actually, that episode wasn't mine. I'm glad about that, because when I read that script I could see the problems with it, and I was pretty sure that it wouldn't work. I also knew that Vic would have real problems making that episode work. Thankfully, it wasn't my problem.
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Post by maximus on Nov 24, 2011 3:52:34 GMT -5
I see. You are mistakenly credited with directing that episode on IMDB. I should have realised that was an error; it didn't have the mark of a Terry Kinane episode How would you have liked that storyline to be? What do you think Vic would have liked Ron to have done with his single trip to the past? I'd imagine he would have focused on buying property and shares in companies
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col
New Member
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Post by col on Nov 24, 2011 8:02:39 GMT -5
Thought it was out of character to act the way he did didn't feel right to me i would of thought he would of been in awe of things ;D
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Post by Terry Kinane on Nov 24, 2011 8:26:18 GMT -5
I think I would have made it an episode where Gary is always one step behind catching up with Ron who is traveling around the Country causing chaos.....including buying a nightclub in Liverpool called The Cavern.
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Post by maximus on Nov 24, 2011 14:19:56 GMT -5
Spot on Terry! It seems to me that the writers sacrificed Ron in order to put Gary in a difficult position. However, rather than putting some effort into it, they took the easy way out and made Ron into a drunken idiot. Terry, did you direct the episode where Gary and Pheobe went to Liverpool? That is another episode that divided opinion. I personally liked it. It gave Ron some much needed family background. He came from thieves, but was a loyal friend and, in particular, he was very selfless in the early series'. It portrayed Liverpool in a negative way, though . Nice to see Pheobe has some Irish in her. I'm from County Cork. Terry, you must have some Irish in you? I know a few Kinane's here in Cork
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Post by Terry Kinane on Nov 24, 2011 14:35:12 GMT -5
Spot on Terry! It seems to me that the writers sacrificed Ron in order to put Gary in a difficult position. However, rather than putting some effort into it, they took the easy way out and made Ron into a drunken idiot. Terry, did you direct the episode where Gary and Pheobe went to Liverpool? That is another episode that divided opinion. I personally liked it. It gave Ron some much needed family background. He came from thieves, but was a loyal friend and, in particular, he was very selfless in the early series'. It portrayed Liverpool in a negative way, though . Nice to see Pheobe has some Irish in her. I'm from County Cork. Terry, you must have some Irish in you? I know a few Kinane's here in Cork No, the Liverpool episode was not one of mine. And you are correct...all of my Dad's side of the family are from County Cork.
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Post by maximus on Nov 24, 2011 15:06:30 GMT -5
Other than Vic and Nic, I'm not sure how well you knew the cast. Having worked closely with them, I presume you have some insight into their personality. Could you tell us a bit about each of the senior cast? I get the feeling that Dervla and Liz are very different to Pheobe! What was your impression of them? Some people are very guarded in interviews. It can be difficult to get a sense of their personality.
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Post by Terry Kinane on Nov 24, 2011 17:46:52 GMT -5
I got on really well with both Dervla and Liz. Both are very good actresses who come to work well prepared. As people, they are very different. Both genuinely nice. I would say that Dervla was the more relaxed of the two. But, you know, they both did a great job of bringinging Phoebe to life on camera.
Socially, I really didn't know either of them. We just worked together. I would happily work with both of them again.
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Post by maximus on Nov 24, 2011 18:12:10 GMT -5
That's interesting. Liz's Pheobe is considerably tougher and forthright than Dervla's. Perhaps that is partially a result of Liz having a more forceful personality. This relates to a question I asked you a few days ago about actors personalities leaking into their performance.
I realise this is a difficult question to answer with certainty, but do you feel that Liz's personality had any bearing on the change in Pheobe?
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Post by Terry Kinane on Nov 25, 2011 8:24:50 GMT -5
That's interesting. Liz's Pheobe is considerably tougher and forthright than Dervla's. Perhaps that is partially a result of Liz having a more forceful personality. This relates to a question I asked you a few days ago about actors personalities leaking into their performance. I realise this is a difficult question to answer with certainty, but do you feel that Liz's personality had any bearing on the change in Pheobe? Oh, definitely. Liz had watched all of the Dervla episodes, and I think she wanted to keep the natural rhythm of Phoebe as established by Dervla, but to harden her up a little.
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Post by maximus on Nov 25, 2011 9:34:16 GMT -5
Yeah. I liked the development in Pheobe after Liz took over. The character was starting to stagnate a bit. As I understand it, the writers only ever intended the 'Pheobe as a singer' storyline to be a one off, and that it was Liz's suggestion that it become a permanent story tread that convinced them to continue it. Since Dervla isn't a singer, that might not have developed at all. I think it helped keep the character interesting.
It's amazing how a disruption, like the two girls leaving, can freshen up a show if handled right. I'm not sure how many people would agree with me that it was a positive thing. What do you think Terry? Would you have preferred Dervla to stay, or did Liz help you keep the following three series interesting?
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Post by Terry Kinane on Nov 25, 2011 11:00:30 GMT -5
Yeah. I liked the development in Pheobe after Liz took over. The character was starting to stagnate a bit. As I understand it, the writers only ever intended the 'Pheobe as a singer' storyline to be a one off, and that it was Liz's suggestion that it become a permanent story tread that convinced them to continue it. Since Dervla isn't a singer, that might not have developed at all. I think it helped keep the character interesting. It's amazing how a disruption, like the two girls leaving, can freshen up a show if handled right. I'm not sure how many people would agree with me that it was a positive thing. What do you think Terry? Would you have preferred Dervla to stay, or did Liz help you keep the following three series interesting? That's a very difficult question to answer. I genuinely liked both girls, but if pushed I would say that it's never ideal to have to cast a new actress to play an existing character. Liz did a really good job, but my preference would have been for Dervla to stay.
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Post by maximus on Nov 25, 2011 11:21:15 GMT -5
Yeah, I can understand why. If Dervla had stayed, you would still have needed to stretch the character. I wonder what could have been done to achieve that?
Did Dervla ever suggest during the third series, to either yourself or the writers, any way of developing the character? She has claimed in the past that it was the lack of change that led to her to leave. I'd be surprised if she hadnt at least tried to help that process before giving up. I am unable to think of any extra dimension that could have been introduced for Pheobe if Dervla had stayed. What are your thoughts on this?
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Post by Terry Kinane on Nov 25, 2011 16:30:57 GMT -5
Yeah, I can understand why. If Dervla had stayed, you would still have needed to stretch the character. I wonder what could have been done to achieve that? Did Dervla ever suggest during the third series, to either yourself or the writers, any way of developing the character? She has claimed in the past that it was the lack of change that led to her to leave. I'd be surprised if she hadnt at least tried to help that process before giving up. I am unable to think of any extra dimension that could have been introduced for Pheobe if Dervla had stayed. What are your thoughts on this? I think it's inevitable that Dervla wanted to grow her character. The reality though is that we were making a sitcom about a guy who loves two women in different time zones. The dynamic that made the show work was how Gary dealt with that scenario. Once you start trying to grow one or both of the female characters, you're creating problems. Bottom line; Dervla got a better offer and she took it.
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Post by maximus on Nov 25, 2011 19:09:13 GMT -5
Yeah, I see your point. The female roles did change, though. I think their development was handled very well for the most part. However, I did feel that Yvonne's transformation into a millionaire sugar pill entrepreneur was stretching credibility a bit too much. I suppose that character needed to change dramatically in order to have any relevance in the latter series of the show.
In their commentary during one of the series 3 episodes, Marks and Gran praised your attention to detail, particularly noting that extras in each scene had clearly been given reasonably detailed instruction. I had noticed it myself. Is that something that you felt was important enough to deserve your effort? I have been involved in theatre in Cork for a number of years, and one of the best pieces of advice I ever got from a director was to put as much effort into being the character when I was in the background as when I am involved in the action. The audience frequently watch the background characters in order to immerse themselves in the scene. Goodnight Sweetheart had that similar feel of a theatre play.
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Post by Terry Kinane on Nov 26, 2011 8:36:09 GMT -5
If there are extras in a scene, I think it's important to immerse them in the episode. As an example, if you are shooting an exterior street scene, I believe that any extras you see should have a purpose for being there. I would have the AD tell one that she is on the way to do some grocery shopping, and tell another that she was a bit late for work and so on. If you don't define why they are there, they will just move slowly with no purpose. And that's not real, because everyone is going somewhere.
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Post by maximus on Nov 26, 2011 8:51:23 GMT -5
Interesting. Thanks Terry.
Another difficult question to answer; Who was the best actor and actress you have ever worked with? We are spoilt in this part of the world with the wealth of talent in this profession. Who would you say stood out as being exceptional? Pick one man and one woman.
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