The Singapore Grip

J.G. Ballard's satirical novel, 'The Singapore Grip', is set in the last days of British rule, and follows a group of corrupt, complacent colonials as the threat of Japanese invasion draws close. Logically, it should be both fun and angry; but this television adaptation falls flat, in spite of a starry cast (Charles Dance turns up only to die more or less in the first scene). Perhaps it would have been better had it solely followed the perspective of the young man who comes in from Britain and tries to make sense of the world he has found; instead, we see a lot of the action from the point of view of the ghastly character played by David Morrisey, who is somewhat amusing, but too shallow to carry the story. The focus on a small group of expats also means that Singapore fails to come alive as a living, breathing city, populated by millions of people who aren't British. The narrative arc makes good dramatic sense; nontheless, there's a sparkle that's missing.

I'll admit that I only managed two episodes it was so dreary. It should have been brilliant... Some seasoned and some up and coming actors but I can't decide if it was the acting or the storyline that was at fault. Shame.

I gave up on this series after two episodes, simply because there was nothing in it to keep my interest or attention. The characters are uniformly unlikeable - apart from the one played by Charles Dance, and he doesn't hang around long enough to be of much use to the story. Many of the other characters are either two-dimensional cardboard cutout villains to be booed and hissed, or bumbling morons to be mocked and ridiculed. All in all, an opportunity to tell the story of one of the biggest turning points in British and Southeast Asian history is reduced to little more than a predictable soap opera.

Some times i like how the show pokes fun at colonialism. At other times I find myself wishing for deeper investigation of the period. On one hand, the way this skips along on the surface parallels the general shallowness of many of the characters. The writing is kind of clever in that way. On the other hand, i found myself often wanting for some deeper investigation. I especially wished for a more thorough investigation of the character of Vera Chiang. I'd summarize this as "light" satire, intended for British audience with some smiles but no big laughs and that only hints at many past sins.. c ould have been so much better but... not bad for wfat it is.

I don't know what genre this series is supposed to be. It could be satire but not really black enough for that. Historical genre it has some of that yet if it is even a little true then no wonder the British fell in Singapore. This does not have much going for it at all.