The Responder

it's called multi tasking !

Obviously I'm not as good at it as the archetypal woman as I missed what was going on half the time, it was dark and mumbly as well.
Just like the other violent series starting on ITV, dark, indistinct, mumbly.

Must Try Harder

Maybe you should report back Urmstongran I think I need a few more positives after all how can I take the opinion of my other half when I get comments flung out such as "Oh God not another bake off"--occasionally he has a point though--

Callistemon, I only give my all to a programme if it draws me in, otherwise I'm doing something else too, faffing around on GN for example it's called multi tasking !

Perhaps I should watch it again and concentrate next time so I have more than half a clue about what is going on, instead of trying to sort out a tricky bit of craft at the same time!

Decisions, decisions eh TerriBull!
I’m going to start watching it tonight on catch up.

I decided not to watch having read through this thread the overall feeling about it seemed to be negative. My husband watched it on I Player last night and said it was very good, so don't know whether I should invest the time in it now or not

Maggiemaybe

CTM saccharine, Callistemon? A nurse pulled off a homeless man’s shoe last week and his gangrenous foot came off with it!

Oh yes!

I'm not sure about it. Was a lot of bad language which bothers DH, me not so much. Will watch next episode I think. DSil is police and he has been off with PTSD following several sad shouts where he has been first responder to cardiac arrests. Can't go into them but he is back at work and PTSD counselling hasn't happened yet and he says nothing has changed. They are short staffed and people taking early retirement. He is not in a city and for TV obviously everything is exaggerated but the characters so far he says resemble what police encounter in every town in the country. It's a hard job. Agree LtEve - reality shows would not pick up what is really discussed off camera though I've not personally heard any paramedics swear like that in my encounters with them as a nurse.

Lilypops

I am quite enjoying this drama and have got used to the swearing every other word, MF is excellent as the troubled cop, and life for some is like this once on the downward spiral of drugs and homelessness,
It makes me very thankful for what I have and that none of my family have ever been involved in drugs,
I didn’t understand why Carl the baddie who was always threatening Chris (MF). Was calmly drinking coffee in the kitchen with Chris,s wife and she was,not frightened of him ,
Can anyone explain this ?

I think Carl and Chris grew up together. He said in the car "I've known him for 40years," so the wife just thinks they are old friends. I would question the fact that she was ignorant about Carl's criminal activities. Even if she didn't know exact details Chris would have told her not to mention him to other cops. And I've worked in schools where the local criminals were known to the entire community, not just the police.

Mumofthree

I loved After Life, too. Only Ricky Gervaise could get away with it!

I don't particularly like Martin Freeman, apparently he's a bit of a diva but have to compliment him on his Scouse accent, I can't stand people trying to copy the accent. My OH worked with the ex bobby who wrote this drama and some of it was filmed on a site where my son works. After watching the second episode I'm looking forward to the rest.

LilacChaser

I though the first episode was good as it was so different. I watched the second episode, and it just keeps getting better and better.

For those offended by the language - don't watch After Life!

oh I loved all the 3 series of After Life..... and it went to number one on Netflix straight away.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who enjoyed The Responder.

We’re going to give it another go. We’re police family so know the realities of the lives of the responders and the people they work with only too well. Which is probably why I found it too much at the time.

Going out on jobs alone is the norm these days, btw. You’ll see a lot more officers double crewed on police dramas than you will in real life.

I really enjoyed it, Martin's acting and accent were spot on according to locals. Also it showed the pressure and stress our police force is under and not just in Liverpool. I believe it was written by Tony Schumacher who was a police officer in Liverpool for 10 years before the pressure of the job burnt him out (his own words) so he pretty much knows how to portray real life issues for the police. The language didn't bother me.

I though the first episode was good as it was so different. I watched the second episode, and it just keeps getting better and better.

For those offended by the language - don't watch After Life!

I am quite enjoying this drama and have got used to the swearing every other word, MF is excellent as the troubled cop, and life for some is like this once on the downward spiral of drugs and homelessness,
It makes me very thankful for what I have and that none of my family have ever been involved in drugs,
I didn’t understand why Carl the baddie who was always threatening Chris (MF). Was calmly drinking coffee in the kitchen with Chris,s wife and she was,not frightened of him ,
Can anyone explain this ?

trisher I agree. I think we should watch this sort of programme to remind us how some people have to live and to make us appreciate how lucky some of us are. These characters were not presented as evil, rather as a product of their environment and this is not just in Liverpool. I think most cities are probably like this! That is not to say we can't watch the light and fluffy stuff too. We always need balance.

I thought the acting was exceptional especially Martin Freeman and strangely, though I normally need subtitles, I did not need them for this. I am not from Liverpool but maybe being Northern helps.

As for swearing, has anyone listened to young people coming out of secondary schools at the end of the day lately, or groups of youngsters in the street. I don't think it means anything any more, if it ever did. My grandchildren are included, though they would never do it at home.

CTM saccharine, Callistemon? A nurse pulled off a homeless man’s shoe last week and his gangrenous foot came off with it!

But everything seems to be similarly based at the moment.
Or else saccharine like CTM.

The other problem seems to be that everything is filmed in the dark and everyone (apart from a few properly trained actors) mumble and swallow their words.

Can't see what is going on and can't hear it either (no, it's not me!) and have to resort to sub-titles which cover some of the screen anyway.

Callistemon21

trisher

I think this is the reality of life for some people today. It isn't pretty or fashionable. I was sayng the other day that all the dramas now seemed to be set in lovely houses, or beautiful locations, and the kitchen sink drama we had in the 60s seemed to have disappeared. I think this is the equivalent. It isn't easy watching but it is life for some people. We should all watch it, if only so we are aware of how our society is failing so many people.

Probably but this is supposed to be entertainment, not a documentary.

We watched Panorama earlier in the evening - not hiding our heads in the sand at all and knew the reality of life when working too.

But lots of entertainment has shown the faults in society in the past. Think of "Cathy Come Home" "Kes" and "Scum". Surely we are adult enough not to expect everything we watch to be "nice". In fact I think a society whose media only shows the more affluent acceptable side has serious problems.

Have seen 2 episodes and thought it was some of the best TV I have ever seen. He’s a former DI who has been demoted, cuts a lot of corners but underneath everything he is a good man on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Excellent performances.

I have watched it all and thought it was very well done, with excellent performances. But I was confused as to what happened at the end and how it was all resolved. It may be me - I find many dramas confusing these days. The storyline was depressing but thoughtful and nuanced in showing the pressures on the emergency services and the way in which exposure to stressful and upsetting situations can make even decent people behave badly.

Society has gone wrong cos of so much poverty and hopelessness, better welfare services helped a lot but under Tories thats not an option. I sort of liked it, after 30 yrs working as a social worker I recognised much of the situations and people, MF was great, but I think there were faults, there was not enough use of social services & some of those situations would have been referred & it does at times feel really overwhelming & depressing. I also didn't mind the swearing, its true to life and I like swearing in general, it really doesn't matter, but my ex never swore but he was intimidating & scary, 'you are rubbish!' he'd say jabbing his finger at me, that was offensive language in my book

Absolutely dreadful !! No wonder it nearly sent Martin Freeman insane when he took the part on.

Why has society gone so wrong ? Where have all these criminals come from ?

trisher

I think this is the reality of life for some people today. It isn't pretty or fashionable. I was sayng the other day that all the dramas now seemed to be set in lovely houses, or beautiful locations, and the kitchen sink drama we had in the 60s seemed to have disappeared. I think this is the equivalent. It isn't easy watching but it is life for some people. We should all watch it, if only so we are aware of how our society is failing so many people.

Probably but this is supposed to be entertainment, not a documentary.

We watched Panorama earlier in the evening - not hiding our heads in the sand at all and knew the reality of life when working too.

I agree trisher I think it was always thus, but a lot of us are shielded from it ands it’s rare for a media drama to show it.