Dodger

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So how do Dodger and Mister Charlie meet? The story begins dramatically enough, with a young lady being thrown from a carriage by two thugs. When Dodger witnesses this, all his protective instincts and indignation rise to the fore, and when the young lady appeals to him he takes on the pair singlehandedly. Two toffs arrive: Charlie and his friend Henry, and all three decide where to take the young lady, Dodger and Mister Charlie having agreed that Henry and his wife are the ones best placed to safeguard her life. They call the young lady “Simplicity”, and we learn she has lost her unborn child in this brutal episode, and later discover that she has escaped the torment of a loveless marriage to an unknown nobleman “from one of the Germanys”. She remains in mortal peril. I wasn't feeling the love. They just ...were. Also, (yes, they attempted to fix this at the end and her husband was trash) she was still married at the end.

The plot itself rather reminds me of the vintage heartwarming variety of nineteenth- or early twentieth- century children’s stories-- Cheaper by the Dozen, The Secret Garden, The Little Princess, Enchanted Castle--that sort of thing. Like those stories, Dodger isn’t particularly suspenseful--it’s clear from the first scene that Dodger will triumph over all adversity-- but it’s fun watching him stumble into serendipitous good fortune. Almost all of the characters are nice people, and they’re not just nice; they’re the type of people you’d enjoy being around. I especially loved Solomon, Dodger’s housemate and unofficial guardian. Much of the enjoyment of the story comes from watching how circumstances conspire to bring aboThe story opens on a dark, wet night(almost the cliched "a dark and stormy night" but Pratchett never lets you see it) as a carriage comes careening through the streets, carrying a damsel in distress, under threat of death. Out of the darkness comes Dodger, a whirl-wind beating off thugs and saving the day.

I know, I know, I'm behind in the game, what with Discworld taking up half (well, quite a sizeable proportion at least) of my to-read list. I got slightly bored at times when we are told over and over again how he's a dodger, a tosher, a geezer, a cove and what all these terms mean, and I wasn't really convinced of the INSTA-LOVE between Simplicity and himself. i can see what he saw in her, but the other way, was so easy to swallow. First, a disclaimer: As virtually a life-long Pratchett fan, I would probably buy anything he publishes. If he were to release a book titled World of Poo, I would probably...oh. Nevermind.

Dodger is produced by NBCUniversal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group. Francis Gilson is Producer. Mark Freeland is Executive Producer for NBCUniversal International Studios. Rhys Thomas and Lucy Montgomery also serve as Executive Producers. NBCUniversal Global Distribution is handling international sales. The Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Amy Buscombe. Returning series include football drama Jamie Johnson (26x28’) commissioned for series six and seven, made by Short Form Film and filmed in South Wales for transmission later this year. Following last year’s breakout storyline around LGBT footballers, this year the series looks at CTE/dementia, racism and allyship in football.

Where the blip was, for me, was when marriage was considered and executed . . . .all along I felt this character was much younger somewhere from 14 - 18. . . .not a person others in the story, including the love interest who seemed older, thought was 18+ and marriageable - just seemed mighty abrupt. . . anyway, may have just been me not in sync. Dodger was okay. His character was really rather boring. And do I need or want boring characters? I think not. The Darwinian maxim of survival of the fittest is almost chanted like a mantra by a lot of people I know. In the world in front of our eyes, no other principle is put to use with such effortless ease as this one. An erstwhile boss of mine used to call such a skill in the corporate world as 'streetsmart' which at an early stage of my career I found to be a rather plain usage. But as time went by, I understood the need for such a survival skill and just why is it that he called it so. Dodger is the story of a person who has this skill honed to the finest and he swims with sharks in the murky underworld of Victorian London.The cast also includes Sam C Wilson (Hanna) as Bill Sikes, Tanya Reynolds (Sex Education) as Queen Victoria, Lucy Montgomery (Disenchantment) as Fagin’s landlady, Minnie Bilge, and Frances Barber (Medici) as theatrical dame, Eliza Vestris. Javone Prince (Horrible Histories) plays inept copper PC Blathers and Rhys Thomas (The Fast Show, Brian Pern) takes an on-screen role as his partner PC Duff. Most of the Prachett novels I've read ha ing been set in his famous Discworld series, where as Dodger is firmly based in the early Victorian era of London. There were a few moments where I applauded Dodger's ingenuity. But, ultimately, I was never intrigued. Never cared what did or did not happen to the characters. Never laughed. So...