The Victoria Wood thingy last night....

I thought that Loving Miss Hatto was brilliant. Victoria Wood's portrayal of the couple's flawed yet devoted relationship was excellent and moving. She writes very well - I was very impressed.

House full, not much time for television. The DGS watched a few DVDs and some children's programmes. The grown-ups listened to snatches of radio while carrying out various tasks, driving etc. why is Radio 4 news and current affairs so much more informative and less celebrity focused than any television news programmes? I've noticed this as we had the box on again after the departure yesterday.

Christmas TV was very bad again this year - if you are not interested in soaps or "reality" programmes there wasn't much to watch. I did find a couple of documentaries which might have been interested but nothing with a Christmas feel.

I unearthed my Christmassy DVDs - White Christmas, Scrooge and Holiday Inn

The Snowman and the Snowdog ...... we bawled and bawled from the first second but only those who have lost a very elderly, well loved dog would understand

Watched Call the Midwife but the rest of the viewing for Xmas was dreadful. When my children were young I used to buy loads of VHS tapes so I could record masses of really good tv programmes and films to watch over the winter. This year awful stuff, really bad. Good really as we listened to a lot of music, played games and chatted. Much better for us.

All good comedy is tinged with sadness. With Housewife 49 she moved away from stand up and made her mark as an excellent dramatist. I just felt the pace of this particular programme and the balance wasn't quite right. Maybe having more of an understanding of piano playing would have made a difference. There was a programme recently about a Chinese piano playing prodigy that showed how difficult it all is. It wasn't that I expected it to be funny [it was a drama, after all] but the sadness was too overwhelming. I think if I'd read about the story when it first broke I would have understood it more.

I really enjoyed Loving Miss Hatto, and remembered reading about the story in the newspaper quite a while ago. Her husband Barrie seemed a chancer from the moment she met him in this dramatisation.
I also read recently that Victoria Wood wanted to get away from the stand up comedy thing .I don't think it should be expected that everything she writes now should be a laugh a minute.

NOW I realise why my best friend is always so keen to wheel out her hostess trolley

I'm sure mine would love to bend me over backwards on the hostess trolley but we haven't got one!

Had such a good time watching Morecambe and Wise last night, there's nothing like it today. Remember enjoying Housewife 49 the first time round, I went straight out and bought the book. Such a depressing life though, women of that generation had such low expectations sometimes.
Stayed to the end of the Victoria Wood programme to see her sing Let's Do It. I love that song but, sadly, I'm still waiting for my husband to beat me on the bottom with a Woman's Weekly!

We've just been saying the same, Nellie. Their humour was timeless and we keep seeing bits we haven't seen before even though they've been repeated over and over again.

I watched the Victoria Wood documentary lasy night. I have seen housewife 49 before. I have always enjoyed Victoria Wood.

I am now totally exhausted as it was on till very late and I have had a very busy day. I have just watched the end of a Morcambe and Wise tribute show. They are still so very funny, and all good clean fun. What a loss.

I found the watching the bits where she tried to perform but got stage fright so upsetting [I get panic attacks sometimes]. And I didn't understand some parts [how they suddenly seemed to have a nice house and he was running his own business for example]. Maybe having Alfred Molina in it made me think of Roger and Val Have Just Got In [which I did like]. All in all I think the comedy/drama/pathos balance was wrong and it was too sad. Given that Victoria Wood was only guessing at a lot of it and it showed. The period detail [as ever] was good, though.

I watched Loving Miss Hatto. Thought it dragged but stuck with it. I preferred Housewife 49 and the Morecambe and Wise drama-doc.

, Ana! Didn't sound very good anyway!

I think I got my wires crossed completely there, everyone!
Didn't see the Miss Hatto one and hadn't realised V Wood had written it!

Hatto. Victoria Wood wrote it. I usually like her stuff but thought this one sounded more than a bit gloomy so even if I had been able to watch with the house full of DC and DGS I'd have given it a miss. Alvin and the Chipmunks, anyone?

I thought it was written by Victoria Wood, there were some one-liners very recognisable as hers, but it was one of those plays that I watched then wondered whether I had enjoyed it or not!
Much preferred the romp thro' her comedy later on!

No - Victoria Wood as seen on TV on at 11 BBC2.

The Loving Miss Latto wasn't anything to do with Victoria Wood, was it, Marelli?

There was a Victoria Wood thing on (before the next one) which was a drama called Miss Latto (or something). Is that the one you meant, Ana - the comedy one?

It was a repeat, I'd seen it before so didn't bother last night. I used to love Victoria Wood, and still do enjoy her stand-up performances, but she does seem to have become a bit cynical and hard as she's got older.

I as disappointed to, I turned it off half way thro, to bleak for me as well Crimson, I usually enjoy Victoria Wood.
Wonder how it ended now

Haven't watched it yet, crimson, but I didn't really fancy it either. Loved Housewife, 49 though.