# Cracker



## kittyP (Feb 5, 2012)

Just watching the first series now.
Only seen it the once before when in was on tv.
I was worried that it wouldn't be as good as I remembered but its bloody brilliant 

Any comments?


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## Ranbay (Feb 5, 2012)

I love you


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## Nine Bob Note (Feb 5, 2012)

One of those rare occassions where the casting/writing/acting could not have been improved in any way.

"Waiter, a sharp knife, please; my wife would like to cut off my balls..."

Psychology will be my second career (approaching 30, and I have no idea what my first will be) and Fitz will be a role model


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## zoooo (Feb 5, 2012)

Nine Bob Note said:


> One of those rare occassions where the casting/writing/acting could not have been improved in any way.


Utterly agree.
The special(s?) they made recently maybe weren't quite as good, but I still wish they'd make a whole new series.


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## Pingu (Feb 5, 2012)

liv....erp...ool liverpool fc.


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## geminisnake (Feb 5, 2012)

Loved it. Never did like Jimmy Beck though. Panhandle was great!


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## zoooo (Feb 5, 2012)

I loved Jimmy Beck!
Until he done the bad thing. But then in his last episode, flipping heck, that was some amazing writing/acting. By everyone! Blimey.

On a side note, if anyone's a League of Gents fan, some people think Reece based the character Geoff on Jimmy. I am inclined to agree...


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## stethoscope (Feb 5, 2012)

Still got my first and second series boxsets - loved it then, and still do when I watched them again recently


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## Glitter (Feb 5, 2012)

I need to buy this I think.


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## Badgers (Feb 5, 2012)

L I V E R P O O L


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## mrs quoad (Feb 5, 2012)

DLed several £5 series / eps from itunes a while back. May watch some tonight!


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## wayward bob (Feb 6, 2012)

i must have seen em a few times cos i remember loads of bits, but it's ages since i did, maybe time to dust em off


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## Badgers (Feb 6, 2012)

mrs quoad said:


> DLed several £5 series / eps from itunes a while back. May watch some tonight!


 
We went on Netflix and got the whole lot for free


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## mrs quoad (Feb 6, 2012)

Badgers said:


> We went on Netflix and got the whole lot for free


The monthly subscription type of free?

Or free, as in free?


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## Badgers (Feb 6, 2012)

mrs quoad said:


> The monthly subscription type of free?
> 
> Or free, as in free?


 
Free. Well on a free trial. Which we got £15 cash back for trying.


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## mrs quoad (Feb 6, 2012)

ooo


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## Badgers (Feb 6, 2012)

mrs quoad said:


> ooo


 
http://www.quidco.com/netflix/


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## mrs quoad (Apr 5, 2012)

A two-parter on ITV7 or summat perfectly coincided with a bit of late-night copy-editing.

It's good stuff, ay


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## mrs quoad (Jan 10, 2013)

Fitz in hospital. Doctor: there's nothing wrong with you. Nothing physical. But I would like you to see a psychologist.


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## youngian (Jan 10, 2013)

Robbie Coltrane's Fitz; a big big performance in every sense of the word. The later episodes were a bit saggy but this series was as good as crime drama ever got.


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## shagnasty (Jan 12, 2013)

kittyP said:


> Just watching the first series now.
> Only seen it the once before when in was on tv.
> I was worried that it wouldn't be as good as I remembered but its bloody brilliant
> 
> Any comments?


Just started watching series one,have seen it before but sure to like it second time round.Fitz is a rotter he drinks,smokes,gambles and womanises


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## Sirena (Jan 12, 2013)

I remember being impressed with Series 1.  Then it felt like someone (feeling they were on a winner) started trying far too hard with series 2 and the scripts became very self-conscious and I ended up feeling it was all too over-written and over-acted and formulaic and hammy.

I think it might be Robbie Coltrane.  I can't take too much of him.


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## zoooo (Jan 12, 2013)

It's been my favourite crime drama series for yearssssssssssss.
I think Scott & Bailey may have just crept into my number 1 spot, though.


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## youngian (Jan 13, 2013)

zoooo said:


> It's been my favourite crime drama series for yearssssssssssss.
> I think Scott & Bailey may have just crept into my number 1 spot, though.


 
Check out Suranne Jones in Touch of Cloth


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## zoooo (Jan 13, 2013)

youngian said:


> Check out Suranne Jones in Touch of Cloth


Ha, yes, I saw that.


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## Kaka Tim (Jan 22, 2013)

Got the GF the box set for crimbo and have just finished watching series 1 and 2.
For some reason I never watched it when it was first out - and boy did I miss out.
Writing and performances consistently brilliant all the way through - complex characters, insightful, challenging, intelligent and unafraid to explore dark and disturbing subject matter. It doesn't assume that the audience are divs either. 

Its not just the regular actors who are great either - the performances of the story specific characters are top notch as well. Clearly the programme makers  have taken the seemingly obvious - but oft over looked - decision to cast the story based on the suitability of the actor for the part and on their actual acting ability - Rather than picking blandly pretty people with middle class accents which seems to be the standard procedure. 

Why the fuck cant other TV drama be this good? 

Jimmy Mc Govern is a bit good at this sort of thing inn't he?

(what's the lakes like? never saw that either)


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## felixthecat (Jan 22, 2013)

Its one of my favourite ever series. Superb writing, superb acting performances.

And I have a longstanding crush on big Rab.


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## Dandred (Jan 22, 2013)

I've been watching it to, it's great I remember it a little but I'd forgotten how much he smokes!


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## Artaxerxes (Jan 22, 2013)

Great series and creepy as hell in places


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## Corax (Jan 22, 2013)

Racist thread is racist.


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## Me76 (Jan 22, 2013)

The box set is On Demand and I am 7 episodes in.  Fucking loving it all over again 

The amount of smoking is ridiculous. On the one I watched yesterday they was a uniformed copper at the door of the interview room with a suspect in puffing away . Those were the days!


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## mrs quoad (Jan 22, 2013)

I've been trying to avoid the one where penhaligon is raped. Because imm, that's when the whole series fell apart.


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## zoooo (Jan 22, 2013)

I thought that whole storyline was amazing! Even though I bloody loved him before that, so it was a bit conflicting for me. (I was only about 12.) Didn't that storyline pretty much run for a whole series? The way they ended it was great.


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## colbhoy (Jan 28, 2013)

Kaka Tim said:


> (what's the lakes like? never saw that either)


 
Oh, I haven't thought about The Lakes in a long time. Was very good, John Simm was excellent in it. Was really dark - murder, rape, infidelity and much more....


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## The Boy (Feb 4, 2013)

Just watching this on Netflix.  Only really saw the one with Robert Carlyle first time round, but it's top notch telly.  Agreed on the smoking Me76.  It's amazing anybody my age managed to not take up the habit


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## skyscraper101 (May 13, 2013)

Been re-watching myself over the last week. Quite clearly, the only eps from season 1 & 2 not written by Jimmy McGovern are the weakest (the christian cult one with whatshisface from downton).


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## youngian (May 13, 2013)

skyscraper101 said:


> Been re-watching myself over the last week. Quite clearly, the only eps from season 1 & 2 not written by Jimmy McGovern are the weakest (the christian cult one with whatshisface from downton).


 
Jim Carter. Also features future classy director favourite Samantha Morton.

There was an hour long retrospective on Robbie Coltrane's career on Saturday with Jimmy McGovern interview. He imagined someone totally different as Fitz but wasn't disapointed on that one.

Worth a peak at the unnecessary US remake with a sanistised Fitz character that completely misses the point. In Fitz our hero is a man who is trying; thinner, in recovery and carries a dummy cigarette. Oh dear!


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## skyscraper101 (May 13, 2013)

youngian said:


> Jim Carter. Also features future classy director favourite Samantha Morton.
> 
> There was an hour long retrospective on Robbie Coltrane's career on Saturday with Jimmy McGovern interview. He imagined someone totally different as Fitz but wasn't disapointed on that one.


Was that on TV? Which channel? I'd like to see that.



youngian said:


> Worth a peak at the unnecessary US remake with a sanistised Fitz character that completely misses the point. In Fitz our hero is a man who is trying; thinner, in recovery and carries a dummy cigarette. Oh dear!


 
I think I saw one episode of that way back. I think Robbie Coltrane was in one of the episodes too, playing an American (?). It didn't seem anything like the original anyway.


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## youngian (May 13, 2013)

skyscraper101 said:


> Was that on TV? Which channel? I'd like to see that.


 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01skgvx/The_Many_Faces_of..._Series_2_Robbie_Coltrane


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## Badgers (May 13, 2013)

Was pottering through the LoveFilm thingy the other day and found the 'special episodes' from 1996 and 2006  I never new they existed as I had the DVD boxset with just the telly episodes


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## Badgers (Nov 5, 2013)

If anyone still watches DVDs and wants this it is a tenner for the boxset


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## zoooo (Nov 5, 2013)

Ooh. Which ones were the special episodes?
I'm always watching the repeats on ITV3(?), hopefully they've shown them.


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## Badgers (Nov 5, 2013)

zoooo said:


> Ooh. Which ones were the special episodes?
> I'm always watching the repeats on ITV3(?), hopefully they've shown them.



http://www.crackertv.co.uk/whiteghost.htm

http://www.crackertv.co.uk/nineeleven.htm


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## zoooo (Nov 5, 2013)

Ooh, thanks Badgers.
Have definitely seen the Hong Kong one, but not so sure about the other one.


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## Badgers (Nov 5, 2013)

No worries  

That boxset is actually very good value, it is £49.99 on Amazon.


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## neonwilderness (Nov 5, 2013)

Badgers said:


> If anyone still watches DVDs and wants this it is a tenner for the boxset


Might do for a Christmas present for my mum that I can borrow


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## spanglechick (Nov 5, 2013)

Watched it all (but not the specials :madface: ) on Netflix over the summer.   Later watched all the prime suspects, and despite La Mirren's acting talent, Cracker is much more compelling.  

Penhaligon went on to play Harry Potter's mum, which I'm sure was a great payday or seven, but seems like a disappointing tragectory.


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## zoooo (Nov 5, 2013)

I'm not sure his mum even had any words. Just stood around smiling dreamily and looking tragic and from-the-past-y.


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## Me76 (Nov 6, 2013)

spanglechick said:


> Watched it all (but not the specials :madface: ) on Netflix over the summer.   Later watched all the prime suspects, and despite La Mirren's acting talent, Cracker is much more compelling.
> 
> Penhaligon went on to play Harry Potter's mum, which I'm sure was a great payday or seven, but seems like a disappointing tragectory.


I never recognised her at all and I had a crush on Panhandle when I was younger.


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## skyscraper101 (Nov 6, 2013)

Me76 said:


> I never recognised her at all and I had a crush on Panhandle when I was younger.



There was something very alluring about her in Cracker. As of course, Fitz would attest to.


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## Me76 (Nov 6, 2013)

zoooo said:


> I'm not sure his mum even had any words. Just stood around smiling dreamily and looking tragic and from-the-past-y.


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## skyscraper101 (Nov 6, 2013)

So Harry Potter _was_ the love child of Fitz and Panhandle.... Who knew?


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## zoooo (Nov 6, 2013)

Oh god, that didn't even click with me that Fitz was one of the main characters in Harry Potter as well. I'm so slow sometimes.

Obviously I knew it was Robbie Coltrane. But didn't think of the HP films as having 2 people from Cracker in them. Actually I bet there were a few other people who appeared in both, considering how many British actors the HP films employed.


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## spanglechick (Nov 6, 2013)

Ralph fiennes turns up in a minor role in cracker* and the plays voldemort, doesn't he?


* or it could be prime suspect to be fair.


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## spanglechick (Nov 6, 2013)

Bugger. No - it was prime suspect. 1991.


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## Elpenor (Jun 10, 2022)

Watching Cracker on Britbox (it may also be in YouTube). I’ve watched it a few times before and it’s ideal for when feeling under the weather as I am today.

Still stands up almost 30 years on. Great cast.


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