So that’s what the scissors were for. The opening credits of Doctor Foster (BBC1) have been puzzling millions for weeks, with images of objects falling sideways through water — a lipstick, a tie, sunglasses and, ominously, that pair of scissors.
Now we know. Snip, snip, snip.
For a male viewer, the finale made uncomfortable viewing, TV to be watched with your legs crossed and your hands cupped protectively on your lap.
The opening credits of Doctor Foster have been puzzling millions for weeks, with images of objects falling sideways through water — a lipstick, a tie, sunglasses and, ominously, that pair of scissors
For a male viewer, the finale made uncomfortable viewing, TV to be watched with your legs crossed and your hands cupped protectively on your lap
All the way through, the most unsettling aspect of the story was that Gemma wasn’t nearly as likeable as her stupid, faithless husband. He was allergic to honesty, he bankrupted his family with inept business schemes, he had the morals of a stoat on heat and the maturity of a puppy, but Simon was a charmer
The first 20 minutes were excruciating, watch-through-your-fingers viewing, as Gemma used a dinner party as the stage to strip Simon and his 23-year-old lover of everything — home, business, family, dignity
Wronged wife Gemma, played with barely hinged intensity by Suranne Jones, exacted a surgically ruthless vengeance on her feeble husband Simon (Bertie Carvel). The only mercy was that this divorce drama wasn’t set at Christmas — otherwise bits of Simon would have been dangling from the tree with the baubles.
All the way through, the most unsettling aspect of the story was that Gemma wasn’t nearly as likeable as her stupid, faithless husband. He was allergic to honesty, he bankrupted his family with inept business schemes, he had the morals of a stoat on heat and the maturity of a puppy, but Simon was a charmer.
We could even forgive him for constantly calling his young son ‘mate’, because he just wanted to be friends with everyone.
Boiling with anger, his wife put her finger on it in their final row: he always looked as if he was about to smile. Carvel, an actor in the Hugh Laurie mould who was born to play nice-but-dim, Bertie Wooster roles, was perfect casting.
Gemma lacked his sweet appeal. None of her friends thought she deserved him, even though it was her money that had kept a roof over their heads for years.
Kate partied with …
We didn’t like her any better at the end of it. And as Gemma overplayed her hand later, trying and failing to split up her neighbours’ marriage out of spite, it was clear she didn’t like herself either
Did we really want to see her eviscerating this man? The first 20 minutes were excruciating, watch-through-your-fingers viewing, as Gemma used a dinner party as the stage to strip Simon and his 23-year-old lover of everything — home, business, family, dignity.
EXTRAVAGANZA OF THE NIGHT
Extravaganza of the night: Ex-WAG Jude was planning her divorce party in Britain’s Flashiest Families (C5), to celebrate her split from footballer Djibril Cisse. On her wishlist: drag queens, stilt walkers and a ‘naked chocolateer’. Whatever that last one is, I don’t think I want to know.
We didn’t like her any better at the end of it. And as Gemma overplayed her hand later, trying and failing to split up her neighbours’ marriage out of spite, it was clear she didn’t like herself either.
This was emotionally complex television, which was unexpected after the madly improbable plotting of the first two episodes.
It reached a peak when Gemma produced those scissors and then a lock of hair, goading her husband to believe that she had murdered their son rather than let him grow up to be a lying weasel like his dad.
If you believed she was capable of killing her own child — and I confess that for a few crucial moments, I did — then the verdict was in: you were instinctively more on Simon’s side than Gemma’s
The ambiguity was spoiled a minute later when the weasel turned nasty, smashing his wife’s face into a pane of glass. Now we had no choice about taking sides
The ending was heavy-handed, too, with our new divorcee rushing to save the life of a stranger in the street
If you believed she was capable of killing her own child — and I confess that for a few crucial moments, I did — then the verdict was in: you were instinctively more on Simon’s side than Gemma’s.
The ambiguity was spoiled a minute later when the weasel turned nasty, smashing his wife’s face into a pane of glass. Now we had no choice about taking sides.
The ending was heavy-handed, too, with our new divorcee rushing to save the life of a stranger in the street.
The million pound property that will make you want to move to the Scottish borders: Writes CHRISTOPHER STEVENS
Million Pound Properties
Rating:
Perhaps Doctor Foster hopes her next post will be at Holby City. On a mere GP’s salary, perhaps barely scraping a hundred grand a year, she would be well advised to stay away from practising in Kensington and Chelsea, where one former NHS employee was trying to sell his flat for £1.1 million on Million Pound Properties (C4).
He was a former chief executive with a knighthood — the voiceover called him ‘Sir Ron’ so many times that you’d almost suspect C4 of taking the mickey. But his flat, in a Thirties brick apartment block overlooking a busy road, was a poor advertisement for millionairedom.
The kitchen was barely bigger than the cooker, and the bathtub was half-sized: for a million quid, you’d be scrubbing your back with your knees under your chin. There was a balcony, according to estate agent Toby, though most people would have called it a windowsill.
At the other end of the country, in the Scottish borders, a million or so would get you a castle with around seven bedrooms and a salmon river running through the grounds.
Which would you choose? The dilemmas in this show were slightly less perplexing.
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