Mrs blamire (i wish)

Active Member
Sorry if this has been posted to the wrong thread, and also I mean no disrespect to the beautiful and wonderful actress liz Fraser but after rewatching the elegy for fallen wellies trio episodes (ripping my own heart out as per usual, bless you bill Owen) am I the only one who thought at the last episode “just a small funeral” the last one of the trio, it should have been someone like Nora batty at compo’s coffin , and not reggie? Like we’ve known this character for 3 episodes but Nora for years, we’ve seen the sort of..build up of Nora and compo’s “relationship” for years , and i know there was a funny scene of Nora giving reggie a dirty look at this part...but still, I feel it was owed to Nora if you know what I mean?

again I mean no disrespect to the writers of the stories or liz Fraser at all I promise.
 
You make a really good point, and I've commented on this in the past, I felt the Reggie character wasn't needed and I felt it sullied Compo's memory too.
In fairness Roy Clarke had to rewrite the episodes at very short notice and this issues aside I felt he did an amazing job writing such a poignant set of episodes as a farewell to him.
 
The writing in the context of Nora alluding to the fact that she never saw Compo on a Thursday and didn't know where he went plus the remaining members of the trio alluded to that he had a Thursday lady friend offered a great contrast . Faced with Nora and Reggie in comparison there is no contest in terms of attraction but the contradiction with Reggie in essence stating Compo couldn't join her permanently because he loved another woman [which I am paraphrasing] I think demonstrates Roy Clarke's brilliance in writing because given a choice I defy any male on this site to say they would choose Nora over Reggie [Apologies to Pearl, Louise, Maggie, Glenda and the other ladies on the site this is in no way meant to sound an un PC statement rather I am just trying to illustrate a point about the way Roy Clarke portrays the contrast]
 
I thought it strange that in the Throstlenest episode Reggie didn't seem too shocked or upset at the news, she was just happy that she'd got Compo's ferrets. Then in Just a small Funeral, apart from the church scene, she appeared happy and unmoved. Not what you'd expect if they'd had a close relationship.


I know most if not all Actresses seem to have the ability to cry on demand but that would surely either be at the writer/directors behest or because of the emotion that in essence , although this was Compo's fictional death in the show , the cast would very much be grieving after Bill Owen's passing . The modern day Queen of purveying emotion Olivia Coleman would have no issue in acting out that scene with the pathos and empathy, perhaps the script wanted to show that Compo had enjoyed nothing but happy times with his Thursday lady and so sadness didn't enter into it.
 
I think that Roy Clarke perhaps saw Compos passing as an opportunity to try and send the series in different directions and be a little more 'racy' this followed on from Reggie with the Mrs Avery/Babs. I can't blame him but I think it's widely accepted that viewers didn't like this direction as viewers preferred the clean cut image of the series.
 
I think that Roy Clarke perhaps saw Compos passing as an opportunity to try and send the series in different directions and be a little more 'racy' this followed on from Reggie with the Mrs Avery/Babs. I can't blame him but I think it's widely accepted that viewers didn't like this direction as viewers preferred the clean cut image of the series.

Well, I don't care for the series so much after Foggy's final episode. (A Sidecar named Desire). It seemed to lose it's comfortable cosiness and it seemed to take me out of the "comfort zone" the earlier episodes put me in. There were some good episodes in later years but really, in my opinion, the series should have finished at the end of series 18 when Foggy left. It just didn't feel right after that.
 
...followed on from Reggie with the Mrs Avery/Babs. I can't blame him but I think it's widely accepted that viewers didn't like this direction as viewers preferred the clean cut image of the series.

I still have no idea what the point was with Mrs. Avery (where's Mr. Avery?) and "Babs" (no comment).
 
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