ITV chose to show the first series of this Canadian import directly after "Foyle's War", the British-made drama set in almost the same time period -- presumably hoping to pick up some of the same audience. Well, I watched it... but alas, the magic really didn't carry across for this viewer, and the contrast between the two productions was stark to say the least.
Perhaps the most massive difference, apart from the gloss -- the female characters in "Foyle's War" are far less glamorously made-up and dressed, although to be fair the Canadians hadn't been subject to years of rationing -- is the level of sentimentality in the two series. The English are understated, defensive, touchy, sometimes on the make, sometimes self-sacrificing, in some cases both at once -- but they keep just about everything implicit. The first episode of "Bomb Girls" spells everything out in giant letters, from the injured munitions worker whose looks (not life) must be prioritised over the needs of wounded soldiers because "she's a soldier too" to the patriotic declarations of all and sundry and the howls of the woman who learns bad news on the factory floor. Perhaps this reflects a different culture: it certainly reminds me of Hollywood 'home-front' propaganda films of the 1940s, but I found this episode about as unwatchable as that wartime US product and can't see myself bothering with the rest.
"Bomb Girls" covers very much the same material as "Millions Like Us" (1943), in which girls of different backgrounds find themselves thrown together in an aircraft factory. But while the WWII film, conceived as an educational propaganda effort, profited from a Gilliat-Launder script and top stars of the period to become a minor classic, "Bomb Girls" comes across as strictly by numbers. The Radio Times listing advised would-be UK viewers that as a formulaic drama "it could easily be any old soap, any old where": while I was interested enough by the concept that I disregarded this warning, I have to admit that it proved to be accurate enough. I'm not the target viewer for this material.
Perhaps the most massive difference, apart from the gloss -- the female characters in "Foyle's War" are far less glamorously made-up and dressed, although to be fair the Canadians hadn't been subject to years of rationing -- is the level of sentimentality in the two series. The English are understated, defensive, touchy, sometimes on the make, sometimes self-sacrificing, in some cases both at once -- but they keep just about everything implicit. The first episode of "Bomb Girls" spells everything out in giant letters, from the injured munitions worker whose looks (not life) must be prioritised over the needs of wounded soldiers because "she's a soldier too" to the patriotic declarations of all and sundry and the howls of the woman who learns bad news on the factory floor. Perhaps this reflects a different culture: it certainly reminds me of Hollywood 'home-front' propaganda films of the 1940s, but I found this episode about as unwatchable as that wartime US product and can't see myself bothering with the rest.
"Bomb Girls" covers very much the same material as "Millions Like Us" (1943), in which girls of different backgrounds find themselves thrown together in an aircraft factory. But while the WWII film, conceived as an educational propaganda effort, profited from a Gilliat-Launder script and top stars of the period to become a minor classic, "Bomb Girls" comes across as strictly by numbers. The Radio Times listing advised would-be UK viewers that as a formulaic drama "it could easily be any old soap, any old where": while I was interested enough by the concept that I disregarded this warning, I have to admit that it proved to be accurate enough. I'm not the target viewer for this material.