"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Fortysomething: Series 1, Episode 3 (2003)

 
You'll never guess, but Paul continues to be cowed by everything in his life.  Granted, Hugh Laurie can make anything funny, and he has some great moments, but Paul's constant need for reassurance is more than a little pathetic.  I especially don't like the way he's intimidated by Estelle's career and feels threatened by every interaction she has with another man.
 
Case in point:  Pilfrey.  The “little rat,” as Estelle calls him, attempts to ramp up his seduction efforts here, and Paul is just utterly blind to Estelle's horror at it all.  That he thinks she would go for a man like Pilfrey is definitely an insult to Estelle's mental stability.
 
This is particularly true in this episode, where a number of comedic misunderstandings lead Pilfrey to act full-on ridiculously insane.  It's mostly funny early in the episode, and there are good bits here and there in the second half, but seriously – PC must've had to floss after each take, to get rid of all the scenery stuck between his teeth.  
 
It's a shame, because he's so good.  Over-the-top isn't always a negative; Malcolm Tucker is comic gold, and he's played incredibly big.  But this... It was like watching John Simm in “The End of Time.”  (I'm thinking especially of the scene where the Master is ripping chunks off of a turkey carcass with his bare hands and shoving them in his mouth.)  In both cases, I'm left feeling sorry for the actors and wondering what went through their heads when they read the script and realized what they were going to have to do.
 
On a positive note, though, there's a good deal of singing, and that's fun.  PC has a pretty decent voice.  (He used to be in a band with Craig Ferguson!  I mention that whenever I have the opportunity, because the world needs to know.)

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