The Outcast

Not exactly a barrel of laughs was it?

A bit dark.

It was very sad

I found it too slow and sad. Got depressed and bored so wandered off and made a batch of mixed fruit jam (need space in the freezer for this year's fruit). I still managed to keep up with the plot enough to see if there's a happy ending next week. Which I doubt there will be.

Dreary. Wasn't impressed with the acting and characterisation either.

Thought this utterly superb. The young boy was astonishing and totally convincing. The way the adults were constrained by the social norms and contributing to the emotional isolation to their children, was painfully played out. Kit, as a young teeager showed this isolation with no narrative but stark loneliness when she was struggling with the start of mensuration.
I haven't read the book but it will be my next read.

I gave up on the book so I didn't bother watching.

Me too Leticia. I never give up on books but when I read that one I just thought it was too miserable and l didn't have to finish it. Hence didn't bother to watch it on TV

If I'd known there would be graphic depiction of the drowning and self-harming, I wouldn't have started watching it, but now I'm hooked and can't wait to see the other half next Sunday.

Unremitting gloom unleavened by any light and shade in plot or characterisation. It's often a mistake to let novelists adapt their books for film or television, as they can't see the wood for the trees they have planted.

Nothing wrong with the acting, given the one-dimensional stereotypes the performers were asked to portray.

Yes very painful when but so well done. The graphic detail reinforces the emotional place the young boy found himself as to a lesser extent the young girl. It explains precisely the boys future actions.

Undoubtedly children and young people today are still experiencing similar trauma and explains the actions taken by these young people.

I enjoyed it and thought it was well done, if somewhat depressing.
Towards the end I found myself getting impatient with Lewis and wished he would "pull himself together". I won't be able to resist watching the second part next week though.

I did read the book a while back when everyone was raving about it, I didn't particularly enjoy it and realised I had forgotten much of the story. I watched it last night, unremittingly sad, hated the self harming which I thought was a pretty recent phenomenon and more related to girls rather than boys, although of course everything about this young man's life was unusual and unfortunate.

I thought the part with Lewis as a young boy was well done, but after that I lost interest a bit, especially as the actor who played the older Lewis didn't really look anything like the younger one and was just sullen.

I thought the self-harming didn't seem to fit the era, but it must have happened, I supposed.

Why do the presenters now tell us that the programme contains scenes some viewers may find 'upsetting'? Didn't it used to be 'disturbing'?

A surprising number of my daughters friends lost their mums when they were in their early teens and, much as I tried to help I never felt that I truly understood how they were feeling, so I wanted to stick with the programme for that reason. In one scene it was as if I was seeing something that had been described by one of them, and it had me in tears. I hope the ending is uplifting because Lewis's pain is sitting heavy with me right now .

I quite liked it and thought it was a good (if somewhat depressing) drama. I agree with you Ana the character of the grown up Lewis was nothing like the child who was a sweet looking boy. The grown up Lewis was rather creepy odd looking and not a good likeness at all. Am I alone in thinking that the step mum was trying to like/love Lewis at the beginning but finding it impossible to reach him. he must have felt terribly betrayed when she didn't keep her promise not to tell his cold fish father about the self harming although i can understand why she did it.

I am sure she was making an effort , but in the end was unable to understand him. I know he doesn't seem very ry appealing but I think that is the point Lewis has been let down on every front, from the time of the trauma of his mother's death and the well meaning but inadequate response of the adults around him to the isolation he feels at school and when socialising. Lewis has never talked about his mum's death. He is probably suffering from post traumatic syndrome. His actions are as a result of all that he has suffered.

Authors/TV writers seem to feel a need to cover all the issues these days. There was just took much unrelenting sadness in it for me on a Sunday night when I want a pleasant relaxing evening. I shan't be watching next week.

... just too much ...

It was the second time his stepmum had broken a confidence [I'm trying to remember the first incident] cause I thought, oh dear, you've done it again . Why the attraction to the older woman in the bar....was she meant to look like his mum or stepmum in some way?

I can't think of the first time either Tegan. I think the first time the older Lewis smiled was when he entered that Jazz bar.

I know; it was when his stepmum told that other mother at the boating like about Lewis's mum's death, just as he seemed to be feeling and bahaving like a 'normal' boy again. As if, no matter what he did he couldn't get away from what had happened. According to a review I've read his mum turned to drink because of the constraints of the society she lived in; I don't think that came across in the programme [unless I missed it].

The storyline about the stepumum not being able to have children is also very poignant because of my mum having that problem at what must be exactly the same period in history .

The only hint we had that Lewis's mum possibly had a drink problem was the fact that she drank half a bottle of what looked like vodka or gin at the picnic. Perhaps if she hadn't she'd have been able to save herself.