Sgt Milner & Comments

[Tracy]

I found Foyle's War on PBS here in the US in 2004 and have loved it.  I bought season 1.  As the mother of a son who was born without an arm, I was angry when Milner's wife walked out on him.  I don't recollect her in season 2 or 3 and am hoping Milner divorces her.  Anthony Horowitz has hinted at a relationship between Sam and Andrew, I would love to see Milner have a good relationship.  Guess here in the US we'll have to wait till 2006 for season 4.  Any thoughts as to why there are only 2 episodes in season 4?

[nona fiona]

I found Foyle's War on PBS here in the US in 2004 and have loved it.  I bought season 1.  As the mother of a son who was born without an arm, I was angry when Milner's wife walked out on him.  I don't recollect her in season 2 or 3 and am hoping Milner divorces her. ]

Jane appeared in one film in FW2 but none in FW3. There is only mention that she had returned to Wales and it is more than likely that
she will remain there! Sadly the is she/isn't she pregnant storyline from FW2 was dropped.

Anthony Horowitz has hinted at a relationship between Sam and Andrew, I would love to see Milner have a good relationship.

I think it was more than a hint, especially in FW3 when it was quite clear they were involved.

Guess here in the US we'll have to wait till 2006 for season 4.  Any thoughts as to why there are only 2 episodes in season 4?

Other committments, all around, apparently. But two is better than none

[Tracy]

FW3 just finished showing here in the US and guess I totally missed the hint of a relationship between Sam and Milner.  I definitely picked up on Sam and Andrew.

[nona fiona]

Sorry, I must have misunderstood you. I thought you said "Anthony Horowitz has hinted at a relationship between Sam and Andrew" which is why I said it was more than a hint.

[Lynette]

American fans who have only seen Foyle's War on PBS missed Jane Milner's appearance in Fifty Ships (season two) as it was cut.

They also missed the hint of a possible pregnancy in Among the Few -- that was cut too.

And there was a brief scene in The French Drop, first show of Season Three, where Milner tells Sam that his wife has gone back to Wales, apparently for good. PBS cut that too.

No wonder Tracy is confused about what happened to Milner's marriage! Bloody PBS butchers.

But you should know, Tracy, that even if he chooses to initiate divorce proceedings it was a slow process. One had to be separated for a minimum of five years back then before one could file for a divorce, and the only acceptable grounds were adultery, cruelty, desertion, bigamy or incest. The concept of a "no-fault" divorce did not yet exist -- the person who petitioned for the divorce was seen as the "innocent" party and the other spouse as the "guilty" party in the breakdown of the marriage. There was a lasting social stigma laid on both partners, but especially on the "guilty" spouse.

It was considered the "gentlemanly" thing for a man to agree to provide evidence to his wife of his adultery so that she could be viewed as the "innocent" party, even if that evidence was staged. Of course, if the courts got so much as a hint of collusion between two people who didn't want to be married to each other any more then they would refuse to grant a divorce. Nutty system!

Maybe we need a well-place light incendiary bomb to take care of Jane Milner, thus freeing Paul for a more deserving woman!

Tracy, get the US DVDs of seasons two and three (the latter will be out in a few weeks).

[Tracy]

Thanks Lynette.  I've got season 2 on order and will order season 3 in the next couple of weeks.  I have been disappointed to find that PBS cuts the show.  At least I get to see it all on the DVDs.    Yes a well placed bomb would be nice for Jane.  I do think that Sgt Milner has a case for cruelty and desertion.  I just can't understand.  I mean, it makes for a good story line and truthfully, I remember my doctor asking if I wanted to keep my son or give him up for adoption because he didn't have an arm.  I was stunned.  I can't imagine that if you truly love someone that it stops with the loss of a body part or sense.  I guess that says Sgt Milner's marriage was not a good one to begin with but he didn't have a clue.

Watching this series has been fascinating.  I'll e-mail friends who are British and ask questions.  One friend's father who was a child during the war said a neighbor remembers a bomb blowing up a bank and it raining money.  

I hate that we're a year behind y'all (my Texas showing).  It's not fair.  But like you said, it's just going to be butchered when we get it.

So is FW popular over there?  I hope so as I would love to see quite a few more years.

[Lynette]

I do think that Sgt Milner has a case for cruelty and desertion

He sure does, Tracy. She's the one who has left him and the marital home, so she's certainly guilty of desertion. As for cruelty -- Milner didn't just lose his leg, he lost it fighting for his country, so I can't imagine any judge not siding with him in such a fervently patriotic atmostphere.

I think the real question is -- will Milner be able to bring himself to file for divorce? To do so would have seemed ungentlemanly by the standards of the day because it means accusing her of wrongdoing, of a moral lapse. As I said before, in these situations most "well-bred" men would accept the blame for the breakdown of the marriage by providing evidence of adultery (even if it was fabricated) rather than place the stigma of guilt upon the wife. (Yes, I realize this sounds nutty to contemporary ears, especially American ears.)  Divorce is still painful even today; back then, with the social stigma attached, it was even more so. And Milner is such a nice guy. Will he be able to inflict that pain upon Jane (and upon himself) in order to be free of a wife who finds him repulsive?

Like I said, a well-placed light incendiary would solve the whole problem!  

As for the show -- yes, it has been very well-received in the UK. Certainly the ratings were good enough to justify future episodes, and it's a costly production to mount.  The first season won a BAFTA award (British Academy of Film and Television Awards -- like our Emmys) for Best New Series, or something like that -- I believe it was one of those viewer-vote awards like our People's Choice awards.

[lilyvegas]

So I am about 3 1/2 years behind here, but wanted to chime in on the whole Milner thing.

One of the best things about this show I think is the way it shows us glimpses of character's personal lives, but doesn't do it in an over the top way.  I love how the characters have all developed, but done so so subtely.

I ended up buying the entire series because I liked the bits and pieces I saw on PBS, but deicded that I was tired of not getting the full story, and I also really wanted to see where Anthony Howell started with his character.  All of the characters really.  So glad I did.

(Uh oh, just saw the warning about no one being here for over 120 days, but I am not allowed to post a new topic yet.)

I'd like to know what happened with the reference to Jane being pregnant.  I wonder if it was a decision made to not have them have a child together, and just let Jane go, and see what happened if these characters were not bound by a child.