Thursday, February 24, 2005

Shallow - two l's, one o

A happy ending to the current (third) series of Giles Wemmbley-Hogg Goes Off, with Arabella accepting his proposal of marriage.

Giles isn't merely a cuddly, likeable posho in the mould of Tim Nice-But-Dim. In episode 2.6 'New Zealand' his conversation with Arabella's mother, Mrs Wells, showed us that he shared her prejudices about Josh. Up to that point I assumed that Giles disliked Josh merely because he was crass, was engaged to Giles' ex-girlfriend Arabella and was trying to ensure that Giles had a nasty accident. But this exchange demonstrated that at that stage Giles found it difficult to stand outside his class identity.

Three years of Canadian Studies seems to have broadened Giles' outlook, because in series 3 he's a bit mellower. He gets on well enough with Darren Smith (the Geordie ballet dancer) in 'Vienna' and very well indeed with Danielle (who nearly had a baby once, but she never) in 'Haiti'.

'Haiti' did have an unpleasant bit. Giles went out there with charity Crisis Help Action Volunteers, and he's made to remark at the end that it's been good to get the chance of working with CHAVS. Has Danielle been weighed and found socially wanting after all?

It is good though to see Giles becoming a little more assertive in series 3. He talks back to Sergei in 'Vienna', and nearly pokes his overbearing godfather in the eye when he moves in on Arabella in 'Ireland'.

And we do see another side to Belly-bells in 'Ireland'. It's been established that she's 'pretty and strong - mostly strong', and she's quite fierce, 'with a punch like a truck', but she's now revealed as endearingly insecure, worried that Keira Knightley will steal her Wemblers away from her.

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