Current location:	At home.
Current mood:	excited
Current music:	"Swing, Swing" as performed by the cast of All the Small Things
Entry tags:	all the small things, bryan dick, icons

Confession Time
I think I've been silent for too long and if I don't do this now, I don't know when I'm going to do it... so I might as well do it now.

I am completely and utterly smitten by All the Small Things.



I admit that the first episode was very underwhelming on a first viewing. This is what I originally wrote about it:

I just finished watching All the Small Things, a new BBC One drama (yes, the title of the show is taken from a Blink-182 song) and I’m of mixed minds about it.

The music is fun! I like music! I like singing! But it’s about a family torn apart by competition and ambition (note: choir competition) and how the pieces go their separate ways and, I suppose, try to find their own ways. With a cast containing Sarah Alexander (Coupling), Sarah Lancashire (Miss Foster from Doctor Who S4 “Partners in Crime”), Neil Pearson (Bridget Jones’s Diary), and Bryan Dick (Adam from Torchwood S2 “Adam” and Sold), one would think that it would be brilliant, but I’m not so sure about it. It’s sort of… sappy in the wrong ways and at the wrong moments.

It’s a choir drama, commissioned by Jane Tranter. It’s sort of clear which characters the audience is suppose to like and which ones the audience wants to slap and I think that the lack of ambiguity makes it not as interesting as I would like it to be.

One major plus, though: Bryan Dick is totally hot with long hair. He plays the curate at the church where the choirs sing, practice, and compete. I think I’ll probably continue watching just for his story (his pretty hair and his dark, mysterious past).

ETA: Oh, I forgot to mention that it’s also got Annette Badland (Blon in Doctor Who S1 “Aliens in London”, “World War Three”, and “Boom Town”).

ETA2: Also, I’ve never heard of Richard Fleeshman before, but I really like his voice. REALLY like his voice. (will not get obsessed… will not get obsessed)

I downloaded the second episode, not really intending to watch it, but I did think that Bryan Dick was massively pretty and I should check it out just for the pretty, even if I had no expectations for the story. Man, talk about bad first impressions! This is what I wrote following that second episode:

Ok, I went and watched the second episode of All the Small Things.

It was a lot better than the first episode. TREMENDOUSLY better.
I think it’s because we’ve seen the highly predictable story of the family breakup in the first episode and now, it’s sort of waving outwards. We’re getting more details about the characters. Bryan Dick and Sarah Lancashire were excellent (and I’m sort of shipping them, because I just can’t help myself and I am so so so so so hoping the story goes that way because ZOMG THE HOTNESS). It’s still massively obvious who the bad guys are in the story, but it’s opening up to the lives of the good guys and seeing them rejoicing in song is surprisingly entertaining.

Two characters sing the chorus to All-American Reject’s “Swing Swing” and it’s a beautiful, touching scene. (Note: I had never heard this song before and I just LOVED the way it was sung twice in the episode that I looked it up.)

The notes are old,
They bend, they fold,
And so do I to a new love.

Did I mention that Bryan Dick is beautiful?



Also, I love this conversation between his character (Jake) and Sarah Lancashire's character (Esther):
Jake: Is there a pact within the church of england that all the coffee has to taste like camel-shit? How about we raid the collection box and buy ourselves an espresso machine?
Esther: I don’t think they’re ready for a revolution.
Jake: Well, they liked your revolution. The music-fest last week.
Esther: Oh, actually they hated it. Well, the old guard anyway. Only reason we won was your casting vote.
Jake: You were the best, [something I can’t hear to translate].
Esther: Well, it’s odd you should say that because to quote my estranged husband, I was “embarrassing and inappropriate”.
Jake: Well, here’s to inappropriate.

(wobble wobble wobble)

And the music!



After the second episode, I was completely and utterly smitten by the hot young curate falling for the smart, talented, older woman protagonist.

And I just kept falling more and more in love with it after each episode. Last week's episode 5, the penultimate episode (ZOMG, tonight is the finale and I can't stand the waiting!), I get nearly everything that I want and everything that I didn't want from this tiny show that I'm so in love with.

So to occupy my mind and to keep me from going absolutely insane waiting for the finale... I made some icon bases. They are free to take and share and enjoy! (And if you use/embellish them, please drop me a link so I can see your handiwork!)

1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30
31	32	33	34	35
36	37	38	39	40
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