Hey look! I found UK telly's version of Dean and Sammy!
*sigh* And so I reach a barren time of year for new eps of my fave TV shows. *hefty sigh*
No more Doctor Who until the Christmas special. (Dear God! Am I looking forward to that or what?)
And now the new season of most North American shows won't start until September. (Ah, remember the golden years when new SGA started in mid July? We'd only have a week or two more to wait by now.)
Don't know of any Aussie or British shows on the horizon at the moment that might catch my interest. *twiddles thumbs*
So, during the lull I've begun looking into a few shows from Matt Smith's back catalogue (and one from Arthur Darvill's). One of the first I've watched is Party Animals a political drama (or rather a set of interpersonal dramas in a political setting) circa 2007 and y'know what? The characters of Scott and Danny Foster began to remind me of the Winchester brothers a helluva lot.
Okay, so the physical similarities are mainly just hair-related issues with a few similar stances and postures sometimes. And, of course, Scott and Danny don't fight supernatural monsters. And they aren't as emotionally repressed as the Wincheseters. And they're way, way less socially isolated. And the residence they share is a London flat, not a 1967 Chevy Impala. Etc, etc, etc...
But there are some common themes.
The older brother, Scott (Andrew Buchan), is a cynical and shameless skirt-chaser.
- Don't pretend that it's your principles and not your cock that's talking to you.
- At least I remember what mine sounds like.
- So does most of London.
And while he's not in same league as Dean Winchester when it comes to looking out for his little brother (frankly, who is?), Scott does have his moments.
- I could have a word if you like.
- Yeah, and then you could go and sort out the kid who stole my Action Man.
- It was a genuine offer.
- Thanks, but I've got to sort this one out myself.
Whereas, the younger brother, Danny (Matt "bowties are cool" Smith), is a floppy-haired idealist and (in Scott's words) the geek of the family.
And while Danny is completely his own man, he admits to a certain amount of hero worship of his older brother (who responds with slight exasperation) in a conversation that definitely reminds me of one the Winchesters once had.
- I used to always know what you were thinking.
- No, you didn't.
- A little brother studies a big brother.
- Tell me about it.
- A big brother is like a puzzle to a little brother that he keeps working at until he's cracked it.
- Interesting, Danny, but didn't you have pasta to puzzle over or something?
And Scott has been known to tease his little brother about looking up porn on the internet.
(Danny wasn't actually looking up porn BTW)
Also both brothers are now in the family business, except their family business is politics, British Labour Party politics to be precise.
And occasionally they can be seen discussing work issues over a beer in a pub.
But in contrast to the Winchesters, it would seem that Danny probably idolised their late father more than Scott did. And if either of them "ran away from the family business" for a while it was Scott who went to work for an independent lobbying company while Danny stayed as a researcher for a minister in the party. But Scott does "come back to the fold", managing the campaign of the Labour candidate in a by-election for their father's old constituency.
And travelling for that by-election means that they get to hang out together and discuss issues in a hotel room.
They bicker like brothers, of course, and they also seem to be each other's best friend.
There are disagreements
And there are some betrayals on both sides.
(I kinda like the way Scott pushes Danny against the wall in this pic because it gives the illusion of a Winchester-ish height difference which doesn't actually exist)
But in the end, they've always got each other's back.
Literally, the last sentences of spoken dialogue in the entire series are:
- Are we okay?
- We're always okay, Danny.
And the end of episode 6 is probably the best brotherly musical collaboration I've seen on TV since Dean and Sammy sang Wanted Dead or Alive. The part where Matt Smith bounces up and down on the spot like a three-year-old is especially cute.
So yeah, pretty much the British version of the Winchester boys. Only not, of course.
And now I'm gonna have to catch up on Andrew Buchan's series The Fixer too. *sigh*
No more Doctor Who until the Christmas special. (Dear God! Am I looking forward to that or what?)
And now the new season of most North American shows won't start until September. (Ah, remember the golden years when new SGA started in mid July? We'd only have a week or two more to wait by now.)
Don't know of any Aussie or British shows on the horizon at the moment that might catch my interest. *twiddles thumbs*
So, during the lull I've begun looking into a few shows from Matt Smith's back catalogue (and one from Arthur Darvill's). One of the first I've watched is Party Animals a political drama (or rather a set of interpersonal dramas in a political setting) circa 2007 and y'know what? The characters of Scott and Danny Foster began to remind me of the Winchester brothers a helluva lot.
Okay, so the physical similarities are mainly just hair-related issues with a few similar stances and postures sometimes. And, of course, Scott and Danny don't fight supernatural monsters. And they aren't as emotionally repressed as the Wincheseters. And they're way, way less socially isolated. And the residence they share is a London flat, not a 1967 Chevy Impala. Etc, etc, etc...
But there are some common themes.
The older brother, Scott (Andrew Buchan), is a cynical and shameless skirt-chaser.
- Don't pretend that it's your principles and not your cock that's talking to you.
- At least I remember what mine sounds like.
- So does most of London.
And while he's not in same league as Dean Winchester when it comes to looking out for his little brother (frankly, who is?), Scott does have his moments.
- I could have a word if you like.
- Yeah, and then you could go and sort out the kid who stole my Action Man.
- It was a genuine offer.
- Thanks, but I've got to sort this one out myself.
Whereas, the younger brother, Danny (Matt "bowties are cool" Smith), is a floppy-haired idealist and (in Scott's words) the geek of the family.
And while Danny is completely his own man, he admits to a certain amount of hero worship of his older brother (who responds with slight exasperation) in a conversation that definitely reminds me of one the Winchesters once had.
- I used to always know what you were thinking.
- No, you didn't.
- A little brother studies a big brother.
- Tell me about it.
- A big brother is like a puzzle to a little brother that he keeps working at until he's cracked it.
- Interesting, Danny, but didn't you have pasta to puzzle over or something?
And Scott has been known to tease his little brother about looking up porn on the internet.
(Danny wasn't actually looking up porn BTW)
Also both brothers are now in the family business, except their family business is politics, British Labour Party politics to be precise.
And occasionally they can be seen discussing work issues over a beer in a pub.
But in contrast to the Winchesters, it would seem that Danny probably idolised their late father more than Scott did. And if either of them "ran away from the family business" for a while it was Scott who went to work for an independent lobbying company while Danny stayed as a researcher for a minister in the party. But Scott does "come back to the fold", managing the campaign of the Labour candidate in a by-election for their father's old constituency.
And travelling for that by-election means that they get to hang out together and discuss issues in a hotel room.
They bicker like brothers, of course, and they also seem to be each other's best friend.
There are disagreements
And there are some betrayals on both sides.
(I kinda like the way Scott pushes Danny against the wall in this pic because it gives the illusion of a Winchester-ish height difference which doesn't actually exist)
But in the end, they've always got each other's back.
Literally, the last sentences of spoken dialogue in the entire series are:
- Are we okay?
- We're always okay, Danny.
And the end of episode 6 is probably the best brotherly musical collaboration I've seen on TV since Dean and Sammy sang Wanted Dead or Alive. The part where Matt Smith bounces up and down on the spot like a three-year-old is especially cute.
Click to viewSo yeah, pretty much the British version of the Winchester boys. Only not, of course.
And now I'm gonna have to catch up on Andrew Buchan's series The Fixer too. *sigh*