5 little-known facts about popular TV shows

The last season of the Watcher podcast was dedicated to TV shows. Mikhail Volnykh and Alexey Khromov discussed Doctor Who, Fargo, Friends, Dexter and other cult projects. The hosts told a lot of interesting things about the creation of the show, the preparation of scripts, the selection of actors, references and "easter eggs" hidden by the directors. We have selected the brightest and most interesting facts, and if you want to know even more details - listen releases.

1. The time of events in the TV series "Darkness" is indicated by clues in the frame

"Darkness" is a series for a very attentive viewer. And film critic Alexei Khromov recommends not to stretch the viewing for a long time. Screen Events unfold in several time periods, and the same characters appear at different ages. Because of this, it is easy to get confused in the plot.

To make it easier to understand all the "layers" of the series, the authors give the audience hints. In the first and second seasons of "Darkness" editing plays a big role. For example, if the time of action changes, then the characters do not change, that is, they are shown the same, but at a different age. In addition, the characters are endowed with some distinctive features. Scars, like those of Jonas or Martha, memorable elements of clothing and other details suggest what time is now on the screen.

And if the above hints are not in the frame, then the time of action can be guessed by the color scheme of the image. The modern world in the series is shown in bluish-gray tones, the 1980s in brighter greens, and the 1950s in muted shades that create a "pale" atmosphere of the post-war country.

2. The most iconic adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes stories was filmed 40 years ago

This is the British series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes from Granada Television, which premiered in 1984. The detective was played by Jeremy Brett. It is this screen version that film critic Alexei Khromov considers the closest to the works of Arthur Conan Doyle.

3. 'Big Little Lies' is Reese Witherspoon

She is not only an actress and producer, but also a great reader. It was Reese Witherspoon who undertook to make a movie based on Liana Moriarty's book Big Little Lies. More specifically, she and Nicole Kidman bought the rights together just a month after the novel was published. Moreover, it was immediately planned to make a film, but gradually the idea grew into a mini-series.

A little later, the duet of actresses joined Jean-Marc Vallee is the legendary director who directed Dallas Buyers Club. In 2014, he already worked with Reese Witherspoon on the film Wild. Both Valle and Witherspoon were very pleased with the cooperation. Therefore, when the actress called the director to shoot Big Little Lies, he immediately agreed.

Initially, it was agreed that Valle would direct only the first episode of the series, but he ended up directing the entire first season. And so the unique team of the stellar project was born - out of love for the book and friendship with the director.

4. The first season of Dexter is based on the novel

The beginning of Dexter's eight-season story is based on bestseller Jeff Lindsay's Dexter's Dreaming Demon. And “based on” is an important clarification here. In the film adaptation, readers will not find some plot twists. For example, in the books, Dexter wielded a mask, and when he encountered the Ice Killer, at some point he began to doubt whether he was killing himself and sending messages to himself.

And then the stories of the screen and book Dexter went their separate ways. Film critic Alexei Khromov cited as an example the third part of the novel, in which a certain Moloch appears. It’s as if it’s not the dark side of a person, but a separate supernatural being that inhabits people. There is nothing like that in the series.

5. Bruce Willis played three episodes of Friends for free

For 10 years of filming and another 17 years of broadcasting the series, each of the main actors earned about 400 million dollars. During the first year, the fees of the leading actors doubled. For each episode of the second season, the actors received 40 thousand dollars. And in the ninth and tenth seasons, the stars' fees reached a million dollars per episode.

With such numbers, it is not surprising that at different times in the show appeared also Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Isabella Rossellini and other Hollywood celebrities. Although not all of them received royalties for filming. Bruce Willis did not star in the series because of the money, but because he lost the bet to Matthew Perry. What was the bet and why Brad Pitt did not want to play in "Friends" even for money, you will learn from the issue.

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