channel5 9pm tonight The Teacher

It made me feel very uncomfortable right from the start. We had teachers (way back in the day) that tried to be 'friends' with the pupils but generally they were considered ancient and looked a bit silly. But if any of our teachers had turned up at a nightclub and got outageously drunk like she did (seemingly on a daily basis) he/she would surely have been reported and sacked. Don't teachers take on a role of responsibility to their pupils when they decide to take on the job? Even after school hours? It's a bit hypocritical to teach kids manners and respect in school hours and be seen to behave in the opposite manner in their private life?

I thought that Kyle’s mother might turn out to be the daughter he left for his young schoolgirl girlfriend, when he abandoned his family, thus making Kyle his grandson. Wrong again!

There were far too many underlying issues, her overbearing father, the mother who committed suicide, with bipolar it seemed, the jealous female teacher, Nina? (Izzy’s mum).Pauline and her love life, I never worked out who she was teaching, and then ‘Brian’ coming in as a tutor. Also what about Kelvin Fletcher? Did he and Sheridan Smith have a fling in the past? His role seemed on the periphery somehow.

A load of nonsense in the end.

well i missed a bit in the middle, but didn't think the whole thing amounted to much.
i rarely watch fiction; or modern fiction.
this didn't impel me to watch more.
i love talking pictures channel.

It was ok as something to watch. It has certainly provoked plenty debate on the teacher/pupil boundaries.

Was that guy a villain or not? Instead of being a true villain and using the hammer he turned out to be a misunderstood suicidal victim. Mixed messages there. And what a predictable ending for him. As soon as they started the conversation by the car I was just waiting for him to throw himself in front of a lorry.

I didn't watch it because it didn't appeal. I thought she was really good as Cilla. Brought back the whole era.

yes, i noticed she'd had her teeth whitened or veneered halfway through filming......I did understand the storyine though it was hard going.
she'd reported the teacher for grooming a girl and he went to prison only to set her up upon his release. She had done nothing, 'Kyle' had lied....

I have just watched the final episode, and feel really let down. Ridiculous ending.

My viewing "pleasure" was marred as I couldn't take my eyes off Sheridan Smith's veneers. I knew there was something odd about her upper lip, and it finally came to me. She reminded me of Ross in Friends when he had the tooth whitening. Her teeth just didn't look natural. And once I'd noted that . . . . couldn't concentrate on the storyline.

Hung on to the very silly end.
Clearly low budget stuff.

was trying too hard to be her pupils friend, rather than their teacher. - this was why it made no sense that she was prime head of department candidate.

Bit of a damp squib!

The ending was rubbish wasn't it? Shame, as it started off fairly promising, I thought. Why do so many dramas go so badly off the boil like that??

Well, yet another so called ‘drama’ that I’ve wasted 4 hours watching.

What a load of twaddle!

Couldn’t help noticing how bow-legged Sheridan Smith was.

Surely that deputy head at her old school shouldn’t have sent her that info about Arnold Cleary? Data protection or something?

Would she stroll into Pauline’s house? Surely not.

Has he bumped off poor, plump Pauline? Is she lying in a pool of blood?

Last part coming up….

This program has its moments, the twist and turns are holding my interest. Sometimes though, the holes in the plot make me want to throw a cushion at the TV.

I like Sheridan Smith very much, but this must be the most depressing, sordid programme. Won’t be watching any more.

Grandmagrim

I must be one of the few who doesn’t think Sheridan Smith is that great an actress. Everything I’ve ever seen her I seemed the same character. Her portrayal of Fanny Brice was cringeworthy.

Yes, I agree. I did quite like her in Cilla but she seems to have gone downhill since she did that.

I have watched both episodes so far, and pretty much concur with other posters' views. However, I am going to give episode three a go, because you could see the penny dropping with Jenna at the end of last night's episode, and I'm hoping the plot will pick up a bit. I feel I've invested two hours watching it, and I owe it to myself to not miss out on what might turn out to be a gripping ending (feint hopes)

I must be one of the few who doesn’t think Sheridan Smith is that great an actress. Everything I’ve ever seen her I seemed the same character. Her portrayal of Fanny Brice was cringeworthy.

Perhaps that is what the drama is trying to explore. The fact there should be boundaries between teacher and pupil. Sheridan's character apart from having an alcohol problem, was trying too hard to be her pupils friend, rather than their teacher.

Should teachers call their students ‘darling’?

I noticed in the first episode, this was how she addressed a girl with low self esteem and confidence, and then how she spoke to Kyle when he was injured in football/rugby.

Is it to emphasise how ‘down with the kids’ she is?

TerriBull

Meant to add, Cate Blanchett film from a while ago, Notes on a Scandal similar theme, much better than this.

One of my all time favourites. This isnt a patch on it. Although it's taking a different path, judging by the end of the second episode.
I persevered as there is so little worth watching.

I don't think it's like Notes on A Scandal, as that is more the story of a senior teacher's obsession with the life of someone from a different (social) class and what she sees as the younger woman's sense of entitlement. The 'affair' with the pupil is almost secondary to the story of Barbara's obsession with, resentment of and possible sexual interest in Sheba, and her self-appointed role as moral guardian to younger women.

So far, unless the role of the other staff members becomes more obvious, that is not the case in Teacher. The main character is flawed, but most of us are in different ways, and the viewer is being asked to consider whether Jenna's presentation (low cut tops, short skirts) and lifestyle (heavy drinking, visits to nightclubs frequented by schoolkids) suggest that she might be capable of committing a sex offence, and if so, why we might think like that. Similarly, it asks whether the fact that the boys are boastful amongst themselves and given to sexually inappropriate remarks to their teacher (both in school and in the nightclub) mean that their word should be taken as gospel, or if their youth and vulnerability should protect them in a way that might not have been questioned if they'd been girls.

Those questions are layered onto the central one of how far people are responsible for something that happens when they are drunk (I would say 100%), and how far they can get a fair trial when they can't defend themselves because of memory loss (much more difficult to quantify).

I think there are a few times when the plot wanders into daftness (eg when Jenna leaves the Community Service session to run after Kyle), but on the whole it hangs together well. We are finding out what happened at the same time as Jenna, so it's been a bit disjointed at times, but not so much that we can't follow the story.

I am interested to find out what happens, and at this stage I don't know whether I think she is guilty or not.

It was her attitude towards her pupils as demonstrated through her teaching that appalled me.
There are definitely promiscuous, unsuitably dressed teachers in school and some hungover ones, although that is dealt with promptly. Behaviour outside the school is not the business of the school unless it impinges on the school itself, as hers did.

well, it is a drama not ' docu', .....she pleaded guilty to save Kyle then he asked her why she pleaded guilty suggesting nothing happened.....i shall watch tonight. not what I expected though or I wouldn't have raised it.