Discussion
Anyone watching this on BBC2? http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p050hr6t
From one of the writers of the Inbetweeners and also starring Jay and Simon (James Buckley and Joe Thomas) of said fame.
Thought it was quite amusing and the eighties references appeal as I grew up in that era (Sergio Tacchini tracksuit
). Lot of swearing and sexual references so not one for minors 
From one of the writers of the Inbetweeners and also starring Jay and Simon (James Buckley and Joe Thomas) of said fame.
Thought it was quite amusing and the eighties references appeal as I grew up in that era (Sergio Tacchini tracksuit
). Lot of swearing and sexual references so not one for minors I worked for a few years in that business, and recognised the swagger and self-assurance which is pretty much endemic in sales. I was involved in the late 80s so well past the peak, and already most houses which needed new windows had been covered.
The thing which struck me most of all when I was selling the stuff was the massive BS. Not the lies we told customers, but the pretence that all salesmen were "players" and rolling in cash. Not so, not at all. All bluff, and most of my colleagues hardly had a penny to their name - nice cars, but invariably financed to the hilt, with CCJs for missed payments a regular occurence. They were all trying to pretend that they could buy what they wanted. All bluff.
I certainly don't think we earned enough for coke and hookers. Maybe an Indian takeaway.
The thing which struck me most of all when I was selling the stuff was the massive BS. Not the lies we told customers, but the pretence that all salesmen were "players" and rolling in cash. Not so, not at all. All bluff, and most of my colleagues hardly had a penny to their name - nice cars, but invariably financed to the hilt, with CCJs for missed payments a regular occurence. They were all trying to pretend that they could buy what they wanted. All bluff.
I certainly don't think we earned enough for coke and hookers. Maybe an Indian takeaway.
I couldn't put my finger on it, but something about it made it really hard to place in the eighties. I don't know what it was - perhaps the clothes or the hairstyles, but it just didn't hit the right notes for me.
Enjoyable enough, and I'll watch more, but it didn't 'immerse' me in the 1980s.
Enjoyable enough, and I'll watch more, but it didn't 'immerse' me in the 1980s.
Doofus said:
I couldn't put my finger on it, but something about it made it really hard to place in the eighties. I don't know what it was - perhaps the clothes or the hairstyles, but it just didn't hit the right notes for me.
Enjoyable enough, and I'll watch more, but it didn't 'immerse' me in the 1980s.
You might be thinking that way because although the actors may have grown up in the 1980s they weren't old enough to experience it. So to make it feel like the 1980s you need older actors who actually lived through the period?Enjoyable enough, and I'll watch more, but it didn't 'immerse' me in the 1980s.
This clearly doesn't work with period dramas so I am probably talking nonsense.
Doofus said:
I couldn't put my finger on it, but something about it made it really hard to place in the eighties. I don't know what it was - perhaps the clothes or the hairstyles, but it just didn't hit the right notes for me.
Enjoyable enough, and I'll watch more, but it didn't 'immerse' me in the 1980s.
its joe thomas. good in the inbetweeners, but everything else he's been in has just been a repriseEnjoyable enough, and I'll watch more, but it didn't 'immerse' me in the 1980s.
It's neither of those things. Joe Thomas' jacket (the black one with the spangly bits in it) was probably pretty good, but the others' suits didn't look right.
It's probably because the early eighties didn't have a standout style of their own (or not one that I can place), sandwiched as they were between the late seventies and the late eighties, both of which did.
It's probably because the early eighties didn't have a standout style of their own (or not one that I can place), sandwiched as they were between the late seventies and the late eighties, both of which did.
I've just watched the episode where Vincent wanted a company car. The writers got that one wrong IMHO - he wanted a BMW 3-series instead of a Granada LX. Big mistake because back then the Beemer wasn't yet a yuppie car. Plus the 3-series would have been in the Cortina/Cavalier class (albeit a much better car) and salesmen were very conscious of the class and trim style. Anyone remember those documentaries about travelling reps and their obssession with getting an LX instead of an L ?
Their reading matter is a jazz mag entitled "Erotique". Never heard of that one - surely it would have been the mundane Fiesta or maybe Razzle?
Their reading matter is a jazz mag entitled "Erotique". Never heard of that one - surely it would have been the mundane Fiesta or maybe Razzle?
I've watched the first one, wasn't bad though the two Inbetweeners guys are not that different from their more well known characters. Funny enough for a half-hour spot in the middle of the week, I'll try to remember to catch the rest of them.
As always I can't stop myself trying to spot anachronisms, though I didn't notice any after the unknown blurry almost-new hatchback on a driveway in the start, while the guy was driving his Lancia along a straight road with the wheel turned to the left.
As always I can't stop myself trying to spot anachronisms, though I didn't notice any after the unknown blurry almost-new hatchback on a driveway in the start, while the guy was driving his Lancia along a straight road with the wheel turned to the left.
droopsnoot said:
I've watched the first one, wasn't bad though the two Inbetweeners guys are not that different from their more well known characters. Funny enough for a half-hour spot in the middle of the week, I'll try to remember to catch the rest of them.
As always I can't stop myself trying to spot anachronisms, though I didn't notice any after the unknown blurry almost-new hatchback on a driveway in the start, while the guy was driving his Lancia along a straight road with the wheel turned to the left.
I spotted that too, hidden behind a beige Volvo, which we saw a few times, so they must have been short of props.As always I can't stop myself trying to spot anachronisms, though I didn't notice any after the unknown blurry almost-new hatchback on a driveway in the start, while the guy was driving his Lancia along a straight road with the wheel turned to the left.
Not sure how to do multi quote but yes thats what and who i was thinking about Stumpage & Doofus.
It reminds me of when the wife was up for a bit of fun and games i'd offer the fist-pump and say 'game on'.
The fist pump i refer to is the one where each person puts their fists together, just in case clarification was needed!
It reminds me of when the wife was up for a bit of fun and games i'd offer the fist-pump and say 'game on'.
The fist pump i refer to is the one where each person puts their fists together, just in case clarification was needed!
I enjoyed it.
Not that it hits the mark 100%, and other plays and fillums have done the Alpha Male sales dick before (Glengarry Glenross, Tin Men) but there's enough to keep me looking.
I arrived in uPVC at the back of the boom, early 1990's, selling into places like BAC and Jubilee Windows - both big Essex firms - and neither still with us. Jubilee had incessant cash flow problems - like many - and once I turned up to find the sales force milling around the car park waiting for the call to action, once the bailiffs allowed production to re-start. Bizarre. All the sales bods were self employed agents - wide lapels, upmarket Fords (financed), no job security. Lots of loyalty to their paymasters though - they kept coming back.
Strangely there's no let up in plastic windows - the fastest growing trader on our estate in the last five years was a trade supplier of frames - they don't even fabricate, just supply local window fitters/builders. About ten vans load up daily. Except now they are replacing older plastic with shiny new plastic...after only 10-15 years (probably to do with the quality of the installation).
Not that it hits the mark 100%, and other plays and fillums have done the Alpha Male sales dick before (Glengarry Glenross, Tin Men) but there's enough to keep me looking.
I arrived in uPVC at the back of the boom, early 1990's, selling into places like BAC and Jubilee Windows - both big Essex firms - and neither still with us. Jubilee had incessant cash flow problems - like many - and once I turned up to find the sales force milling around the car park waiting for the call to action, once the bailiffs allowed production to re-start. Bizarre. All the sales bods were self employed agents - wide lapels, upmarket Fords (financed), no job security. Lots of loyalty to their paymasters though - they kept coming back.
Strangely there's no let up in plastic windows - the fastest growing trader on our estate in the last five years was a trade supplier of frames - they don't even fabricate, just supply local window fitters/builders. About ten vans load up daily. Except now they are replacing older plastic with shiny new plastic...after only 10-15 years (probably to do with the quality of the installation).
Your last comment strikes a chord. The big boom in double-glazing was in the early 80s, which is what the show is all about, and the reason for this is the quality of the wooden windows fitted during the housing boom of the 1960s. So many of the 3-bed semis used unseasoned wood in the desperate scramble to put them up, and DG salesmen had a ready and willing market of people with softwood frames literally falling out.
During the 80s every town had some sort of "Budget Windows" who undercut everyone else, but there was a reason why they could do that - the frames were complete crap, constructed from the cheapest and flimsiest extrusion they could get hold of. Looked OK for a few years, but sometimes you could see them sag down from the lintel. They yellowed too. Hence some houses are having to have them refitted.
BTW "you must sell on the night" is a salesman's myth. I worked for a while for a small family business where I was allowed discretion and often used to leave a quote and return later in the week when the buyer was happy to sign. It's all down to personality and trust - the public are fully aware of DG sales tricks, and would rather pay maybe a bit extra to be treated as adults and know they're not being hoodwinked.
During the 80s every town had some sort of "Budget Windows" who undercut everyone else, but there was a reason why they could do that - the frames were complete crap, constructed from the cheapest and flimsiest extrusion they could get hold of. Looked OK for a few years, but sometimes you could see them sag down from the lintel. They yellowed too. Hence some houses are having to have them refitted.
BTW "you must sell on the night" is a salesman's myth. I worked for a while for a small family business where I was allowed discretion and often used to leave a quote and return later in the week when the buyer was happy to sign. It's all down to personality and trust - the public are fully aware of DG sales tricks, and would rather pay maybe a bit extra to be treated as adults and know they're not being hoodwinked.
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