poliphilo: (corinium)
poliphilo ([personal profile] poliphilo) wrote2013-01-26 11:55 am

Father Brown For The Third Time

Spot the mistakes. I reckon there are at least seven in this sequence- ranging from subtle misunderstandings of the cultural ethos to full-blown doctrinal howlers. 

Father Brown is sacked (in the street) by his bishop- apparently for disobedience.  He is expected to vacate his parish at once.  He returns to the presbytery, takes off his collar and says he'll miss being in Holy Orders. The housekeeper- a young, leggy blonde- consoles him with a fish dinner. "But it's not Friday," he says. "Does that matter any more?" she asks.The following day the Bishop reinstates him after receiving a ticking off from the Cardinal Archbishop but warns him not to make "any more mistakes in the liturgy".

Wouldn't you expect a team making a TV show about a Catholic priest to have someone on board who understands Catholicism?

[identity profile] spike7451.livejournal.com 2013-01-26 02:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes, you would indeed.

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2013-01-26 03:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Mind you, I imagine similar complaints could be made about most cop shows and hospital dramas.

[identity profile] spike7451.livejournal.com 2013-01-27 11:15 am (UTC)(link)
Oh yes, especially some of the American shows.

[identity profile] ooxc.livejournal.com 2013-01-26 08:03 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm glad I'm not watching it - I'd be screaming -

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2013-01-26 08:21 pm (UTC)(link)
If you can overlook the ignorance of all things ecclesiastical and the lack of fidelity to Chesterton it's really rather sweet.

[identity profile] chochiyo-sama.livejournal.com 2013-01-27 05:00 am (UTC)(link)
Writers of TV series can't be bothered with such things as factual accuracy and research.

Two of my favorite insane inaccuracies are farm related. I grew up on a farm, so I know farming.

In one, a cartoon, a bull (deep, hoarse, uber masculine voice of Sam Elliot) was portrayed as having an udder. Every time the nieces and nephews watched this cartoon, I pictured Sam Elliot with a massive set of breasts. How stupid or thoughtless were these guys?

In the other, Jericho, a post-apocalyptic TV show, they were harvesting field corn from a completely green field of corn and talking about how this corn would be used to "feed the townspeople." First off, field corn is not for HUMAN consumption. It is for ANIMAL consumption. Second, it isn't ready for harvest until the corn stalk is dried up to a brown, dessicated skeleton.

It offended my sensibilities so much that I stopped watching the show.

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2013-01-27 08:58 am (UTC)(link)
There's really no excuse for it. In all these cases- yours and mine- it would take very little to check the facts. How the bull with an udder got through is beyond me. Surely someone on the production team knew the difference between a bull and a cow.

[identity profile] jfs.livejournal.com 2013-01-28 04:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Also witness the almost complete lack of understanding of what excommunication is in almost every drama where it turns up.