Just can't win.
Jesus H. Christ, there's no let-up in the stereotyping of women both on and off the screen, is there?
Having enjoyed 3 parts of 'Episodes', I noticed iPlayer had linked to a few reviews, including this mostly-decent 'Dabbler' review. Tum-tee-tum, until I got to the final paragraph:
"Mangan and Grieg do well as the polar opposite of their personae in Green Wing (he’s dopily sympathetic, she’s hard and harsh)" [my bold]
HARD AND HARSH??? WTF!? (Warning: very tiny spoilers)
Erm, she plays a woman who writes comedy with her husband and she *shock* has OPINIONS, about their *gasp* WORK! That makes her "hard and harsh"? Not to mention tautologous. Clearly in the mind of author 'Brit', that's enough. Never mind that the show itself is intelligent enough to point up sexism in the entertainment industry and quite happy to suggest that being a woman with OPINIONS is enough to have you classed as a nagging harpy; 'Brit' seems to have taken the whole thing quite literally. Maybe it's the fact that she's usually the one instigating sex with her husband? Or that she doesn't like homophobia and laughing at disabilities? Who knows.
I honestly didn't get that impression from the character at all. No, Grieg doesn't play a self-sabotaging and extremely unlucky mope-fest as she did on 'Green Wing', but she just came across to me as, y'know, a normal woman. Probably because I'm an evil harpy too.
I'm doubtless a bit biased because I thought the show was sweet and I love Tamsin Grieg, particularly when she's acting with Mangan (and yes, I think they have adorable and believable chemistry here). But really, I feel rather like Elizabeth Wurtzel dissecting Mira Sorvino's performance in 'Quiz Show'; I think I've found a likeable female character on-screen that I can relate to, and the rest of the world pops up to remind me that she's actually batshit-insane (or, as here, a ball-breaking bitch). Fuck off, kyriarchy.
You should watch the show, though, even if you only stick around for Richard Griffiths' brilliant turn in Episode 1. Matt LeBlanc's surprisingly good as well.
This entry was originally posted at http://nanaya.dreamwidth.org/369942.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Having enjoyed 3 parts of 'Episodes', I noticed iPlayer had linked to a few reviews, including this mostly-decent 'Dabbler' review. Tum-tee-tum, until I got to the final paragraph:
"Mangan and Grieg do well as the polar opposite of their personae in Green Wing (he’s dopily sympathetic, she’s hard and harsh)" [my bold]
HARD AND HARSH??? WTF!? (Warning: very tiny spoilers)
Erm, she plays a woman who writes comedy with her husband and she *shock* has OPINIONS, about their *gasp* WORK! That makes her "hard and harsh"? Not to mention tautologous. Clearly in the mind of author 'Brit', that's enough. Never mind that the show itself is intelligent enough to point up sexism in the entertainment industry and quite happy to suggest that being a woman with OPINIONS is enough to have you classed as a nagging harpy; 'Brit' seems to have taken the whole thing quite literally. Maybe it's the fact that she's usually the one instigating sex with her husband? Or that she doesn't like homophobia and laughing at disabilities? Who knows.
I honestly didn't get that impression from the character at all. No, Grieg doesn't play a self-sabotaging and extremely unlucky mope-fest as she did on 'Green Wing', but she just came across to me as, y'know, a normal woman. Probably because I'm an evil harpy too.
I'm doubtless a bit biased because I thought the show was sweet and I love Tamsin Grieg, particularly when she's acting with Mangan (and yes, I think they have adorable and believable chemistry here). But really, I feel rather like Elizabeth Wurtzel dissecting Mira Sorvino's performance in 'Quiz Show'; I think I've found a likeable female character on-screen that I can relate to, and the rest of the world pops up to remind me that she's actually batshit-insane (or, as here, a ball-breaking bitch). Fuck off, kyriarchy.
You should watch the show, though, even if you only stick around for Richard Griffiths' brilliant turn in Episode 1. Matt LeBlanc's surprisingly good as well.
This entry was originally posted at http://nanaya.dreamwidth.org/369942.html. Please comment there using OpenID.