Original subtitles

(Transcrito por TurboScribe. Atualize para Ilimitado para remover esta mensagem.) This is

Vic.

Please find me.

At work.

Are you there?

This is me again.

I must talk to you.

This is

Charles.

Can you call me back?

Thanks.

Robin, look, all I want to do is

talk.

You can't avoid me forever.

Please!

Robin, this is Charles again.

You seem to be very elusive.

If you don't return this call, I shall

have to write.

And you know how much I hate writing

letters.

Well, so do you, Charles.

Robin, this is Philip Swallow speaking.

I wonder if you'd be free on the

evening of Saturday the 26th, about 8 o

'clock.

We're having a few people round for drinks.

Oh, and Morris Zapp is staying with us.

An old friend from the States.

I dare say you know his work.

Yes.

Bye.

Sam, Meryl.

I'm glad you could make it.

Hello, Philip.

Robin, there you are.

I'm glad you got my message.

You've been rather elusive during the vac.

Yes, I've been away.

Where are the Twiglets?

They're in the kitchen by the restaurant.

You know Robin Penrose, don't you?

It's good to see you.

Holiday?

More of a retreat?

I'm staying with my parents.

Sorry, Jack.

Excuse me.

Let me introduce you to Morris Zapp.

I think he's in need of rescuing.

Oh, good God.

I wouldn't care to be an Essex, though,

frankly.

Oh, poor O'Keele.

One shot.

Hello.

How nice to see you.

Cuts, cuts, cuts.

That's all anybody will talk about here.

Somebody should write a book called Cuts.

Well, there is a musical, I believe.

Well, I wouldn't like to be a sociologist

here.

Absolutely.

That's cats, Phil.

Are you getting deaf?

I said cuts.

Busby was just bending my ear on the

subject.

That is what life is like in British

university.

I've spent my entire life on submittees arguing

about cuts and how to implement them.

I haven't read a book in months, let

alone written one.

Well, I have.

Read or written?

Written.

First draft, anyway.

That's what I've been working on during the

vac.

Oh, Robin, you're an example to us all.

How can we manage without you?

Tell me about your book, Robin.

Well, my working title is Woman Assigning Commodity

in Victorian Fiction.

Really?

Let's find a quiet place with that.

Well, subject meaning area of study.

Subject meaning what we used to call the

individual self.

Well, I suppose both, really.

The trouble is, some of our colleagues have

only heard of the first sense.

Oh, heaven, God.

We were just saying that there is a

certain amount of dead wood in the faculty.

Yes, people haven't had a new idea for

years.

I know.

I saw old Sir Cliff in the photocopying

room the other day.

He was Xeroxing his old doggy election house,

so they look like neighbours.

I went to Martin Paper 12 with him

this year.

They're very important, I think, because in his

only dysyncratic way, Hardy did challenge the stereotypes.

And my last chapter is a sort of

manifesto for feminist poetics of fiction.

That is interesting.

Do you have a publisher for your book

in America?

Not yet.

I'm a reader for Euphoria University Press.

I'd really like to read your book.

That's very kind of you.

I'd certainly value another opinion.

Can you drop a manuscript here before 8

.30 tomorrow morning?

I'm catching the 9.45 shuttle to Heathrow.

OK, fine.

Of course, I may not like it, but

you look like a smart girl to me.

Person.

Person.

Sorry.

Miles, you really mustn't monopolise Dr Penrose.

Actually, I was just about to go.

So soon?

Yes, work to do.

Thanks for a lovely party.

Nice meeting you.

I'll see you tomorrow, then.

Good.

Now you can monopolise me for a while,

Miles.

Terrific seeing you again, Hillary.

Come on, Morris.

The taxi's here.

He'll wait, Phil.

He'll wait.

Professor Zapp at the airport.

He's catching the 9.45 shuttle.

We'll get in there on time.

Morning, Philip.

Robin, what are you doing here at this

hour in the morning?

Delivering my book to Professor Zapp.

Great.

I'll read it on the plane.

Is your phone number on the manuscript?

Oh, no.

Have you got a pen?

Morris, the taxi.

Thanks.

Well, I've got plenty of time.

Oh, sorry.

I've become rather obsessive about waste since I

became dean.

They are home and department numbers.

Thanks.

You should come back to Euphoria State and

watch us spending money.

Do you good.

Do you intend to stay there until you

retire?

Sure.

I have a contract that says no one

in humanities is to be paid more than

I.

Why so modest, Morris?

Why restrict it just to the humanities?

You've got to be realistic.

Guys that can blow up the world or

cure cancer deserve a bit more than we

literary critics.

If I like your book, I'll phone you.

If I don't, I'll mail it back.

Ciao.

Go with the flow, Morris.

He's fun, isn't he?

He's an amiable rogue.

I can't think why he's so interested in

your book, though.

He's never had much time for feminists since

Desiroe became one.

Desiroe Zapp, the novelist?

I didn't know she was his wife.

Oh, ex-wife.

Very ex.

Oh, look, can I invite you in for

a cup of coffee?

Oh, thanks, but I've been up all night

printing out my book.

All I want to do is fall into

bed.

I'll see you tomorrow, then.

First day of term.

Right.

Morning, Robin.

Hello.

Robin, I do need those marks for women

in writing, please.

Oh, yes, at the end of the week,

I promise.

Enjoy the party.

Oh, my, Bob, yes, it was lovely.

Did you hear about Hilary Swallow?

No.

Well, after you left, she got even more

pissed and she disappeared upstairs with the whole

sap.

Are you kidding?

You know they had this wild thing during

the 60s.

I can't believe it.

Hi, Robin.

Hi, Simon.

I'm just going to get a coffee first.

Thanks, yes.

Ah, Robin, there you are.

I just met your shadow outside your door.

Hi.

Alone and palely loitering, Keats.

Apparently, he's been here since nine o'clock.

Hello.

What do you mean, my shadow?

Yes, I did tell Mr. Wilcox that our

day starts a little later.

What do you mean, my shadow?

Uh, the second part of the shadow scheme.

Yes.

I don't know what you're talking about.

Oh, so you weren't expecting Mr. Wilcox this

morning?

Not this morning or any morning.

Well, I wrote to you about it.

The letter must have gone astray.

Ah, well, let me explain.

In the vacation, while you were away, Mr.

Wilcox wrote to the VC suggesting a follow

-up to the shadow scheme.

Seems he was so impressed with the experiment

he thought we ought to be continued in

reverse, so to speak.

Well, me shadowing you?

I mean, after all, we in industry have

a lot to learn, too.

No way.

Look, I'll see you at coffee.

I said I won't do it!

Why not?

Mr. Wilcox knows.

Well done.

When we first met, you expressed utter contempt

for the work I do.

Well, it was prejudice.

I mean, that's what the shadow scheme's for,

isn't it?

To overcome prejudice.

Hi, Robin.

Hi, I'll be with you in a minute.

But look, you'd have to sit in on

my classes.

It's not fair on my students.

I wouldn't interfere.

I'd just be a fly on the wall.

I honestly don't think the students would object,

Robin.

I'm not surprised Mr. Wilcox conspired from his

factory.

I thought he was indisputable.

Things are running smoothly at the moment and

I've got a lot of holiday eyeing.

Yes, I think if Mr. Wilcox had prepared

to use his own time, that we...

the VC is most enthusiastic.

I don't seem to have much choice, darling.

Well, I'll leave you in good hands then,

metaphorically speaking.

Although he often criticised the materialism of Victorian

society, Tennyson also took an interest in its

inventions and achievements.

The line in Loxley Hall, let the great

world spin forever down the ringing grooves of

change, refers to the idea that it reflects

the optimistic spirit of the railway age.

Tennyson was, however...

Yes, Mr. Wilcox?

He must have been thinking of trams, not

trains.

Train wheels down running grooves.

You find that an amusing suggestion, Simon.

Well, trams, they're not exactly poetic, are they?

Well, it's...

it's an interesting, if trivial crux.

This is what Tennyson himself said.

When I went by the first train from

Liverpool to Manchester, I thought that the wheels

ran in a groove.

It was a black night and there was

such a vast crowd round the train at

the station that we couldn't see the wheels.

Then I made this line.

He didn't make it very well then, did

he?

So what's the answer?

Is it a train or a tram?

What do you two think?

Helen.

Well, if Tennyson thought he was describing a

train, then it's a train, I suppose.

Not necessarily.

That's the intentional fallacy.

Well, it's a kind of aporia.

A what?

An aporia.

A-P-O-R-I-A.

A figure of undecidable ambiguity or irresolvable contradiction.

It derives from a Greek word that means

a path that gives out, leaving you stranded.

You mean it's a tough line?

On the contrary, I think it's the best

line in a generally deplorable poem.

Carry on, Marion.

Tennyson was, however, better at emotions than ideas.

The lyrical poems in Maud, like Come into

the Garden, Maud, are more effective than the

hero's social polemics.

Yes, Mr. Wilcox.

Come into the Garden, Maud, isn't a poem.

It's a song, a very popular song.

My granddad used to sing it.

Tennyson wrote it as a poem and then

somebody else set it to music.

Oh, sorry.

My mistake.

Or is it an aporia?

No, it's a mistake.

Go on, please, Marion.

Well, I was just going to quote some

of Maud.

She is coming, my dove, my dear.

She is coming, my life, my fate.

The red rose cries.

She is near, she is near.

And the white rose weeps.

She is late.

The larkspur listens.

I hear, I hear.

And the lily whispers.

I wait.

Thanks, Marion.

OK, see you next week.

Are you coming for a coffee?

Bye, Nick.

It's much better this way.

It's a bit of a mess, I think.

I'll give you that next week.

OK, thanks, Robin.

Bye.

Can I...

Can I borrow this?

Yes.

Why?

Is it a matter of interest?

Well, I thought if I give it a

good read, I might have a better idea

of what's going on next week.

We're finished with Tennyson.

Oh.

Daniel Deronda next week.

Do you want a swap?

Um...

No, I'll, um...

I'll take them both.

Why didn't you answer my letters?

I didn't even open them.

That wasn't very nice.

You all do well what will be in

them.

Didn't it mean anything to you, Dusseldorf?

It was an aporia.

A path that led nowhere.

It's left me stranded, all right.

I can't go forward, I can't go back.

I'm sorry, Vic, but surely you can see

it's impossible.

I mean, we're too different.

I could change.

I already have changed.

I've started reading, you know, proper books.

What books?

Jane Eyre and the other one.

Oh.

Wuthering Heights?

Yeah, I've read them both.

Go on, ask me about them.

It's not just a matter of books, Vic.

Look, I've got rid of the pinups at

the factory.

I've given the women in...

What?

I got the unions to put it to

a vote.

The Asians swung it.

They're a bit prudish, you know.

Oh.

I'm impressed.

Robin, give me a chance.

Get off, you fool!

Mr. Wilcox has dropped his pen, Marion.

Can you see it anywhere?

Uh, no.

Sorry.

I just came back for this.

I've got another lecture.

I must dash.

Sorry.

Right.

I'm sorry.

That's it.

I'm sorry.

I got carried away.

Please leave now.

Let me stay.

It won't happen again.

I don't trust you.

I think you're a bit mad.

I promise.

No more love stuff.

No more references to Dusseldorf.

All right.

Do you know what you look like just

now?

An illustration out of a Victorian novel.

God knows what Marion made of it.

Oh, come on.

Let's get some more coffee.

Which brings me to the next item on

the agenda.

The DEVs.

What in God's name are they?

Uh, Department of Enterprise Ventures.

The VC wants every department to pay.

And put forward projects for raising money from

the private sector.

You mean something like a jumble sale?

Or a flag day?

No, no, no, Rupert.

Consultancies.

Well, that's not what your life is, that

sort of thing.

Now, what have we got?

That's stupid.

What have we got as a department that's

marketable?

We've got a lot of pretty girls.

I don't understand this.

I mean, for God's sake, we're already overstretched.

Teaching students and doing our own research.

That's what we're here for.

It's important work.

It's valuable.

Where are we supposed to find the time

and energy to make money on the side

as well?

It's ludicrous.

The theory is that with the additional income

generated, we should be able to hire more

staff.

It's the spirit of the times.

Self-help.

Venture capitalism.

Isn't that right, Mr. Wilcox?

Well, I agree with Dr. Penrose.

Well, you people don't belong in the marketplace.

You'll be playing at capitalism.

Stick to what you're good at.

Teaching.

Well, some of you are good at it

anyway.

Well, it seems to me all our trouble

started when we gave up the old cinemas.

There's no point in hankering after the old

days, Rupert, which are actually the bad old

days.

The subject's moved on a bit since you

entered the profession.

Yes, well, I should be very glad to

make my exit from it next year.

Has he?

Yes.

I see.

Yes.

I see.

Yes.

Ah, well, yes, thank you for calling, Vice

-Chancellor.

Goodbye.

It's, um...

It's bad news, I'm afraid.

The UGC letters arrived.

Apparently our grant's going to be cut by

10% in real terms.

Looks like we might have to lose another

hundred posts.

But that's appalling!

Where are they going to come from?

We've already scraped the battle for early retirements.

You don't have to tell me, Bob.

I'm the one who scraped it.

Oh, what's that?

I guess my last chance of keeping my

job.

Sorry.

You're really good at it.

I've learned more about literature in the last

couple of weeks than in all my years

at school.

I never thought I'd like poetry.

But I do, you know.

I even get bits off by heart.

What bits?

In my life, there was a picture.

She that clasped my neck had flown.

I was left within the shadow.

Sitting on the rack, alone.

That's rather beautiful.

I thought it was rather appropriate.

You know, shadow.

Who wrote it?

You mean I've read something you haven't?

I haven't read everything, you know.

What's it from?

Loxley Hall, 60 years after.

Tennyson.

I like him.

More than Jennifer Rush?

He rhymes better.

Well.

If you've learned that much, I suppose the

shadow scheme hasn't been in vain.

And what about you?

You learned anything?

Maybe.

What?

That most of us, most of the time,

need very blinkered lives.

Perhaps I'll call for you, Robin.

Oh, thanks, Pamela.

Back in a minute.

It's line two, Robin.

Right, thanks.

Hello?

Hi, Robin.

How are you?

Professor Zapp!

Where are you?

I'm at home in euphoria.

I read your book and I think it's

terrific.

Really?

Well, are you going to recommend it to

your university press?

Oh, I already have.

But that's not what I'm calling you about.

I'm calling you about a job.

A job?

We're making a tenure track appointment in women's

studies here, starting in the fall.

Are you interested?

Well, yes.

Great.

I'll need your resume as soon as possible.

Then you'll have to come over here for

a few days, meet the faculty, give a

paper, the usual sort of thing.

We'll pay all your expenses, of course.

Fine.

When?

How about next week?

Next week?

The week after, then.

The point is, I'll level with you, Robin.

There's another candidate that some of my dumber

colleagues are backing, and I want to get

you into the ballgame as soon as possible.

Who's the other candidate?

Don't worry about her.

She's not a serious scholar, just a writer.

Do what I tell you, and the job's

yours.

Well, how can I thank you?

We'll work on that together.

Don't you want to know what the starting

salary is?

All right.

What is it?

You're young, of course, but I'd say not

less than $40,000.

I know that's not...

It sounds very reasonable to me.

I mean, it's twice what I'm getting here.

Great.

Don't forget the resume.

Talk to you soon.

Goodbye.

And thanks again.

All right?

Yeah.

Hello, English Department.

Oh, just a moment.

For me?

No, it's for Mr. Wilcox.

So what did he say?

Hang on.

Come in.

Mr. Baxter, Mr. Wilcox is here to see

you.

Yeah.

Did he?

Did he?

Yeah.

Yeah, all right.

Look, I'll get back to you, all right?

Okay, bye now.

Well, thanks for coming in so quickly, Vic.

No, I wasn't far away.

Yeah, the university, wasn't it?

I hear you've been spending quite a lot

of time there lately.

You know, I'm following up on that Shadows

case.

Oh, yes?

It's my own time.

I hear you took your shadow to Dusseldorf.

Oh, no.

If you brought me here to discuss office

gossip...

I brought you here for a much more

important reason than that.

Sit down, Vic.

We're selling Pringles.

The deed's already been done.

The announcement will be made tomorrow.

It's confidential until then, of course.

We made a profit last month.

A small profit.

A very small profit, considering the turnover.

It'll improve.

I mean, the foundry's coming on a treat.

And what about the automatic core blower?

Well, Bullcast won't try to get out of

the contract.

You've got a good price there.

Bullcast?

Yeah.

Well, we're selling to the EFE Group.

Well, as you know, they own Bullcast.

I gather the idea is that they want

to merge the two companies.

There'd be some rationalisation, of course.

Pringles is rationalised already.

I rationalised it!

In less than a year!

Now you're telling me you want to sell

out to a competitor that was on his

fucking knees!

Look, we all think you've done a fantastic

job, Vic.

It's just the board don't see Pringles fitting

into our long-term strategy.

What you mean?

Is it by selling off Pringles now, you

can show a profit on the account of

this year's AGM?

So it's goodbye and thank you?

An easy year's salary and don't spend it

all at once?

Well, we'll let you keep the car.

Oh, well, that's all right, then!

Look, Vic, I'm sorry, I really am.

I said to the people at EFE, I

told them, if you've got any sense, you

keep Vic Wilcox on to run the new

company.

But I think they were a bit put

off by the stories flying around about you.

What stories?

Well, like having all the pinups taken down

at the factory.

The union's back, is it?

Yes, I know they did, I know.

It's just, it seems a bit...

eccentric.

And all that time you've been spending at

the university.

My own time.

Yeah, well, that seems eccentric, too.

Somebody asked me the other day if you

were a born-again Christian.

You're not, are you?

No.

Not a Christian.

Well, I think you might find it convenient

if you move your stuff out this afternoon.

Well, goodbye, Vic.

Thanks for everything.

Excellent, mate.

I watched you, Vic.

I thought this was one of your adult

education days.

Something cropped up.

What happened to your car, then?

I broke down the other side of town,

so I hitched a lift back.

What's the matter?

Because how you lost a pound and found

a chilli?

Come to my office, will you?

So that is, in a nutshell.

You don't seem very surprised.

I saw it coming.

Buggered if I did.

So I made contingency plans.

What contingency plans?

Some time ago, I put a bit of

money in a little business.

And it ain't so little anymore.

What have you had with sunbeds?

That was the van that dropped you just

now.

Yeah.

There's all these women all over Rummage, sir,

getting ready for their annual fortnight in Majorca

or Corfu.

They don't want to go down the beach

on the first day looking like lumps of

lard, now do they?

That's the only thing I want about them.

Yes, I know.

Doing all right, is it, this business?

Oh, magic.

Magic.