World on Fire

[WBA1955]

Just watching the first series on iPlayer. Don't know how I managed to not see or be aware of it. Cracking so far.
Years ago we watched The Camomile Lawn, I thought it would be a good series but I found it to be a damp squib. It was about family and relationships.
This is far better...so far.

[DaveP67 is back!]

It’s a great bit of telly, really gets into the characters and the interwoven plot is genius.

[Omegstrat6]

Enjoyed the first series when it was on and have just started catching up with the second one. A good watch so far.

[9goals2hattricks3pen]

I have been massively disappointed in this which should have been right up my street. It does bring home just how tough things were for many but could have been done much better. So much so I have only been half watching it.

There are too many stories meaning no plot develops for more than a few minutes before it cuts to the next one. I also find the plots very predictable.
The relationships and the dialogue between the characters are for me unbelievable. Harry bumps into Lois in France and then in the desert. He lands in Poland and after not avoiding roads but walking along one with radio and gun into a German road block the 1st girl he meets is Kaisa.(he does a lot of bumping into those 2) Gregorz gets on Tom's boat at Dunkirk! I thought this war drove people apart not continually together in all the different theatres of war

Some of the historical inaccuracies are laughable. My favourite is the crashing Spitfire pilot being told to 'eject eject' when he would of course been told to bale out. To get something as simple as that so badly wrong makes me doubt the authenticity of the rest of it.

3 out of 5 for me.

[Omegstrat6]

I have been massively disappointed in this which should have been right up my street. It does bring home just how tough things were for many but could have been done much better. So much so I have only been half watching it.

There are too many stories meaning no plot develops for more than a few minutes before it cuts to the next one. I also find the plots very predictable.
The relationships and the dialogue between the characters are for me unbelievable. Harry bumps into Lois in France and then in the desert. He lands in Poland and after not avoiding roads but walking along one with radio and gun into a German road block the 1st girl he meets is Kaisa.(he does a lot of bumping into those 2) Gregorz gets on Tom's boat at Dunkirk! I thought this war drove people apart not continually together in all the different theatres of war

Some of the historical inaccuracies are laughable. My favourite is the crashing Spitfire pilot being told to 'eject eject' when he would of course been told to bale out. To get something as simple as that so badly wrong makes me doubt the authenticity of the rest of it.

3 out of 5 for me.

Tend to agree with you! I did enjoy the first series even though it kept jumping between all the different plot threads and I could put up with some of the co-incidences like Harry bumping into Lois in France but the second series is beginning to push it a bit. Still enjoying it over all but you're right, little mistakes like the "eject" rather than "bale out" thing begin to detract. Guess the idea of trying to tell several different stories from the war and then somehow trying to link them all together through personal connections was always going to be a stretch on credulity.

[Titchfieldbaggie]

Tend to agree with you! I did enjoy the first series even though it kept jumping between all the different plot threads and I could put up with some of the co-incidences like Harry bumping into Lois in France but the second series is beginning to push it a bit. Still enjoying it over all but you're right, little mistakes like the "eject" rather than "bale out" thing begin to detract. Guess the idea of trying to tell several different stories from the war and then somehow trying to link them all together through personal connections was always going to be a stretch on credulity.

Clearly made for the US market. They lost me when they put up the text before the scene 'Paris, France'

[Omegstrat6]

Clearly made for the US market. They lost me when they put up the text before the scene 'Paris, France'

😂😂😂
And anyone who doubts the general ignorance enabled by the American education system should check out the "can you name a country?" segment from the Jimmy Kimmel show-bad enough that many can't find Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan on a map but some Americans don't even know where Canada is!

[SwedishBaggie]

😂😂😂
And anyone who doubts the general ignorance enabled by the American education system should check out the "can you name a country?" segment from the Jimmy Kimmel show-bad enough that many can't find Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan on a map but some Americans don't even know where Canada is!

They always, and I mean always, mix up Switzerland with Sweden.

Minnows, I know…

[Dubbag]

I know Greece is definitely on fire.

[WBA1955]

I think the switching from country to country keeps it moving at a fast pace. I agree with some modern speak that wouldn't be used back then, but a lot of things they have got right, such as the aircraft, tanks and planes although obviously computer generated.
In the old war films the tanks looked nothing like those from the period.
It's the way war films are made today such as Dunkirk and All Quiet on the Western Front, and they are much more realistic.
Much better than when they used to say, Old Harry's bought it. Has he? Poor old Harry. Dashed hard luck what?