Hmmmmm. I'm not sure about this one. How can you possibly talk about Blackpool without mentioning Denis Potter? Lazy journalism? Hardly.
Blackpool is different. In a bad way, sadly.
The thing is this: in Potter's work the characters mime. In Blackpool they sing over the soundtrack. It's probably cheaper. It certainly sounds cheaper. But the biggest difference is the impromptu musical numbers don't make any sense!
In The Signing Detective the musical numbers take place in Marlowe's head. You can explain them away as the result of too many painkillers, depression, guilt and an overactive imagination. In Blackpool these "events" occur consensually between the characters. So it's really a musical where a) they can't be bothered to write any original songs and b) the actors don't really have to sign all that well.
This is a shame. I love David Morrissey and while the plot is compelling in its own right, I get the impression that it's being padded out with these whacky, irrelevant song and dance numbers. Maybe they'll grow on me. But what's the point? Morrissey lets us know that his character, Ripley Holden, is a money grabbing opportunist through his acting and the incisive dialogue. We don't need to see him signing 'You Can Get It If You Really Want It'. It just feels forced and self-indulgent.
You can also tell that Blackpool is 'whacky' because it uses twangy David Lynch music. Not a good sign this sign of the Millennium.
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