First, the program is just beautiful. It makes my heart sing every week, much as Ballykissangel and Monarch of the Glen did.
In Britain, you have something we don't in American television. You have the tradition of the McGuffin-- the reason for the trip, as Alfred Hitchcock once explained it. Your television dramas and comedies are infinitely richer for it.
In Rocket Man, the McGuffin is the idea of sending Bethan Stevenson's ashes into space. It is incidental to what the story arc is really about: the relationships of all the people in this Welsh township and the resurrection of their pride in themselves and each other.
Until George began his project, the spirit of the town and its people were as dead as Barney's, well, "attempts" at getting his wife pregnant.
Each week, the personalities and hidden talents of the people and the township unfurl like a parachute falling from the sky.
It seems everybody rallies around George and his impossible dream, including the Asian owner of the candy factory at which the former employees of the local factory now work.
Just brilliant! And I LOVE the symbolism being used throughout. Bravo to Allison Hume (the writer) and David Strong (the director) for that.
This is the fourth program in which I've seen Mr. Green perform. That each one is a magnificent ensemble piece, from Touching Evil to Wire in the Blood to Christmas Lights and now Rocket Man, is a testament to Mr. Green's uncanny ability to pick quality script material. Having acted in high school and college theater myself, friends, that is no small task.
I sincerely hope BBC America telecasts Northern Lights 1 and, as I understand it, 2 when it is available. I also hope that they continue to telecast each new episode of Wire in the Blood and anything else in which Mr. Green appears.
Cheers!
