General Chat

Is anybody not watching this?
Why not?

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/11/happy-valley-quality-drama-sally-wainwright

Something that Murdoch's minions could never produce not that they would want to.

No

OH because the first series was 'Depressing'.
Me because the sound quality/clarity of the first series was dire.

Volume control up for dialogue then down for incidental music. The mumbling didn't help.

No, same reasons as DetEcTive. The drama would be more effective contrasted with a bit of humour

The mumbling and volume is awful - it spoils what is a good story

Some of the story lines are very strange like the one at the end of the last episode - however it would have made more sense if you could actually hear the conversation better - it was mumbled - i lost track

It could do without the awful music both at the start & during

I hate mood music that isn't actually music just noise

I lke the music.
I am a Londoner and have never lived in Yorkshire. Nevertheless I have found no problem hearing the sound or picking up south Yorks accents.
"Happy Valley" is I think an ironic title.
Did ypu like "Last Tango in Halifax" , "Clocking Off".
No?
Stick to Emmerdale then.

Well, I am enjoying this series just as much as the last one. May it go from strength to strength.

I've never seen Sarah Lancashire in anything I didn't enjoy; she is a very accomplished actress.

The music just hits the spot, I think, raw.

I did like Last Tango in Halifax and Clocking Off, I like Sarah Lancashire and I have never watched Emmerdale, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy Happy Valley.

It is not the Yorkshire accent that is the problem so much as the quality of the diction and the sound levels which are so variable. I think that is probably down to the director.

I did watch most of the first series (while OH found something else to do), but didn't bother with the last couple of episodes. What's the point of watching something if you can't hear what they are saying?

Like most people, I can tune-in to accents. That's not what put me off.
Remember the cries of outrage over 'Jamaica Inn'? That was mostly about the atmospheric mumbling. In this instance, it's more likely down to the sound editorial team.

Sarah Lancashire ( corrected ) is easily the best British player and has been for some while. Like other great actors she can do a whole lot in a minimal sort of way - Bogart, Elizabeth Taylor, Alec Guinness, for instance.

"The Dean is furious. He's waxing wroth." To which Groucho ripostes: "Is Roth out there too? Tell Roth to wax the Dean for a while." - Horse Feathers ( pedants will enjoy this )

At a guess the sound producers signed off the episodes having only reviewed on studio kit or top end TVs which cost serious money not a few hundred quid. Poldark had the same problem.

Try installing a sound bar if you don't already have one and then set the sound so as to cope with "murmerings". You may be pleasantly surprised at the result no only with HValley but many other programs.

When I finally got the ackers togother for a decent sound system in the late 70s I was amazed at what I had not been hearing in my album collection. Not quite so pleased to hear the results of careless storage though.

Should directors set up tv programs without much thought of the 20 million households that pay a licence fee ? OTOH productions such as this will have a very long life and the average viiewing experience will improve - even some smart phones now have 4K.

It is a difficult call but I am sure that the BBC regret that some top 60s/70s drama recordings are only available (if at all) in low def and poor mono sound. A reasonable compromise would be to put out the standard version with the sound set up for average speakers and the HD version with the full monty. Same for visual shadows.

So much of tv is utter dross that it is a wonder that we get these treats every now and then.

I'm being a bit pedantic but can we give the lady her correct name? She is Sarah Lancashire. Sarah Lancaster is a different actress.

I stand corrected - and there you are. :-D

Joy :-D

I don't watch it because it is on the night I go to the pub. No contest.

I love it.I do agree though that some of it is a bit difficult to hear at times.(which is irritating).Sarah Lancashire is just brilliant as is her 'sister'. Last one tomorrow :-(

Sorry I mean Tuesday :-D

I love Happy Valley.
I have to agree about the poor sound quality.
That mumbling woman who plays the teacher is a nightmare to tune into and it was exactly the same when she played the part of Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter films

Not sure why but, poor sound seems to be the norm in a lot of TV dramas.
Ripper Street & Dickensian spring to mind but, I noticed that the new one, Dr Thorne is so much better.

I watched the first episode but lost interest as I struggled with the sound quality - very disappointing. I have quite good hearing but couldn't be bothered after a while.

Lizx

I use subtitles most of the time because of my hearing problem. However I read that people had a problem with 'mumbling' so I deliberately listened to the sound. I thought it was fine but now I realise that that is because we have a sound bar. When listening to TVs without a sound bar I find a lot of dramas contain mumbling. I think the speakers on newer TVs are not as efficient or not in the right place.

I watched a few episodes (I didn't watch the first series) because I like Sarah Lancashire and loved Last Tango in Halifax, but for some reason i couldn't get into this one, then I missed a couple of episodes so gave up on it. I will say the acting was excellent though, even if I didn't quite catch on to what was going on.

And now Mr Selfridge is finished, I liked that series. Sad to see it end. :-(

I often use subtitles to make life easier lol O.h. struggles with strong accents so it saves me missing the programme explaining things to him

Lizx

I loved Last Tango in Halifax and loved every minute of it and not one mumble or sound problem.

I will look up sound bars as that could be a good investment.

I don't have a problem with the Yorkshire Accent or any others to be truthful - I work with those accents all day & a lot of foreign ones too.

I just think its the filming of this one - most of the cast seem to be quite faint & when you turn it up the awful music makes you turn it down again.

Each to their own for music - I don't call the Happy Valley theme music its just noise but it goes with the show - i just don't like it. same as i don't t like the Rolling Stones but love Queen & Meatloaf.