isaac higgintoot: lost in adaptation

i’m not the greatest reader aloud, sorry i stumbled and slurred my words so much ://
tumblr: lesbianwillbond

[@lolbutt124]

And something about Isaac (not sure if it's just his actor or just the whole American ensemble), it just feels like he doesn't behave as though he is from the 18th century. Like you said, he feels like a snarky Y2K gay best friend in a party city costume. He acts too modern for him to be believable.

[@pointsixteen]

yesss i wanted to touch on thag but couldn’t find anywhere to naturally bring it up. the way he carries himself with that hunch is not at all the way a military leader would carry himself. it’s also very weird for him to refer to himself as ‘gay’ when that meant something reallt different when he was alive. and i think it is just the actor (and i guess director(s)) fault as in my opinion the other actors really embody their characters well. i honestly don’t know what they were thinking letting brandon scott jones get away with that from the beginning

[@amkii2]

What do you think about Sasappis, then?

[@ThePrincessCH]

To be fair, the ghosts in the CBS version feel more like caricatures than the BBC version.

[@Ilovegrunge123]

@@pointsixteen He has been a ghost for 250 years so could be that he heard the word gay either from one of the other modern ghost or from the tv. Like how they found out about what a movie was.

[@overlydramaticpanda]

I feel like an important part of why the Captain (and the UK version in general) works so well and Isaac (and the US version in general) doesn't that often goes ignored is the fact that the "Six Idiots" who created the show and write the episodes between them have been working together as an established group for over a decade at this point, from Horrible Histories through Yonderland and Bill and now to Ghosts. Plus Katy Wix worked with them on Horrible Histories, and given how insular the comedy actors circuit is in the UK, I wouldn't be surprised if all or some of them hadn't come across Lolly Adefope before either. Put simply, the "found family" element of the BBC show doesn't feel artificial at all. Compare that to the US version that has actors thrown together who seem as though they only just met each other maybe a few weeks before filming the first episode of the US series. The few jokes that are made about the Captain's sexuality very clearly come from a place of affection both from the characters within the show and from the writing since they all know that Ben can act the heck out of the character, rather than the jokes being there because "gay people = funny" which is where a lot of Isaac's humour feels like it comes from. Also, watching the US version really makes you appreciate the little details of just how well the BBC cast all embody the various eras/classes of their characters - you can absolutely believe that Ben Willbond as the Captain is an upper-class soldier from the early-to-mid 20th century; even when he's just standing still in the back of the frame, you can see it in his posture. Everything about Isaac seems almost absurdly modern... Even just looking at the thumbnail picture of him, he looks (to paraphrase your description) more like an average Millennial doing a Hamilton cosplay than an actual 18th-century Revolutionary soldier...

[@sosayweall_jpg]

The actors knowing each other before and being a collaborative vessel for the writing is absolutely a boon, i agree. But I don't think the absence of that is a negative either. Maybe you're simply equating the existence of this kind of troupe as creatives with how the show is successful? but actors who don't know each other are cast together and form chemistry all the time, no different here with the US ghosts cast. I genuinely do not see how you can make a statement like the captains sexuality comes from a place of affection and Isaac's is just cheap laughs when they both literally make the same jokes. Also fwiw I do get the modern sensibilities Isaac, or really any of the US cast has, but i don't hold it against them. All these historical characterizations though are problematic in diff ways. Lighten up, they aren't actually those people, is your immersion going to be so ruined if a character isn't 100% historically accurate?

[@overlydramaticpanda]

@@sosayweall_jpg Oh, don't get me wrong; I'm an actor myself. I'm well aware that the vast majority of the time it is a case of a bunch of actors just being thrown together without necessarily knowing each other beforehand - that's exactly how the original troupe formed, after all. But that's where things like rehearsals and just hanging out together before you start work is so important, especially if you're meant to be playing a group who are very familiar with each other. Like, say, a bunch of ghosts who have been stuck together for decades. The problem isn't necessarily that the US version has actors who probably haven't worked together before; the problem is that (at least in my opinion) you can tell while watching that these are people who don't actually know each other very well as actors - even just as the series goes on they clearly become more comfortable with each other as actors whereas in the BBC version, that familiarity is there right from the start as it kind of needs to be in order for any version of the show to work. Maybe that's the fault of the writing or the direction more than the acting, but it is a problem, at least for me. And not to put too fine a point on it, but there's no real getting away from the fact that the existence of the troupe as creatives has undoubtedly had an impact on why the BBC show was so immediately successful - it's a great show that may well have reached these levels of success on their own, but (and this is not meant in any derogatory or backhanded way to anyone involved in either show) the fact that the "Six Idiots" have been a repeatedly successful and fairly constant presence in British media (both individually and as a group) since 2009 so that they have an inbuilt audience of those who perhaps grew up with Horrible Histories or watched it with their children and are going to watch pretty much anything with this group (plus their projects outside the context of the group like The Wrong Mans or Stag or We Are Not Alone) because they know it's likely to be good almost certainly helped Ghosts be a guaranteed hit right off the bat. And, again speaking as an actor myself, I'm sorry to say but yes. It *does* somewhat ruin things for me if I can't believe that these are people from a specific time-period, given it's the basic premise both shows are centred around. For example, in Hamilton, despite the show being set in 1776-1804, the actors look, sound and behave in a modern way because it's the show's entire reason for existing that we see the US Founding Fathers in a modern context and through a modern lens, for better or worse. But in Ghosts (both versions), the concept is different. It's not "people from the past but through a modern lens", it's "people of different eras being forced to interact". The core joke of the entire premise is lost when it's just a "my friends in funny clothes" thing (i.e. characters that are ostensibly from a historical setting but who act and talk like modern people), especially in the US version where, and I honestly don't mean this in a bad way despite how it may sound, there's a lot less of an established historical timespan to play with so they're using a lot of more modern characters anyway. Speaking entirely personally, I think it could actually have been offered far more opportunities for comedy if Isaac stood out more as a historical figure contrasted with the more modern ghosts rather than have all the US ghosts sound like, as I said (and speaking as one myself), the average Millennial throwing out the occasional cursory reference to a historical period. "Fish out of (temporal) water" is an established comedy trope for a reason, after all. You don't even need to go into the more problematic elements of having an 18th-century person with 18th-century attitudes, just as, for example, the BBC version hasn't ever felt the need to go into the fact that historically-speaking, for the vast majority of the ghosts Kitty would (as a black Georgian woman of relatively high-standing) likely be the target for some immense casual cruelty even after centuries of her presence; any jokes the show makes at Kitty's expense come from her personality rather than her race. But you still never forget that Fanny was an Edwardian upper-class woman when she died, or that Mary was a peasant woman from the Stuart era even without them constantly espousing said eras' racism towards Kitty. Heck, even when we see Kitty's backstory, the racism of her adopted sister is more done through mere implication than having her sister come right out and say "I don't want this [insert whatever racist term you think they'd get away with on a pre-watershed BBC show here] interloper to get any of your money, father". The more overtly problematic elements of the ghosts' eras the BBC version does choose focus on, it does so specifically to highlight just how problematic these behaviours are by modern standards - Fanny's homophobia isn't played for laughs and she comes to at least begin to change her views as of the end of that episode, just as the Captain's repression isn't played for laughs in the episode focusing on him and instead demonstrates just how tragic it was that the Captain lived and died in a time when he wasn't able to just say how he felt. Even something as fairly innocuous and that *is* regularly played for laughs like Thomas' obsession with Alison is a comment on how what was once seen as being romantic (since Thomas never really does anything hugely out of the ordinary in terms of Regency courtship and we're shown in the episode focusing on his death that those methods clearly worked for him back then) is now incredibly creepy and uncomfortable. Same with Julian's casual misogyny, racism and political corruption - Julian is always the butt of the joke and the behaviour is never shown to be okay even when the show isn't actively condemning it. There's no reason why Isaac couldn't be treated the same way with them just not overtly addressing the more problematic elements of his time-period unless/until they need to do so and then doing so in a way that highlights just how problematic they are. As an actor, it's quite literally a part of the job to portray your character as convincingly as possible (unless you're given a *very* good reason not to), just as much as something like knowing your lines and learning your blocking. And while it's certainly also a fault of the writing in Isaac's case, I'd still place at least part of the blame on the actor just...seemingly not bothering to do his job properly. Maybe that sounds overly harsh of me, I don't know. If so, then I'm sorry. But it's really not a hardship to just do the research and alter your posture and behaviour accordingly, especially when working on camera as opposed to onstage, and I appreciate that no one else needs to share my opinion on any of this, but it's something that absolutely does drive me up the wall about the US version. Sorry for the rant. TL; DR: no, it's not a problem that the US cast/creatives weren't an established group before working on the show; it's a problem that you can definitely tell that's the case given the premise of the show. Yes, it does annoy me that Isaac feels and sounds far too modern and not of the time-period given to his character since it's practically the entire point of the show that the ghosts (and Alison/Mike and Sam/Jay) are all from different eras and backgrounds being forced to co-exist together warts and all.

[@daisybisley2878]

I think one of the biggest differences is how delicately Ben Willbond plays The Captain. Its just beautiful! Can't wait for you to see S5

[@lucyaddison3524]

Loved the video- just wanted to share a couple of thoughts 1: The parental relationship the Captain has with Kitty is such an amazing facet of the show (being the fairy godmother was just amazing) 2- The conversation around accepting homosexuality in the season 2 finale doesn't involve the Captain at all- it is a conversation between Fanny & Humphrey- furthering both their arcs in relation to their own marriages- they can still explore that issue without 'othering' him (and it was such a beautiful way to parallel it and recognise the shared humanity there) 3- The captain in the therapy episode not quite being able to say it aloud (despite it being very obvious to the audience that pretty much everyone knows is VERY relatable)- and none of the others push the point. 4- We get a full flashback episode to explore the Captain's unrequited love interest, but the twist of that episode is essentially that that was only one facet of his life- the 'secret' he is hiding is actually a military one. Having episodes like this I think really helps lend an emotional depth to the show (as by this point every character has an episode focussed on their life and death) 5- The BBC characters just feel more like a genuine family- their relationships are so well developed and Alison is really well integrated into those dynamics. 6- We visibly see the Captain grow more comfortable i.e. with the film crew with expressing certain interests and being more open across the seasons. We as the audience are really primed to want to see him thrive in this way, which helps make all the innuendos and small jokes surrounding his sexuality feel affectionate rather than cheap. I don't think Isaac is an awful character or that the show is especially bad- they've explore fun ideas (like ghost-activated Alexa and D&D from beyond the grave) but it does seem more directionless and shallow (possibly a product of the long seasons, but every BBC season has built to a specific story point: choosing to stay, growing closer and more stable as the business begins to take off, the 'Lucy' twist and then the uncertain future at the end of S4 All to say- I love this show and am prone to overanalysing it, and it's great to hear someone else's takes

[@pointsixteen]

thanks so much!! love reading your thoughts, i wanna respond to them lol 1. the captain and kittys relationship was one of the best things the idiots did with the writing of ghosts. and the fairy godmother thing was just amazing-letting us see the way he genuinely connects with and cares for the other ghosts. AND so clearly showing us his development from series 1. series 1 cap would NEVER do the panto, at least not with as much enjoyment as he did in series 4. if cbs ghosts did an episode like that they’d put isaac in the role of fairy godmother immediately bc of the ‘fairy’ thing-just a lame, borderline homophobic gay joke. 2. i wasn’t referring to the conversation about accepting homosexuality, i was just talking about him in that episode generally. he’s very accepting of sam and clare from the start and is the most excited about making the wedding go ahead perfectly. i should have been more clear with that 3. something to share is so near and dear to my heart and the way everyone in that ep respects him to not force him out when he’s clearly not ready is everything to me. if cbs ghosts did an ep like that there would definitely be some kind of dumb ‘oh he’s about to tell us he’s a massive homo about time’ joke from some other ghost. i can picture it perfectly in my mind. 4. redding weddy is really the best captain episode they could’ve ever made. 5. i agree!! bbc ghosts really develops the idea of found family perfectly. the ghosts are each others family in every sense of the word. cbs ghosts feels so hollow when it comes to that-which i feel like i could easily make a video on lmao. 6. retweet say that again and again and again!!! the idiots put so much care into the captains story and what he means to queer audiences i do like cbs ghosts’ exploration of random things like the dnd and ghosts outside of the house, but yeah everything feels very directionless. it feels like in a 22 episode season, a good 80% of the episodes are just filler and the other 20% are actual story when it should be the other way around. american television always focussing on quantity over quality never leads to anything good. there should be a cap of like 12 eps per season for every show so showrunners actually have to put thought into what they’re creating, rather than always going ‘ah well we have 22 episodes, there’s plenty of room to expand on this storyline later on’ until they’ve run out of room and every single storyline is underdeveloped and rushed into 2 episodes. thanks so much for your comment-i love talking about these things and hearing other peoples opinions

[@lucyaddison3524]

@@pointsixteen hey, I 100% agree. Just to clarify , I know you weren't referring to that conversation specifically, I just thought it was a good example of how they did handle that when they decided to raise the point- that's on me for not explaining better. Yeah 10/10 the found family vibes are the best, and the effort put into not creating caricatures but really well developed individual characters for audiences, especially queer ones, to connect with. I know that, however season 5 ends, I'm going to be super emotional to see a show like this end.

[@lucyaddison3524]

Also, how universally engaging that arc is- I (in my bi-ness) watch the show with my mum (who's super supportive and straight) and we are both equally invested in the Captain as a character, because of how human and real the characterisation is

[@theblithespirit]

I was going to make your point 5, but I saw yours first... agree, we're so familiar with the chemistry of the troupe that they were almost like a comfort blanket from the off...

[@someofmyplantsarestillaliv5037]

amazing essay!!! :) I think also Ben Willbond (who plays the Captain) is not only an amazing actor and writer, but has experience with the repressive military lifestyle that the Captain emulates. You made some amazing points and this was a great vid to watch!! congrats on 1000 subs btw :))

[@pointsixteen]

thank you!! and yeah iirc ben said on a podcast that playing the captain has been like a form of therapy for him considering he was sent to military school and has trauma from it.

[@hapmon8114]

I definitely thought Isaac was more stereotypical when I started watching cbs ghosts which saddened me:( Also I feel like If cbs wasn't trying to remake bbc ghosts so much in the first episodes (the first few episodes are nearly identical but then cbs goes their own way story wise) they could've made it so Isaac had already accepted his sexuality since he had been dead for so long. That's sort of the problem with remakes, they try to be super close to the original at first but when they eventually stray the original story lines can come in the way. Also great essay!!

[@amaro781]

THANK YOU. This was one of my biggest and most immediate gripes with the CBS adaption as the Captain was my favorite character in BBC. As a veteran myself, I just feel like The Captain has a sense of humor that is spot-on for a vet. Isaac, on the other hand, clearly just superficially checks a "diversity" box and IS a stereotypical and lazily developed character. I grieve the CBS version.

[@jenniferhanses]

Perhaps you put out something else since this, but have you revised your opinion of the Captain since the Carpe Diem episode aired? I'm asking because based on that episode, I think the Captain actually had his own self-acceptance for a very long time. He just didn't talk about being gay because sex wasn't an appropriate topic of conversation for anyone. Or at least that's the impression I got from his final moments with Havers when they both seemed to know precisely the attraction they had going on, and accepted each other, and showed care and concern. From the Captain's telling of his story, it seems far more like he's embarrassed for the problem of stolen valor, which is what his peers confronted him over before he died. He has also spent his eternity with a keepsake from his beloved in the form of his stick. I think the fact that the Captain's story isn't entirely the expected one of complete repression and needing to come to terms with himself is far more interesting. And the change afterwards is him merely feeling more comfortable with other people knowing who he is. Meanwhile Isaac's personality is barely more than "the gay one." I don't know that repression was really a way they had to go with his character. The 1950s was a more repressive time, I think. America in the Revolution was a time of less religious fervor due to the Enlightenment, and there were gentleman's clubs that could have provided options if he were in a more urban area. The thing I always found most overlooked with Isaac was that they gave him this backstory as an inventor or attempted inventor, and they never follow it up with him showing interest in machinery. I think it would have been really great to cut out the plague ghosts in the US version since they don't really make sense, and have the same bit with the furnace, but have Isaac as the advisor who knows how to fix it because he always has his eyes on the maintenance man or something. You could also just compare all the romances on the US ghosts as everyone ends up coupled up, within two years of Sam and Jay arriving. It's kind of ridiculous. They've been living in that house together for decades. But now that the TV show is set here, they really have to shag. I much prefer the UK ghosts, where they've mostly learned how to be friends and family to one another because they've had to, but that doesn't mean any of them particularly likes any of the others. It's like the UK show was written by real writers, and the US show was written by mid-tier fanfic writers.

[@callmeishmael8510]

One of the biggest problems with cbs ghosts as a whole is that it just lacks the subtlety and nuance that bbc ghosts has. Where bbc ghosts allowed characters backstories to be revealed naturally and slowly, cbs ghosts has characters outright state how they died right away which removes a lot of the mystery and potential for subtle characterization. Everything is overt and openly stated which leads to characters feeling like tv tropes rather than real people.

[@pointsixteen]

yess absolutely!! they really dumb bbc ghosts down so much it oftentimes feels like they’re being condescending. viewers (even american viewers) aren’t dumb people, we’re able to have things revealed to us slowly throughout the run of the show in a way that feels natural and realistic. i think the only place it reallt works is in season 2 when they really focus on alberta’s murder and slowly reveal things about that throughout the season-why they didn’t do something like that for anyone else is absolutely beyond me.

[@frixiedust]

@@pointsixteen I noticed right from the first episode of what my mum and I call "the American version". It skipped the whole story of Sam and Jay and their struggles to find affordable housing. This is an issue everywhere. Sam isn't at all surprised to be the next of kin to a person she barely or didn't know? And I felt like this version moves at such a fast pace that it misses things, but I feel like that's a difference between British and American shows in general. And they really overdo the "sucked off" joke. It stopped being funny after the first time because they repeated it a bunch in one go. In the Brit version, it's peppered throughout at well-timed moments and by the characters from whom it is the funniest. That no one in the BBC Ghosts acknowledges it is part of the humour v. Trevor being a frat boy about letting it slide because it's funny as if we wouldn't know it was supposed to be funny without him pointing it out. They were more nuanced in the first instance of "go down on us", but even that they had to point out? I do like elements of the American version. I like the way they have tried to make teaching moments. I think it's a nice touch to talk about Alberta's barriers as a Black woman and as a large person. I like the way Flower and Hetty talk about women's rights. And I like the way Sas calls out colonialism. I like Isaac because I like his campy ways--I am middle-aged gay lady and I grew up around gay men like him whom I adored, so I have a fondness, but I realise how much of a caricature they made him. I like that they took some elements of the BBC series and played with those ideas differently. I like that Jay and Pete were able to connect. I don't think they took that opportunity over soccer deeply enough in the BBC series. If we had never seen the BBC series, I don't know if we would have all the same talking points--most of them, probably. But I also don't know how well this show would have done in season 1 if it hadn't been for the fans of BBC's Ghosts. That's why I checked out the American version.

[@arin2747]

I totally agree with you. The Captain also likes musical theater (singing "model of a modern major general") but it's shown, not explicitly stated, which feels more honest. The Captain is incredibly relatable to me as someone with internalized shame who struggles to be out, even when our queerness is pretty obvious to and accepted by the people around us. I also love that The Captain (and everyone else on bbc ghosts) is allowed to be single! You're still queer even if you are not (and may have never been) in a queer relationship. cbs ghosts misses all of these important points, and while i still like the american version, it is definitely not as good. I also really dislike the differences between Julian and Trevor. In cbs ghosts, we find out that Trevor isn't as bad as we thought through a flashback to the night he died where he helped another person. In bbc ghosts, we learn that Julian was even more of a terrible person every time we see more of his past. This makes any kindness we see from Julian in the afterlife more satisfying because there is growth. the differences between isaac/the captain and trevor/julian seem to show that cbs ghosts is afraid to let characters develop in the afterlife, be subtly nuanced, and be single, all of which are frustrating.

[@pointsixteen]

the writers of cbs ghosts need to go back to high school english class and relearn the whole ‘show-don’t tell’ thing desperately. because….jesus christ. the captain is a real character with dimension and interests and a personality, isaac is nothing but a gay stereotype with no other qualities. the second part of your comment is so ‼️‼️ i have written more cbs vs bbc ghosts little mini-essays and that’s something i kind of talk about: bbc ghosts allows its characters to be bad people. julian is not a good person by any stretch of the imagination, they literally write him asking ‘what is the worst thing a person could do in this situation’ and that’s what makes him as a character so fun, and exactly like you said, full of depth. he’s a bad person most of the time, so when he’s being genuinely sweet and kind, it feels much more significant. but cbs ghosts over saturates those moments to such an extent that the characters just have no depth to them. they have a minor conflict but five minutes later they’re back to being best friends with hardly any issue. it’s really not hard to just. allow your characters to be bad people and dislike each other. it IS hard however to keep people engaged with your story and characters relationships when there’s no actual, meaningful conflict and resolution between them. veered off topic there but you get the idea i hope.

[@---fi2ml]

i think it would have been near impossible for the us version to come close to the original - thinking about it, ghosts really is a culmination of a group of comedy actors who have worked together for years, learning eachothers strengths and building chemistry, on a historical educational show where getting into period costumes and roles is second nature. noone could be better equipped for a found family sitcom about ghosts from throughout the ages. us ghosts to an extent feels like a gimmick, regular sitcom characters that happen to be in costume. the original brings a fondness for history and a deference for each characters cultural context that makes the premise actually worthwhile. the captain is so much more than a closeted gay man, hes an emotionally repressed, stiff-upper-lip, military man who constantly strives for excellence and precision, not for his own comfort and happiness, but for a "king and country" that no longer exists (at least as he knows it), and for a war that is over. no name, no loved ones. if he could eat anything, it would be a ration pack. if he could wear anything, it would still be his stiff, starchy uniform. thats one of the reasons his moments of self expression feel so precious. the fact that he learns to emotionally connect with say, kitty, in a familial/paternal sense, is as much of a triumph for his character as revelations about his romantic life are. its also clear how much each actor brings to the character and how much that character is FOR them. some of the most iconic parts of ghosts are in the delivery, the "damn your eyes", the "naff off you wazzock", robins inscrutable bear anecdote - the actors voice is so key to it and you can really get the sense that those lines were written - potentially by the actor themself - because they knew it was something only they could do justice. the characters and those who play them are so lovingly interlinked and you can see that in interviews - they love their characters like family. ghosts US is fine. im sure the actors are decent enough. its watchable(-ish). but bbc ghosts is something really special. EDIT: honestly I watched some more US ghosts, and it can be pretty fun! but the further from the original it gets and the less you can compare characters and their "equivalents" directly, the better. Isaac is basically nothing to do with the captain lmao

[@Spineless-Lobster]

Oh my god I have been waiting SO LONG for someone to make an essay about this! While I was watching cbs ghosts seeing Issac being portrayed as a stereotype was super jarring to see. (although, that was my number one fear when I heard about the american adaptation) And it was also strange to see him act so modern, a large part of bbc ghosts is that the characters are stuck in the past and need to grow and develop in order to move on. But instead we get (as you so perfectly put it) a millennial in a hamilton costume. Another thing I was hoping to be explored was his marriage to his wife. I wanted to know how tragic the relationship was due to the fact that it was one-sided or perhaps completely loveless. (like Pat and Carol or Fanny and George in bbc ghosts) I was also very disappointed by how little nuance the cbs characters have. I was so shocked to learn everyone’s deaths within the first 5 minutes of the first episode. While in bbc ghosts Kitty and the Captain’s deaths are still yet to be revealed after 4 seasons. I understand that some might find that frustrating but I think it’s great because it allows for discussions, theories, analyses etc. and it gets the fans more involved with the show rather than *just* being passing viewers. Anyways this essay was AMAZING and I totally agree with all of your points!!!

[@HN-kr1nf]

SPOILER wasn't kitty poisoned by her sister??

[@amkii2]

Just popping in to mention that Hetty and Sasappis' deaths have not been explained yet in CBS Ghosts!

[@ThePrincessCH]

@@HN-kr1nf No. She was bitten by a spider when she touched a pineapple.

[@HN-kr1nf]

@@ThePrincessCH yh ik now, i watched s5 and now i wish i didn't binge it all in 1 day

[@annaolson4828]

I do feel bad for the CBS cast, I feel like they could shine with better material. Also queerness during the Colonial Period and the Revolutionary war feels like unexplored territory, and just from a cursory Google search, it seems there were some high-ranking military officials who were openly gay and a preacher who later in life came to identify as genderless. Seeing what we could have had with Isaac hurts a little.

[@alicenorton9617]

aah i've been waiting for a video about this! great points made. another thing about the rep in CBS ghosts is how the other characters react , they all seem to instantly be supportive which seems out of character, especially for the less modern ghosts. like even Hetty (Fanny's american counterpart) is immediately supportive when Isaac comes out, which feels so wrong for her character, like Fanny was dissaproving of the lesbian couple in perfect day and went through an entire arc over the episode, eventually coming round and being supportive, but that wasn't even anything to do with the captain and his sexuality! it's probably just lazy writing on CBS' part. Can't wait for season five of BBC ghosts and great video from you!

[@Pontymylonismypassionofsorts69]

Really loved the essay! I would really love to see you do a video essay on the entirety of CBS Ghosts!

[@pointsixteen]

maybe in the future!! i did have fun making this one so maybe a vid on all of cbs ghosts could be in the future :)) and thank you 🫶🫶

[@L2Sentinel]

I just started watching both versions last month. I say the first two seasons of the CBS version first, and started the BBC version after (currently just finished season 3), and I just had to search for a video essay comparing these two because, as a gay man myself, the differences between these two characters is of particular interest to me. I was so let down by Isaac's characterization, despite seeing it first, and I am so much fonder of The Captain. His humor just works better. Isaac just feels like a gay joke and a fart joke mixed together. When his mask slips and he accidentally makes a remark that reveals his attraction to men, it's not really funny because his sexuality is his personality. It's like "we get it, he's gay." When The Captain lets his mask slip, it's funny because it's in contrast to how he present himself. It's kind of the first signs we get that he's gay, so it's a fun reveal. It also helps that the BBC version has Thomas filling the role of the effeminate man, and it doesn't undermine his heterosexuality. They have the same foundations of a character but completely different approaches. The CBS version does nothing innovative and sticks to the same style of humor American sitcoms always use with gay characters. Tired stereotypes. The Captain is refreshing, like Captain Holt from Brooklyn Nine-Nine (RIP Andre Braugher). His homosexuality is an important facet of his character, but he's so much more than that. That's the kind of representation I like to see. Thanks for making this video and creating a space for this conversation. I wish more American sitcoms felt like they didn't have to portray gay men, even ones from the civil war era, so stereotypically.

[@grassj6002]

YOU PUT IT IN WORDS, THANK YOU I do kinda like CBS Ghosts but yeah Isaac as a character (and really all of them as individuals) is woefully underdeveloped. I was struggling to say why I didnt like him as much until you said the quiet part out loud: he's a massive stereotype. The Captain had impact bc upon first seeing and hearing him within the first scene, you wouldnt expect queerness, so it’s subversive when there are subtle lines building up that clue you into his sexuality. By contrast, you can tell Isaac is gay just by looking at him bc he fits our modern standards for queerness, whereas Cap doesnt quite do it so obviously and quickly. I think theres also something to be said about just the standards of masculinity in their respective times vs that of the viewers. The Captain looks and acts far more traditionally masculine to us, so it's (again) not expected nor obvious to us and it makes it that much more interesting. You brought up a good point about their relationships as well. Initially, I'd really liked how Isaac could just be gay and have a significant other/boyfriend with Nigel. But like... they didnt really have that much chemistry aside from your average "teen crush" behavior that just got boring to watch. His intimacy issues felt more important than his queerness, which was... A Choice. The main thing is, Isaac's story, especially in terms of his sexuality and subsequent relationship, felt so rushed that it just didnt feel real. The Captain, however, took so much time to get there, and while Isaac is allowed to have a boyfriend, Cap is allowed to _stay single_ and is STILL DEEMED VALID despite never actually having dated someone he was attracted to. His sexuality doesnt disappear just cuz hes not dating anyone, which is something the American team seems to have forgotten. They both take time for it, but Isaac's journey takes far less time if you think about it. He only starts coming to terms with it once Sam gets there, same as the Captain (it seems), so i don't think their time as ghosts made a difference. I do kinda like CBS Ghosts but just way less than BBC Ghosts. I like how they expand the lore and everything, but the characters just lose so much depth bc their arcs go way too fast for anyone's liking. The pacing is so uneven it hurts. BBC Ghosts and 6 idiots supremacy always ❤

[@niamhs6042]

I just accidentally clicked on the description when I went to like and realised I've been following you on tumblr for like a month! 😂

[@niamhs6042]

Also this video is amazing

[@jasminenguyen8300]

i think larry or ben said this in an interview on rhlstp, that bbc ghosts is this sort of smallish project with only 6 episodes, written by a small team who know eachother well, plusthey have more time to make everything more nuanced and fleshed out. it's only 30min an ep, so every line has to hit. it has more soul as a result, and more heart. whereas cbs ghosts is like a bloody machine meant to 'produce' laughter no matter if the joke is funny or not, and make money (the nature of a lot of american tv is like that i guess). like they have this big team of writers and they have to hit quite a large quota of episodes which is why it's not as fleshed out. so much is lost in translation, and they essentially sacrifice quality for quantity. writing something with soul takes time, and as a result of capitalism it's just become something machinelike whereas at its core, ghosts is about love and family. in conclusion 6 idiots supremacy no one is doing it like them

[@9ghostss]

I loved this. I had the same ideas watching it, so it's great to see them analysed in more detail! Isaac feels so artificial and stereotyped in comparison to cap and I'm glad people aren't ignoring it.

[@castielcvnnibal]

I’m so glad you made this! This has been on my mind for such a long time, and you made so many good points. Thank you so much for speaking out about this.

[@the_KingsWit]

A brilliant video essay! I tried to watch the American adaptation of Ghosts and was mildly horrified at how (I felt) that the role that the Captain played was- a bit brutalized (a strong way to put it but I feel as though my point gets across somewhat). As you pointed out so well, so much of the nuances of his character are lost in Isaac, and I believe that it is fundamentally devastating - as any person, the Captain is complex and does (again, as you said in your excellent video) grapple with the difficulties he has had in suppressing pretty much his entire identity in order to serve in the war to the extent to which he wanted to. He formed his entire identity around the duties which he performed in what was a unifying (if terrifying) experience for the whole of society, perhaps in an unconscious (or deliberate) effort to reject his queerness which would have been both dangerous to express and also potentially isolating. Over the course of the series, the Captain grows visibly more and more emotive, gradually realising that having his own identity and desires and relationships (don't even get me started on Kitty and the Captain, I love their friendship/parent-child-relationship so dearly) - yet there is still room to grow and develop as a character, and he still struggles with self acceptance in some regards. Now, whilst I have not watched all of the American adaptation (I couldn't hack it, had to stop after the second episode) because of the lack of nuance afforded to Isaac, he didn't feel that he had the complexities of a person - as you put quite well, he is an extreme caricature - and thus I feel as though he simply cannot have the development that the Captain had because there.. didn't seem to be much to him aside from the queerness he represented (which they seemed to have done fine in some regards but I wasn't really that happy with it because he doesn't feel like he has much dimension and therefore him as just a character has been lost. I lost almost any kind of ability to relate to Isaac because he feels so one-dimensional- but maybe that's just me!) Rambling over now! The point is, your video essay is brilliantly written and perfectly exposes some of the flaws that were foundational in the adaptation of one of my favourite TV shows. Thank you for making this!

[@oliviadaly4795]

I think 20s for Isaac, and 5 series to even know Cap's name let alone how he died, says quite a lot

[@charliesghost]

very well put! when i first saw the trailer for the cbs version, i cringed. it felt like they took the character descriptions, made them empty shells and filled them with cheap jokes. in all fairness, i haven't watched it (because of this) but like you said: they are missing all the nuances the worst/saddest thing about this: so many people don't know the original (which seems to be a common occurrence with american remakes) thank you for putting my feelings (even though i only had them while watching short scenes/trailers) into words! :)

[@MegCazalet]

CBS Ghosts is a classic American sitcom: telegraphs their samey basic jokes that aren’t smart but aimed at the lowest common denominator. Low hanging fruit is plentiful in the USA. A man named “Higgintoot” who died of dysentery and smells like sh*it? So lowbrow. Your video about identity and the Captain is brilliant, and you adeptly showcase the shortcomings of characterization and identity in the adaptation. Issac wouldn’t even have had his centuries post-death reflecting on how the world has changed (somewhat) for queer people. Because it wouldn’t have happened in front of him, trapped at the house. It doesn’t help that the actor has played queer stereotypes in not just this show but The Good Place. It highlights how shallow American tv still is even when the source material is great, and even when other shows HAVE done it right. WHY are we still dealing with this? It seems like the only type of “gay” average American audiences are willing to accept are the ones they’re “used to” i.e. steotypical “flaming” tropes, not real human beings. It makes me sad and angry. PS - Not the same level, but Thor’s language skills going from simple to complex and back really bug me, too. It’s a wholly different type of complaint, but ooooh it irks me. His BBC counterpart Robin uses his simple language skills to make speeches that cut right to the heart of the emotion he’s expressing, or to elevate the humor of the story he’s telling (not to mention his brilliantly funny facial expressions and laugh.) Thor just flip flops based on what would be funny at the time. 14:17

[@rat-xo7mj]

I'd like to talk a bit about the Thor/Robin part you mentioned as a non-native English speaker. Both Thor and Robin are non-natives and learned English through exposure (I've actually seen a headcannon that Thor and Sass learned English by watching Hetty). I've noticed that several non-natives, myself included, have a tendency to use more "eloquent" vocabulary and syntax because the majority of us have learned through textbooks, I think it's kind of a meme as well that we feel dumb when we make a simple mistake and start questioning our fluency?? If that headcannon I mentioned was canon, and because Hetty was a member of the higher class (don't really remember but I think that's the case) she was probably taught English that fitted her socioeconomical statue and if Thor did learn by watching, then it'd make more sense that he managed to use more complex structure because he would have been taught by a teacher as well. So from that perspective, it personally made sense to me that Thor could manage to use more complex words and structure, but going back and forth with complex and basic weirded me out a bit too. It's not uncommon that I use "baby talk" but this mostly happens because I have social anxiety and zero social skills when interacting with anyone which doesn't seem to apply to Thor. I think it'd made more sense to use simple structures if he was a recent ghost but he literally had an eternity to practice with native speakers. As for robin, now that season five is out *I'm going to mention some spoilers in case you haven't seen it yet so please stop reading here if that's the case 😭😭* we learn that he's fluent in french from watching Humphrey's wife talking which also doesn't really make sense because how is he still struggling with English but can perfectly speak french even though he had no one to practice with or someone to correct him? I hope what I said made sense 😭

[@taramcgettrick8464]

3 things 1. The video was really good and had great talking points, I would think that doing the odd discussion here and there would be good. I'd love to hear more thoughts about ghosts 2. You did well with talking. It just takes a while to get used to but great job 3. The Christmas special for CBS Ghosts had Isaac not be able to be affectionate with Nigel, find out it's because he feels guilty about leaving his wife in a loveless marriage, then finds out she still cared for him, goes and kisses Nigel. And all within a 2 episode arc. That storyline would've been a great multiple episode arc. But instead it was rushed

[@jesssinclair3366]

This is a brilliant essay! I've only watched a couple of episodes of CBS Ghosts, but you've articulated all of what I've been thinking about the show on some subconscious level. I can't believe they revealed everyone's death two minutes in, that's so terrible! So much of what makes BBC Ghosts interesting is the mystery behind how the characters passed away, and how they subsequently come to terms with that. For all that development to be shoved into a lazy joke is awful. While I don't identify as queer myself, I can definitely recognise how Issac's character could be seen as stereotypical. Ben Willbond does such an excellent job in making the Captain nuanced and likeable and human - you really feel like he has been transported from the mid 1940s. Love the uniform metaphor you came up with, that was brilliant. As someone who's also interested in historical fashion, I definitely think Issac's outfit looks like it's come out of a costume shop rather than looking remotely authentic (not the actor's fault, of course). As others have said, I think it also helps that the Six Idiots have been working together for so long that they've got that natural chemistry - plus they write the episodes together, so they have a deep knowledge of the story. Charlotte, Kiell and Lolly fit so well into the mix. This comment is getting really long, so I'll stop now - but thanks for making such a fantastic video! I'd love to see more :D

[@idamagnusdotterganeteg7497]

Thank you. Putting words to my thoughts. I was fuming over every single character in the adaptation, but especially Isaac.

[@mudkipqueen920]

PLEASE do a video on comparisons between the two shows, I could listen to your analysis for actual hours

[@pointsixteen]

i may do!! i had a lot of fun writing and creating this video, i just have to remember to actually write and edit which is shockingly difficult to do (adhd brain) but really it is not out of the question 🩷🩷

[@FranMSK]

This is so good thank you thank you

[@theblithespirit]

If I was grading your essay: a First Class For you, I'm glad you've got your essay out of that doc box. For me, I was so glad to hear it. Funnies are all well and great of course, but I absolutely love to watch and learn too. Bravo! 👏🏻🙌🏻

[@pointsixteen]

omg i got the notification for this comment on my phone and it cut it off at the ‘F’ in first class 😭😭 but thank you so much

[@theblithespirit]

​@@pointsixteenoh I'm sorry about that! Actually I accidentally submitted whilst half way through typing it, so had to edit to complete, so that totally could be my fault 😢 - anyway definitely a first class, and I nodded along in agreement with you so great job 👍🏻

[@justyourtypicalyoutubeuser2261]

this was a great video essay mate

[@joa.quinap]

This is amazing! you put into words all my thoughts. I first saw the CBS version when only 3 episodes aired and I liked it, but I immediately felt uncomfortable because Isaac felt like a stereotypical gay character and somehow like they were just making fun of gay people. Later I saw bbc ghosts and everything clicked, not only the way the captain's story was wonderfully well written, but you can really feel the chemistry among all the actors, it just feels natural. Not only did Isaac felt bad then but also Jay and Sam, I couldn’t find myself in love with their relationship like I was with Alison and Mike.

[@pointsixteen]

oh my god jay and sam bother me so much in cbs ghosts. first of all i don’t think either of them are great actors, but they don’t seem to have any sort of chemistry. all their conversations feel so. idk. you can tell they’re just playing pretend. and the actor for jay (idk his name) doesn’t do a fantastic job working and speaking around the ghosts. you can tell he’s always waiting for whichever ghost to finish speaking before he says his line, instead of acting as if he’s pausing naturally (like kiell does in bbc ghosts) the more comments i reply to, the more stuff i realize i can talk about if i make a video about cbs ghosts as a whole lmao

[@oliviadaly4795]

I know the actors were apparently told to br themselves, but it's genuinely quite surprising that an openly gay actor would portray the character with gay stereotypes. You'd think he'd want to avoid that

[@oliviadaly4795]

The actors in the UK version naturally have incrediblechemistry as ThemThere (AKA the 6 idiots AKA Cap, Pat, Fanny, Humphrey's head, Robin, Thomas and Julian) have known each other/been like family/worked to produce things since 2009's Horrible Histories (S1-6 is on Hulu. The original rum is the first five series. Katy/Mary was an ensemble actor in the first 4 series of Horrible Histories). So they've been making things for almost 20 years (HH, the Shakespeare movie Bill, Yonderland, Ghosts) and have been stuck together for hundreds (aha) of yrs like their counterparts. The US ones had to get to know each other

[@ThePrincessCH]

​@oliviadaly4795 To be fair, everyone in the CBS version acts more like caricatures than the BBC version. Trevor acts more like a frat boy than a financier while Julian talks more like a politician, Fanny gives lectures about impropriety while Hetty goes on about the weaknesses of "the female brain", etc. The BBC version leans more into the historical context since the cast was part of "Horrible Histories," but I think parodies are the most popular form of American entertainment these days.

[@frixiedust]

@@oliviadaly4795 this is something that one might find across many British and Canadian tv shows. In Canada and in the UK, the acting communities are so much smaller that everyone has done something in a tv show or theatre production or movie with someone else. I wonder if anyone has ever done a "six degrees of separation" thing on that LOL. As you noted, many of the BBC series actors have played as an ensemble together, which definitely makes a difference. The British style of nuance, innuendo, and pure dry wit are what make their shows so much better. I think what I like about the CBS version is that it's just a bit of sitcom silliness. I really got invested in the BBC series.

[@theinternetsno1yunistan]

this goes ridiculously hard thank you sm for making this. as a queer person the captain's story means so much to me and seeing it be butchered with his cbs ghosts counterpart really upset me

[@oliviadaly4795]

Kind of sadly, the most incredibly ironic thing (and I 10000% agree about Isaac being butchered compared to Cap) is that Ben's straight but become a bit of a queer icon due to his portrayal, and Brandon (Isaac) is actually gay in real life. I haven't watched the video comparison yet but it surprises me why an openly gay person would - at least in the first 2 seasons - act as if it's the 70s and the whole role is just 'being gay' with no incidental representation and in an almost cartoonish manner. I would say Isaac is 95% defined by his sexuality (maybe they want to explore his backstory etc more and develop a bit of incidental representation in season 3). Cap is not defined by his sexuality at all. He's a father figure to Kitty, de facto leader, and a WWII Commanding Officer who co invented the limpet mine, and literally sacrifices himself to save his friends living or dead. And he just happens to like men and to most of the others (tho by the end of series 2, Fanny is much more accepting of homosexuality) it's no big deal. Also from a historical POV it makes no sense. Cap had to be repressed bc during WWII being gay was illegal, and you could be reported and 'outed' by one of your fellow soldiers even if you weren't gay and the reporter held a grudge against you, or if you so much as looked at another man the wrong way and you'd have the choice of jail/hard labour like Oscar Wilde, or chemical castration like Alan Turing (who then supposedly committed suicide, despite actually shortening WWII by a few years due to codebreaking skills). I don't know about the punishments, but being gay was also illegal in the Revolutionary War (Isaac's time) so why would you put yourself put there and risk your own safety?

[@chrisleneil]

Great insights. I thoroughly enjoyed this style of video, & you could honestly explore the differences within the other archetypes, or show the small things that the BBC does so much better than the US version: the way moments linger, the micro-expressions, the subtleties, etc. 💜🌈👻

[@guineapiggirl199]

lovely essay thank you!

[@ThePrincessCH]

I'll be honest, I don't have a lot of experience regarding queer characters, but I did watch the CBS version of the show first, and I personally preferred the Captain's love story over Isaac's. Mostly because I think it feels more impactful to repress your feelings for someone who served in the same regiment as opposed to having a passing infatuation with a man from the enemy camp who you've also killed.

[@thiagof414]

I liked it a lot. Thank you. I never watched it but now I will try to.

[@thiagof414]

And yes. If you have more of it I will take it.

[@zac8246]

This was an amazing videoessay! You mentioned in the description that you don't think you're the greatest reader, but I wanted to say that you did a really really good job!! :D /gen. I'm a bit too fried from A level exams to offer any of my own thoughts on the show, like everyone else here seems to be doing, but like. Just wanted to tell u well done n stuff, this was a great video :3

[@pointsixteen]

oh thank you, that’s a bit of a relief. it felt like i fucked up every second word. hope you recover quickly lol

[@EmDoesNotExist]

Isaac feels a little like what Ben feared making the captain like? He’s more stereotypical, which isn’t BAD! It can work in certain stories, but for a character that is meant to be ‘repressed’ it’s not believable. The Captain hardly accepts that he is gay himself; it takes him three seasons before he is even a little comfortable to attempt to talk (when they do the sharing circle for Kitty) he is clearly overcoming a lifetime of repression! Isaac MAKES the gay jokes - I don’t believe that he’s been repressing ANYTHING. While the Captain who is a CHARACTER who is gay, Isaac is a GAY character. (Also I hate that the CBS version basically tells us every death within the first episode - they have never heard of show don’t tell ;-;) God I’m so sorry that was a RANT. 10/10 video - you said everything I’ve been thinking for SO LONG.

[@pointsixteen]

never apologize for ranting like this, i love reading other peoples thoughts!!! you perfectly summed up everything with your ‘the captain is a character who’s gay while isaac is a gay character.’ you absolutely hit the nail on the head with everything you said, thank you so much for your input 🫶🫶

[@Samanthaforestttt]

I actually like both, but bbc ghosts will forever be better imo, but I think relationships in cbs are a bit too rushed, there’s like 4 already and none in bbc, which is in my opinion more realistic, the closest thing we have is Thomas being in love with Alison, which is clever in my opinion, we also have lady b and Humphrey for a short period of time and lady b fancying Mike, but these things are all done for comedic effect, and I totally agree with the fact that caps backstory is much more interesting imo, cbs ghosts are rushing things a bit too much, not to say it’s a bad show of course! And bbc ghosts is one of my fav shows ever!

[@ThePrincessCH]

I find that most American shows tend to rush into the romance. It's kind of like one of those romantic teen dramas.

[@owenfcked]

and THIS is why i never watch american adaptations. brilliant video mate! btw your reading was fine, please do more of these, you're really well spoken

[@pointsixteen]

thank you so much for saying that :))

[@biglad3941]

Please tell me you did this for a college essay or similar, this is absolutely brilliant.

[@pointsixteen]

lmao no i didn’t, it was just for fun. tysm hehe 🩷🩷

[@dex4075]

while i think the uk ghosts is far superior , the USA ghosts does some things right , some of the better aspects come from things it does differently opposed to redoing since the redoing is often worse , the captians compared to each other shows this .

[@sosayweall_jpg]

really have to disagree with you on this, and your entire essay reads kind of like a "what is an acceptable gay" story, perhaps projecting your own and maybe your friends or followers perspective as to what would make a satisfying and therefore realistic characterization. it kinda reeks of "ugh, american TV isn't as good". I see plenty of divergence from the UK show here, one of the most key differences is tonally. The US one is immediately sitcom, it's approachable. the UK Ghosts is dry, it's a bit slower, it prefers comedic tragedy to the more upbeat wholesome comedy the US market prefers. It's quite pretentious to argue one is "thought out, explored thoroughly, allowed to evolve naturally" and grant its characters humanity and judge the other simply by comparison and not on its own merits. really belies a preconceived notion that "The UK version as the originator is Good. The US version is simply a cheap imitation and is Bad." All because of your preferences. I saw the UK series 1-3 first and haven't even watched the entirety of the US show, and I like both quite a bit but I find the US one charming, its depictions of historical characters uniquely American where the UK series' are uniquely British. I see the difference is tone and type of humor, the fact that in the US one, stories and endeavors of the ghosts/protags tend to work themselves out in positive ways; while UK comedy relishes in uncomfortable scenarios and failed schemes. This character alone showcases this. Isaac is closeted to everyone but himself, he's been repressed but he KNOWS who he is. He isn't in denial about it for himself. He just has no reason to actually be out because... it doesn't matter? Until we the audience see more of his backstory and are introduced to Nigel, the British officer he crushed on from afar and tragically shot - which he has felt guilty about since and has not wanted to confront. Coming out is about living your truth and well.. Isaac is dead. It only becomes relevant to come out when he's confronted with a reason to; Nigel. Samantha encourages him to sort things out with Nigel. There isn't really a cognate for this relationship with the Captain in the UK show. as the Captain's crush isn't like.. a ghost he's able to interact w/ or form a relationship with. Therefore he has very little reason to even confront the feelings he's buried deep down inside himself. He IS in denial about his sexuality. Nigel and Isaac aren't, they were bound by society to be hetero so they acted as such, but privately they knew who they were, so it really is only meaningful when they each find this out about each other that their sexuality becomes the thing that finally brushes away the angst a redcoat general would have at being essentially imprisoned for eternity in enemy territory. Nigel doesn't HAVE to be alone and an enemy, things don't have to be that way and he comes to embrace that change. Honestly the Captain is more of a token closeted gay than either Nigel OR Isaac. His sexuality is literally just cheap jokes for 90% of his screen time, if it's being acknowledged at all. He and Isaac both do have other things that define them though. Isaac is a fraud who masquerades as having been important, bourgeoisie and brilliant, and is trying desperately to make up for lacking these aspects. The Captain isn't a total fraud really, but there's a little stolen valor perhaps or at least ineptitude. I appreciate the thought you put into this but I would just hope that you can be more open to accepting that the two have some pretty stark differences and that both are good.

[@Lenntill19]

I'm not sure the video is trying to tell us what they see - and what they think others should see - as acceptable when it comes to the characters expressing their sexuality. Obviously this is just my perspective on their take in the video, so I could be putting words in their mouth. I'm also from the UK so there is probably something I'm missing about US television and general cultural norms too. But though both men are obviously gay, that one of them doesn't appear to be finding it as hard to deal with when we are first introduced to him is a little bit jarring. However, I would say this is less about which man is behaving in a more "unacceptably gay" way than the other one, and more that for one of them (Isaac), the characterisation and physicality comes off as incongruous with what we are supposed to be learning about him and his relationship with the other ghosts as a whole. At the beginning, the BBC Ghosts don't seem to like each other and are just hanging around together "because what else is there to do?". Any attempts at connection outside of scheduled activities are shot down by the others. Compare and contrast this with the CBS Ghosts, who seem friendlier and willing to share stories about their pasts. There's even a moment in their very first episode where the action stops for a few of them to confide in each other. Bearing this in mind, it seems strange for the audience to be given the impression that, in all the time they've been dead, not one of the ghosts had quietly taken Isaac aside to ask him about his sexuality already. Or not even outright asked him about him being gay, and just told him they are happy to listen whenever he's ready and wants to talk. The idea of him being closeted to everyone but himself seems sort of odd when Trevor, for example, very much seems like a person who, on meeting Isaac for the first time, would have asked right away. The attitude a lot of us have or are familiar with in the UK, that kind of, "I'd better not interfere" approach to what others are dealing with, chimes with none of the other BBC Ghosts having already talked to the Captain about it. Most of the other ghosts know or at least assume that he's gay but they're not going to say anything; even if they cared, it's none of their concern. The only instance we see of a character's negative reaction to people being gay is in the wedding episode. Lady B's homophobia (and to an extent her internalised misogyny) comes out when she vents her worries and frustrations about what it will make people think about what she still thinks of as her House.

[@Ilovegrunge123]

I also think people are being to harsh on the actor for Issac they interviewed Brandon and he stated he had asked the writers if the storyline was going to have a payoff due to how the character was written. He also stated that the season one finally was going to have a kiss and he was going to yell out he has a boyfriend but collaborated with the writers to have less of a moment of just saying he like Nigel because coming out isn’t a light switch.

[@stuupiddeaths]

(Spoiler warning for S5 of BBC Ghosts) I personally like how the Captain's coming out to the rest of the group was handled. It took an immense pressure/fear of something basically akin to a second death to help him accept his flaws (or what he sees as flaws, being gay). It's a lot more warranted and believable and subtle, poetic even, than Isaac's. Also god damn the moving on episode nearly had me sobbing the entire time, it didn't have to do me like that😭

[@smeesquatch]

So sorry to piggyback on your excellent comment, but I have thoughts and this is the perfect chance for me to voice them out! It's even more than that, I think - it was a coming out in many ways for the Captain. Coming out as gay, yes, but also a someone who never left England and never fought for King and country, a thing that he clearly sees as something that makes you a hero. He admits to the fact that he was a middle aged man who never achieved anything of note, who had to lie, cheat and steal his way into a victory party, and who did it for an illegal and immoral love (at the time, obviously). It goes against everything the Captain has stood for and made a core component of his personality. It took a second brush with death to blurt it all out and come clean, to the people that ultimately matter to him the most, and from that point on he can live his life a lot more freer and open - he immediately goes from baring his soul to line dancing and encouraging Alison to join in with the frivolities because he can enjoy himself outside of the stuffiness of the army, he lusts after the handsome weatherman in front of everyone because he knows that's ok and he doesn't have to make Vague Captain Noises to cover it up. It's absolutely beautifully done by the whole team, especially Ben, and just yeah. Delightful work that has subtle nuance that has been building for years now, all done in the knowledge that the audience will pick up on it because the writers trust us. I've never seen CBS Ghosts and I don't plan to lmao. I don't think anything could hold a candle to Cap's growth throughout the 5 seasons of BBC Ghosts.