Grantchester Character Review: Geordie Keating

*For the foreseeable future, some Character Review posts may not be published every Thursday as they have in the past.

*Warning: This post contains spoilers about the characters from the television series Grantchester. Read at your own risk if you have not watched the show.

There is something to be said about a well written, human character. They leap off the page and speak to us as if they were right in front of us, as flesh and blood human beings, instead of fictional creations.

In this series of weekly blog posts, I will examine character using the characters from Grantchester to explore how writers can create fully dimensional, human characters that audiences and readers can relate to.

In the world of TV detectives, there is a certain perception of the character. He or she is hard bitten by life, excels at their jobs, but personal issues sometimes get in the way. Detective Geordie Keating (Robson Green) has seen it all. A veteran of World War II, he has seen the darker side of humanity from his time during the war and his job as a police detective. Married to Cathy (Kacey Ainsworth), they have four children and a very busy life.

The ying to Sidney Chamber’s (James Norton) yang, Geordie understands the criminal mind and is sometimes willing to break the rules to bring them to justice. This naturally creates tension with Sidney who is more intuitive in his methodologies than his partner. But, they balance each out in a way that bring out the best in both men.

On the home front, Geordie has another set of challenges. He had a mistress for a while, which obviously did not make for a happy marriage. After he broke it off and finally returned to the arms of his wife, Geordie had to face up to the fact that his eldest daughter, Esme (Skye Lucia Degruttola) was growing into a young woman. Ask any father and they will tell you that it’s not easy to admit that your little girl is growing up.

To sum it up: The character of the hard boiled police detective is one that has been seen many over the years. It is therefore, the job of the writer(s) to ensure that their version of the character is not only flesh and blood, but stands out from the pack.

Geordie Keating stands out because even though he is a hard boiled TV detective, he is so much more than that. He is thoroughly human, with flaws and mistakes. But he also knows when to make amends and tell those who he loves exactly how he feels.

That is why Geordie Keating is a memorable character.

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An Ounce of Coronavirus Prevention is Worth a 100 Pounds of Coronavirus Cure

A wise person once said the following: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

In terms of the coronavirus, I would like to amend that statement: an ounce of prevention is worth 100 pounds of cure.

According to a new report just released by Politico, the administration received a report in 2016 detailing a step by step process as how they should deal with what then a hypothetical virus. It should surprise no one that this report was ignored.

In my hometown of New York City, the 281 people have died so far. Over 20,000 people have been tested positive for coronavirus.

What bothers me to no end is that they knew about this disease is that we all knew about it months ago. Given what we know now, being over prepared and being accused of being over prepared is a hec of a lot better than what we are dealing with now.

What is worse is that you know who wants everything to return to normal by Easter. If (and this is huge if) the numbers were consistently falling, I would say re-opening the country in two to three weeks is a reasonable goal. But given the fact that our medical professionals and facilities are overwhelmed and severely lacking supplies, and that the number of those sick, dying and dead are rising, Easter is not even close to a viable date.

We need a President. We need a leader who steps up to the plate, listens to the professionals and cares more about this country than their personal needs.

Instead, we have you know who. G-d save us and get us to November.

Throwback Thursday-Meet the Barkers (2005-2006)

Part of being a celebrity is constantly being in the spotlight. There is no better way to stay in the spotlight than a reality show.

Meet the Barkers aired on MTV from 2005-2006. Starring Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and his then-wife Shanna Moakler, the show took viewers into the private lives of the program’s subjects.

The problem with the sub-genre of the private lives of celebrities within the umbrella of “reality shows” is that they have been done to death. If a program wanted to last, it needed to stand out in some way. Meet the Barkers did not, which is why it only lasted two seasons.

Do I recommend it? Not really.