Bomb Girls

[Wyn vdSchee]

Anyone catch the first episode of this prime-time soap opera? One of the male characters gets into the female lead's knickers by appealing to her sympathy, claiming that his battalion is "shipping out" soon to go to some unspecified battlefront. Trouble is, the male is wearing an RCAF other rank's uniform, without airman's shoulder insignia, so he would not be facing the enemy in the air (All aircrew were sergeants or above). Either he is banking on the female's ignorance of the armed forces, or the producers assume the audience is so ignorant we can't differentiate between army and air force uniforms

[David Tremain]

Wyn, I watched it the other night and also picked up on what you saw. However, I thought I saw at one point a Flying Officer's or Pilot Officer's ring on his sleeve; it was hrd to tell as it looked too dark (the ring, that is). He also mentioned about joining his "battalion". As any Air Force buff knows, the RCAF and the RAF didn't have battalions. I also wouldn't have thought that such a junior officer, if that's what he was meant to be, would have been sent to inform someone that their husband had just been shot down. Surely the padre and a more senior officer.
David

[edstorey]

I managed to sit through the complete first episode. I think the production staff are just trying too hard with this piece when it comes to the script, and the writing is trite but when you analyze the details of the program I get the impression that the writing staff do not seem to really understand the Second World War period. One key moment of this first episode has what appears to be a RCAF LAC and a Sgt delivering to the manager of the shop the news of the death overseas of one of the husbands of one of the 'girls' on the floor. The two fellows in the 'RCAF' also appeared to know the circumstances and details of the raid and it is the shift matron goes and springs the news on the poor 'girl' on the line. Pure fiction and apparently those who wrote this show had never heard of telegrams and that this sort of dreadfull news was delivered in what we would now consider to be a most impersonal way during the war. It was this small scene in the show that highlights what appears to me anyway to be the complete lack of background research into anything that is military related. It also seems to me that this inherent lack of research seems to permeate Canadian productions these days.

As was mentioned there was ahuge blunder with the RCAF fellow asking the young woman if she knew his battalion.

I know nothing about how munitions were manufactured during the war or anything about civilian attire from that period, so I will let those who may know about these aspects of the war to add their critique to the show. As could be expected, the uniforms and those who are in them are horrid. The love-sick RCAF Sgt does not appear to own any headdress, the insignia on all of the uniforms are wrong, many of the uniform combinations are wrong and the actors in them are dressed like they should be out on Halloween. With the amount of books available, websites that are freely accessible and museums which own the uniforms, getting this aspect of the TV series right should have been easier than putting together the civilian clothing. Again, I think when it comes to anything military, Canadian TV production companies do not care or just hire people who are not fully qualified to replicate accurate military clothing for the period.

I also have to ask myself, how hard is it to get a CMP or an early Dodge in the Toronto (where the show was produced) area because in the opening scene of the program, and this set the tone for me, the military vehicle being used is a late war US ¾ ton. Makes me wonder, who supplied that vehicle and how much did it cost; and if the production company couldn't get the right type of Canadian truck, then tweak the scene so you do not need a military vehicle. Again it is also not like there is not enough vehicle information out there for the novice set director or props-master to be able to go out and research period military vehicles.

This series has real potential, the material is fresh and the topic is interesting but once again it is let down by the details. The series does not rely on expensive CGI and does not have to deal with the complexities of combat, so I really wonder why the military aspects of the production could not be done correctly. This is only a six-part series and getting completely wrong the process in which next-of-kin in Canada were informed of military casualties makes me wonder just how much research was actually done for this production. I would think that there is enough documented material of what the life of factory workers was like during the war that the writers could easily have filled the show with real experiences rather than making stuff up.

Canadians are always writing that the youth of today do not know anything about the contribution Canadians made to win the Second World War and that our education system has let us down. There are also comments that are made that say that we as Canadians (read the media) to not spend any money telling Canadians what we did. Well this was another chance to accurately and interestingly educate and entertain Canadians about our history and once again someone thought that fiction would be more interesting than fact.

I also know that the average Canadian has no idea about period wartime uniforms, vehicles or how factories operated and that they just want to be entertained for 48 minutes. When this episode was screened at the CWM in Ottawa in November that the reviews from those in attendance, and some had been bomb girls during the war, was favorable, so perhaps I am expecting and asking too much for when it comes to accuracy.

Unlike the summer TV series about the Role 3 Combat Hospital in Kandahar, which was so bad I could only just sit through one episode, I plan to give this show another viewing next week.

[Wyn vdSchee]

Well stated, Ed! I thought I spotted some people in what looked like bits American GI uniforms in the dance sequence, but the scenes went by too quickly.
Wyn

[edstorey]

Well, I sat through another episode of 'Bomb Girls' and as a feared; the show is getting farther from the truth with each passing week.

We have now progressed to factory workers test firing their product with a 25-Pdr, those same factory workers having the knowledge of ordnance experts and one of the girls getting a forged security clearance to maintain a position in the factory. I will admit to knowing very little about the process of quality control for ammunition, but I doubt that factory workers test fired their own products using artillery.

Considering that this series is only in six parts and that the overall theme of the production is really very good, it just saddens me that no-one really understands the period and therefore cannot seem to come up with believable episodes. The period 1939-45 is an exciting time in which interpersonal experiences could be explored, such as how would one of these women deal with a boyfriend or husband (a real one, not like the one in the first episode) heading off overseas. You could build on the drama throughout the series of how those women with husbands or boyfriends dealt with them being overseas, the letters or the lack there of, the possible infidelities and the never knowing if that telegram being delivered is the one, or if his name shows up on a list in the newspaper.

This was a time when companies could have a beauty pageant for female workers and no-one thought it was sexist, especially if it involved lifting the spirits of the boys in uniform; it would be easy to build a story around this type of activity and still stay within the factory setting.

Since women were making inroads in all aspects of life, it would even be possible to write about how one of the characters may be drawn to joining one of the womens services and how the factory could potentially loose a skilled worker.

What do we get? Made-up fiction that is trying very hard to pass as our story. Sad really. Very sad and disappointing.

[edstorey]

Following the second episode I thought I would have a look at the Bomb Girls website and I thought that in concept it was not too bad.

http://www.globaltv.com/bombgirls/index.html

Actually, I was impressed, not necessarily with the content, more on that in a minute, but with the overall look and feel. In my opinion I was impressed by the website and thought, this is good and is something that I would like to see if I visited a museum website. Nice images and graphics and lots of buttons to explore. Loads of potential with this website, a potential unfulfilled.

Now I am not sure who the site is aimed at, but where it falls short is in actual factual material. There is the usual fluff that can be quickly harvested by a visit to the Library and Archives, CWM or a host of other institutions in Canada, but there was really no meat to chew into. I can imagine that for the average Canadian this type of site is enough to perhaps draw them to the television program of give them a taste of the period, but do they really learn anything? This sort of site is the perfect medium in which Canadians can learn about their history without having to crack a book or darken the door of a library, yet for some reason the designers have set the education level low, very low.

The Bomb Girls television show is about civilian female factory workers, yet the website has quite a few CWAC images. Again mostly LAC stuff. The interview with the real 'Bomb Girl' is good.

There is nothing on say what did a factory worker eat for lunch or what was their rate of pay. I did not see anything on production rates and how Canada started the war as one of the least prepared nations on the planet and ended the war six years later as a manufacturing powerhouse.

There is also nothing on the Q.F. 25-Pr Howitzer or the ammunition it fired, yet this is apparently what factory is producing. As a side bar, once again those produced this show do not seem to know much about the 25-Pr ammunition as the casings that are being manufactured in the program do not match what real casings looked like and there also appears to be 3.7in AA ammunition in the factory as well. There is a segment on making the prop projectiles, but no explaination as to what the real item was.

Funny how on the website they actually explain how telegrams were used to inform the next of kin about killed or missing service members, yet this dramatic part of life during the war was fictionalized in episode 1.

I really think that the no money and low budgets excuse has been played too many times and that we set the bar low and are content to stay there.

[Wyn vdSchee]

You have a sharp eye for detail, Ed. I was about to rattle on about testing 25-pounder shells in the factory's back forty, but you beat me to the punch! Thanks for directing the attention of the forum to the web site for the show. It might be worth while checking the show's for the name of any military consultants used, if indeed there were any. I suspect they did a cursory visit to the War Museum, considered they had done their research and then went about in blissful ignorance to put the show together.

[BWEF]

To fellow British readers.

This is available online. I have seen episode one, so far.

http://whoe2010.blogspot.com/search/label/Bomb%20Girls

Great stuff the internet!

[MUDDYHERB]

Please Edward, stay focused.

It is a cbc mellow-drama. Naught greater. What cbc may voice as entertainment. Is not a factual encounter. It does not impede there artistic authority.

So please sit back and enjoy, you can always change the channel.

[DavidS]

Originally Posted by MUDDYHERB

Please Edward, stay focused.

It is a cbc mellow-drama. Naught greater. What cbc may voice as entertainment. Is not a factual encounter. It does not impede there artistic authority.

So please sit back and enjoy, you can always change the channel.

Global TV production actually, not CBC. Can't blame the Mother Corp. for this one.

[edstorey]

Muddyherb - you missed the point completely and support what I am saying which is that the viewing public are too content to settle for the lowest common denominator when it comes to entertainment. I completely understand that this is a television program, and that I do not have to watch it, but this show had so much potential and could easily have relied on real material for the episodes.
By drawing on the real material and making the show as historically accurate as possible, this show could have entertained and subtly educated at the same time. Instead, by falling back on fabricated fiction, this just proves that once again television production companies take the easy way out and make stuff up and what is worse is that this formula is supported by people like you, the viewing public.
Instead of stating the obvious, you could have perhaps posted your thoughts on the content of the show, but again, I guess I am expecting too much.

[Michael Dorosh]

Originally Posted by Wyn vdSchee

You have a sharp eye for detail, Ed. I was about to rattle on about testing 25-pounder shells in the factory's back forty, but you beat me to the punch! Thanks for directing the attention of the forum to the web site for the show. It might be worth while checking the show's for the name of any military consultants used, if indeed there were any. I suspect they did a cursory visit to the War Museum, considered they had done their research and then went about in blissful ignorance to put the show together.

One of their advisors is posting on my forum. I'm sure Ed and a number of regulars here - myself included - can attest to the experience of providing expertise to production companies, and how well that expertise is utilized. This is not always a "fault" on behalf of the production company; sometimes it is simply the reality of producing for film or television.

[Cammy]

Truly enterainment for those who aren't quite up on what the period was all about,how they did things and how they looked while doing it. I agree with much of that you guys are saying here. I for one am very happy that the period is being brought to the forefront again in such a "prime time" way. It drives my wife crazy whenever I sit down with her and pick out all of the incorrectness of the show,but after I get past it and settle down to watch(as the wife tells me to do) I actually enjoy the show.

But again...why not be as accurate as you can when trying to do this. My opinion;In the end,Canadian produced movies will never live up to our American counterparts for production value. Stopping there...

I'll hopefully be finishing up my mini doc on the North Novies by years end so I can ensure the North Novie vets can be there for it,but it will be based on the inteviews I've done with the boys over the last two years.Although(for the most part) their memories aren't as good as they were, I'll be giving them a voice,and not telling it the way I feel it would best sell. Again,in the end...it's their story.Lets give them tribute by at least getting it "close" to right!
Phew...there we go.