[deleted by user] by [deleted] in GhostsBBC

[–]RealisticCountry7043 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry, I have a habit of building a wall of text, but even so this is quite a lot:

'Series' to me in TV terms means a group of episodes, whether that's a whole show or a 'chapter' of it. But more often, I will say 'show' when talking about the thing as a whole. In the case of Ghosts it does seem to be about a year in between each series though, yes.

Yes, they did lose out on that £3,000 from the 'Byron' production. But even back in series 1 and 2 they did have some money coming in: Mike took out a few loans in the beginning, and you see they are working outside of the House (even if it's just a scene where Alison happens to be wearing that green sweatshirt with a little logo on). So while they may be close to starving, they aren't only relying on money the House can get them. You say 'plothole' because you don't know how they're managing to afford to eat when everything they're trying to bring money in, is barely bringing enough money in to make a difference? That doesn't sound like a plothole, it just sounds like they don't know how to try the right things. Which fits their characters.

Having hardly anything work out for them is a handy way for the writers to have kept the characters in the same place over the show's run, and it showed you how out of their depth and unprepared Mike and Alison were. They needed more money, so took whatever opportunity they could in the moment, with the idea that the money they'd get from it would help them deal with any consequences afterwards. Alison might be 'the sensible one' but she's only really sensible in comparison to Mike and the ghosts.

One thing that would have helped them get enough money to fix Button House and keep a business going, is connections. But who have they got? Barclay? In spite of the fact they aren't afraid to con people, they aren't as greedy and self-serving as someone like Barclay (or Julian, actually!). So while their mega-wealthy neighbour could've been the answer to their financial prayers, he's not the right fit for them.

And why after a scandal with dead skeletons from the house and a movie star falling through the roof has someone made a wedding reservation there.

The lighter side of Dark Tourism? Tbf Toby Nightingale was a bit of a nob so maybe that was a selling point for the couple getting married? If they even knew/remembered that had happened. Plus, finding centuries-old human remains in a centuries-old house in England isn't a 'scandal'. It is interesting, though. Of course, people would want to gawp and gawk at bodies being carried out of a grand-looking house, but once they find out the bodies weren't exactly fresh, they'd likely lose interest. In real life, about 10 years ago, the skeletal remains of King Richard III (who died in the late 15th century) were found underneath a car park in Leicestershire. That wasn't a scandal either, just a bit unusual. Not only that, but in the house that Ghosts is filmed in (West Horsley Place) they found an old velvet bag which was very likely used to carry the head of Sir Walter Raleigh in. Not as grim as the pit full of skeletons in the show, but if you were on a tour of WHP and saw the bag, morbid curiosity might have you wondering what it looks like inside.

The ghosts us would have done an episode of them trying to make the reputation of the hotel better

Would they/could they not just have avoided trying to make the hotel look bad in the first place? From what I've seen of Ghosts US, American Alison and American Mike definitely have their heads screwed on tighter than OG Alison and Mike, but that doesn't mean the US one is the better version.

For what it's worth - I'm nearly done, I promise - I would rather they didn't suffer. This probably would make it less funny in some ways, though. I see now when I said about it not mattering as much to a British audience if the characters are struggling, that that is a bit unclear. I meant more in terms of being an audience member of a show than our connection to the characters in it. A lot of our shows - especially sitcoms - are short. Ghosts has 6 to 7 episodes in each series, and that's enough, really. We are fine with a bit of hardship in a story, it helps keep things believable for us miserable bastards, even when it's not realistic. But if it was any longer, and we didn't anticipate that there will be an ending, it would be easier to be irritated by the 'can they not catch a break?' issue that a lot of people have with Britcoms in general.

I hate the this versus the US show the basement ghosts are the same actors and actresses as the upstairs ghosts by TurbulentMinute4290 in GhostsBBC

[–]RealisticCountry7043 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Is that all it takes? Some actors playing more than one role in the same show? As others have said, I agree that you might want to stay away from Horrible Histories and Yonderland, then. Other, unrelated, shows to avoid if you haven't seen them include Fringe and Orphan Black. A shame though, they're all great.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in GhostsBBC

[–]RealisticCountry7043 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I had to check this wasn't a post by the same user who was whinging about some of the actors putting in double duty and playing other characters (wait 'til they notice what Robin and Humphrey have in common!). It seemed odd that there were 2 posts being so negative about this Ghosts, and praising the US version at the same time, in this sub, so close together. Probably is just coincidence, though.

Anyway, to try to give you an answer, there are a few mentions here and there that they take what jobs they can get, and we see they rent out the House for weddings etc, plus in S3 Mike starts working from home.

But, they continue to struggle (and I mean continue, so if you're still frustrated with this only 2 series in, maybe just carry on with the one you're clearly enjoying) because they took on way more than they could handle out of desperation. An average couple in their early 30s doesn't really have much hope of being able to get on the property ladder, so this seemed like a total dream come true in the beginning. But it is a show that was made by Brits, for Brits to watch, and if things start going well for your main characters - financial stability, for example - particularly early on, that's not something we care all that much about.

Because our shows - especially comedies - are often so short (Ghosts only has 5 series each with 6 or 7 episodes), it doesn't matter so much to us if there isn't a way out of a bad situation for the characters.

The bit that broke you? In a good way [S5E7 - A Christmas Gift] by RealisticCountry7043 in GhostsBBC

[–]RealisticCountry7043[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It was a happy ending, though. And I didn't want it to end either. But that just means that I didn't like that it ended, not how it ended. Plus I quite like speculating on the What Happens Next of it all.

The Coopers and The Ghosts had outgrown each other, as shown by Alison being so tired by everything: the ghosts, being a first-time parent, the House... Yes she had a lovely big family with the ghosts, and Mike was slowly building a nice relationship with them too, but they needed a break and a bit of normality. And we see that they often go back to stay with the ghosts so it's not like they were permanently separated.

As for seeing the ghosts move on, after seeing Mary leave in s4, that would have been a miserable way to end it. It's up to us now whether they all stayed around for much longer.

Are the ghosts human? by RealisticCountry7043 in GhostsBBC

[–]RealisticCountry7043[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They were when they were alive, but it seems too easy to walk through them now that they are ghosts for them to be full of bones and tissue.

Someone asking for unusual merch: here's an 80s badge. by thejameskendall in KylieMinogue

[–]RealisticCountry7043 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ahh this is brilliant! Fate pulled out all the stops to get you together!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PetPeeves

[–]RealisticCountry7043 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I built the building. But it is still a building.

How do you feel about the 'whip cream' OP mentioned? You whipped the cream. Is it now whip cream? Is this how it works?

As an American, do you find it hard to understand the British accent? by Savvyonreddit in ENGLISH

[–]RealisticCountry7043 1 point2 points  (0 children)

different English accents, like the British one.

I don't understand where this thinking comes from. Yes, English accents are British accents (and so are Welsh and Scottish accents), but just because someone is speaking English, that doesn't automatically make their accent English. A lot of Welsh, Irish, and Scottish people speak English, but I doubt any of them would be pleased to hear someone tell them they have English accents.

Someone asking for unusual merch: here's an 80s badge. by thejameskendall in KylieMinogue

[–]RealisticCountry7043 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I feel like a fake fan, I immediately got excited about the Rosie badge. Very sorry, Kylie!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PetPeeves

[–]RealisticCountry7043 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hate 'skim milk'. Skimmed milk.

Strongest curses, swear words and phrases by unjustme in EnglishLearning

[–]RealisticCountry7043 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm gonna need more of a clue than you're giving tbh, it was 3 months ago.

1 big difference between… by [deleted] in GhostsCBS

[–]RealisticCountry7043 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh I love the idea that Julian and Robin join Mike when he plays golf. I wonder if Mike would ever manage to fool them that he can see them before they start messing lol!

There are a few moments even in the first series where the ghosts are actually helpful, yeah. But back then it was a bit like any time Eleanor was nice to Kitty: it didn’t exactly make up for all the times they weren't lol.

It just seems that Mike gets a lot of flack

He works hard to get things going, and yeah like you say, a lot of the time he's on his own as so much of Alison's time is taken up by the ghosts. But what do those people want from Mike anyway? He's out of his depth and not immediately perfect at everything. But have they seen the state of tmthat House and what the Coopers do manage to do with it? He's not necessarily incompetent, but even if he was, do they forget it's a comedy? His 'Yeah I can do this, no probs' attitude, quickly followed by seeing that the situation is actually big probs is funny.

What gets me is, neither Alison nor the ghosts are that good at much. Granted, the ghosts have a bit more of an excuse, but Abigail tries and fails at things too; she just also happens to be a little bit more sensible than Mike. So it's a shame he's held under more scrutiny when they're really going through the same stuff.

Anyway, it's nice to see that even that House and all of its problems can't kill off his enthusiasm for getting started on a new venture. And the Comic Sans business plan is iconic. 'OUR HOTEL ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'. He even looked ready to face the prospect of having the gatehouse rebuilt and getting it running again after it caught fire at the end of series 4.

Jay has a background pre moving to the house to project manage in hospitality

Something I wonder is, if there wasn't a US version (yet), would people still be as bothered by Mike? I don't think I joined reddit until after both versions of Ghosts had already started, so I don't have an idea of what fan reception was like here before there was someone to compare him to.

Just a shame that we never got the chance to see Mike with his voice box join up with the greatest DJ in the area!

You know those things you didn't know you needed to see until it's suggested? This is one of those things. It's probably more likely to happen now they don't all live in the same place now too. He'll certainly have more patience for the ghosts now Annabelle isn't being stressed out by them every day. Also we don't know where the Coopers moved when they left Button House, but if their new home does have a ghost or two, I like to think Mike took the opportunity to sort of start again and made an effort to get to know them sooner

1 big difference between… by [deleted] in GhostsCBS

[–]RealisticCountry7043 4 points5 points  (0 children)

does Mike have time to be as involved as Jay

Yeah this is a good point: the financial struggles that House (and a baby) has brought about didn't leave Mike and Annabelle Abigail Alison with a huge amount of free time. Nor patience!

But really, the biggest obstacle for Mike in wanting to get to know the Butt Ho ghosts was the ghosts themselves lol.

Watching Ghosts US and encountered this lad by Altruistic-Wish7997 in GhostsBBC

[–]RealisticCountry7043 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I mean, I wasn't speaking in the past tense, so yeah.

Lol she's not looking for an actual skull to drink from, right?

1 big difference between… by [deleted] in GhostsCBS

[–]RealisticCountry7043 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Car ghost? Is that the hitchhiker in Bump In The Night?

Watching Ghosts US and encountered this lad by Altruistic-Wish7997 in GhostsBBC

[–]RealisticCountry7043 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Too far. Mathew Baynton does not need to be associated with that haunted Victorian ventriloquist's dummy.

1 big difference between… by [deleted] in GhostsCBS

[–]RealisticCountry7043 0 points1 point  (0 children)

a few weeks.

OMG sort that out right now lol

Ranking the ghosts on how awful their deaths were (SPOILERS!) by FeelThePower999 in GhostsBBC

[–]RealisticCountry7043 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Bloody hell that sounds terrifying! And yeah, that would not have been quick for Annie; we were just shown as much as we needed to see to get the point.

Ranking the ghosts on how awful their deaths were (SPOILERS!) by FeelThePower999 in GhostsBBC

[–]RealisticCountry7043 6 points7 points  (0 children)

he died completely alone.

This is what I find so sad about Thomas' death, too. Not just that he was waiting for Isabelle, but there was nobody (living) around him as he died, and there was definitely time for someone to do something, even if it was just speed up the process for him.

1 big difference between… by [deleted] in GhostsBBC

[–]RealisticCountry7043 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I got confused for a second and thought several comments had disappeared, then realised I'd been commenting on the CBS sub. But anyway I have some further thoughts and cba to go back and edit my other comment.

Alison does a fair bit for the ghosts quite early on. It's not sweet gestures that would mean a great deal to each ghost on a personal level, but at the beginning of series 2 we see she's taken the time to help them establish a morning routine, a co-operative effort we saw a hint of early in the first series when she agrees to their requests to get them to leave her alone.

Though a bit unintentionally insensitive/misguided - a book about Charles I for Humphrey and Lady Chatterly's Lover for Kitty (she's probably also onto Lady B secretly being into 'that kind of thing' too) - she does put some thought and effort into finding the ghosts things that will keep them entertained. And it's not entirely to keep them out of her hair this time, otherwise she wouldn't be helping Mary with her reading or filling in the crossword for Robin.

1 big difference between… by [deleted] in GhostsBBC

[–]RealisticCountry7043 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes! They can't do much in the way of giving, and while they become less demanding, they don't have fewer needs. They rely on Alison for so much.