'Midwinter of the Spirit' on ITV

Did anyone watch 'Midwinter of the Spirit' last night (23/9/15) on ITV? It's an adaptation of one of my favourite books - my very favourite Phil Rickman book - so I couldn't watch it without without comparing it (a little unfavourably, on the whole, I'm really sad to say) to the source material.

What did those who're not familiar with the book make of it?

I thought it was OK. The scene in the hospital was good but on the whole it felt rushed, having to accommodate four ad breaks in an hour didn't help.

Some of the dialogue was difficult to follow but I find that a lot these days, maybe I'm going deaf.

Will definitely watch the next two episodes though.

Some of the dialogue was difficult to follow but I find that a lot these days, maybe I'm going deaf.

I thought Merrily mumbled a bit. The Denzil Joy episode was well done (it looks like that character might be taking a much bigger role than he had in the book).

Did you think 'Father Jack' when the mad vicar popped up? Cannon Dobbs is such a dignified presence in the book, despite his, shall we say, difficulties, that I was rather disheartened to see him quite so deranged, and his apparent early despatching was a bit of a shocker.

I'm trying to view the TV version as a separate entity from the book; after all, it only meant to be based on it.

I thought Merrily mumbled a bit. The Denzil Joy episode was well done (it looks like that character might be taking a much bigger role than he had in the book).

 

Did you think 'Father Jack' when the mad vicar popped up? Cannon Dobbs is such a dignified presence in the book, despite his, shall we say, difficulties, that I was rather disheartened to see him quite so deranged, and his apparent early despatching was a bit of a shocker.

 

I'm trying to view the TV version as a separate entity from the book; after all, it only meant to be based on it.

I actually though Anthony Arblaster my old Politics tutor.....hope he's not reading

I watched this about 20 minutes and then gave it up as a bad job.It was as usual a totally disjointed, unfollowable storyline and had actors who kept a spud in their mouths.

I watched this about 20 minutes and then gave it up as a bad job.It was as usual a totally disjointed, unfollowable storyline and had actors who kept a spud in their mouths.

I'm not sure about 'as usual', but I can see the difficulty of keeping up with the storyline of this particular TV series. The first episode had to establish the essentials of the main characters' back stories (those which they didn't change, anyway; those which remained mostly true to the source material were dealt with in the first book in the series - this was an adaptation of the second) while storming through the set-up for a multi-stranded, plot-dense story which plays out over 500+ pages.

Having said that, the story has, inevitably, been snipped, simplified and, more annoyingly for me, substantially sexed up. I suppose a crucifixion and bloody death of a batty vicar grabs the attention more than a second-hand tale of a dead body found in a river and a (debilitating but not immediately fatal) stroke.

Just watched the second episode. Enjoyed it more than the first, I think because it was less rushed.

I keep coming back to an annoying niggle though....It seems obvious that the key to things is Denzil Joy, so why does she never make any attempts at discovering anything about him? She's told by nurses that he's evil personified, the old canon goes off (see what I did there?) on one when he's mentioned and even the police turn white....first thing I'd do is access his records and find out about him and his chums...but Merrily doesn't seem that interested.

Merrily went to have a chat with Denzil Joy's wife, while it was left to Lol (or rather NotLol) to do the main sleuthing.

The TV series is daft beyond words. It's lost the subtle creepiness and mystery of the book and substituted overblown cheap horror and 'he's behind you!' scares along with a storyline that dumps much of the interesting stuff and instead runs with and exaggerates the nasty bits. Merrily herself seems to alternate between being a damp, limp lettuce and a shrill neurotic. Plus she mumbles so much I can hardly make out what she's saying.

It's a bit pants. I'll watch the third episode...but I'm not expecting a second series.

I might be generalising, but this is the reason we very rarely watch ITV