Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads - Commencing June 23rd, BBC One

I had to switch off halfway through the SL one. Incestual overtones. OMG the bit where she said she had been lying down on her son’s bed with his unwashed laundry pressing on her - then she heard her daughter arrive and so she dashed into her own bedroom with the laundry and her daughter asking why her blouse was unfastened? Beyond creepy. I didn’t want to continue watching. Please tell me it didn’t get worse?

Anyone else think SL sounded short of breath on occasion? Maybe it’s the extra weight she’s carrying (although she still looks attractive). Concerned me anyway.

Am watching Downton at the moment, she is brilliant in that.

Chewbacca everyone except me! I can recall the actors but I can’t recall any of the stories.

It was Nights in the Gardens of Spain lemongrass.

I never saw that one, sounds intriguing.

It's very sad and melancholy lemon and then right at the end is the stinger.

Ooh that sounds so good. I always liked Penelope Wilton

I found the SL one creepy. I must have led a sheltered life, as I know many mothers of sons are possessive, but have never heard of one who fancies their son.

Weird.

Watched the SL one last night.She really is a very good actress, but I didn’t find it credible ( subject matter.)
I wonder if AB got this idea from real cases or was it just a flight of fancy? Although fathers with daughters are often written about ( obvious why!) have never come across this before.
Possessive mothers are legion, giving their DIL a hard time,
But actually feeling animal passion for your own teenage son
Is bizarre, but there could well be real documented cases of this abnormal behaviour.

I like Imelda Staunton and think she is very versatile but the Lady of Letters I don't think worked until about half way through, when it picked up and I enjoyed the rest.
Sarah Lancashire is fantastic and one of the best actors around I think, but wow, incest! Very taboo, I wonder how many mothers were watching with teenage sons ?. There is a good reason why it makes uncomfortable watching, but she acted superbly. It's good to be taken out of our comfort zones from time to time.

I thought the whole thing about the SL one was the dysfunctional family she occassionally gave hints about. The daughter she couldn't get on with, the husband who didn't notice her and then the sympathetic son who had suddenly become attractive. I did wonder about him dropping his trousers, at 15 mine absolutely insisted on privacy and would never have asked.

Oh Harriet Walters was heartbreaking! She did it so well. Beautifully written and observed. I seem to know several ladies like 'Muriel' who'd pluckily deal with such downturns in fortune.
Just excellent.

I thought you'd enjoy the Harriet Walters one Jane10; it was easily as good as the original with Penelope Wilton. As for the Ms Fozzard story; no, sorry, it seemed to ke that Maxine Peake was too young to play the part and she was nowhere near the character that I imagined Alan Bennet had in mind when he wrote it. Patricia Routledge nailed it in the original series.

Loved the Jodie Comer one.

I didn’t know about these remakes! I loved ‘ A Chip in the Sugar’, ‘ Soldiering On’, and all the first ones, really. I thought the second series ( on CD) were much ‘ darker’, like the serial killer one, and the one about the park keeper.
So, that’s my viewing sorted for the next wee while!

Harriet Walter is one of my favourite actors and I thought she was brilliant as Muriel. It was heartbreaking, I don’t care what she said at the end!

To date the Harriet Walters one has been my favourite, both as a story and as her excellent portrayal of Muriel.

It was a brave move on the part of this second generation of actors to take on these iconic roles, it is obvious from reading this thread that most of us associate the stories with the original actors. This is an indication of how well written and cast they were. I did watch the previous series and was a little anxious about the remakes, but the first one with Imelda Staunton was excellent, the second with Sarah Lancashire very disturbing, but hey, maybe we need to be stretched sometimes, maybe peek under the stone. The title says it all. Harriet Walters was so sad, the gung ho, cliche after cliche, stiff upper lip old gal type language was heartbreaking, the slow realisation of the reason for the daughter's mental illness. I look forward to the reset. Although some may be better than others, some may have a disturbing subject matter, I for one am delighted to watch something that is challenging, with intelligent writing.

Totally agree GillT57 I enjoyed them all for different reasons, I haven't seen the originals but thought the actors did it justice.

I've been enjoying these both the new stories and the older ones. Though I must have a poor memory because they all seemed fresh to me.

I adored the Harriet Walters . So good, so funny and so Alan Bennett!

The incestuous one was interesting, if creepy and uncomfortable (be awful if it didn't have that effect)

I didn't see it coming either so it must have been subtle (or I am a bit slow)

The series is a joy especially when there is nothing good on tele!

I know I am in a minority of one here, but I am finding these monologues a tadge stale, time warped, and a teeny bit patronising, despite the extremely good cast of actors.
I loved them when they were first performed, and some of his other work such as Lady in the Van.
The exception, so far has been a new one, An Ordinary Woman superbly portrayed by Sarah Lancashire.
IMO the job of drama should be to challenge ideas and stereotypes, even if uncomfortable at times.

I felt like that about Maxine Peake's Ms Fozzard; that one did seem more outdated than the others. Nights in the Gardens of Spain on the otherhand was as relevant today as it was in the 80s.

Dramas are for all sorts of reasons. Life can be challenging enough without entertainments being 'challenging'. I have no problem with older plays as it's interesting to consider how things have changed. I love these plays for the characters and the subtle unfolding of their lives. Inevitably, these long monologues require really excellent acting and its great to see so many of our female actresses having these opportunities to stretch their acting skills.

I have watched four episodes and find them quite dark and a tad depressing.

For me, whilst shielding, I find I want lighter drama.

I very much like Alan Bennett’s work and the actors playing the roles, but somehow it’s a bit too grim for me at the moment.

But again, I ask how would we have felt had it been from a bloke's point of view?

An ordinary man fancying his 15 year old daughter? Using the same script?

Would we be grateful to have been stretched by that scenario?

I just don't think we would