Maybe Ms. Davis doesn't smoke? Or better yet, the revolting idea of having those gorgeous ensembles enveloped by cigarette smoke swayed the producers. Having one of her assistants chain-smoke should be enough.
__________________
Est modus in rebus sunt certi denique fines quos ultra citraque nequit consistere rectum Goldilocks
I don't know how the Aussies do it, but believe it or not, in the U.S. the MPAA can affect a movie's rating if the characters smoke cigarettes. It's P.C. run amuck.
shareI'm pretty sure smoking constitutes drug use, and drug use "can be shown discreetly but should not be promoted or encouraged." Anything that affects ratings also affects the time slot in which they can air the show - it would have to be on later. Having TV Phryne smoke would probably be viewed as glamorising drug use.
Worst. Rescue. EVER!
Here in the U.S., they list the reasons for a particular rating for a TV show/movie. Among drug use, nudity, violence, etc. there is now smoking.
shareSmoking isn't singled out here, but we don't exactly spell out the other drugs used either.
Worst. Rescue. EVER!
I'm just as happy without characters smoking. My parents smoked when I was growing up (long ago, before the truth came out) and my sinuses are messed up. Whenever a movie or television show includes a lot of smoking, especially a smoky room, my mind can 'smell' the smoke. I know it adds atmosphere, and sometimes a sense or realism, but I can do without it.
shareHere in the U.S., they list the reasons for a particular rating for a TV show/movie. Among drug use, nudity, violence, etc. there is now smoking.
At the end of Season 1 during the Masquerade party at Phryne's Aunt Prudence's house, her cousin make brownies with Hash in them and Mr. Butler over indulges -- not knowing. I don't think the show has qualms about drugs, but they were camouflaged to Aunt Prudence and Dot as having fig inside and Aunt Prudence doesn't like figs, so she didn't try any. It was a wink, wink for everyone else, until Phryne explains during a excited moment that the brownies have Hash in them.
Joel: What do you want for Christmas, Crow?
Crow: I wanna decide who lives and who dies! (MST3K)
I'm pretty sure smoking constitutes drug use
other countries are allowed to do as they wish. That is called freedom and isn't this program you like enough to watch?? Personally, I like my actors acting, not smoking. BTW, it is run AMOK not amuck.
shareI think I saw her smoking in some of the first season shows, when she was more of a flapper and going to the jazz clubs.
shareI think I saw her smoking in some of the first season showsCorrect, I just started watching this series.
She smokes. At least on the first season. So does her doctor friend.
shareHey folks,
When I grew up in the 1940s and 1950s, a much larger percentage of our population smoked at that time than we find smoking now. Our films and TV reflected that behavior at that time, and in my personal opinion, the use of cigarettes as a prop was so overused it could be distracting to the story. Even the use of close up shots of a striking match or flashing lighter was overdone in so many films and TV shows.
The use of smoking as a prop in film and TV continued for many years after the Surgeon General's report on smoking finally moved many folks away from the tobacco use of my youth. Sometime during and after the 1970s, the use of smoking in film and TV dwindled over time, and now it no longer seems to be required as it used to be. Yes, it is still seen in those shows depicting certain types of characters, but one may argue the film and TV industry of today is perhaps reflecting the reality of smoking in life today. The fact is that a large percentage of the population who smoked many years ago have actually quit smoking in their later years. I started smoking in 1955 and quit in 1974.
In the case of this show, however, it would seem to me the character Phryne would not be out of place smoking at times - considering the period in which it takes place. I am just glad to not have to watch old fashioned dramatic scenes of lighting cigarettes with camera cuts between the actors eyes while the cigarette is lighted, smoke inhaled, smoke exhaled, and then more dumb stares for dramatic effect.
I have no need nor any love for the nanny state, but I am glad to be spared the dumb use of smoking for unnecessary effect as was the case in my younger days.
Best wishes,
Dave Wile
Well, you're not just blowing smoke here Dave. A few years ago, I tuned in to check out a new series called Mad Men , because I grew up in the sixties and they seemed to take great pains in recreating the look and feel of the tumultuous decade. The male characters were constantly lighting up and pouring drinks. I thought it was a bit over-done to further the cliché of the time period. Then I watched an episode of Kraft Suspense Theater filmed in 1964, and I thought I was watching Mad Men. Everyone at the party had a lit cigarette and drink in hand.
Further proof of smoking in older films and TV series can readily be seen in Humphrey Bogart movies, Perry Mason reruns, and Edward R. Murrow broadcasts.
A higher percentage of the population used to smoke, brought on by the U.S. Government providing cigarettes in the rations of our soldiers in various wars. They brought the habit home with them.
Best wishes,
Clintessence