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A Very Polish Practice, Movie made for TV, 1992 IMDB

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Also known as:

  • Screen One: A Very Polish Practice


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dsl SX

2013-09-26 23:27

[Image: title.23.jpg] [Image: title2.1.jpg]
A strange one-off feature-length sequel (also listed as ep4.1 of Screen One series by imdb, but that's not how it's advertised now) to the excellent A Very Peculiar Practice comedy/satire series of 1986-88 which was set in an English university medical centre. This sequel, 4 years later transfers entirely to Poland - imdb does not give locations but seem to be Warsaw and Krakow from plot lines
[Image: warsaw.jpg] [Image: krakow.jpg]
without using any UK locations or archive footage - so all vehicles should be genuine 1992 local, and gives the strong impression of a country in volatile transition. Huge numbers of Polski Fiats, Polonez, swarms of 126s, scattered Ladas, Wartburgs, Skodas and Trabis, lots of incoming Mercs (W114/115s, W123s and vans), and a few Opels, Golfs, Polos. Some French sightings (Peugeot, Renault van and the solitary nose of a red CX in one shot) and some porridge Japanese (Corollas, a couple of Datsuns) - but no obvious Fords apart from a battered Taunus TC3 and a possible Transit (and a stray US saloon), a solitary BMW (an early 520). Also an almost complete absence of anything older than mid-70s.

Film is an odd mix of slapstick (various running gags about nuns, bananas and stealing car radios), satire (business conferences, privatising the health service - both in Poland and by analogy to what St Margaret the Compassionate wanted to do in UK), gangsters and organised crime, but has a very pessimistic theme underneath. Would be interested to know how it comes over for any Polish imcdbers who can find a copy to watch - is it a convincing portrait of events then?

Plane for impdb - supposedly Warsaw airport:
[Image: plane1.1.jpg] [Image: plane1b.jpg]

[Image: plane1c.jpg]

-- Last edit: 2014-06-01 18:32:43

Weasel1984 PL

2013-09-27 01:34

dsl wrote ... privatising the health service - both in Poland and by analogy to what St Margaret the Compassionate wanted to do in UK...

Is it "anty" this?

dsl SX

2013-09-27 01:43

Yes. Total chaos - inadequate facilities and provision in the hospital - bribes and corruption, the introduction of private (= fee-paying) wards by shifting normal patients out into the corridors, having to buy medicines on the black market because the state has run out of supplies ....

Weasel1984 PL

2013-09-27 19:17

I'm not some ideological oponent of privatization (in general), but let's be honest - Poland has really bad (to say it gently) experiences in this subject. The health system wasn't privatised however! Anyway its condition in the last 20-something years become very far from satisfactory (it's tragicomical). Some see solution in privatization, however it all depends on people responsible for this - their ambitions and the most - their intentions, but this way - with right people - the well-functioning "state service" could be created too - I'm sure of that.

-- Last edit: 2013-09-27 19:41:03

dsl SX

2013-09-27 20:04

Weasel1984 wrote I'm not some ideological oponent of privatisation .....(

I've become one over the years because I have not seen a UK example which has really brought tangible benefits for its users/customers. The issue which no-one seems prepared to recognise in economic terms is that the process brings a new financial obligation into the equation of paying dividends to its owners. Therefore instead of recycling profits back into the enterprise or into Government funds, money leaves the enterprise and goes elsewhere, thereby reducing the operational resource of the enterprise and its capacity for reinvestment. UK privatisations have also normally led to severe redundancy programmes, causing unemployment costs for the welfare system (so the enterprise escapes relatively unscathed by passing on the real costs back to government provision). I don't have the figures to fill the holes in the equations, but if someone calculated the whole-life costs of a UK privatisation through all the consequential chains, I think it's highly unlikely that the state finances would show a profit. I also think it's a fascinating scenario that so many privatised UK utilities (water, electric, gas, railway etc) are substantially owned now by their European equivalents, many of which are still state-owned. So for instance, many UK water company profits flow (!) into French government revenue.

DidierF FR

2013-09-27 20:47

dsl wrote I also think it's a fascinating scenario that so many privatised UK utilities (water, electric, gas, railway etc) are substantially owned now by their European equivalents, many of which are still state-owned. So for instance, many UK water company profits flow (!) into French government revenue.

Actually, the flow poors in private pockets, since the French giants of water supplying are private companies. Besides, state-ownership is no more complete, anywhere, in France.
(I said that just to complete your statement.)

Weasel1984 PL

2013-09-27 22:29

We have to say however, that the pre-Thatcher UK and the pre-1989 Poland were in slightly different situations. Some services simply had to be privatized here at start, some closures perhaps were necessary too. BUT of course "some" doesn't mean that nearly enitre state industry (that's the main problem) had to be quickly sold without any reflexion or literally ruined.

dsl wrote I also think it's a fascinating scenario that so many privatised UK utilities (water, electric, gas, railway etc) are substantially owned now by their European equivalents, many of which are still state-owned. So for instance, many UK water company profits flow (!) into French government revenue.

Even if (now!) it is like DidierF mentioned, this kind of """privatisation""' have been always also mine beloved example of infinite stupidity. We know such situations well too.

Back to UK and for example to its automotive industry (this way it won't be OT :D ) - a related subject. I was always curious why there wasn't some "eccentric billionaire" there, who would like to save one or two factories/brands. There really wasn't any? Let's be honest you can find such people even in some poor countries. OK - I know the MG/Rover-Phoeinx thing, but these were less/more popular cars - with such ones it had to be more difficult in today realities. The luxury/sport cars, made in lower numbers, is a different story, but their manufacturers finally also went in hands of foreign companies...

Edit: the pics of the "Tu" have been uploaded to the IMPDb, but they don't work yet (there are some problems at the site).

-- Last edit: 2013-09-28 00:04:39

dsl SX

2013-09-28 00:08

Interesting question about the "eccentric billionaires" scenario. I've never had the opportunity to indulge in such activities or glimpse their mindset (my country estate is only a small one and I don't really have that many servants), but I can make a few guesses:
1] some have tried and either failed completely (one Russian destroyed TVR) or only just managed to keep things going until a better offer came (perhaps Victor Gauntlett's efforts at Aston Martin??), so it's probably very difficult. Maybe investing in football clubs offers a better return...??? Outside UK, perhaps Chrysler's ownership of Lamborghini is a parallel example - lots of effort but only achieves survival???
2] owners don't want to sell - eg Morgan - or if they do eventually have to sell, their departure means a loss of direction eg Bristol - or perhaps current owners are too protective of their intellectual property to allow newcomers to share (eg GM with Saab)
3] or when firms finally come up for sale, they are in too deep a mess to be rescued without deep pockets which can only be tackled by companies with the resource base to fill and the technology to import to move quickly and reduce cost of new start-up. It would probably be fairly easy to buy dead factories, but much more expensive to start something new in them without being able to bring in some existing designs/tooling/product
4] maybe volume car production in UK or Europe is too over-supplied already to suggest a good business case for new entrants and their financial backers - other industries/opportunities make better sense.

Edit: as for buying factories, I'm struggling to think of a UK site which has changed hands but continued car production under new ownership. Whitley in Coventry was bought by Jaguar from Peugeot some years ago but had become more of a design centre than a production facility. I guess sellers can get better prices by redeveloping their site for other activities, particularly for housing or light industry within cities, and maybe local planning policies encourage change of use from heavy industry in urban situations. It may be cheaper for an intending manufacturer to create new build factories elsewhere, especially if regional development funds encourage dispersal and old factory facilities would require extensive updating and re-equipping for their new owner. So probable advantages of old factories (eg transport and supply access, power provision, existing workforce on doorstep) do not seem attractive enough to retain manufacture.

-- Last edit: 2013-09-28 04:21:30

Weasel1984 PL

2013-09-29 14:10

Less or more all these things together perhaps. Unfortunately times aren't too good for personal cars and it is not only matter of crisis or regulations - simply they don't fasciante people so much anymore. This way even if some manufacturer is liquidated, not many cares IMHO, as there are indeed a lot of different attractive gadgets around.

sixcyl FR

2013-10-26 12:03

Aircraft at (done by Weasel1984):
Link to "impdb.org"

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