The Reckoning - BBC1 - Steve Coogan

Agent Coulson

This could be a hard watch a 4 part factual drama airing over the next two weeks on the BBC.

Starts tonight on BBC 1 with first episode, episode 2 will air tomorrow and episodes 3/4 will air next Monday and Tuesday.

Steve Coogan plays Jimmy Savile and it has been made with the help of some of the survivors of Savile who wavied their anonymity and will feature in the series

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wud_ofC2rAI&ab_channel=BBCTrailers

The Black Oil

Is that voices of real people dotted through the promo?

Princess Calla

It will be a hard watch but I have it set to record.

Birneybau

It was a hard watch

mikep

I thought Coogan was brilliant. He really has Savilles mannerisms done well.

A very disturbing episode and only going to get worse!

Princess Calla

Honestly thought it was very slow.

JeffreyEpspeen

Coogan's excellent as Savile. No great surprise he's taken him off so well given the fantastic impression I've seen him do of a rural Irishman. This was very good. You knew they were going to have pull some punches given how gratuitous he was, but it was still suitably disturbing without being too lurid.

Birneybau

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121216226#Comment_121216226

What kind of show were you expecting?

Not a dig

Princess Calla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121216337#Comment_121216337

I get they were setting the foundations.

However his career spanned over 50 years. Unless I missed a timestamp, which tbh is likely ( I watch everything with subtitles so there can be overlap, or just mind drifting) we're still in the sixties .

I just expected the pace to be faster. It's just not hitting me as hard as I thought it would (yet).

runningbuddy

Watched the first episode. Coogan is outstanding and has Saville’s malevolence to a tee. It’s a very tough watch though

Birneybau

This is not a complaint but Partridge and Savile share the traits of a monstrous ego

Birneybau

Second episode flies along and is more harrowing

Princess Calla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121216658#Comment_121216658

Did you watch "the sixth commandment" another true story.

I knew nothing about it, but I was sobbing through that. Extremely hard watch, but excellent. (Don't want to build it up, but it definitely stayed with me)

Birneybau

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121217067#Comment_121217067

I haven't and I don't really want to after your description.

Birneybau

I watched three episodes last night (iPlayer/etc).

BBC doesn't let itself away with anything.

Ash.J.Williams

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121216230#Comment_121216230

Haven't seen it yet but fair play to Coogan, I'd say many actors would view it a poisoned chalice

El Gato De Negocios

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121217406#Comment_121217406

Tbh from watching episode 1, my opinion is that the show is the BBCs own act of contrition and owning what it as an organisation allowed happen.

Princess Calla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121217396#Comment_121217396

Ah no it is a good watch. There was a thread on here at the time.

Everyone involved were adults.

fabvinny

Coogan was fantastic I thought. Had all the mannerisms of him down to a tee. Hard watch.

runningbuddy

Started second episode last night but did not have the stomach for it but will watch as Coogan is simply fantastic. I like the fact that some of Savile's victims are involved in the series too. What a complete and utter sadist

jos28

Coogan was amazing as Savile. The mannerisms, the creepiness, the way his face changed just before he did something awful was tremendous. I know he has said that he was extremely proud of Philomena, he should be equally proud of this.

JeffreyEpspeen

I've read the book by Dan Davies, researched a lot of what happened, and I don't recall Savile having any victims from a minority background. Trust this show to sort that out good and proper and make sure he has a minority victim to tick that box. The McAlpine girl who killed herself after getting into a relationship and getting impregnated by Savile after meeting on Top of the Pops was white. Not sure what the point is of changing her race for the show. They wouldn't make Ray Teret black.

Anyways, second episode lost a bit of steam for me. Clunky in parts and momentum stalled. Hopefully episode 3 picks up again.

Princess Calla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121221065#Comment_121221065

I'd say considering there was an inquest into her death it would be easy enough to prove it happened and her heritage.

I can't see them making a balls on something like that as it would ruin credibility.

Yeah scenes are added for dramatic purposes, but I doubt that was one of them.

Princess Calla

Yeah you can really see the predator coming out in this episode I thought.

How trusting parents were in those days, not just with him, but in general.

What was the story with the surgical spirits...what am I missing there?

NIMAN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121216212#Comment_121216212

Just watched 1st episode.

Not sold on his mannerisms. Yes he's got it quite good, but it's very like his Stan Laurel mixed in with Savile.

Atlantic Dawn

Finished this last night, thought Coogan was brilliant.

Spoiler Warning

Was great seeing his ultimate demise and lack of relevance in the final episodes particularly around his heart surgery period with him being nothing but a spent cigar smelling, piss stinking dirty old man.

I thought it was odd that the Louis Theroux documentary When Louis Met Jimmy didn't feature as part of the flashbacks of his life to see what his reaction was to how that went for him. Looking at Wikipedia it went out on April 2000 so should have been relevant to what was going on at the time, investigations seemed to have got more serious within the BBC around then.

odyssey06

Powerful stuff, harrowing acting but a tough watch emotionally. I'm not sure if I'll get through to the end and I suspect won't be alone in that. Think I would have presented it as a film and an accompanying documentary rather than mixing the two together. But there is no denying the power of presenting it that way.

I wonder will we see more mainly drama focused series presented that way. Typically "drama documentaries" are heavier on the documentary than drama.

artvanderlay

https://youtu.be/5MQCMNz_aAs?si=2LaVawQ8B5fk5iSC

Interesting fact: Coogan used to do the voice of Saville on Spitting Image!

How's about that then?!

Lollipop95

Is there anyway to watch apart from on iPlayer? I don’t have a VPN

fritzelly

As a kid of the 70's and watching Jim'll Fix It this was a very worth while watch. Didn't know he was into boys and necrophilia as well

Coogan was good but wouldn't say he personified him, lots of things I didn't know about Savile brought to light

Harrowing but very worthy of a watch - a sex mad pervert that tried to get it where ever he could (jaysus even his own mother ughh, tho that is only implied it wouldn't surprise me). If anyone has seen Gen V and any hole...

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121230371#Comment_121230371

I know its easy to say this with hindsight, but I remember watching Jim'll Fix it in the 80's and finding him seriously creepy. I probably didnt know the word creepy in those days but felt something very strange about him. I remember wanting to do something (can't remember what now), and my mum suggested I write to Jim'll Fix it, and me going "Erm, no thanks".

Have watched Episode 1 and found it excellent. I saw another drama a while ago called National Treasure, starring Robbie Coultrane. It's purely fiction, but is clearly based on Saville. I'd recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it.