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Underground > Film, TV & Theatre >

Rosemary & Thyme

17:27 / 15.09.03

I was home for the weekend last weekend & watched an episode of this for the first time. For those not in the know, it appears to be a show about two women who, um, have a gardening business or something, and they solve murders. One of them is Felicity Kendal, who is quite femme and known by her first name (Rosemary); the other is a bit more butch (solider, short hair) and known by her last name (Thyme). They have breakfast together occasionally and appear to have little romantic interest in the opposite sex.

More obviously a gay couple than Edina and Patsy in Absolutely Fabulous; less obviously than Willow and Tara in Buffy. What's going on? Has anyone seen more of this than me? Is it one of those half-consciously slashy/keeping-our-options open things they keep doing these days? Because if they were going to come out, and ITV was running a prime-time murder mystery with Felicity Kendal as a lesbian, I would be really happy.

18:39 / 15.09.03

Thyme is apparently Pam Ferris.

puffy article

19:12 / 15.09.03

Thanks, fridgemagnet! I feel totally vindicated! Behold Felicity Kendal using every available code to communicate the gayness of Rosemary and Thyme:

"What's also great is that we're not looking for [sc. heterosexual] romantic entanglements. They are just two women who are connected through the work that they do. I think it's nice to have two women developing a close bond in a gentle, entertaining and hopefully amusing series."

Rosemary and Laura need and like each other - "a bit like Cagney and Lacey", she says.

"The producer, Brian Eastman, described it as a buddy movie - two women have a life-changing experience and set off on a new life together."

Happy, happy sigh.

21:01 / 15.09.03

This makes me wonder what's going on with Alan Cumming's gay detective series Mr. and Mr. Nash. It was supposed to debut this fall on ABC, but I haven't heard anything about it, not even who his partner is going to be....

23:08 / 15.09.03

The "a bit like Cagney and Lacey" thing is a dead giveaway, I admit. Presumably she gave a naughty little Felicity Kendal wink at the same time.

16:27 / 29.09.03

Still really enjoying this, by the way. Last week Felicity Kendall fell into Pam Ferris's arms after Pam saved her life, there was a lot of couply bickering over whether to get a cat or a dog for what must presumably be their shared home, and we got the line "It's a good thing you didn't marry Hugo - that really would have been a case of 'three's a crowd'!"

(Well, I never said I was watching it for the scintillating dialogue.)