Another Flip for Dominick (1982) - Alan Gibson & Jeremy Paul


by Iain Stott - Date: 2008-07-17 - Word Count: 397 Share This!

Alan Gibson and Jeremy Paul's sequel to the cracking time travel comedy-drama The Flipside of Dominick Hide (1980). Although inferior to its predecessor and as such something of a disappointment, it is anything but the disaster that it might have been. Its trouble, I think, is that it has tried to cram too much in to its brief running time, and as such has lost the relaxed ambling pace of the first film. Where the original film managed so elegantly, to balance science-fiction with human drama, here it is often an ugly mix. The film also lacks the humour of the first film, which was often quite delightful.

One of the main concerns of this sequel is that of time travelling ethics. When a colleague of Dominick's dies in 1982, he returns to just before the incident in order to prevent this from happening. This is seen by all as perfectly acceptable. But when he goes back in time to prevent an argument that he had with his girlfriend/great-great-great-grandmother, he foolishly tells her of his actions and they end up having the same fight again, although this time for different reasons. Do meddling time travellers' actions allow only time travellers to learn, to grow?

Where this sequel works best, if one is in the mood for such a thing, is in its depiction of the complexities involved in keeping a love-pentagon (don't ask me how this works, because it doesn't) going. Dominick (Peter Firth) Loves his wife Ava (Pippa Guard)and his great-great-great-grandmother Jane (Caroline Langrishe), both of whom have fathered his children. Jane has taken up with a musician, and loves both the musician and Dominick, who she knows that she can never be with. Ava has met a juggler/home-helper, but she still loves Dominick even though she is no longer willing to share him with Jane, even if Jane is long dead. There is an air of tragedy about the way this matter is concluded, and it is concluded in the only way it ever really could have been - unhappily (The final scene with Dominick wiping a video is quite devastating.)

Another Flip for Dominick, is disappointing in the context of the original, but if one looks at it from a wider perspective, then it is quietly effective, entertaining and moving, if a little messy. But, I for one, can overlook a little mess for the right time traveller.


Related Tags: television, sci-fi, science-fiction

Iain Stott is a 32 year old aesthete from the north west of England.

Your Article Search Directory : Find in Articles

© The article above is copyrighted by it's author. You're allowed to distribute this work according to the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs license.
 

Recent articles in this category:



Most viewed articles in this category: