Welcome to Wrexham (Disney+)

[Shimmyhill]

3 hours ago, glb said:

‘Former’ is a tad harsh, although to all intents and purposes, probably not far off the inevitable 

 

I thought ‘footballer’ was generous

 

Love this show, between Disney and Apple they have the best football content - madness!

[ZOK]

It’s really enjoyable - I keep thinking I prefer it when Rob & Ryan aren’t in it, then they pop up and do something entertaining.

 

We were shaking our heads in disbelief at the woman cop who was with the hoolie - man alive, get some self-respect. He’s already cost you your career!

[Nick R]

16 hours ago, Fatsam said:

There are quite a few errors with the subtitle stuff too where they are clearly guessing things like the words to the Aaron Hayden song, managing to hear "Wears a Deadpool Mask" instead of "Wears a Magic Hat" which obviously makes much more sense. Not sure why they didn't run it all by someone local. Actually I think I remember hearing Humphrey Ker saying he checked some subtitle stuff they weren't sure of which would explain things.

 

I've spotted a few times when the optional Disney+ closed captions are on-screen at the same time as the burned-in subtitles, and the two don't match. (It's hard to say which of the two sets has been more accurate overall!)

 

There's also been at least one occasion (episode 8 or 9 I think) when the same word was used in consecutive sentences, but subtitled differently each time - first as "penalty" and then "punting", IIRC.

 

And then there's the tour of the physio room where the subtitle says "Visio"...

[Fierce Poodle]

6 hours ago, ZOK said:

We were shaking our heads in disbelief at the woman cop who was with the hoolie - man alive, get some self-respect. He’s already cost you your career!

That bit really annoyed me, there didn’t seem to be any reason why such an intelligent woman was with such a loser.

[smithstock]

8 hours ago, ZOK said:

It’s really enjoyable - I keep thinking I prefer it when Rob & Ryan aren’t in it, then they pop up and do something entertaining.

 

We were shaking our heads in disbelief at the woman cop who was with the hoolie - man alive, get some self-respect. He’s already cost you your career!

Totally agree. It was a dour note on an otherwise great series.

 

I liked how they tried to humanise the real heroes associated with the club, rather than inflating the screen time with hollywood ego's. 

[Monkeyboy]

Yeah, she’s definitely not listening to her gut instinct which is saying “just run from this guy, run!” highlighted when she was having serious doubts about having a kid with him.

[Mawdlin]

Watched all 15 episodes in two days and really enjoyed it.

 

That Wrexham vs Dover game was the highlight.

 

Itching to google what happens next in Wrexham's story but I'm going to try wait till the next season lands.

 

If you like this then definitely check out Sunderland Till I Die.

[pledge]

11 hours ago, Mawdlin said:

Watched all 15 episodes in two days and really enjoyed it.

 

That Wrexham vs Dover game was the highlight.

 

Itching to google what happens next in Wrexham's story but I'm going to try wait till the next season lands.

 

If you like this then definitely check out Sunderland Till I Die.

There's 18 episodes, so you don't need to wait for next season just yet.  Three more were added yesterday.

[Mawdlin]

40 minutes ago, pledge said:

There's 18 episodes, so you don't need to wait for next season just yet.  Three more were added yesterday.

That's my evening sorted!

[Gambit]

Watching the final episode 

 

Spoiler

So we not going to mention that it looked like a clear handball by Mullin for that goal? Okay.

 

[Azrael]

Even though I knew what happened it didn't take away from enjoying this series. 

[Mawdlin]

Final thoughts on a terrific series.

 

Spoiler

- Although I was incredibly invested in Wrexham doing well I'm glad they didn't get promoted. It would have been, for want of a better word, too Hollywood. I do hope they get promoted next season though. This is in stark contrast to Sunderland (Sunderland Till I Die) where the directors/PR types come across as arseholes.

 

- My favourite moment had nothing to do with football. It was Humprey Ker doing his lame marching audition for Obi-Wan.

 

- I thought it was clever getting the Grimsby director's perspective in the final episode. Shows that most clubs down in the National League are fighting for their communities, their fans and their traditions.

 

- That song about Deadpool they keep introducing in nearly every episode as if trying to make it the next Three Lions is fucking terrible.

 

- Yeah, Mullins definitely did a Hand of God. Funny it never got mentioned.

 

[Quest]

I'm just annoyed that those kids sang about Wrexham being the oldest club in the league. Fibbers!

[ZOK]

It looked like a clear handball, but as we saw throughout the series Wrexham got apparently screwed on bad decisions loads of times, so hey ho that’s football!

 

Great series.

[jonamok]

Thoroughly enjoyed that start to finish. Assume they’ve already been filming for S2?

[Fatsam]

Yep, they'll be a series two.

 

I reckon it's been brilliant. About as good as I could expect it to be I think. Importantly, because some were worried about this, an accurate and fair depiction of the town and the club.  That's the Wrexham I know. Not a "nasty town" as MrHendo described on the previous page. And it coveys the madness of a season and a half under the new owners really well.

 

There's a magic formula there in the episodes where they build things around one particular game. I think those are generally the strongest.

 

Loved the Ryan coming over on his own one, but my favourite episode is the Chesterfield game with lovely Scoot from The Declan Swans, Lainton, and that kid collecting autographs. Owners taking a back seat. More than any other showing how much a part of peoples lives a football club is for those who trundle down to watch games come rain or shine. And that interconnectivity between supporters, players and club you get. Basically how special non/lower league football is in this country. Done to perfection in 25 minutes. 

 

Really liked that short bit on Grimsby in the last episode too. We've shown you Wrexham, but there all these other clubs out there too with their stories.

[ckny]

Didn't expect that from the penultimate episode. My favourite of the season by far.

[Alan Stock]

Whilst waiting around for the rest of Andor, I was struggling to find anything I was interested in on Disney+. But I'd seen Welcome to Wrexham had good reviews so thought I'd try a few episodes, after all its an intriguing concept. Being a super casual footy follower myself meant I had no idea about Wrexham or really anything about the lower leagues.

 

I ended up literally watching the whole show in one long night, all 18 episodes. That's how good it is. What you've got here is an endearing, honest, brutal, funny and ultimately compelling story about two well-intentioned Hollywood guys who come in to try and create an underdog success story. But the show only follows Rob and Ryan's perspective as a small part of the week-to-week ups and downs of a low league football club. Most of the show is focused on the community, the players and the games. It's frank and doesn't shy away from the realities of the fears, setbacks and hard decisions for both the new owners, the club and fans. It's always going to be biased because its a documentary by the club owners, but they've included stuff they didn't have to that shows tough business decisions, dissappointments and moments where you can see the strain of what Rob and Ryan have taken on. But they are funny guys too, and know when to inject some humour even at the toughest times, and the fans of course provide plenty of their own entertainment.

 

The football itself is very dramatised with plenty of slowmo and added sound effects but it does its job well in selling the big moments. Ultimately they're telling a story and the show does a good job of focussing in on individual players and fans and then following their fortunes, hopes and fears on a more personal level through multiple episodes. It's sometimes a bit overdone with its hollywood sheen and rosey tinted glasses, and its the kind of show we've seen before, but that doesn't detract from its overall appeal.

 

There's also a slight whiff of unfairness or manufactured rags-to-riches story when Rob and Ryan are bringing in top players and staff from higher divisions, on a budget well above most of their league competitors. But as you get to know Wrexham, what the fans have been through, and realise that money helps but its still a very tough league, those concerns become secondary. Plus when you see what a boost its giving to the community and Rob and Ryan's growing attachment to the club.

 

Some reviews said it was too long at 18 episodes and repeated itself at times, but for me it was like being a fan following the club's wins and losses, getting to know Wrexham's characters and Rob and Ryan's journey. I definitely think this is worth a watch - 4/5 from me.

[JohnC]

As an aside

 

4 minutes ago, Alan Stock said:

Whilst waiting around for the rest of Andor, I was struggling to find anything I was interested in on Disney+.

 

If you've not seen it already, Mr Inbetween.

[LaveDisco]

9 minutes ago, JohnC said:

As an aside

 

 

If you've not seen it already, Mr Inbetween.

And The Bear

[Alan Stock]

I'll check out Mr Inbetween, thanks. Yep I finished the last episode of The Bear as well last night, great series, and as a former restaurant worker myself it gave me hints of PTSD 

 

[Nick R]

Early in the series, Shaun Harvey gets hired, and it's presented as if it's just going to be temporary, until they can find a more permanent appointment. (IIRC there's also a mention of him having another job elsewhere at the same time?)

 

But then - spoilers! - he ends up staying throughout the whole season.

 

I'm curious about whether there's anything more to the story of him staying there longer than originally intended? Or maybe there was, but it wasn't interesting enough to be worth covering?

[Alan Stock]

I don't know anything about him but the Wikipedia page for the show mentions he has some controversy around him, and the librarian fan also tells Ryan and Rob that they should get rid of him because he and other management don't treat the staff with any respect. Whats his story, why is he controversial? He definitely is the hard headed business guy they need and by the end they're saying he is invaluable to them but I'm guessing he makes some pretty dispassionate calls.

[DeciderVT]

Would a Sunny fan without any interest in football enjoy this?

[Monkeyboy]

Yes. I’m exactly that and loved it.

[JohnC]

Yes. You don't even need to be a Sunny fan. It's good on its own merits.

[Yobo Ahoy]

Found this very enjoyable but a couple of the locals did my head in. Couldn't stand that muppet with the bumfluff who dragged his kids to games, has his priorities all wrong and revelling in other clubs going bust due to rogue owners is a real dick move.

[jonamok]

Warts n’ all approach. And that bloke was a proper wart.

[Monkeyboy]

4 hours ago, Yobo Ahoy said:

Found this very enjoyable but a couple of the locals did my head in. Couldn't stand that muppet with the bumfluff who dragged his kids to games, has his priorities all wrong and revelling in other clubs going bust due to rogue owners is a real dick move.

Is he the one where…

 

Spoiler

In the pub when Reynolds and Mac were downing shots with the locals, Reynolds got visibly tetchy with the guy? I did notice that he seemed to be in the show a lot less after that.

 

[Yobo Ahoy]

Yeah. I think he said something like

Spoiler

'that Christian is a proper cunt isn't he?' and Ryan goes (paraphrased) 'no, I found him delightful and by most accounts he saved this club'. Then all the other sycophantic old soaks in the bar parroted back 'he saved the club, he saved the club'. Absolutely excruciating.