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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:DVD
According to theatre superstitions, "Macbeth" is cursed -- and since everything in New Burbage appears to be cursed anyway, you know things are gonna go south. "Slings and Arrows Season 2" is a joyously strange return to the world of Shakespearean plays and disastrous theatrical matters, this time centering around the infamous Scottish play.
"Hamlet" is over for the season, and things are seemingly looking up for Geoffrey -- especially when Ellen dumps her teenage lover and reunites with him. But there's a fly in the ointment: he's expected to put on "Macbeth," which he doesn't want to.
And he starts running into troubles right away -- eight boxes of production notes, new interns, financial woes, a disrespectful diva as the lead, and the "Romeo and Juliet" director falling off the stage and breaking her neck. What's more, Oliver's ghost has made a reappearance, and he's determined to have Geoffrey put on the infamous Scottish play properly -- only to have things spin out of control yet again.
And other theatre people have problems as well: Ellen is being audited, and Darren Nichols (Don McKellar) returns to take over "Romeo And Juliet," and promptly turns it into a passionless avant-garde affair. Most importantly, Richard's attempts to keep their finances stable blows up in his face when he signs up for an edgy, controversial ad campaign -- and ends up alienating EVERYBODY. Is it the end for the New Burbage theatre?
"Slings and Arrows Season 2" is a slightly more cheerful affair than the first season, mainly because most of the bitterness has been exorcised and Geoffrey is now firmly entrenched as artistic director. But that doesn't mean that it doesn't have its fair share of grim moments (poor Richard almost has a nervous breakdown -- and a very creepy dream sequence involving an axe).
The writers deftly juggle the various plot threads and eventually weave them together for the grand finale, when everything somehow comes together in time for the new season. And the entire series is imbued with plenty of dry, witty humor ("Oliver Welles is dead! I poured him in the river and swans ate him!") and humorous moments (the distinctive "look" for Romeo and Juliet involves metal cages and chess hats).
But there are a few flaws -- the resolution of the "Disaster Ad Campaign" plot feels rather contrived, and there's a random scene where Ellen sleeps with her brother-in-law. Who knows why?
Martha Burns and Paul Gross are actually better than in the first season, mainly because Geoffrey and Ellen are now a couple living together (most of the time) and running into some problems separating their personal and professional life. Stephen Ouimette remains deliciously dry and funny as Oliver; David Alpay and Joanne Kelly are adorable as the young lovers in "Romeo and Juliet" -- onstage and off. Turns out... he's not gay.
While it has some potholes along the way, "Slings and Arrows Season 2" is a fun revisit to the world of sets, stages and disastrous plays. And it leaves you wanting an encore.
"Hamlet" is over for the season, and things are seemingly looking up for Geoffrey -- especially when Ellen dumps her teenage lover and reunites with him. But there's a fly in the ointment: he's expected to put on "Macbeth," which he doesn't want to.
And he starts running into troubles right away -- eight boxes of production notes, new interns, financial woes, a disrespectful diva as the lead, and the "Romeo and Juliet" director falling off the stage and breaking her neck. What's more, Oliver's ghost has made a reappearance, and he's determined to have Geoffrey put on the infamous Scottish play properly -- only to have things spin out of control yet again.
And other theatre people have problems as well: Ellen is being audited, and Darren Nichols (Don McKellar) returns to take over "Romeo And Juliet," and promptly turns it into a passionless avant-garde affair. Most importantly, Richard's attempts to keep their finances stable blows up in his face when he signs up for an edgy, controversial ad campaign -- and ends up alienating EVERYBODY. Is it the end for the New Burbage theatre?
"Slings and Arrows Season 2" is a slightly more cheerful affair than the first season, mainly because most of the bitterness has been exorcised and Geoffrey is now firmly entrenched as artistic director. But that doesn't mean that it doesn't have its fair share of grim moments (poor Richard almost has a nervous breakdown -- and a very creepy dream sequence involving an axe).
The writers deftly juggle the various plot threads and eventually weave them together for the grand finale, when everything somehow comes together in time for the new season. And the entire series is imbued with plenty of dry, witty humor ("Oliver Welles is dead! I poured him in the river and swans ate him!") and humorous moments (the distinctive "look" for Romeo and Juliet involves metal cages and chess hats).
But there are a few flaws -- the resolution of the "Disaster Ad Campaign" plot feels rather contrived, and there's a random scene where Ellen sleeps with her brother-in-law. Who knows why?
Martha Burns and Paul Gross are actually better than in the first season, mainly because Geoffrey and Ellen are now a couple living together (most of the time) and running into some problems separating their personal and professional life. Stephen Ouimette remains deliciously dry and funny as Oliver; David Alpay and Joanne Kelly are adorable as the young lovers in "Romeo and Juliet" -- onstage and off. Turns out... he's not gay.
While it has some potholes along the way, "Slings and Arrows Season 2" is a fun revisit to the world of sets, stages and disastrous plays. And it leaves you wanting an encore.
Format:DVD
The second series of Slings and Arrows continues almost directly after the first. Geoffrey Tennant is now artistic director of the New Burbage festival, but still haunted by the ghost of Oliver Wells. He has been asked to put on a performance of Macbeth - a play he does not want to direct. Add to that he has to work from Oliver's notes and has a leading man who believes he knows how to play Macbeth and will not allow any changes to his performance, and that he is now entering a romance with Ellen, who is undergoing a tax audit, and once again you have a heady mixture of comedy, farce, drama and observation on life in six fifty minute episodes.
Season 2 isn't quite as good as the first series (or the third) but it is still high quality writing and acting. I think what took me out of it was the story of the other play being put on by the vile Darren, Romeo and Juliet. In it we are given a character who is supposed to be gay who falls for his leading lady and I'm not sure what the message is supposed to be. That and the two actors playing the actors playing Romeo and Juliet aren't as good as the others. But the rest is great. This show deserves a much wider audience.
Season 2 isn't quite as good as the first series (or the third) but it is still high quality writing and acting. I think what took me out of it was the story of the other play being put on by the vile Darren, Romeo and Juliet. In it we are given a character who is supposed to be gay who falls for his leading lady and I'm not sure what the message is supposed to be. That and the two actors playing the actors playing Romeo and Juliet aren't as good as the others. But the rest is great. This show deserves a much wider audience.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
26 reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Sure It's Sophisticated--But It's Darn Funny Too
26 Sep 2006
Format:DVD
If anyone had told me a year ago that my favorite program on television would be a Canadian import about a Shakespearean theater troupe, I would have had my doubts. But Season 1 of "Slings and Arrows" beguiled me. So droll and sophisticated, but with moments of sheer slapstick, I was absolutely enchanted. The writing was so smart, so funny, the performances spot on--including Paul Gross and Rachel McAdams (two of the more familiar actors for American audiences). It ended in six episodes and I wistfully said good-bye to a near brilliant show. I had no idea there was more to come.
So I was delighted when I heard Season 2 was on it's way. But I was also doubtful. Could they really mine the same material and come up with another winner? To my mind, they did that and even more. I enjoyed it every bit as much.
This season there was less back story, so it dealt more specifically about the inner workings of actually staging a couple of shows. The misadventures of producing the cursed "MacBeth" is definitely the highpoint. It might have been the funniest thing on TV last season, seriously. Add subplots about theater ingenues in "Romeo and Juliet" (McAdams says farewell in episode 1, so there's a new ingenue), a romance found/lost/found, and plenty of wit--and you have a delight. One subplot about an experimental advertising campaign to lure new traffic to the theater festival is perfection. As someone who has been a season subscriber in the LA theater scene for over ten years, this was particularly hysterical to me--how much truth there was.
But, trust me, you don't have to be a theater goer or a Shakespeare enthusiast to enjoy this program. But you do have to enjoy smart, sophisticated entertainment with top notch performances. I have shown this series to a couple of friends who would NEVER have sampled it on their own. They were surprised how identifiable it was and how funny!!!
Watch this--and if you haven't seen Season 1, what's stopping you? KGHarris, 9/06.
So I was delighted when I heard Season 2 was on it's way. But I was also doubtful. Could they really mine the same material and come up with another winner? To my mind, they did that and even more. I enjoyed it every bit as much.
This season there was less back story, so it dealt more specifically about the inner workings of actually staging a couple of shows. The misadventures of producing the cursed "MacBeth" is definitely the highpoint. It might have been the funniest thing on TV last season, seriously. Add subplots about theater ingenues in "Romeo and Juliet" (McAdams says farewell in episode 1, so there's a new ingenue), a romance found/lost/found, and plenty of wit--and you have a delight. One subplot about an experimental advertising campaign to lure new traffic to the theater festival is perfection. As someone who has been a season subscriber in the LA theater scene for over ten years, this was particularly hysterical to me--how much truth there was.
But, trust me, you don't have to be a theater goer or a Shakespeare enthusiast to enjoy this program. But you do have to enjoy smart, sophisticated entertainment with top notch performances. I have shown this series to a couple of friends who would NEVER have sampled it on their own. They were surprised how identifiable it was and how funny!!!
Watch this--and if you haven't seen Season 1, what's stopping you? KGHarris, 9/06.
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Bit of a decline but still wonderful
24 Aug 2006
Format:DVD
The first season of Slings and Arrows was the best thing to turn up on English language television in I don't know how many years. The second seasons sags a bit in the middle but recovers wonderfully by the end. The problem has to do with spurious, often unconvincing plot contrivances intended to keep the principal characters busy for six episodes. They seem hastily conceived. The worst of them has to do with an ad agency; others have to do with a tax examination and a couple of romances, BUT: despite these patches of weak writing, the original characters, and a couple of new ones, are as appealing as before, the individual and ensemble acting are superb as ever, and the simultaneously warm and unsparing comedy seems a kind of miracle. The wrap-up, involving Banquo (in the production of Macbeth) and a side-effect of a rescued production of Romeo and Juliet, is wonderfully written and played and seems an augury of better days ahead in the third and apparently final season. I give this four stars only to provide a contrast with the sublime first season. This is still nearly solid gold.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
An already superb series gets even better
24 April 2007
Format:DVD
As fine as Season One of this truly wonderful series was, Season Two was, in my opinion, even better. The series takes us even deeper into the characters, sharpens the humor, thickens the plot, and delves even more deeply into Shakespeare than in Season One. Viewing Season One did not make me want to rush out and read HAMLET, but Season Two did make me rush out to read MACBETH.
This ability to multitask is what makes SLINGS AND ARROWS such a wonderful series. It manages to do several things on several different levels remarkably well. I've read several books on Shakespeare, including those by Stephen Greenblatt, Peter Levi, and Stanley Cavell, as well as the wonderful prefaces by Samuel Johnson, but I can honestly say that I got as much insight from many wonderful little moments in this series as in any of those. Cavell is brilliant, but some of his essays are so far removed from the play that I'm not sure what work of art he is discussing (I'm reminded of somebody's--I'm not sure who--comment about James Agee's film criticism that it takes you directly into the heart of a film; Cavell is brilliant, but I never felt Shakespeare's pulse reading him).
As funny as the show was in Season One, it got even funnier in Season Two. The bits about the "rebranding" firm Frog and Hammer are among the funniest things I've ever seen on TV. I always enjoy Colm Feore, but his turn as Sanjay, the head of Frog and Hammer, is the best thing I've ever seen him do. The twists and turns of his character are simply brilliant.
The backstage drama is even more engrossing, as Geoffrey "collaborates" with Oliver in staging a version of MACBETH based on the latter's design for the play. The collaboration consists not merely of Geoffrey pouring over Oliver's notes, but through long conversations with Oliver's ghost. The writing is sharper than ever with wonderful parallels between what is happening in the play (inside the play) and the events in the various characters' lives. Each of the three seasons features some difficulty with the lead actor (Season One with a Hollywood star playing the title role in HAMLET; Season Three with a dying actor in the role of LEAR). This year Henry Breedlove (played by Geraint Wyn Davies, perhaps most familiar from his recent appearance on 24 and as the vampire detective in FOREVER KNIGHT) is a distinguished stage actor who has played Macbeth before and sees no reason to play the role any differently than he has before. Geoffrey's task is to shake him up and make him bring some life to the role, to take some risks instead of doing the same old thing.
The great misfortune with SLINGS AND ARROWS is that we only got three seasons and a total of 18 episodes. But perhaps it is as good as it is because they deliberately limited how much they did. FAWLTY TOWERS is frequently considered the finest comedy series ever (the BBC did a poll on the finest BBC series ever and it snagged the Number One slot). But it was limited to only 12 half hour episodes. Perhaps it is a lesson that more networks could learn that sometimes less truly is more.
This ability to multitask is what makes SLINGS AND ARROWS such a wonderful series. It manages to do several things on several different levels remarkably well. I've read several books on Shakespeare, including those by Stephen Greenblatt, Peter Levi, and Stanley Cavell, as well as the wonderful prefaces by Samuel Johnson, but I can honestly say that I got as much insight from many wonderful little moments in this series as in any of those. Cavell is brilliant, but some of his essays are so far removed from the play that I'm not sure what work of art he is discussing (I'm reminded of somebody's--I'm not sure who--comment about James Agee's film criticism that it takes you directly into the heart of a film; Cavell is brilliant, but I never felt Shakespeare's pulse reading him).
As funny as the show was in Season One, it got even funnier in Season Two. The bits about the "rebranding" firm Frog and Hammer are among the funniest things I've ever seen on TV. I always enjoy Colm Feore, but his turn as Sanjay, the head of Frog and Hammer, is the best thing I've ever seen him do. The twists and turns of his character are simply brilliant.
The backstage drama is even more engrossing, as Geoffrey "collaborates" with Oliver in staging a version of MACBETH based on the latter's design for the play. The collaboration consists not merely of Geoffrey pouring over Oliver's notes, but through long conversations with Oliver's ghost. The writing is sharper than ever with wonderful parallels between what is happening in the play (inside the play) and the events in the various characters' lives. Each of the three seasons features some difficulty with the lead actor (Season One with a Hollywood star playing the title role in HAMLET; Season Three with a dying actor in the role of LEAR). This year Henry Breedlove (played by Geraint Wyn Davies, perhaps most familiar from his recent appearance on 24 and as the vampire detective in FOREVER KNIGHT) is a distinguished stage actor who has played Macbeth before and sees no reason to play the role any differently than he has before. Geoffrey's task is to shake him up and make him bring some life to the role, to take some risks instead of doing the same old thing.
The great misfortune with SLINGS AND ARROWS is that we only got three seasons and a total of 18 episodes. But perhaps it is as good as it is because they deliberately limited how much they did. FAWLTY TOWERS is frequently considered the finest comedy series ever (the BBC did a poll on the finest BBC series ever and it snagged the Number One slot). But it was limited to only 12 half hour episodes. Perhaps it is a lesson that more networks could learn that sometimes less truly is more.
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