For a start, I did enjoy the initial start and although it raised some questions, I stayed till the end of Season 1.
Sarah Lancashire did a brave rendition of Julia Child but ultimately it felt like a caricature with a cartoon voice. Seems a lot of people can imitate JC but few get it right. In reality Julia's voice had a resonance and richness that no one seems able to get right. Have a listen to some of her interviews. She was also not buxom nor that big, just tall. Clever use of low camera angles to achieve this with a 5'7" actor. I like Sarah's work, but this must have been quite difficult.
The episodes were titled after a dish from her recipe book but didn't actually feature in the episode. Seemed pointless to me. In fact, there really wasn't any cooking on display the entire season, just close ups of egg beating, ripping a chicken apart and the finished product. An opportunity missed as all the TV shows from her cooking shows are widely available.
There was also a number of head scratching moments. Alice Naman, a black woman where one never existed. This stuck out as there were no other people of colour in the studio, anywhere! Others have gone on about timings of historical events, hints at gay encounters, visiting gay nightclubs, live broadcasts that weren't, every car in every scene in pristine condition and so on. All of it invented for this series and not accurate. The one liners were obviously written for the characters and everyone had them.
Why I find this so unfortunate is that this should have been as accurate as possible, major plots need to be correct. This is how people are going to think things happened, and what life was really like and then becomes a rose coloured glasses version of Julia Child's life when it is not.
Ultimately I found the season losing it's aim and wandering off into drivel. As side characters developed, JC got lost and the drama (if you could call it that) focused on characters and events that never happened and had no interest for me. Julia Child's life was interesting and entertaining although I do question her cooking ability, she did bring French style recipes to the land of tuna casserole, meatloaf, mac and cheese with an ice cream soda for desert. I'm sure anything would have been an improvement on that.
Finally, this is for IMDB. When I look at the 'Trivia' section, I would prefer to see Trivia on the show. Getting props for the set, how accurate the kitchen was, sourcing clothes and other items for the period, mastering JCs voice. The making of the show. NOT who worked with who in Star Trek, references to Fraser (yes WE KNOW), not a competition held in another show. Some of these Trivia items have thin strings to other shows, who worked for what producer and tenuous connections that make you wonder why it's there?
It's a 5 for the fine performances, but it lacked direction and had too many made up scenes that shouldn't have been there.
Sarah Lancashire did a brave rendition of Julia Child but ultimately it felt like a caricature with a cartoon voice. Seems a lot of people can imitate JC but few get it right. In reality Julia's voice had a resonance and richness that no one seems able to get right. Have a listen to some of her interviews. She was also not buxom nor that big, just tall. Clever use of low camera angles to achieve this with a 5'7" actor. I like Sarah's work, but this must have been quite difficult.
The episodes were titled after a dish from her recipe book but didn't actually feature in the episode. Seemed pointless to me. In fact, there really wasn't any cooking on display the entire season, just close ups of egg beating, ripping a chicken apart and the finished product. An opportunity missed as all the TV shows from her cooking shows are widely available.
There was also a number of head scratching moments. Alice Naman, a black woman where one never existed. This stuck out as there were no other people of colour in the studio, anywhere! Others have gone on about timings of historical events, hints at gay encounters, visiting gay nightclubs, live broadcasts that weren't, every car in every scene in pristine condition and so on. All of it invented for this series and not accurate. The one liners were obviously written for the characters and everyone had them.
Why I find this so unfortunate is that this should have been as accurate as possible, major plots need to be correct. This is how people are going to think things happened, and what life was really like and then becomes a rose coloured glasses version of Julia Child's life when it is not.
Ultimately I found the season losing it's aim and wandering off into drivel. As side characters developed, JC got lost and the drama (if you could call it that) focused on characters and events that never happened and had no interest for me. Julia Child's life was interesting and entertaining although I do question her cooking ability, she did bring French style recipes to the land of tuna casserole, meatloaf, mac and cheese with an ice cream soda for desert. I'm sure anything would have been an improvement on that.
Finally, this is for IMDB. When I look at the 'Trivia' section, I would prefer to see Trivia on the show. Getting props for the set, how accurate the kitchen was, sourcing clothes and other items for the period, mastering JCs voice. The making of the show. NOT who worked with who in Star Trek, references to Fraser (yes WE KNOW), not a competition held in another show. Some of these Trivia items have thin strings to other shows, who worked for what producer and tenuous connections that make you wonder why it's there?
It's a 5 for the fine performances, but it lacked direction and had too many made up scenes that shouldn't have been there.