A Man. And His Blog.

Season 1, Episode 6
Date of airing: Feb 8, 2012 (Global)
Nielsen ratings information: unavailable (not in the Top 30 of the week)

Again I have to say that this show works a bit better without thinking it is a miniseries. So, it was my mistake to think that, and now I’m paying for it. Or maybe not. Because this episode was actually good. Not really the season finale I hoped to see, because it wasn’t thrilling, dramatic or emotional, but it was a nice way to end the stories, because the writers have now the chance to take different approaches in the second season.

I was disappointed about Kate’s (Charlotte Hegele) decision though. First off, I knew that Betty (Ali Liebert) is a lesbionic. Thankfully I didn’t have to wait for a long time, until she tried her lips on Kate’s. But I haven’t expected that Kate would use the “disgusting” word and turn on her evil father at the end. It promises an interesting storyline in the second season, but it seems illogical that Kate would be back in her old life, which she tried to run away from in the past years. It can’t be all about a simple lesbian kiss (no matter how same-sex relationships were seen as evil in the 40s).

Also, Lorna’s (Meg Tilly) story could have deserved a better kick. Her pregnancy story was cliché, but it was nice to see more of her family. I actually noticed for the first time that Sheila (Natasha Greenblatt) was her daughter. I can’t even remember Sheila before this episode. Also, nice that the writers “kind of” finished her little affair with Marco (Antonio Cupo). He isn’t much of an interesting character to stay on the show long-term, and the affair was probably good for nothing but the question, if he would be the father. Well, Lorna said he isn’t, now it’s all back to the big romance in a marriage, which could turn out to be interesting in season 2. Or not, because I don’t like Peter Outerbridge. Despite the fact that I liked Bob’s moment with Edith’s son Skip (Jake Goodman), telling him the truth.

Gladys’ (Jodi Balfour) drama was predictable. Also a bit confusing. Is James (Sebastian Pigott) an American, or why was he wearing a US uniform? I thought the show is set in Canada, which would also explain Bob’s words that the war would be over faster with the Americans’ involvement now. It could be that James is just a little American guy having a live in Canada, but te writers could have established that once. And if they did that and I missed that, they could have established it more than once. Anyway, I’m also confused that Gladys and James are back to being in love after the previous drama surrounding him. First, I don’t buy their love and affection for each other; second, is all the stuff from previous episodes forgotten already? Gladys behaves like she is in Vegas and needs to be married stat, just to kick her father in the balls.

And finally Vera (Anastasia Phillips). Nice that she isn’t forgotten. Finally she’s back with her crew, because otherwise her singled out storyline would have been even more boring. But of curse she would freak out in the factory – another predictable thing, but also another predictable scene I actually liked. Just her final scene was off for me. Is she screwing around with Atkins (Richard Fitzpatrick), just to get an office job, or is there a real affection behind it? If the latter is the case: How can it be, after she was off for a month?

By the way: Great way to put a timeline on the show in the season finale. After all the question when this show is set, it had to be Pearl Harbor, who gives the time and date of BOMB GIRLS. Well, at least I know. Now with the Americans getting involved in the war, the second season would mean more chaos. The US in a world war means more bomb making for the girls. I hope the writers have something up their sleeves, otherwise I wouldn’t even care whether this show is set during WWII, or in the 80s… 6.5/10

Reasons for flashbacks and some panic

There's also the clichéd conflict between father and daughter

Season 1, Episode 5
Date of airing: Feb 1, 2012 (Global)
Nielsen ratings information: unavailable (not in Top 30 of the week)

Now I know this miniseries was never actually a miniseries. Now I don’t ask myself anymore, why this series is delivering one stand-alone plot after another, and feels like a full-blown series. I don’t know if Shaw and/or Global should have marketed this series as a normal TV show, and not as a miniseries, because I saw the previous three episodes under the mantle of a miniseries. I don’t know if the difference would be big, or if I would love BOMB GIRLS more, when I thought of it as a real, probably long-living TV show. Now I know there will be a second season. I just wonder if I’m gonna watch it, because the show still kinda sucks.

I just don’t care about the characters. The cast is still looking great, and they all get something to do, but there is no real development throughout their stories, and at the end of the episode, there isn’t much that happened over the course of one hour. I mean, you could do much with Kate’s (Charlotte Hegele) singing career (if she should ever get one on Leon’s [Jim Codrington] side), but the writers need three episodes to get Leon and Kate somehow together and let her sing with him accompanying. The scene where Kate was singing was nice, but how important will this story be, when Kate doesn’t have much to do besides singing and flirting with Leon, as well as having a backdrop and a secret she is hiding from? As if the writers try to muddle Kate through the season, because they don’t want to have her in a bigger plot.

Or Gladys (Jodi Balfour), whose letter relationship with the soldier in the war zone finally gets some notice outside of her mind. I was actually forgetting all about the letter relationship she had. But I’m questioning if the writers brought it back, because they needed James (Sebastian Pigott) to know, or to show that there is actual love between James and Gladys. Something I have difficulties to believe in, even five episodes into the show now. In addition, their individual storyline wasn’t really mine. It’s nice that Gladys works on the floor without anyone knowing, but now she’s basically fighting for better food for the soldiers? This story could have been prepared much better, to make the scene with her parents at the table count. It was a kinda funny scene, but it didn’t have any impact with me, since the writers rather focused on James finding the letters, and making him fight with Gladys. At least James knows about the letters now, and he and Gladys somewhat work together to prove something, to show that they are not worthless in the lives of people without much money.

Lorna’s (Meg Tilly) story wasn’t exciting. It’s basically just a stupid secret love story, and then the writers decided to bring fear into another storyline. I liked the fear of losing her two boys though, because it brings some depth into Lorna and Bob’s (Peter Outerbridge) family history. So far, we only know that Bob got hurt while fighting, and that their two kids can also fall really soon. Other than that, there isn’t much to know about their marriage. Maybe that’s why Lorna is making out with Marco (Antonio Cupo), and maybe that’s why she’s so insecure.

Vera’s (Anastasia Phillips) story was alright though, despite the fact that it was obvious she wouldn’t kill herself. The story didn’t work well though, since she and Archie (Billy MacLellan) were missing in the last episode, which means that their story had to get the pace going in this episode. Which didn’t work. Some words about Vera still collecting the pills, just so she can kill herself, in the next scene she’s still alive (surprise surprise), and then all of a sudden Archie gets a boost towards death. Which just came from nowhere. The relationship between the two was nicely developed so far, but to make the death scene count (after all, Vera gave her suicide to Archie), the writers should have gone even deeper into their relationship. And since I also didn’t care about Vera much (especially since her character is completely shut out from the rest of the character pool, having a complete different life and story), I didn’t care about the fact that she helped Archie to death in a romantic-kinda way. 6/10

Speech from the experienced and husband-cheating lady

The last Hurrah

Season 1, Episode 4
Date of airing: Jan 25, 2012 (Global)
Nielsen ratings information: unavailable (not in Top 30 of the week)

Well, the episode was alright. BOMB GIRLS still doesn’t feel like a miniseries, but I have the feeling the writers are following some of the storylines more clearly now. Unfortunately, those storylines could be in any other show set in the 40s, 50s, 60s or 70s, and all the romantic arcs (either the rising love, or the upcoming fight between a couple) are not new either. I wonder if the writers knew from the beginning what stories to tell with this miniseries. Did they just take the theme of the Second World War and the bomb girls, because it was so unconsumed previously?

The code of conduct arc was the most interesting one, because it wasn’t just authentic, but it also had chances to develop to an interesting story, which hasn’t even to do with the war itself, but still be compelling for a show like this. During the first three episodes I always felt the writers were pushing the stories to the 40s, to theme them up with war, and to always (not) mention that the life back in the 40s was easy, yet still hard, thanks to the war. And with the code of conduct within the factory, the next two episodes could transform the story into something of an inside-story: how factories were working, how the workers were separated from each other, how the women’s rights could be considered worthy of what the women were doing. But then again I realize how this story was created, and that Lorna (Meg Tilly) just wanted to get the girls away from the boys. Because lovemaking makes women preggers, and the factory doesn’t want preggers. Pretty lame. Also, the irony of the story – Lorna flirting with Marco (Antonio Cupo), and basically breaking her own planned code of conduct – wasn’t working for me, because it looked silly. Again, a love story overshadows the real themes of this show. He wants her, she obviously doesn’t want him that much, but still throws her tongue into him, without actually giving a reason why she’s risking her marriage (and her own code of conduct, for that matter). Like a simple drama/soap series would be. But this is still a miniseries, so what’s the reason for this storyline, which could be in hundreds of different shows? It doesn’t even make BOMB GIRLS very much special.

The newsreel story wasn’t exciting though. I like that Betty (Ali Liebert) got the story, but I didn’t like that it was leading nowhere. I still believe Betty might be a lesbionic, and that she might be interested in Kate (Charlotte Hegele) (near the end, the two in the same bed, that gave me hope again), but absolutely nothing was shown to bring this story into this direction. And I’m thinking about this story possibility for three whole episodes now. Maybe I’m still thinking too much into it, and Betty and Kate are just BFFs, but at least make something out of the story to not let it look like a waste of time. Even when the writers haven’t planned to hook up Betty and Kate. In addition, the conflict between Russell (Graham Abbey) and the girls could have been stronger. At the end, Russell just seemed like a womanizer, hoping to get the best out of the news reel he is shooting, but nothing happened. Not even the fact that Betty was basically a fairy tale in the news reel made e squirm. Yes, this story hasn’t done anything, except wasting my time. Just a typical stand-alone storyline, and this in a miniseries…

Bob’s (Peter Outerbridge) story I found confusing. Either I didn’t pay attention again, or I don’t know about the letters, because the writers don’t fully explain it. I liked he was hanging around with Edith (Lisa Norton) and Skip (Jake Goodman), but I was missing a connection there. Especially since I don’t even know Bob as a character, and have only seen him together with Lorna. Same goes with Edith, so I don’t really know why the two had a storyline all by themselves.

And finally Gladys (Jodi Balfour) and her little conflicts – basically the only drama plot in the show at the moment. And the only storyline having reasons to be in it. Even though the part of her family could be integrated much better into the show. Obviously the writers don’t care about Gladys’ family, since they don’t appear anymore. Instead only James (Sebastian Pigott) has an appearance, but just because he made out with Hazel (Brittany Allen), and there needed to be a conflict between a future married couple. Which could also be in any other show. But why this story still matters is because of Gladys’ status. I’m still waiting for somebody to find out she’s working the floor. Teasing for four episodes her parents won’t like it – it’s time to make something real out of the teasing. 6/10

If this would be more than just friendship...

Lorna fell down, but still looks up

Season 1, Episode 3
Date of airing: Jan 18, 2012 (Global)
Nielsen ratings information: 1.103 million viewers

This episode was okay. Again, it didn’t feel like being part of a miniseries, and I’m thinking about the possibility that Global might be interested in turning BOMB GIRLS into a series. This is probably not true, but I can’t think of any other reason the writers didn’t put much focus into the stories. Instead this show is just about how Gladys (Jodi Balfour) wants to be a different woman than she is with James (Sebastian Pigott), how Kate (Charlotte Hegele) lives to be a different woman, and how Lorna (Meg Tilly) is going to be a different woman, after her experience and love romance with Marco (Antonio Cupo). There is nothing else about this show, which makes it kinda lame. At least it’s entertaining.

And now with Leon (Jim Codrington) being introduced as Kate’s possible romance for the second part of the episode, I kinda got my heart crushed with this episode. I was still thinking about the possibility of Betty (Ali Liebert) being a lesbian and having the hots for Kate. Yet nothing was teased this time here, and it all became another friendship storyline with Gladys. Which was definitely not wrong to do, but I was anticipating the lesbionic action in the second part of the miniseries. Now I’ll probably get the first relationship between a runaway and an African-Canadian in a TV show set in the 40s. Which is also not a wrong thing to do. The lesbians just get me every time.

The thief storyline with Hazel (Brittany Allen) was also okay. First I thought it could just be another “friendly fire” storyline between Gladys and the girls, but then it turned out to be an interesting storyline for the rest of the miniseries. I always wondered why the relationship between Gladys and James sucked like that, and now with Gladys’ mother (Kate Hennig) in the game, the whole engagement could literally blow up in everyone’s faces – which would be a nice little dramatic storyline in a show, which doesn’t have much drama offerings. In fact, now that Gladys knows James’ secrets, I expect for this storyline to become more available as a drama, to get more emotional and stuff. Not just dancing around the sub plot of Gladys becoming independent from her family. I also love that Gladys was hanging around with Betty and Kate. Now Kate has two friends (three with Leon). Seems like she’s gonna be the hero at the end.

Kate’s story was also okay, though her almost-rape was totally predictable. Thanks to that idiotic score coming up in that crucial scene. Wouldn’t the score have been there, the rape attempt could have been a bit surprising, but it was not like that. And with it, I knew that the real singer would turn up and save Kate’s day. I was just disappointed about Lorna’s story though. She really lets Marco kiss her? What a lame character she is all of a sudden. Two episodes ago she was hating him; this episode she pt the Italian paper in his locker, just so he disappears out of the factory and her life, and not even half an episode later they share a romantic kiss, and Lorna is open for some Italian cuisine in her life? Sorry, but I just can’t buy that Either she hates him or has a crush on him. One or the other. I know the one can result from the other, but it feels too damn forced here – as if the writers didn’t even know whether to have a spy arc with one of the factory workers, or not.

Vera’s (Anastasia Phillips) story was lame though. Didn’t care about her troubles, didn’t care whether she is taking the life in the hospital way too serious, didn’t care about collecting the pills (the suicide theme didn’t even go through properly). I was laughing about the scene, where she put the pills out of the cigarette package, into her hand, just so the audience can see that she hasn’t taken any sleeping pills. A completely ridiculous scene, which stole the “magic” from the scene, where Archie (Billy MacLellan) dropped the package and all the pills were falling out. That could have been a more dramatic scene, if you wouldn’t have had the info about Vera beforehand. Bad writing in this case. I also don’t really like she is the third character getting a romance plot here. This show is three episodes old, and has way too much love going on. Especially since it’s all about the Second World War… 6.5/10

Kate was almost raped

But instead she opted for helping Gladys in the rain

Season 1, Episode 2
Date of airing: Jan 11, 2012 (Global)
Nielsen ratings information: 1.153 million viewers

The episode was alright. Similar to the first episode, barely anything happened, there was no real focus, and the show doesn’t feel like a miniseries. It just has a couple of major characters, and then new stories are being created to fill the show. I don’t think the miniseries was created with a bigger story arc behind it all, which goes through all the episodes.

And you can’t call Gladys’ (Jodi Balfour) little storyline an ongoing arc for the show. In fact I don’t even know what’s going on with her character and her family. I somehow believe her father (James McGowan) does know about her job win the factory, yet she doesn’t really want to talk about it with her peeps. On the other side, James (Sebastian Pigott) is not involved in a story outside of the house, and when Gladys is working her job as a bomb girl, James is pretty much forgotten. No focus here, and the writers don’t know how and when to use the characters. The next thing is the story itself: a bomb exploding during a test, looking like part of an episodic plot – do you really have to create a story like this for a six-part miniseries? That’s what I mean why BOMB GIRLS does not feel like one: When you have to write a simple storyline in the second episode, how is the rest of the show going to look like, when there is no attacking of the time and dangerous job of the girls? Yes, a bomb exploding, and the episode showing that even this “dream job” for the women is not much of a dream, is dangerous, but it shows the writers don’t really understand the craft. Now I know why the writers of THE SLAP decided to adapt the point of views for their eight episodes – it was just much more of a miniseries than BOMB GIRLS is after two episodes.

The individual storylines were okay though. I liked Kate’s (Charlotte Hegele) better than anything else, but only because it was laughable how she saw the photo shoot as pornography, even though she wasn’t even undressing. The building of a friendship with Betty (Ali Liebert) is nice, and since she kept the pictures, I believe Betty is a lesbionic. That also means the writers just have created an ongoing character arc, which is definitely unique for this time period. Lesbians in the 40s, making bombs… could be interesting. Especially with Kate, who seems to learn about real life now. The pressure of getting a fake security check was idiotic though. Not even Lorna (Meg Tilly) was pressing the next day, even though she wanted to see the security check. That story was lamely executed, and had a shitty little outcome. When Lorna wants to see the security check, she better ask about it more than twice.

Gladys as the leader of a revolution among the girls was also alright. I just couldn’t stand how the other girls weren’t listening to Gladys first, and when the men started talking trash, they were all standing behind her. Too illogical, too fast. And especially after Edith (Lisa Norton) was fired, every other girl should have stood up for her own job and the job of a friend – not just Gladys. But hey, at least it happened.

Vera’s (Anastasia Phillips) story was also okay. Not much to talk about, except the make-up looked horrendous. I could see her hair behind the fake skin, that fake was the make-up. If you get such a complicated role, better be ready to go all the way. I would have shaved my head for that scene and wore a wig for the rest of the show. Okay, I’m a guy (but I have long hair, so it’s the same!). In addition, her story didn’t really go nowhere. She is in the hospital, hears some jokes against her, misses her friends and life in general… but doesn’t even cry, or isn’t getting a proper character arc.

And finally there is Lorna and Marco (Antonio Cupo). I thought she hated him for being Italian. And now they talk together like long-known acquaintances, and he kisses her? Way too much of a romantic plot, also boring. And why not continuing Lorna’s distrust against Marco? Especially after the disaster on the test field. When Marco came bleeding, I was waiting for Lorna to say something like “You blew them up” or something, just to fuel the hate between the two. But no, it seems like it’s becoming a romantic arc. WTF? 6/10

Misfire just happened

Misfire (into her) about to happen

Season 1, Episode 1
Date of airing: Jan 4, 2012 (Global)
Nielsen ratings information: 1.487 million viewers

If it wouldn’t be a miniseries, I probably would have cancelled the show after this episode. It has all the typical problems all fast-paced TV pilots have: It doesn’t focus on the characters in the stories, it doesn’t introduce me to the characters, and it wants to get as much story done as possible in the first episode. Damn, this is a miniseries, and you have the opportunity to show a part of the war past, which is basically unknown to the TV watching audience, and you fill it with simple and predictable TV character drama? Boring. I’d wish HBO would have taken the story and made a movie or miniseries out of it, because this was tiring.

The problem is that the episode went so fast into the world of the bomb girls, I never was able to get invested in the characters. Kate (Charlotte Hegele) and Gladys (Jodi Balfour), obviously the two major characters of the show besides Lorna (Meg Tilly), have both interesting character storylines, but both are being thrown into the story without getting a proper introduction. Same goes with the story. Instead of showing and telling what the position as a bomb girl in a factory is all about and why it is being considered the possibly best job in a woman’s life, and why it is so damn dangerous, the episode was literally speeding to the first scene where the girls are making the bombs. No introduction, no rules, no nothing. The episode could have been much better, if it would have spent 20 or 30 minutes in explaining why Kate wanted to run away from her old life, and why Gladys was so interested in doing the job, being somebody else than just a fiancée for a random guy, who couldn’t be more random. And finally there are the other girls whose names I can’t even remember, and whose stories couldn’t be more dwell. Disappointing character drawing, disappointing introduction into the story. A pilot needs to introduce, not throw the audience into the cold water.

That destroyed the whole experience of BOMB GIRLS being a period piece. It didn’t even feel like it was set in the 1940s. The picture was way too clear for my taste, the colors were fainted in a very clichéd production way (so that the lipstick and fingernail color can be noticeable at all times), the costumes were pretty standard, and not even the music was telling me that this show could be set in the 1940s. With the exception of the dance scene, I could have sworn it was a show set in the 60s, maybe 70s (see my ignorance about that time period?). I think the budget is the problem here, but when you want to have a show set in the 40s, you better get some money together to do it. Otherwise the look and feel of the show won’t make it easy to get the characters, the stories, and eventually the show itself. That the soundtrack was fucked up in one scene was another problem: Never fade out the score of a previous scene with the music coming from the next scene – especially when both pieces of music come from different eras. It sounded like I had a music player running in the background, and a movie playing in the foreground. It’s just not professional filmmaking.

At the end, I never cared about anything. Maybe Vera’s (Anastasia Phillips) freak accident, but that’s it. Maybe how Gladys wants to be seen by her father, but that’s it. Definitely some interesting points there, but they were so lifeless and dull. Going in high-speed through an important period piece is just a mistake. Take your time to build the characters, their relationships to each other, and how they are connected to the stories. Otherwise I’m just shrugging my shoulders and go over to the next TV show without thinking about BOMB GIRLS anymore. And you want to make your show good enough that audiences will remember, right? I won’t remember anything here. But I’m gonna watch the rest of the miniseries, because it still has a good premise. And the cast looks wonderful, though they are a bit too good-looking for the time era. Like a TheCW soap basically. 4/10

Please bend over to smoke!

Please do not cry, when your skull slowly rips off your head!