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

Me too. I think I have seen them all now. 2 per night. The voice of Alan Bennett coming through never fails to have me giggling, however grim the topic.
He is a genius.

I have watched five now, Imelda Staunton, Sarah Lancashire, Jodie Comer, Martin Freeman and one about a park keeper. They were all so powerful and moving in different ways. However, the park keeper one I found really uncomfortable and unsettling. Almost wish I hadn't watched it.......

Having watched Martin Freeman ( A Chip In The Sugar) I thought ( although he’s a good actor) that he wasn’t right for this part.He came over as too mentally sharp and normal tbh.

Then I watched Nights In The Gardens Of Spain ( never saw this one before) and thought it was really well done by Tamsin Grieg, although I imagine it would also have been very good done by Penelope Wilton.

Must watch two more episodes tonight.

Lesley Manville is excellent in everything she does, I've just read that she will play Princess Margaret in her later years in the final parts of "The Crown"

I thought Lesley Manville was excellent in A Bed of Lentils. Her change in looks was amazing. It must have been challenging to take on a role originally done by Maggie Smith, but how awful would it be if we looked on all roles and said they couldn't be done as well as the first person to do them. A new actor brings something different to the role.

Greeneyedgirl

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.

May I join your minority please?
I loved Talking Heads first time round - perhaps I am showing my age but sadly I feel Imelda Staunton, Martin Freeman etc have not captured the magic of Alan Bennett’s insight , or indeed his “voice”.
Perhaps nostalgia isn’t what it used to be.

Oopsminty 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.

I agree. I also agree with Nortsat's earlier post in that these episodes are all a bit too dark and depressing for me at the moment while living in isolation and shielding. I want something lighter.

I couldn't quite understand The Outside Dog. Were we supposed to think the wife's neuroticism was her defence against her husband? was Tina the dog some sort of symbol?

Maybe her obsessive cleaning was like Lady Macbeth's.

I was rather put off this new round of Talking Heads after watching A Lady of Letters, I think it's called, with Imelda Staunton. I think she is a great actress but I was much more engaged with and convinced by Patricia Routledge's portrayal.

So it was only yesterday that I watched Martin Freeman in A Chip in the Sugar. I didn't think anyone could match Alan Bennett's "Graham" but I was wrong. I thought MF was absolutely brilliant (though apparently some people complained about his accent).

I also watched Rochenda Sandall in The Outside Dog - a very dark tale. I thought she was brilliant but I found the actual story very unpleasant. I did wonder if it was based on the case of a real life serial killer and his wife.

We would still be feeling uncomfortable Oopsminty
I was shocked 30 years ago or more when I heard how common incest was. A friend who used her inheritance to open a refuge for "battered wives" told me as did a social worker.

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

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.

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 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.

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'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!

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

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.

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

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!

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!

Loved the Jodie Comer one.

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.

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 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.