I had high hopes for this series. Great Cast. Ashley Jensen, Kenny Doughty, Rebecca Front. Brilliant writer with good track record in Kay Mellor. What could go wrong?
And yet it does all go terribly wrong and having said that I'm having problems putting into words just why it is that it does go so wrong.
I think what it comes down to (maybe!) is that it tries way too hard to be PC. Worse than that. It almost comes across like it is trying to preach to viewers as to HOW to be political correct.
Frightened of one day being confronted by a man at work who shows up dressed in woman's clothing and not sure how to react? Don't worry, this programme will give you some clues as to what to do and say.
Been invited to the wedding of an older man who is ex-army and who used to be married to a wonderful woman with whom he had two children but you've been shocked to discover he is now marrying a man? Again, this will ease you through the shock of not knowing how to react.
In this fantasy world, the cross dressing man is universally greeted with compliments by his fellow workers and clients. The gay man's former wife even attends his wedding to his new husband and has a huge smile on her face, obviously thrilled that he has at last found true love.
In real life though? Much as I'd like to say we live in a society where this is all possibly, the fact is we don't. A cross-dresser would certainly be greeted with some derision by at least some co-workers and certainly clients would be uncomfortable with the situation. A wife even attending her ex-husband's wedding to a man? Really? Most ex-wives wouldn't even attend his wedding to a new wife, let alone to a man all the time smiling at his new happiness. It just didn't ring true.
Worse, as I said, it felt like we were being preached to. This is what to do! This is how to behave! This is how to think!
In addition, one sub-plot has two of the Registers' workers fearing for their jobs after they were caught on CCTV by a 3rd blackmailing co-worker having sex after getting drunk at the office Christmas party. Leeds city apparently has a policy against co-workers entering into sexual relationships (true or not, I don't know) while at the same time is happy to have a cross-dressing male on staff and understandably (as per law and rightfully so) providing registers to conduct gay weddings? We aren't talking manager-employee sex by the way. Or Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby abuse of power and position type of sex. Just two co-workers at the same level, both consulting adults, having sex outside office hours after getting drunk at the Christmas Party . For that, City policy is instant dismissal. (Admitedly, the sex was on the premises but even so!). In this day and age, if the workers were fired, the union would call a full strike and the two fired workers would jointly higher lawyers to sue the Council for damages and solicitors would be queuing up to take on the task pro bono.
Again, it just didn't work for me.
My wife and I managed two episodes but after gritting our teeth through the last 20 minutes of the second episode we turned to each other and said, "No more".
By all means, make up your own minds and give it a try. Some will be happy watching this fantasy, others will be like us and other reviewers and just find it unsatisfactory.
By the way, what's with the "Lies" in the title? Does it refer to the lying about the real world being like this I wondered.
