Sunday, September 20, 2009

Trinity?

Oh. Dear. ITV2 tonight starts a new series, Trinity. You can watch a trailer here.

The website says:

Set in the gothic, oak panelled halls of residence and lecture theatres of the fictional Bridgeford University, Trinity College, the ITV2 eight part series brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "first term nerves".

For over 900 years, Trinity has been an elite playground solely for the über rich and powerful. However, for the first time in its long and illustrious history, Trinity is about to throw open its doors to the (sic) hoi polloi!

As new girl Charlotte and her fellow students settle in, they begin to realise that all is not what it seems at Trinity.

Beneath the glamorous veneer of wealth and privilege lurks a much darker world, ruled by the mysterious Dandelion Club: a select group of over-privileged students used to getting their own way.

Trinity boasts a host of gorgeous (sic), up-and-coming new talent alongside great established names, including Charles Dance, Claire Skinner & Christian Cooke.

I'm not sure whether I can stomach it, to be honest, having seen a few minutes. It's Cruel Intentions meets Porterhouse Blue meets some half-formed idea about UK higher education being more open to people from different social classes. It's real ITV2 stuff. I hope both Trinity colleges have good lawyers on the case already.

5 comments:

RJR said...

I received another Trinity alumnus newsletter yesterday; it was utterly revolting and I think they deserve whatever they get.

Darius Jedburgh said...

Don't you mean "all three Trinity colleges"?

James Warren said...

Yes, I suppose it should. Whoops. On the other hand, I reckon the 'producers' probably had the English ones in mind. They did set it, after all, in 'Trinity College, Bridgeford University'... I watched some of it last night and it was one of the worst things I have seen in some time. Not a patch on the excellent 'Sleb Come Dine with Me' on C4 earlier.

stc said...

I watched it too -- O dear, it doesn't even fall into the "so bad it's good" category. It's just plain awful. And with some major drawbacks, the most obvious of which are that the writers (a) have clearly never been to or have otherwise any accurate idea about Oxbridge (my favourite moment was the one where the porters were moving someone's bags - ha); and (b) have clearly not been near a real teenager/undergraduate in a good twenty years or so. I think my plan to make my fortune with a racy drama serial set in a Cambridge college is probably still safe.

mdamfs said...

I was blissfully unaware of this enthralling series until earlier on today I got an e-newsletter from Poppleton proudly noting that much of it had been filmed there. I recognize some glimpses of reality from your comments: it is not Bridge or Ford, but Poppleton itself.