The Collection - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from the show's run. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.

[atomationage]

From what I've seen, Richard Coyle seems to be the lead, Tom Riley is his naked gay brother, and Frances de La Tour (Vicious), plays their mother:

Edited September 19, 2016 by atomationage

[pamplemousse]

I love the naked gay brother. And I love Jenna Thiam -- so beautiful. I'm meh so far on everything else (especially that annoying pipsqueak photographer).

[anniebird]

The visuals are stunning - I've only seen one episode so I don't know how the story will hold up but I'll probably keep watching just to see Paris.

Also, in the montage when Nina is being photographed on the streets of Paris and he hands her balloons, that's either plagiarism or an homage to Fred Astaire handing Audrey Hepburn balloons in Funny Face.

Edited February 10, 2017 by anniebird
addendum

[Arynm]

The clothes!!! I would watch this for the clothes alone. I am in heaven. So far I like the story, but I demand more clothes

[zxy556575]

Not enough fashion, too much Dynasty.

The pilot felt like an entire season's worth of melodrama in 90 minutes. Beatings, betrayal, murder, double-crosses, secrets, Nazi collaborators! Kind of exhausting.

Edited February 14, 2017 by Lord Donia

[GenieinTX]

I saw one review that said someone in the writers must have been like Oprah - everyone gets a secret.  You get a secret!  You get a secret!  Everyone has a secret!  By the time I got the end, I agreed.

It was too much secrets and drama and not enough about the clothes and the design of the clothes.  It was a big meh for me.  Did we really need to murder a gay sailor, then hide the body, then try to keep it covered up, then try to pin it on someone else?  It could have been an interesting show with just the drama of the Sabine family.  I thought the whole murder thing was just ridiculous and unneeded.  And girl moves from the sewing room to model - apparently that wasn't interesting enough.  She also had to be in love with a gay man, have a secret baby, be Jewish, and then sort of maybe fall for the new American.   They threw everything at the board and then kept all of it.

[stillshimpy]

Well, that was diverting and visually appealing, even if the plot was a bit Lifetime-By-the-Numbers.  I liked the cast a lot and the clothes were fun.  Gorgeously shot with a lot of gorgeous people to boot.  

Some things that weren't quite as gorgeous:  Okay, I get why they didn't want to script everything in French and subtitle it but it got confusing as hell.   Between Sabine's American wife and the photographer, I wasn't sure if we were supposed to believe that everyone was speaking French and we all just had bable fish thing going on or if we were meant to believe that everyone was speaking French.  Difficult to believe the photographer or his "I'm from central casting, or at least my performance suggests so!" journalist were running around speaking French. 

I was glad to have these distractions to keep me from thinking about how multiple people basically perched near -- or atop -- a murdered gay sailor without smelling the damned corpse.  I can barely go out for sushi without coming home smelling of tempura everything, so that little girl with the morbid imagination must have come home every night smelling like my lab-cross dog does every time she finds something insanely stinky and rolls around in it for kicks.  We can barely get her to the washing station without hurling, so big-dead-murdered-contrivance just hanging out near anyone's nose was distracting to me.  

Also, I'm a fairly peaceable person, but I'm fairly certain I could think up a better body disposal area than directly in front of a the doorstep to any home.  Seriously, all of France around you and Stabbers McDrives and Sulks stuck the dead guy under a pile of rocks, no dirt and within sight of a domicile.  No way for anyone to have called that going wrong, I guess (good grief). 

I also don't really understand the whole plot with the drawings being of such great value because they all look the same to me but I admit to have zero understanding of how they might represent more than "Oh, yes, another terribly vague design in which it appears that...Eureka!  A woman wearing a dress of ....some ...description!" 

But it was super low-stakes entertainment and fun in its way.  

I'm now also tremendously grateful for the modern day brassiere.  

Edited February 20, 2017 by stillshimpy

[Red Fields]

I found it fun in the end. If there is a second season I will watch.

The tortured gay brother fathering Nina's child was a bit much! As mentioned upthread, Nina sure had a lot going on, heh.

 

I think they were supposed to be speaking French.

[SusanSunflower]

8 episodes focused on Fashion in Paris in 1947 ... can't find any reviews beyond the pay-walled Boston Globe -- suggesting preview videos were not sent out or were ignored -- various levels of "not a great sign" and as far as I can tell zero "buzz" ... but it looks "maah-vahlous ... 

Please delete this if a duplicate -- Previously's search engine is endlessly "fetching" 

Edited October 9, 2017 by SusanSunflower

[elle]

1 hour ago, SusanSunflower said:

8 episodes focused on Fashion in Paris in 1947 ... can't find any reviews beyond the pay-walled Boston Globe -- suggesting preview videos were not sent out or were ignored -- various levels of "not a great sign" and as far as I can tell zero "buzz" ... but it looks "maah-vahlous ... 

Hey, you read my mind before I had the thought!  I just saw the listing for this on the PBS  scheduled and wondered if I could learn more about it here in the forum.  

I did find this synopsis on the PBS website where it only lists 7 episodes: World War II is over and Paul Sabine is restoring Paris as the fashion capital of the world. His dresses are a sensation, and only his shady past and an inconvenient corpse block his way to success. Dressing up was never so dazzling—or dangerous.

I will watch, hopefully with you Susan, and report back here.  It is just nice to have something on Sunday nights other than Poldark!

[dcalley]

There is a barely used forum here: http://forums.previously.tv/forum/2749-the-collection/

I think it was on Amazon Prime last month, so there could be spoilers in there.

[SusanSunflower]

after that, I fell asleep before it started and saw only the last 15 minutes (incomprehensible) ... my internet is in the dumps so I haven't been able to watch on line ... so, no comment. 

[JudyObscure]

My first thought was that we really didn't need a show about clothes after two shows about department stores, but I was willing to watch for the characters.  Now that I've met the characters I don't think I'll bother.

[elle]

21 hours ago, dcalley said:

There is a barely used forum here: http://forums.previously.tv/forum/2749-the-collection/

I think it was on Amazon Prime last month, so there could be spoilers in there.

Thanks for the link!  

4 hours ago, SusanSunflower said:

after that, I fell asleep before it started and saw only the last 15 minutes (incomprehensible) ... my internet is in the dumps so I haven't been able to watch on line ... so, no comment. 

plus

2 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

My first thought was that we really didn't need a show about clothes after two shows about department stores, but I was willing to watch for the characters.  Now that I've met the characters I don't think I'll bother.

I don't think I will bother either.  I wandered in and out of the room while it was on, it felt as if there was a new show on every ten minutes or so and none of them kept my interest.  I did stop for a moment during the photo shoot scenes thinking how similar it was to the "on location photo shoot" in Funny Face (which I love) and *then* the guy handed the girl the balloons.  I waited for her release them with a surprised expression.  I was too tired to roll my eyes.

I did wonder what they did to the red dress to make it glow like that.

[atlantaloves]

Well I got through the first episode, and although fashion is one of my favorite subject matters, I just thought it was pretty boring, bad script, but beautiful clothes. I might try a second episode if I am really bored, but that is rare there are so many great shows. Oh well, can't win them all, as they say on Project Runway, YOU'RE OUT.  

[AllAboutMBTV]

I'm really only watching this for Tom Riley ("Claude"), whom I've loved since Lost In Austen (he's still the best Mr. Wickham ever, albeit a skewed one). I sat through ALL of DaVinci's Demons for him, and that was often a slog and an often ridiculous one. (Tom! Get a better agent!) Oh, and this also has the divine Frances de la Tour swanning around in furs, so I'm in, but I'll forget I ever watched it the minute it's over.

[atlantaloves]

Oh me too, I am totally with you with Mr. Riley.....yum.  Okay, I guess I will have to try another episode, thanks. 

[NutMeg]

I watched the full season, and I quite liked it, although it took me a few episodes to really get into it. Of course, I was binge watching, so that made it easier :)

[proserpina65]

I watched the first episode and wasn't sure, so I taped the second one.  I kept falling asleep during the second 1/2 hour and then gave up.  I love Richard Coyle, but none of these characters is the least bit interesting, and I'm not sticking around for eight episodes(!) to find out how his character was a collaborator.  Since, honestly, that pretty much has to be the dark secret he's keeping - nothing else would be that bad in post-war Paris.

[atlantaloves]

Yeah, I was fast forwarding through a lot of the second episode which I made myself watch because I really want to love this show, I guess it's just Mr. Coyle that I love and of course Mamie G. (she is so fabulous) -- this is just a fashion show, but a good fashion show....but enough already. Yep, I bet that Coyle was in bed with the Nazi's.  I have a great period fashion series to recommend to you all that can't get into this one, it's called The House of Elliott....Fashion in England in the 20's! It's old, but it really is a wonderful fashion soap opera. See if you can find it somewhere, maybe Netflix has it.

[Kath94]

On 2/20/2017 at 10:59 AM, stillshimpy said:

<snip>

I also don't really understand the whole plot with the drawings being of such great value because they all look the same to me but I admit to have zero understanding of how they might represent more than "Oh, yes, another terribly vague design in which it appears that...Eureka!  A woman wearing a dress of ....some ...description!"

THIS!  I thought maybe I just didn't understand haute couture.

Edited October 19, 2017 by Kath94
BTW, just now airing in the USA on Masterpiece

[oceanview]

On ‎10‎/‎19‎/‎2017 at 1:26 PM, atlantaloves said:

Yeah, I was fast forwarding through a lot of the second episode which I made myself watch because I really want to love this show, I guess it's just Mr. Coyle that I love and of course Mamie G. (she is so fabulous) -- this is just a fashion show, but a good fashion show....but enough already. Yep, I bet that Coyle was in bed with the Nazi's.  I have a great period fashion series to recommend to you all that can't get into this one, it's called The House of Elliott....Fashion in England in the 20's! It's old, but it really is a wonderful fashion soap opera. See if you can find it somewhere, maybe Netflix has it.

  I watched House of Elliot on PBS seems like decades ago and I really liked it a lot.  Worth  a look at Netflix

[atlantaloves]

Oh House of Elliott was so good, and sooooooooo dramatic.....I adored it. Now I can't remember who was in it, I need to look it up....but everybody was fabulous I remember that. It was swoon worthy. 

[jaybird2]

who fathered nina's child?

[jaybird2]

why are they hiding the fact that claude is designing the fashions?   questions, questions, questions!!

[BusyOctober]

I'm reeeeeally trying to stick with this series, but it is difficult.  So. Slow. At least the body was discovered so the "suspense" has been dialed up a notch...from "0" to ".50".  In addition to the slow pacing, the other thing that bugs me the most is the photographer's horrific accent.  I haven't looked, but I'd guess the actor is NOT american, and had adopted the worst "actor-y" affectation of a NY/Brooklynese accent.  When he speaks, it sounds as if American English is not his first language.

On 10/22/2017 at 11:52 PM, jaybird2 said:

 

why are they hiding the fact that claude is designing the fashions?   questions, questions, questions!!

 

No kidding!  Question abound.  

* Why can't Claude be named the designer, or co-designer if "Monsieur" needs to keep his face in front?  Is it b/c Claude is gay?  That hardly seems enough to keep him in the literal & figurative closet.

* What's up with Mommy Dearest flouncing around in pearls and fur stoles in every scene, even during "domestic" scenes.  What is her back story?  

* Didn't Coyle's character (can't even remember the lead's character's name!) say in the 1st ep that he rose from the dirty, poor streets of Paris?  I know all the heavy handed hinting is telling us he must have collaborated with the Nazis, so he must've made his money and fame from selling out his country.      

* The little girl in the country knew for DAYS about the dead body in her "castle"???  I guess if she were raised in a concentration camp, she'd be numb to death and decomposing bodies on the premises, but I don't get how she'd be so blase about a half rotting body in her playground.

* Could none of the audience smell the burnt silk wafting off the wedding gown?  Claude cut off & hid the burnt portions, but I'd guess the smoke smell would linger, no?  Maybe they doused her in the designer perfume they are developing?

* Is it me or did the quickie between Monsieur & the secretary come out of no where this ep?  Is he womanizer?  Did they have a thing in the past?

* Why is silent partner such a pill? The launch looked to be a success, and the clothes were "new and fresh" as he wanted.  He's still all pouty faced at the end...is he secretly hoping to bring down Coyle and his House?

I may try one more episode but I'm just as likely to forget this is even on next week.

[AllAboutMBTV]

Oh, show, why so Not Good? You've got great, tasty ingredients, and you just lie there like a slumped souffle. I think a lot of the blame lies with the script. Some of the dialog just clangs, especially in Nina's scenes (I call shenanigans in her not being able to walk in heels). Still, Tom Riley had one line reading early on that made me laugh. Are we supposed to care about the creeper who followed him up to the studio for some grab-ass, because at this point I care more about his sick cat.

I think the answer to everyone's questions is: Nazis.

[jaybird2]

On 10/24/2017 at 8:00 AM, BusyOctober said:

I'm reeeeeally trying to stick with this series, but it is difficult.  So. Slow. At least the body was discovered so the "suspense" has been dialed up a notch...from "0" to ".50".  In addition to the slow pacing, the other thing that bugs me the most is the photographer's horrific accent.  I haven't looked, but I'd guess the actor is NOT american, and had adopted the worst "actor-y" affectation of a NY/Brooklynese accent.  When he speaks, it sounds as if American English is not his first language.

No kidding!  Question abound.  

* Why can't Claude be named the designer, or co-designer if "Monsieur" needs to keep his face in front?  Is it b/c Claude is gay?  That hardly seems enough to keep him in the literal & figurative closet.

* What's up with Mommy Dearest flouncing around in pearls and fur stoles in every scene, even during "domestic" scenes.  What is her back story?  

* Didn't Coyle's character (can't even remember the lead's character's name!) say in the 1st ep that he rose from the dirty, poor streets of Paris?  I know all the heavy handed hinting is telling us he must have collaborated with the Nazis, so he must've made his money and fame from selling out his country.      

* The little girl in the country knew for DAYS about the dead body in her "castle"???  I guess if she were raised in a concentration camp, she'd be numb to death and decomposing bodies on the premises, but I don't get how she'd be so blase about a half rotting body in her playground.

* Could none of the audience smell the burnt silk wafting off the wedding gown?  Claude cut off & hid the burnt portions, but I'd guess the smoke smell would linger, no?  Maybe they doused her in the designer perfume they are developing?

* Is it me or did the quickie between Monsieur & the secretary come out of no where this ep?  Is he womanizer?  Did they have a thing in the past?

* Why is silent partner such a pill? The launch looked to be a success, and the clothes were "new and fresh" as he wanted.  He's still all pouty faced at the end...is he secretly hoping to bring down Coyle and his House?

I may try one more episode but I'm just as likely to forget this is even on next week.

thanks, i was too lazy to list all my questions.

you missed one of my questions;  what does paul have on his mother.  he threatened to to tell claude about her...what was it?

also,  i don't think anyone would care about claude being gay, i maybe wrong.

[AllAboutMBTV]

I get that this is on at 8:00 p.m. (Prime Time still exists in this era of time-shifted TV?), but the enormous blurring of Tom Riley's naked backside was hilarious. I believe there are plenty of light fixtures of naked nymphs holding torches around the salon. PBS has the oddest policy on nudity. I watched an American Masters recently on the artist Tyrus Wong (largely responsible for the look of Disney's "Bambi"). Archival photos of him in a figure drawing class had the model's breasts blurred, but when they showed Wong's representational drawing of the model there was no blurring.

Anyway. A broken German pen deflects possible guilt? OK. There were some continuity flubs, too (Mme .Sabine's chiffon scarf came and went in one scene). This show...

[Auntie Anxiety]

Just finished watching this on Amazon. It was very meh. I did love the fashion aspect but the rest of it was a failed melodrama in my opinion. If you are looking for a show to binge-watch, look elsewhere. Not worth the time.