Inspired by a Sonnet...
Sonnet 129 - by William Shakespeare
The expense of spirit in a waste of shame
Is lust in action; and till action, lust
Is perjured, murderous, bloody, full of blame,
Savage, extreme, rude, cruel, not to trust,
Enjoy'd no sooner but despised straight,
Past reason hunted, and no sooner had
Past reason hated, as a swallow'd bait
On purpose laid to make the taker mad;
Mad in pursuit and in possession so;
Had, having, and in quest to have, extreme;
A bliss in proof, and proved, a very woe;
Before, a joy proposed; behind, a dream.
All this the world well knows; yet none knows well
To shun the heaven that leads men to this hell.
Writer Ollie Perkin on Sonnet 129
"Shakespeare’s Sonnet 129 is perceived by many literary scholars as being part of his ‘dark lady’ sequence: full of moral ambiguity and contrasting ideas, so when I was asked to come up with a Doctors story that could explore the same ideas thematically, I thought it would be interesting to write something that centred upon a mysterious, possibly dangerous woman, whose sexual allure pulls in, then potentially shipwrecks the men she encounters.
"Shakespeare’s poem expresses the immediate regret felt after the pursuit of lust has passed- the ‘expense of spirit’ leading inevitably to the ‘waste of shame’ and how this behaviour is a pattern that humans are aware of, but seem powerless to prevent themselves repeating. In my episode both Darren and Keith ignore their inner warning bells and fall for Helena’s hotel bar blackmail trap, suffering the instant consequences (a texted photo!) of their uncontrolled lust and then becoming caught in the aftermath of shame, humiliation and potential personal and financial damage.
"Writing the episode was a really enjoyable challenge, although obviously the restrictions of daytime TV meant that any exploration of the darker, obsessive side of lust inevitably had to be lighter in tone and preferably comedic. This lead me to put in a more upbeat scene towards the end when Rob unofficially helps the two men to redress the balance of power by giving them the opportunity to take photos of Helena as she leaves the police station. In modern day Letherbridge, not all men are completely ‘lead to hell’ by the rashness of their desire, even if Rob the policeman, or the audience, feel that they deserve it. However the upshot of the story is that the ‘dark lady’ is still in control, free to lure more victims; as Rob says ‘sex equals power’. Some things never really change: ‘All this the world well knows; yet none knows well.’"
