The flipside of Dominick Hide

[Fianna]

American Dad had a fun, quick take on time travel adultery:

"Honey, it was 1970, it was before I knew you."

like Doctor Who if he was a douchebag with a silly hat

Depending on the incarnation of the Doctor, that "if" may be unnecessary.

[ozduck]

I am old enough to have watched this show on its first run in Australia in about 1981. I have always had fond memories of it even though I don't think that I have seen it for over 30 years. It is very much of its time but as I was around for that time it doesn't seem all that odd to me. Peter Firth was actually a pretty big 'name' when he did this show. He had already received both a Tony Award nomination in 1974 and then a 1978 Academy Award nomination for Equus.

I don't think that he was as much of an anti-hero as was Gary Sparrow. The mores in his 'future' society did not seem to have the same attitude to affairs as those current in both of the time periods in Goodnight Sweetheart. Gary definitely behaved poorly towards Yvonne and knew that he was doing so. He basically 'ran away' from his life because it was hard and he was not coping with a wife who was more successful and a much stronger personalty than him. She may have been saying some harsh things to him but I think that he deserved a lot of them.

I am interested in how the two shows will be rated after the second one is shown. I must admit I can't recall the plotline of the second one.

[Riedquat]

I found it interesting the jobs of the future people, observing history. Not sightseeing like many stories but a 9 to 5 watching the past. And not even historical events only but seemingly mundane things. I wonder what is the purpose of like Dominick's job, observing transport systems in a London. I can't see much use out of doing so. Maybe an effort to observe and record all of history, even the forgotten details like bus routes?

There are all sorts of things people would love to know about ordinary day to day life in the past, exactly how what must've been very mundane tasks to the people who did them were actually done.

[CrypticMirror]

I don't think that he was as much of an anti-hero as was Gary Sparrow. The mores in his 'future' society did not seem to have the same attitude to affairs as those current in both of the time periods in Goodnight Sweetheart. Gary definitely behaved poorly towards Yvonne and knew that he was doing so. He basically 'ran away' from his life because it was hard and he was not coping with a wife who was more successful and a much stronger personalty than him. She may have been saying some harsh things to him but I think that he deserved a lot of them.

Yeah, Gary was a self-entitled loser. In the pilot of GS he was upset because Yvonne was taking an Open University [correspondence school] course to improve their already quite good [UK] middle class lifestyle. Gary is a tv repairman. And he literally, not figuratively, has no friends so he is moping around. He meets his only contemporary friend, Ron, via Yvonne. And instead of motivating himself to improve his lot in his present day, he just mopes and whines. Then he falls back through time to the Blitz, and he basically cheat-codes his way through life there. Even then, even with all the advantages of being able to look stuff up in the history books, he still needs Ron to help him out [Ron is a printer and can make fake 1940s money].

Gary mopes around, cheat coding through WWII life, and being manifestly unhappy in his contemporary marriage yet never doing anything to improve his lot with Yvonne despite her best efforts. In fact Yvonne, through her own efforts, manages to level up to becoming an actual Millionaire. Maybe that is why Gary never divorces her? Gary even manages to get arrested for drunk driving by trying to start his van while actually talking to a copper who warns him not to do it and yet he still does, drunk driving is a very serious offence in the UK, but even then Gary refuses to take the blame for screwing up his own life and feels sorry for himself. Gary Sparrow is trash.

Dominick on the other hand, while still being an ass at times, at least hast he excuse of coming from a society which is missing out on a lot of social cues. He gets in over his head. And, not excusing some of his more questionable decisions, does self correct when he realises he's screwed up. Sometimes he needs bashed over the head with the explanation at times, but he flipping owns his mistakes when he makes them. Gary never really takes ownership of his own mistakes or failings. Part of that is the needs of writing for an ongoing comedy-drama show that needs a bit more character exaggeration, whereas Flipside is a straight one-off romantic drama, but mainly it is because Gary Sparrow is an asshole. Dominick can be an ass, but Gary is an asshole.

I am interested in how the two shows will be rated after the second one is shown. I must admit I can't recall the plotline of the second one.

Another Flip For Dominick is a bit generic and timey-wimey. It is not as good. Another time traveller fucks up, and Dominick -having had experience in fucking up- is sent to fix things. Which he, because he is capable of being an ass, he combines with checking in with Jane to see how her and his greatgrandfather-son are getting on. I have more to say on that, but it can wait. It is not quite as bad as it sounds.