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| Courtesy of X-Geeks |
As you may know by now, I'm a huge fan of the US version of Ghosts. People had been recommending the UK version and I was dragging my feet on watching it. I finally caved and binged all five seasons (about seven 30-minute episodes each) in a few weeks' time. Everything from here on out is my opinion or observation. If you like the UK version better than the US version, I don't fault you for that at all. Everyone has different tastes. I looked for as much positive as I could to share in this post, while also sticking to my overall thoughts.
Did I like it?
Yes, overall it was likable and kept me watching, wanting to see what would happen.
Do I like it as much as the US version?
No. Not even close. I could say I have a bias toward the US series, but I really wanted to like the UK version just as much, and unfortunately I didn't.
Who's my favorite character?
Alison. She's not a ghost, but she's the only one I truly love on this series.
So who's my favorite ghost then?
Kitty is at the top of my list, followed by the Captain.
Any favorite funny moments?
When Julian is trying to tell Mike that there are two robbers in the house but wants to expand on that and accidentally tells him there are 20 robbers.
When Mary is describing the party that Thomas was attending, but her descriptions are outlandish and have people floating with wine coming out of their ears.
Any favorite sweet moments?
When Mike takes over the kids' birthday party. It's just so heartwarming!
Should you watch it?
Sure, if you enjoy British humor. This series is slightly heavier than the US version, but still has a lot of lighthearted moments.
I will share a trailer here, but the rest of my thoughts are below with spoilers, for those who have seen this series.
Thoughts with SPOILERS (including ones for the US version):
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A big part of me just wants to make comparisons to the US version. It's not fair to the UK version because they came first. I just can't help myself though! I can see where some of the plot ideas for the US version got their roots. However, I like what the US version did with these ideas more. Same with the characters and who they inspired for the US version. Before I make any comparisons, I'm going to list my pros and cons for this version.
Pros:
The opening credits are cool. Has this dollhouse feel and I like the music too, which still gets in my head.
The mansion has more of a haunted feel than Woodstone.
Alison is a genuinely great person and I adore everything about her. I actually wish she'd move to Woodstone so I could see her more often.
Some humorous moments.
The extra ten minutes an episode gives more time to establish the plot. (However, it also feels slower at times.)
I love that the ghosts can laugh at themselves. It's endearing.
The ghosts also play basement ghosts.
Some storylines were not used in the US version and I liked that I was seeing something different here and there.
There was clearly something that kept me watching. A coziness factor, perhaps.
Cons:
The ghosts all talk over each other so it's hard to hear what is being said. Too chaotic for me.
Mary got sucked off in the middle of the series. No one even got to say goodbye to her. And we witnessed her being sucked off so it's not like a misunderstanding the way it was for Flower. I'm not even as devastated about it as I would have been if one of the main US ghosts were to actually be sucked off.
Costume inconsistencies. I noticed Fanny's hairstyle changed a few times. Julian's hair looked more combed back in one season. Mary's face looked cleaner some of the time.
Ghost powers weren't explored all that much. We knew some of them, but not all. Julian has the same one as Trevor. (Maybe it's a consolation for not having pants?) Robin has the same one as Thor (plus he can howl so that dogs can hear him). Mary's is similar to Isaac's, except burning smell instead of farts. Fanny can be slightly seen on camera. But what are the rest?!?
Storylines sometimes felt like they got dropped.
I didn't feel much of an attachment to the ghosts. I felt more of what Alison was feeling when she didn't see them and thought they were gone. So it was more that I felt her attachment vs. my own. I mainly kept thinking that if one of the Woodstone ghosts actually did get sucked off, I would be a wreck. Or if they weren't able to be seen anymore by Sam, that would be disastrous.
Not a lot of recurring side characters, aside from Barclay. He inspired Farnsby on the US version. Farnsby seems more likable overall, even though they're both difficult neighbors. Barclay did have a nice moment in one of the episodes though.
No one gets possessed. It would have been fun to see the actors break from their comfort zones in this way.
Barely any of the ghosts interact with Mike or try to connect with him. I think Julian is the only one who does anything and that's only to cause trouble for him.
Thoughts on the characters:
Livings:
As you have already seen, Alison is my favorite on the show, even though she's a living. I ended up comparing her to Sam and Sam falls short most of the time. I just feel like Alison is less likely to lie to ghosts or other livings, unless it's to make herself look less crazy when she's talking out loud to "no one". She's also really sincere and seems to have her act together. Alison is someone I could totally see myself befriending and I would totally believe her if she told me she saw ghosts.
Mike has his likable moments, but he can also be annoying. He seems to lack direction and ambition. I know he had a job in a couple episodes, but it just seems like he doesn't really focus on it aside from those episodes. He can be really sweet and vulnerable though and I love him for that. He also has some good comical moments.
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| Courtesy of Stylist |
Ghosts:
Thomas: He is from the 19th century and is a poet. He's a romantic too, and is completely in love with Alison. (Can't blame him for that!) I feel like he inspired Sasappis, but one aspect was the same as Trevor. However, Trevor got over his interest in Sam and moved on. Thomas is obsessed with Alison and can't seem to move on as much as he wants to. This gets annoying after a while. I did feel endeared to him in the episode about his death, as it was really sad how his cousin lied to him and got him killed as a result. I also like that he does poetry, as it reminds me of when I did verse reading for my high school speech team. And it was funny when the basement ghosts were fawning over him.
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| Courtesy of Ghosts Wiki |
Kitty: There are things about Kitty that I can see as the inspiration for Flower. While Kitty is one of my favorites, it's mainly because she's so sweet and only wants Alison to be her best friend. I also feel bad for her situation with how her sister treated her and how she died from a spider bite. I can't get a grasp on Kitty's age, as she looks to be an adult, but her mind is more like a pre-teen. (Ghosts Wiki says she is 21.) Makes me think of Kimmy Schmidt in some ways. Lolly Adefope shows good acting range, as Kitty is so different from Fran on Shrill.
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| Courtesy of Ghosts Wiki |
Julian: It's clear he inspired Trevor, with his lack of pants and his ability to touch things. However, that is where the similarities end. Julian comes off as genuinely unlikable. While Trevor accidentally caused Sam's accident, Julian actually pushed Alison out a window! Also, it seems vague how he actually died or why he wasn't wearing pants. Like he was at a party and maybe had a heart attack. Was he actually sleeping with someone before that and forgot to put his pants on? (Ghosts Wiki confirmed he had a heart attack while caught having an affair, so I wasn't wrong.) At least Trevor lost his pants in a hero move! I found it interesting that Julian was a father and that his daughter is currently an adult following in his footsteps. He had a couple of redeemable moments, I think. (One for sure was when he was helping with Mike's niece so his sister could rest.) He was just annoying otherwise, especially when he was interfering with Mike's work.
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| Courtesy of Ghosts Wiki |
Pat: Clearly, he was the inspiration for Pete. Pete gets more of a story throughout the US version. Even in the episode about Pat's death, his family shows up but he already knows about his wife stepping out on him ahead of that. He takes on a leadership role in the group, which Pete does, as well. I'm sure Pat is a decent guy, but I just feel like he pales in comparison to Pete overall and I never really formed any attachment to him.
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| Courtesy of Ghosts Wiki |
The Captain: I don't think I learned The Captain's name at all on the series, but on Ghosts Wiki it says his name is James. If he was to inspire any character, it would be Isaac, but it's a far stretch. It's pretty clear that he is gay and there's an episode about him that says as much. However, he never comes out to the other ghosts and just seems repressed overall. I do like him a lot though. He's another favorite ghost on this series.
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| Courtesy of Ghosts Wiki |
Mary: Mary was an interesting character. Her personality inspired Patience in some ways, but her ghost power inspired Isaac's. I felt bad for her, especially after learning about how and why she died and how traumatic it was for her. Also that her closest friend got sucked off. I felt that her mind worked similar to Kitty's. Overall, she was fun and added some substance to the group. So I wasn't thrilled about her being sucked off in the middle of season four and not even having a chance to say goodbye to everyone.
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| Courtesy of Ghosts Wiki |
Fanny: She clearly inspired Hetty, with being one of the former owners of the mansion and related to Alison, as well as sticking with beliefs of her time period. Her husband even looked and acted like Elias. Although he actually killed her, as evidenced by her falling out the window and screaming every night. Her ghost power is pretty cool. And I felt sympathetic toward her in the episode about when she was younger and had to get married off to someone she didn't love. However, she hasn't endeared herself to me the way Hetty has and I found her annoying more often than not. She had some funny moments, but nothing all that memorable.
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| Courtesy of Ghosts Wiki |
Robin: Well, we know he inspired Thor with his ability to mess with electricity (both were struck by lightning) and that he's the longest dead in the group. I found it strange that he mainly spoke like a caveman in the beginning of the series and then suddenly started speaking more eloquently and was fluent in French. If he had this language all along, why did he need to start out speaking like a caveman? He had a lot of funny lines and moments, but he still doesn't hold a candle to Thor. He does manage to surprise me sometimes. I felt bad for him in the episode where Mary got sucked off because he was so used to losing friends that he couldn't even be bothered to memorialize them. I also liked his connection with Humphrey, and not just because they are played by the same actor. What's interesting is that he has another ghost power: the ability to call dogs by howling.
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| Courtesy of Ghosts Wiki |
Humphrey: While he inspired Crash from the US version, with his head coming off and all, I like that he had more of a role on this series than just occasionally showing up. It was pretty wild how he lost his head, especially with how suddenly it happened. I also found it funny how his head would just be in random places in the house while his body was elsewhere. His personality was fun too. I just felt bad for him when the other ghosts would throw his head around.
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| Courtesy of Ghosts Wiki |
I learned from a friend that a bunch of the basement ghosts were played by the actors who played the main ghosts. Once I found that out, I couldn't unsee it. It was fun to try to match up who was who.
I found it interesting to see what storylines were used in the US version and how they were adapted for that version to be slightly different from UK. Some were pretty obvious and others were more subtle.
Here are some examples:
1. The first couple episodes were basically the same, except for how the accident happened.
2. With Barclay inspiring Farnsby, the episode where they had him over for dinner was similar to the dinner party episode, including finding out that Barclay was doing something shady so they could get out of paying him anything.
3. The episodes about Pat and Pete's deaths were similar, but Pete's story with finding out about Carol cheating on him was done better, as we got to see more of Carol and find out from her, instead of him figuring it out on his own like Pat did.
4. Mike getting locked in the safe with Barclay was similar to Sam being locked in the vault with Hetty and Molly.
5. The filming of the period drama had a similar feel to filming Dumb Deaths, due to all the chaos going on and the ghosts trying to be a part of the experience.
6. The half-sister situation was similar to the cousin situation for Sam, except on the UK version, it was dragged across a few episodes.
7. The ghosts communicating to Mike about the robbers was similar to the ghosts communicating to Jay about Sam being locked in the vault.
8. The way Thomas's murder story played out was similar to Alberta's murder story. There was even a connection to Fanny the way Alberta's was connected to Hetty.
9. Barclay tries to steal away Alison and Mike's guesthouse guests the same way Farnsby steals away Sam and Jay's B&B guests.
10. Thomas tries to get his poetry published in the present day, which is similar to Isaac trying to get a book about himself published. Also, his issue with Lord Byron reminds me of Issac's issue with Alexander Hamilton.
Favorite episodes:
The Thomas Thorne Affair: I honestly felt bad for Thomas in this episode and I also enjoyed seeing different perspectives of the same situation. (Season 2, episode 5.)
Bump in the Night: I love how this episode unfolded with Mike being home alone and the ghosts trying to help with the whole robbery situation. (Season 2, episode 6.)
Perfect Day: A sweet episode overall. I love that the wedding was LGBTQ. (Also fun that the bride's name was Sam.) Bronwyn James from Wicked played Sam on this episode. (Season 2, episode 7.)
The Bone Plot: It was interesting to learn what happened to Humphrey and get his backstory. (Season 3, episode 1.)
Something to Share?: I liked learning more about Kitty's backstory and felt even more sympathetic towards her as a result. It was also funny how Mike tried to see the ghosts and he thought someone without pants on was Julian. (Season 3, episode 5.)
Gone Gone: Even though it was sad that Mary got sucked off, I really liked how Mike took charge of the birthday party and how Alison sensitively handled everything with the ghosts. (Season 4, episode 4.)
It's Behind You: I loved the Christmas panto the ghosts did for Alison. Really cute! (Season 4, episode 7.)
Pineapple Day: We finally learn about how Kitty died. While it's sad what happened and I wish it could have been prevented, she said that Alison wouldn't have existed if her sister died instead. Weirdly enough, pineapple has a completely different function in the UK series vs. the US series. (Season 5, episode 3.)
If you have gotten this far, I'd love to hear your thoughts on Ghosts UK.
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