Masterpiece Mystery!: Silks (open spoilers)

Cafe Society
41

Okay, Darlings.

I’m sorry I’m always SO late with this, but I have college in the morning until seven PM, so I can’t find time until late at night. First of all, I’d like to thank everyone who’s acknowledged my efforts and admits that it helps. It’s nice to feel appreciated. That being said, on with the cuts. Though episode five has the most so far, they were all relatively minor, so there’s not as much of an issue as there was with episodes three and four-minus the last two, which I feel were rather important to the ever-skipped over character development. Episode six suffers a bit more, but these cuts don’t seem to impede the story so much, through the found rearrangement of scenes was rather unnecessary.

***Cuts ***

Episode 5 (- YouTube)

  1. In the very beginning a scene in the clerk’s room is cut where we find out the origin of Nick’s drunk driving brief, in other words, putting the pieces together.

  2. A scene where Martha hails the cab and then flips through the brief. I find this one important, because you can see the pieces of the brief and her thoughts on her face, again, this a putting-the-pieces together cut that explains her dislike of the attempted murder charge.

  3. A very small Clerk John/Kate interlude is cut out where she invites him for a drink. Not completely relevant except in proving that they’re probably seeing each other outside of chambers.

  4. Nick arriving at court for his trial and dropping his materials is cut.

  5. Another part of a Martha/Clive conversation is cut. Seriously, what’s with this censorship? As, it was used on the webpage as well

  6. The biggest cut of this episode. First, we get a Nick and Martha interlude that shows exactly how she feels about prosecuting before they head out, only to meet Niamh and Clive in a pub and we see how, Niamh is finally starting to see through Clive’s crap and listen to Martha, since she had slipped before.

  7. A conversation between Martha and the btchy CPS solicitor after the trial is cut, where Martha basically, finally tells her to “f** off.”

**Episode 6 (- YouTube) **

  1. A rather important Billy and Martha scene where they discuss his wanting her out of the trial and working on Rush is cut. Important because it leads into the way he handles Brian Froggett from the point forward.

  2. ANOTHER Clerk’s Room scene is cut. This time, we see Billy come back from his meeting at court and describe his actions as “good clerking.” I consider this another character-establishment piece. Oh, and we also see Alan asking for Chambers’ accounts and also a piece of Martha’s meeting with the prosecutor.

  3. A very, small silent cut after Martha’s conversation with the prosecutor is cut. Not relevant, but a cut is a cut. Though, if you look closely, you can see on her face that she is indeed intimidated.

  4. A small scene of Martha at home is cut. In this one, we see her in some kind of pain related to her pregnancy, which always made me think, even if Rush hadn’t intervened, that the miscarriage was coming.

  5. A part of the trial is cut where the prosecution throws more accusations at Mark, and the judge questions the truth. Mark then goes on to say that Mrs. Guthrie had it out for him and everyone is going to believe her simply because she’s “posh and smart.”

**Rearrangement (*- YouTube ***)
Remember how Kate went to John to talk about Billy (again) and then to Alan? Well, this was initially DIRECTLY after the first half of the murder trial and followed by the Niamh interlude and then a Martha scene. Only after that do we Kate and Clive interlude where she reveals the finding of the new building and establishes the idea to break away, meanwhile, Billy fakes a computer crash to get out of giving Alan the accounts before Clive reveals the plan to him. THEN Billy puts in a call to Stephen Cranitch.

*Comments and Questions: *

Honestly, I’m surprised that you all aren’t going crazy about the miscarriage like the rest of the fandom did when the series finished airing in the UK. Seriously, go on Tumblr, people were NOT happy.

Also, NO this is NOT the end. Series two finished last spring and they’re filming series three RIGHT NOW. Now, the second series is good, if you ever manage to find it, but I have several issues with it that I won’t get into now, since most of them revolve around personal, writing biases.

On the chambers politics, it’s what makes the series so different from other courtroom dramas and that’s why the writer wrote it the way he did. He wanted to focus specifically on that…There’s a BTS feature on the DVD that explains it, which I can and will upload if requested.

And, I know I said thanks before, but thank you, especially FeAudrey and ThelmaLou who really made me feel like this was all really worth the time. I love my little fandom and I’d love to keep it growing. And I wasn’t aware of PBS traditonally making cuts with things, as I don’t ever watch, but that’s nice to know in case they decide to tackle series two.

I don’t see a whole lot more in the way of questions this time, so I’m going to do a shameless plug, and say that, for those of who who really want more, I’ve been working on a Silk fanfiction for quite some time. It’s a series of one-shots following a timeline which can be found here: ***http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8806910/1/More-Than-Friends *** (And, I promise. Contrary to popular belief not all fanfiction is crap, or written by fourteen-year-old fangirls.) And, as a sidenote, mine plays off of this series and disregards the second one.

As always, I’ll be happy to answer any other questions and am more than willing to help you guys figure out the series!

42

Really dumb wrap, with many issues not resolved. Who was kept on at the firm: Incompetent Boy or Twisty Mouth Girl? What about the bribery issue, which doesn’t go away just because The Cabal was foiled? And that whole exposition: “Oh, you’re all just family and families quarrel and bicker but I love you all and can’t we all just get along oh right you’re all wankers.” Very lame ending.

43

It clearly wasn’t a wrap or an ending. More like falling off a cliff.

44

I watched the first two episodes. I wanted to give it a chance. Parts of it are confusing, like the swapping of roles of the barristers and their receiving their cases the night before they have to argue them. Also the role of Billy and the clerks versus the barristers. All the British elements are hard to follow.

I gave up on the show after the second episode. There aren’t any characters to like. They’re all manipulative, backstabbing, vicious. Clive doesn’t have any redeeming features. Even his “stepping up” with Martha is a means to an end. I just find it tiring.

45

You’re in luck. There was only one more dual episode after the two you watched (on American TV, that is).

46

I know, and I debated watching it to be “completist”, but decided it wasn’t worth it.

47

Honestly, I found the ending more clichéd then outright lame, and I’m sure the writer had his reasons for ending it the way he did. Then again, I’m a writer who’s always believed that if you don’t like the ending, you should just re-write it.

Now, for those of you who don’t know, there IS a series two that aired last spring and the first episode fills in the hole about the pupils. (But I won’t spoil) And, by the way, the pupils’ names are Nick and Niamh. And, Mr. Slade is NOT incompetent, he’s just a little lost, but, as you see, he DOES get better as time goes on and he becomes more confident in himself and his abilities. Likewise, Niamh is NOT some twisty-mouthed (that’s just her face, which I find cute), manipulative b****. She’s also lost and trying to find her footing and is really held back by the fact that her father is a judge. Don’t any of you know what it’s like to live up to someone and come out of their shadow? It’s hard and it takes some time and stumbles. They both just need a bit more guidance and time. Not everyone is good at a new job when they start. I know I wasn’t!

On the bribery issue. I find it a non-issue since no one outside of Kate and Clerk John had any knowledge of it, and that, since their plan was foiled, the information is useless. And, unless something comes up, I doubt the list office would spill.

I will agree that at first, some things can be hard to follow, but if you’re truly lost, do some research. I mean, I did bucket loads of it to not only get a complete grasp on the series, but to write as well and it really helps. Plus, there’s a post here that outlines it pretty well for those of you that are confused. It may also help to track down and watch the original, uncut UK series, as things are a bit less jumpy and confusing when the cuts are put back in. (I know it’s available on amazon.co.uk, as that’s where I imported mine from).

Though, I disagree that there isn’t anyone to like. Like anyone, they all have their virtues and vices. I always thought of Clive as the token a**-hat of the group. He becomes a little more likeable when he chills out in series two and his backstory is revealed. I can’t see how anyone could hate Martha, okay maybe I can. But, I always found her rather relatable. Sure, her life isn’t overly exciting, but who’s is? I find it nice to see a normal person just trying to make their way. Though, I think more could be added and always thought she was seriously overdue for some romance in her life. I can’t really defend Nick or Niamh, because I’m biased and a shipper of them. But I do see where Niamh may grate until you get into her character and the root of her issues, likewise with Nick. I never liked Kate all that much, or Clerk John for that matter. Billy borders on sentimentally creepy (does that make sense?) and then there’s Jake. He’s just…Awkward.

Note that, you have to take a lot of this with a grain of salt, mainly due to my own bias and the fact that I’ve made it a point to study the characters and dig into (and write) their backgrounds and really figure them out.

48

And what happened to the CPS complaint about collusion in chambers?

49

It was mentioned in episode six that there was a loss of work and that it “hit Kate the hardest.” So, it wasn’t forgotten, just briefly mentioned. And, you find that in the next series, Kate doesn’t return and that the “heart and soul” of Shoe Lane is defense work anyway, so it probably doesn’t hit as hard as we’re led to believe, not at first.

50

Thanks. Now that you mention it, I remember that bit. I was expecting that a complaint about ethics would have more consequences than the loss of some work, though.

51

Bearing in mind at all times that on British TV, “series” = American “season.” On this side of the pond, we think of *series *as referring to the whole enchilada, i.e., *all *of the seasons.

52

You’re the maven ! Please tell me…who won the Moot Court between the young ones–at the end of the last episode? Thanks

53

It was left open-ended. No conclusion was given in this series, but in series two it’s revealed that neither of them made it (Which sucks. I feel like there were SO many unexplored plotlines for Nick and Niamh.) and a new pupil is introduced in series two, episode four.

Now, part of the reason for this stems from the fact that, at the time, Natalie Dormer and Tom Hughes signed onto other projects and couldn’t do a second series of Silk.

54

We use it for both.

‘Silk is a TV series made by the BBC’
‘Series 3 of Silk airs this autumn on BBC1’ *

*That bits true

55

Shucks. Yes, I’'ve seen her in three things, and he was great in a Miss Fisher episode. Love the CLOTHES in the Miss Fisher series…oh, my…and the CAR !

Thank you.