Strike / C. B. Strike - General Discussion

[AZChristian]

9 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I get the sense that it's airing weekly so you might have to wait until March.

There is no "wait" in my vocabulary.  I'll just do one a week if that's what I have to do.  LOL.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Watched Troubled Blood. 

I feel like I should have watched the first four 'seasons/books' first, again, because it was a little difficult getting back into the feel of the series for the first quarter or third or so of the first TB episode.  But that was probably just me.

It was good, but I don't think four episodes was enough to the do true justice to the retelling of the book when what started out as just one case turned into three separate ones that shared a weak-gravity orbit of one another.  Not having read the books (yet), it felt like we got just the ultimately main plot and very sparse bits of the subplots.  I had read somewhere that in TB, the book, that Strike & Robin were going to hire some extra investigators, but if I hadn't known that previously, I would have been all "who the hell are these guys?!" when watching.

I really do need to get around to reading the books.  Show is quite good, mostly, but there's probably a lot more to the overall series than just what we get on screen - especially in terms of character thoughts, feelings/emotions, etc.

[AZChristian]

Episode 1 dropped last night here.  Mr AZC and I felt it followed the book very closely.  I felt that Aunt Joan, Uncle Ted and their new receptionist, Pat, were all well cast.  Pat's interactions with Cormoran throughout the book were a nice break in the tension of the Bamborough case.  

Knowing "whodunit" as we watch makes us focus more on that character as the episodes are shown.  

Can't wait for next Monday!

[susannot]

I also thought it was very well done.  The 50 year old flashbacks were good.  I'm a huge fan of the book and can't wait to see how it all plays out on the screen.

[LisaM]

Just watched Episode 1 in the US. I thought it was quite good. Looking forward to the rest. 

I read The Ink Black Heart over the holidays and could not put it down. One of the best books I have read in a long time. Can't wait to see how they film that book given all of the text messages. 

[AZChristian]

31 minutes ago, LisaM said:

Just watched Episode 1 in the US. I thought it was quite good. Looking forward to the rest. 

I read The Ink Black Heart over the holidays and could not put it down. One of the best books I have read in a long time. Can't wait to see how they film that book given all of the text messages. 

I gotta tell you . . . I gave up on Ink Black Heart after the first 50 pages.  Hubby persevered and read the whole thing.  He says it got better.  Maybe I'll try again when I finish the series I'm reading now.

[susannot]

2 hours ago, LisaM said:

Just watched Episode 1 in the US. I thought it was quite good. Looking forward to the rest. 

I read The Ink Black Heart over the holidays and could not put it down. One of the best books I have read in a long time. Can't wait to see how they film that book given all of the text messages. 

Agree.  It was a difficult read but I persevered and really enjoyed it, in the long run. Timely with the theme of cyber crime.

[AZChristian]

Episode 2 of Troubled Blood . . . every bit as good and following the book as Episode 1.  

[LisaM]

I thought that Episode 2 was good as well. Robin going in disguise to visit the incapacitated mobster - and encountering his son - was chilling. 

[susannot]

That was a great scene.

I found the scene in which Robin visits the Athorns exceedingly creepy.  Having read the book, I found it disturbing to watch the Athorn mom lay that jigsaw puzzle out over that chest.

[NeenerNeener]

I'm cracking up because one of the farting old ladies they interviewed from the medical practice is actually Tom Burke's mother, Anna Calder-Marshall. Bring your mom to work day!

[LisaM]

Just watched episode 3 where Strike visits Creed in the mental hospital. Realized that the actor playing Creed also played Louisa's long-lost criminal father on Doc Martin. 

[AZChristian]

Perfect finale episode.  One of the best book adaptations I've seen in a TV series in a long time.  The pony balloon.  Made me tear up!!!!

[abbyzenn]

I loved that scene too AZ.  Robyn does bring out the best of Cormoran.

It was a hard book to adapt and I think they did a great job leaving out all the extraneous stuff.

[LisaM]

Agreed. I recall the book having a lot of extraneous material. They did a really good job streamlining it. The actress playing the killer did a great job. Her facial expression when detailing each murder was pure evil. 

Loved the final scene. 

[AZChristian]

3 minutes ago, LisaM said:

Agreed. I recall the book having a lot of extraneous material. They did a really good job streamlining it. The actress playing the killer did a great job. Her facial expression when detailing each murder was pure evil. 

Loved the final scene. 

Given that the actress is Tom Burke's (Cormoran Strike) real-life mother, it makes it easier to understand the look of sheer amazement as he hears her so calmly describe all the murders.  There's appreciating an actress' performance, and then there's "MOM!  You are GOOD at this."

[abbyzenn]

"MOM You are GOOD at this" tickled my funny bone.

[attica]

I agree. The book had red herring after red herring, and the adaptation dispatched a lot of them with a line or two.

This series gave Burke a lot more to do than be gruff and/or drunk, and it was a delight to watch. 

Robin is a great character, both in book and by Grainger. I appreciate and enjoy how she evinces 'I'm so sick of this shit' when dealing with All the Misogyny. You could see her shoulders go up every time somebody called her "Robs".

And I love Pat and her sneaking a vape after Saul gets fired!

My one complaint is that Robin's bright copper hair is such a distinguishing feature in the books, and I'm sad they're gradually letting Grainger's hair go brown. Not that she looks bad, of course! But *sigh*.

[AZChristian]

Currently reading "Ink Black Heart" and just had to look up news about the TV series.  They're going to start production of Season 6 - based on IBH - in early 2024!

[abbyzenn]

Great to hear they're going to film another series - although I hated The Ink Black Heart and didn't finish it.  But I love the TV series so I'm sure I'll watch it.  Does the actors strike in Hollywood effect British actors?  If so it might be quite awhile before they start filming it.

My nephew just got me HBO/Max subscription and I've been rewatching this series.  I've finished with the first three.  I"m enjoying them all over again.

[Llywela]

On 9/5/2023 at 12:10 AM, abbyzenn said:

Does the actors strike in Hollywood effect British actors?  If so it might be quite awhile before they start filming it.

Different union, so no. The main union for the British TV industry is Equity. Some Equity members are also SAG-AFTRA members, if they work on both sides of the Pond, but UK TV productions would be Equity rather than SAG-AFTRA. The only UK shows affected by the strikes are joint productions - Good Omens, for instance, is a joint BBC-Amazon production, and Amazon is a struck studio, so if a third season is commissioned, no work can begin until the strike ends. But I don't believe Strike is a joint commission, it's a purely BBC production, so shouldn't be affected.

[abbyzenn]

Thanks Llywela for the information.  

[AZChristian]

On 9/4/2023 at 4:10 PM, abbyzenn said:

Great to hear they're going to film another series - although I hated The Ink Black Heart and didn't finish it. 

I tried to read it once and gave up less than 100 pages in.  Decided to give it another try, but first I looked up a "cheat sheet" of characters, with info as to which online screen names belonged to each character.  I also read a synopsis that stated "who did it"; I don't usually do that with a book, but at 76 I need all the help I can get when reading such a long, busy book.  Knowing all of that, reading the book became like watching a puzzle being put together . . . and I ended up really enjoying it.  

And the last few pages were REALLY good.

[LisaM]

I adored The Ink Black Heart. Will be very interested to see how they are going to make this book - which focused heavily on text messages - into a series. 

Just finished the latest in the book series - thought it was fantastic. Can easily see that adapted to the screen. 

[AZChristian]

7 minutes ago, LisaM said:

I adored The Ink Black Heart. Will be very interested to see how they are going to make this book - which focused heavily on text messages - into a series. 

Just finished the latest in the book series - thought it was fantastic. Can easily see that adapted to the screen. 

Confession:  As soon as I finished "The Running Grave," I turned around and started reading it again.  It helps when the characters are more fixed in my brain, and I can find little hints of what's to come that I missed the first time around.

I have a great idea for the next book by Robert Galbraith/JK Rowling.  All of "his" books feature real restaurants and other sites that I love to Google and look at the actual street/restaurant/hotel where Strike is.  The Harry Potter series . . . not so much, as it is mostly set in a magical world invisible to Muggles.  (I am Ravenclaw, BTW, and married to a Muggle.)  But . . . there is a lovely little tea room in Edinburgh where JKR used to sit for hours while writing the early Potter books.  When we were in Edinburgh, we made sure to go there.  How fun would it be if Strike and Robin had to go to Edinburgh on a case, and made arrangements to meet their client/witness/whatever at The Elephant House.  Then Galbraith could describe it is a nice little tea room near Edinburgh Castle where a famous writer of a book series used to sit and work.  They could describe the little room in the front where pastries and souvenirs are available, and mention that there is always a table with a "Reserved" sign on it, in case JKR wants to pop in for a cuppa.

[Broderbits]

2 hours ago, LisaM said:

I adored The Ink Black Heart. Will be very interested to see how they are going to make this book - which focused heavily on text messages - into a series. 

Just finished the latest in the book series - thought it was fantastic. Can easily see that adapted to the screen. 

After watching all seasons of the tv show, Ink Black Heart was the first Strike book I read and I LOVED it! The latest book is even better and you are so right about it being easily adaptable.

[abbyzenn]

Just finished reading "The Running Grave" and really liked it.   Although I did think it was too long but even in parts that I thought could have been cut - like the Charlotte bit there were a few insightful nuggets of why Strike is how he is that were interesting to read.  I do hope they film this one - but to do the story justice it would probably have to be 4 or 5 episodes.

I think they are currently filming The Ink Black Heart but even if so it probably won't be shown till very late this year or next year.