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(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/masterpiecehdg.jpg)
Masterpiece Mystery 2012 presents the best British mysteries. See the complete 2012 MASTERPIECE MYSTERY schedule (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/schedule/index.html).
NOW DISCUSSING
Let's talk about any PBS program of interest to us.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis5_indeliblestain.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/indeliblestain.html)
Inspector Lewis: Indelible Stain (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/indeliblestain.html)
July 29, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
A controversial American academic is found strangled after a guest lecture at Oxford, leading Lewis and Hathaway to narrow down a list of motives that includes politics, ambition and vengeance, in order to find their culprit.
ALREADY DISCUSSED
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis5_fearfulsymmetry.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/fearfulsymmetry.html)
Inspector Lewis: Fearful Symmetry (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/fearfulsymmetry.html)
July 22, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Lewis and Hathaway are drawn into a darker side of Oxford while investigating the murder of a suburban babysitter. Will the babysitter's secret life help the detectives unravel a tangled web of lies and deceit to find their killer?
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis5_generationofvipers.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/generationofvipers.html)
Inspector Lewis: Generation of Vipers (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/generationofvipers.html)
July 15, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Suspicions abound as Lewis and Hathaway investigate the death of a lovelorn Oxford professor. Was her death caused by an embarrassing Internet leak, or something much more sinister? Toby Stephens (Jane Eyre) guest stars.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis2.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/soulofgenius.html)
Inspector Lewis: The Soul of Genius (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/soulofgenius.html)
July 8, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Botany, rivalry and secrecy collide when Lewis and Hathaway attempt to find the killer of an obsessed professor. Kick off the new season of Inspector Lewis with The Soul of Genius. Celia Imrie (Cranford) co-stars.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mystery_2012/endeavour.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/endeavour/index.html)
Endeavour (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/endeavour/index.html)
July 1, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Before his signature red Jaguar, before Inspector Morse, there was the rookie Constable Morse, deductive powers already running in high gear. Shaun Evans (The Take, The Virgin Queen) portrays Endeavour Morse, the low man on the force returning to Oxford with no track record and his future on the line.
(http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mystery_2011/zen.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/zen/index.html)
ZEN: Encore Episodes (from 2011) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/zen/index.html)
Three 90-minute mysteries — Sundays, June 10, 17 & 24, 2012
What does an honest cop do when corruption rules on both sides of the law? Detective Aurelio Zen (Rufus Sewell, Middlemarch), based on the novels by British crime writer Michael Dibdin, brings justice to modern-day Italy, whether the authorities want it or not. Check your local listings to see if the programs are broadcast on your PBS station.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/sherlockholmes2/sherlock2_reichenbach.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/reichenbach.html)
Sherlock Holmes: The Reichenbach Fall (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/reichenbach.html)
May 20, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
The crime of the century is just a prelude for the unhinged criminal mastermind, Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott, Lennon Naked), when he poses the diabolical and inescapable "final problem" to Sherlock.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/sherlockholmes2/sherlock2_baskerville.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/baskerville.html)
Sherlock Holmes: The Hounds of Baskerville (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/baskerville.html)
May 13, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Sherlock and Watson track a gigantic hound to Baskerville, where the military is conducting top-secret experiments. But whether demonic or dubious, something is stalking the moors.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/sherlockholmes2/sherlock2_belgravia.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/belgravia.html)
Sherlock Holmes: A Scandal in Belgravia (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/belgravia.html)
May 6, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Picking up from Season 1's gripping cliffhanger, the whip-smart Irene Adler (Lara Pulver, True Blood) takes on Sherlock in a game he is ill-prepared to fight...love. Watch online through 6/5/12 (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/sherlock_belgravia.html)
Discussion Leaders: JoanP (jonkie@verizon.net) and marcie (marciei@aol.com)
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This looks like it will be a great Masterpiece Mystery season.
During May, starting this Sunday, we'll have three new Sherlock Holmes episodes.
During June, some stations will show encore episodes of ZEN, with Rufus Sewell.
On July 1 there will be one episode of a "prequel" to Inspector Morse. Shaun Evans (The Take, The Virgin Queen) portrays Endeavour Morse, the low man on the force returning to Oxford with no track record and his future on the line.
During the rest of July we'll have 4 new episodes of Inspector Lewis: Season 5, with Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox.
During August, some stations will show encore episodes of Inspector Lewis: Season 4.
During September, we'll have 3 new episodes of Wallander: Season 3, with Kenneth Branagh.
See the full schedule at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/schedule/index.html
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Thanks for starting the new MM season forum. I am very much looking forward to the lineup.
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Looking forward to the new season. Thanks, Marcie.
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During September, we'll have 3 new episodes of Wallander: Season 3, with Kenneth Branagh
Thanks, Marcie!
I'm really looking forward to this. Would love to know the book titles to read before watching the adaptations though.
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Joan, the third season will focus on Wallander's relationship with his daughter, after the death of his father.
The three episodes will be:
The Dogs of Riga, based on the novel of the same name.
Before The Frost, also based on the novel of the same name.
An Event in Autumn, which is based on the short story Händelse om hösten (The Grave), a short story from 2004 published only in the Netherlands.
See more info at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallander_%28British_TV_series%29
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The good news to me is we will see The Dogs of Riga which is one of my favorites (another is The White Lioness). I was not interested in reading Before the Frost because I wasn't much interested in a following dad's footsteps kind of thing. I will be most curious to see the last one, An Event in Autumn.
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Looking forward to the showing of Morse and also Season 5 of Inspector Lewis. I think he took over after Morse and did a great job.
Now I didn't much care for "Wallander" I like Kenneth but not in it. I will most probable watch if home.
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I tried to get the old Morse episodes on Netflix but they don't stream them and only have them on DVD and we don't get the DVDs from Netflix. I'll sure be looking forward to some of the future offerings on PBS.
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Here is a short, poignant Morse-Lewis scene from Inspector Morse:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QYoMFZDkrc
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And the DVDs don't have captions.
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FlaJean
Check your library. Mine have all the Insp. Morse and also Insp. Lewis up to his last series. They will get the New one pretty soon. The get most of movies as soon as they come out on DVD. Maybe I am high on the list for New one but gets to me within 3 weeks.
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Thanks, JeanneP, I'll try the library.
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I was totally absorbed in the Sherlock Holmes mystery last night. Generally, I don't care for "updated" or modern versions of old favorites, but I do like this Sherlock very much. His brother, Mycroft, is played a lot more bitey and disapproving/distainful than I remember the original. I don't care for that too much.
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I didn't care for the Sherlock Holmes last night at all. It lost me after 15 minutes. I'm back looking at the old Sherlock series on Netflix.
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Just wanted to say I taped the first of the new Holmes/Watson series and watched it
yesterday. As good as I remembered. I'm still just as delighted as I was when a kid, for
Sherlock Holmes to look someone over and pick up a number of clues as to who/what they'
are,where they came from and what they were doing. After being cued to a few key clues in
this latest film, I gleefully figured out where the guy was from and where he must be taking
Holmes. So pleased with myself. 8) ;D
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Isn't it good, Babi? And don't you just love Martin Freeman? (Daughters, of course, love Benedict himself...)
Rosemary
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Top notch, ROSEMARY. My only complaint is that there are, apparently, only three episodes.
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I am definitely not a Sherlockian. I never cared for the books and only remember Basil Rathbone as the "real" Sherlock. Absolutely hated the version with the English actor that played Freddie in My Fair Lady...what was his name?!! Anyway, I thought his portrayal of S. Holmes was terrible. That version turned Holmes into a near psychopath, IMO. But, I like this new version very much....it's just plain fun and has some unforeseen (at least by me) twists and turns that keep me very interested. I'm looking forward to the next episodes.
And, I find it so interesting how the role of Lewis has progressed from the early days of being Morse's not-too-bright assistant to the much smarter, take charge investigator that he is now. And the actor who portrays him has grown along with it. I love the lines that life has written on his face.
Yes, it is going to be a good mystery season.
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I get a kick out of this version--it's so quick and witty, and I thought the ending was a complete hoot. Holmes is such an iconic character that it's fun to see how he is re-imagined by each generation.
Phyll commented that Jeremy Brett's Holmes was "almost psychopathic." I'm not a mental health professional or anything, but I've always wondered whether Holmes would today be diagnosed as either a high-functioning autistic or as having Asperger's Syndrome. There's more than a little bit of a character like Dustin Hoffman's "Rain Man" in Cumberbatch's Holmes, in particular, but I think it's there in the books as well.
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I enjoyed the Sherlock Holmes episode too. It showed a lighter side of Holmes.
I'm one who also liked Jeremy Brett's eccentric Holmes.
Roxania, I think you're right that Sherlock Holmes could likely having something like Asperger's.
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I leave it up to those of you that are more familiar with the actual Sherlock Holmes' books to determine if Jeremy Brett (thank you for reminding me of his name) gave a true portrayal of Holmes. As I said, I didn't care for the Conan Doyle books so did not read more than one. I just found that Brett's version was too quirky for my taste. I'm not a mental health professional either....not anywhere near...but I do know a little about Aspergers since my grandson deals with that condition every day of his life. In comparison with his behavior I think I would have called Sherlock Holmes' character as more of a Manic/Depressive than someone with Autism. But, I repeat, I'm definitely not an authority.
I liked this version very much and I'm looking forward to next Sunday. It is just plain fun. And I particularly like this Dr. Watson who seems constantly befuddled by Holmes and yet still comes off as intelligent on his own.
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Phyll, yes "manic/depressive" could describe Jeremy Brett's portrayal too! He definitely was a complex character. Maybe that is why I enjoyed him.
I agree that Watson seems intelligent and sympathetic in this new TV version.... as well as the two actors who played Watson in the "Jeremy Brett" adaptation. I like their interplay.
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I agree this Holmes is Manic/depressive or what they now call Bi-Polar.
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I don't think Benedict C plays Holmes as a manic depressive - Aspergic yes, - it's made clear that he doesn't understand social interaction, that's why the lovely Watson is always having to explain it to him - but he doesn't seem to me to have the mood swings that I believe characterise manic depression. I love it when they show how his mind is working by showing the connections on the screen (if you know what I mean!). I think the fact that he is so ultra-logical is another Aspergic thing, isn't it? I'm glad no-one can see the way my mind works sometimes :)
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I agree that B.C. is putting a different slant on the Holmes character, Rosemary, and perhaps that is why I'm enjoying this version so much more than the Jeremy Brett version. They are making it fun and the adaptation to a modern century is well done. The jury is out in my mind as to whether I like the portrayal of Mycroft in this version. Somehow, he doesn't seem to ring true to me. Can't put my finger on why.
BTW, I'm just curious....do you think that Benedict Cumberbatch is his real name? And if it isn't, why on earth would he choose that, I wonder?
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Oh I think it is Phyll - he's an old Harrovian (ie Harrow School) - v posh, and they just love names like that!
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Poor soul.
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I distinctly get the impression that this Mycroft is much more disdainful (viscous sounding) than the other Mycrofts. It has been so long since I've read Sherlock Holmes that I can't say how Doyle portrayed him. I just think former Mycrofts were more inclined to treat SH as an eccentric or even a little condescending of his lifestyle.
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I agree about the portrayal of Mycroft. There seems to be more sibling rivalry in this adaptation.
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I came across an interesting blog about the way the Irene Adler character is portrayed in this episode. See the blog and the differing comments that follow it at http://stavvers.wordpress.com/2012/01/01/irene-adler-how-to-butcher-a-brilliant-woman-character/
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That sounds about right. I was startled when she said she got advice from Moriarty. But, again, I haven't read the books since high school, so I thought maybe I just didn't remember that bit. The ending was certainly different too. Would you rescue her is you knew she was getting advice from your nemesis? Still, I enjoyed the show very much.
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I agree,PHYLL; Mycroft as played in this series is not true to the original. For one thing,
he gets out and about much more. Doyle's Mycroft was more like a spider at the center of
a web, seldom moving but alert to every quiver in his web.
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Doyle's Mycroft was more like a spider at the center of
a web, seldom moving but alert to every quiver in his web.
Well said, Babi.
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I think you defined it for me, Babi. The original Mycroft seemed so much more mysterious, devious, manipulative? Sort of a shadow figure.
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If I remember correctly, isn't Mycroft the older brother? I got the impression, long ago, that he felt responsible for and kept an eye on (but from a distance) SH's wellbeing.
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Babi, your spider analogy gave me shivers!
There is some great information about Mycroft (Sherlock's older brother by 7 years) at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycroft_Holmes. It's taken from two of the four stories in which Mycroft appears.
Among the information:
"Heavily built and massive, there was a suggestion of uncouth physical inertia in the figure, but above this unwieldy frame there was perched a head so masterful in its brow, so alert in its steel-gray, deep-set eyes, so firm in its lips, and so subtle in its play of expression, that after the first glance one forgot the gross body and remembered only the dominant mind."
The Bruce-Partington Plans
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Kind of reminds me of Nero Wolf, who was grossly overweight, didn't like to leave the house, and had his underlings do all the legwork while he came up with a solution.
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Oh, yes, Frybabe. I had forgotten about Nero Wolf.
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Looks like our library is still buying and putting out "50 shades of gray". I don't know if my name is still down for it. Can't say I am that interested now after all the talk.
Can't think it would have more in it than
books written by Anne Rice (Under the name A.N Rocuelaure" The Sleeping Beauty books. Never yet read any. Will get one just to see what the fuss all about.
Books anymore have to come out in Large Print for me to bother reading. Lots are that way now.
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(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/masterpiecehdg.jpg)
Masterpiece Mystery 2012 presents the best British mysteries. See the complete 2012 MASTERPIECE MYSTERY schedule (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/schedule/index.html).
NOW DISCUSSING
Let's talk about any PBS program of interest to us.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis5_indeliblestain.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/indeliblestain.html)
Inspector Lewis: Indelible Stain (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/indeliblestain.html)
July 29, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
A controversial American academic is found strangled after a guest lecture at Oxford, leading Lewis and Hathaway to narrow down a list of motives that includes politics, ambition and vengeance, in order to find their culprit.
ALREADY DISCUSSED
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis5_fearfulsymmetry.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/fearfulsymmetry.html)
Inspector Lewis: Fearful Symmetry (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/fearfulsymmetry.html)
July 22, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Lewis and Hathaway are drawn into a darker side of Oxford while investigating the murder of a suburban babysitter. Will the babysitter's secret life help the detectives unravel a tangled web of lies and deceit to find their killer?
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis5_generationofvipers.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/generationofvipers.html)
Inspector Lewis: Generation of Vipers (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/generationofvipers.html)
July 15, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Suspicions abound as Lewis and Hathaway investigate the death of a lovelorn Oxford professor. Was her death caused by an embarrassing Internet leak, or something much more sinister? Toby Stephens (Jane Eyre) guest stars.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis2.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/soulofgenius.html)
Inspector Lewis: The Soul of Genius (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/soulofgenius.html)
July 8, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Botany, rivalry and secrecy collide when Lewis and Hathaway attempt to find the killer of an obsessed professor. Kick off the new season of Inspector Lewis with The Soul of Genius. Celia Imrie (Cranford) co-stars.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mystery_2012/endeavour.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/endeavour/index.html)
Endeavour (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/endeavour/index.html)
July 1, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Before his signature red Jaguar, before Inspector Morse, there was the rookie Constable Morse, deductive powers already running in high gear. Shaun Evans (The Take, The Virgin Queen) portrays Endeavour Morse, the low man on the force returning to Oxford with no track record and his future on the line.
(http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mystery_2011/zen.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/zen/index.html)
ZEN: Encore Episodes (from 2011) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/zen/index.html)
Three 90-minute mysteries — Sundays, June 10, 17 & 24, 2012
What does an honest cop do when corruption rules on both sides of the law? Detective Aurelio Zen (Rufus Sewell, Middlemarch), based on the novels by British crime writer Michael Dibdin, brings justice to modern-day Italy, whether the authorities want it or not. Check your local listings to see if the programs are broadcast on your PBS station.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/sherlockholmes2/sherlock2_reichenbach.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/reichenbach.html)
Sherlock Holmes: The Reichenbach Fall (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/reichenbach.html)
May 20, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
The crime of the century is just a prelude for the unhinged criminal mastermind, Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott, Lennon Naked), when he poses the diabolical and inescapable "final problem" to Sherlock.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/sherlockholmes2/sherlock2_baskerville.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/baskerville.html)
Sherlock Holmes: The Hounds of Baskerville (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/baskerville.html)
May 13, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Sherlock and Watson track a gigantic hound to Baskerville, where the military is conducting top-secret experiments. But whether demonic or dubious, something is stalking the moors.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/sherlockholmes2/sherlock2_belgravia.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/belgravia.html)
Sherlock Holmes: A Scandal in Belgravia (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/belgravia.html)
May 6, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Picking up from Season 1's gripping cliffhanger, the whip-smart Irene Adler (Lara Pulver, True Blood) takes on Sherlock in a game he is ill-prepared to fight...love. Watch online through 6/5/12 (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/sherlock_belgravia.html)
Discussion Leaders: JoanP (jonkie@verizon.net) and marcie (marciei@aol.com)
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Don't forget Sherlock Holmes on Sunday night! This episode is The Hounds of the Baskerville (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/baskerville.html).
There is a short video on the "making of" this episode at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/sherlock2_hound_modern.html. It looks like the actor who plays Mycroft wrote the script!!
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I thought the redo of The Hound of The Baskervilles extremely poorly plotted out.
All of the critics here are writing that 50 Shades of Gray is pure porn.
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The writers did have to reach quite a bit to bring the 'Hound' into modern times. I'm not sure
it entirely worked, but the new Holmes/Watson team continue to delight me. I like the new
Watson better than the old, but I suppose they are both adapted to their times.
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I thought it was just plain fun. You do have to suspend your credulity a bit but then it isn't meant to be reality, is it? And, of course, British mystery writers do love "red herrings"....the more, the better. Did you notice that for the first time (I think) they attributed Asperger's to Holmes? Not sure I really agree with their diagnosis. But, my only basis for comparison, admittedly, is my grandson and he is diagnosed with "high functioning" Asperger's.
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Did you notice that for the first time (I think) they attributed Asperger's to Holmes?
No, I missed that Phyll. As a stand alone the production did okay, but in comparison, I much prefer that they didn't stray as far afield as they did. I will be watching it again on Saturday when my station rebroadcasts it.
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I watched it but now wish I had watched the Housewives instead. Doubt I watch Holmes next week. I have always liked the man who plays Watson in it.
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Here we go, a new CBS show scheduled for the fall:
“Elementary,” a contemporary Sherlock Holmes series based in New York instead of London with Lucy Liu as Watson and Jonny Lee Miller as Holmes
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Tonight on PBS is a 2 hr special on Johnny Carson. It comes on a 8 pm here (Texas). It is also repeated a 3 a.m. Tuesday, Wed, and Fri. I have DVR'd it to watch later. It should be good.
Sally
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Lucy Liu as Watson?!!!! Oh, please, no! I like Lucy Liu well enough, but NOT as Watson.
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Lucy Liu!!! That's ridiculous!
The Johnny Carson special was very interesting. I actually managed to stay awake clear until the end! He was a complicated man....as so many of these very public people are.
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I typed in Judi Dench . BBC movies into my Library the other day. Got so many DVD they have there with her in. Watched a good one last night."Notes on a Scandal". was good.
Did not realize that she had been in so many movies. Think I requested 10 of them.
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Wow, JeanneP, that's wonderful you found 10 films with Judi Dench. I don't think you can overdo Judi!!
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Don't forget to watch Sherlock Holmes tonight. He matches wits with his nemesis, Moriarity, again!
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And the actor playing Moriaty is so good, IMHO!
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I forewent the episode last night to watch the Jesse Stone movie. Sherlock was replayed at 1:30am, but I didn't want to be up all night. I will have to wait now until Saturday to catch the episode. For some reason, Comcast has not put this series in their On Demand this season.
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When we have scheduling conflicts, we simply tape the show we have to miss at it's next
featured time. On the local schedule, Masterpiece Mystery has a second run about 1:30 on
Monday morning. That was the one we had to tape for last week's episode.
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Ancient VHS not hooked up. No DVR.
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I watched THE KILLING instead of PBS last evening but will watch Sherlock On Demand.
Frybabe, on our Comcast, I have found the Sherlock episodes by going to ON DEMAND/LOCAL SHOWS/LOCAL TV/MASTERPIECE.
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I'll try again Marcie. I didn't see anything in Local, so I tried Nature; PBS was in there, but no Masterpiece. Every once in a while Comcast changes how they list programs so I have to hunt for them. There are one or two stations and programs they used to cover on On Demand but are no longer there, BBC America being one.
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Frybabe, I think I found BBC America under TV Networks. You're right that they sometimes move things around and it's very difficult to find some programs.
I watched The Reichenbach Fall. Rosemary, the actor who plays Moriarity is very good. He can really play a psychopath! I thought the episode was good.
Spoiler alert: Apparently there is a clue in the episode to what happens to Holmes that everyone is missing. See the interview with Sherlock Holmes writer Steven Moffat at http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2012/jan/20/steven-moffat-sherlock-doctor-who
One thing I noticed was that some woman with a watch grabbed Watson's hand as he was reaching for Sherlock's hand (so he couldn't take his pulse?) but that doesn't explain how Sherlock did what he did!
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Marcie - my daughter says she worked it out but she won't tell me!
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It didn't occur to me that gesture of stopping Watson's hand was significant, MARCIE,
but now that you point it out it very well could be. I had assumed the unknwn person was
just restraining him from attempting impossible aid. Now, I wonder if the woman was the
young scientist that Sherlock visited last. It's going to take a major 'spin doctor' to
convincingly explain how Sherlock survived and made it all the way to 'burial' without
someone shouting 'FRAUD!' again.
Ah, ROSEMARY, I perceive that your daughter is a tease, albeit a very smart one. 8)
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I keep trying to figure it out but don't think I've been successful. I have read that some think Holmes dressed Moriarty in his black overcoat and pushed him over the edge. I don't buy that. Moriarty was already dead from self-inflicted gun shot and the falling figure's legs were moving all the way down. I'm wondering about the garbage truck that obscures the view of the body briefly? And the cyclist that knocks Watson down? Is Watson dazed and semi-conscious and hallucinates the whole thing? (I hope that isn't it....I hate that sort of easy solution!) I compliment the writers that they have made it not easy to figure out. I'm looking forward to the solution next year.
I just read an article that (on purpose, as a joke) called the actor who portrays Holmes, Bandersnatch Cumberbund. I think that is hilarious!
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Hmm, the garbage truck, Phyll! That was a good observation.
Ok. Watson was knocked down by the cyclist... so he couldn't see the instant that Holmes apparently hit the ground. Could Holmes have first landed in the garbage truck... which was conveniently driven there at the right moment?
We know that Holmes has a number of people that he calls on to help him. The coroner lady could have rounded them up. All of the "witnesses" could have been Holmes' "people."
That could have been fake blood under Holmes' head.... put there by one of the "witnesses" who so quickly gathered at the scene. We don't know that the body was dead.
Rosemary, how can we MAKE your daughter tell us!!! :)
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LOL, Phyll, re Bandersnatch Cumberbund. His real name is quite unusual in itself!
I had to look it up: "A Bandersnatch is a fictional creature from Lewis Carroll's 1872 novel Through the Looking-Glass and 1874 poem "The Hunting of the Snark". Although neither poem describes the appearance of a Bandersnatch in great detail, in "The Hunting of the Snark" it has a long neck and snapping jaws, and both works describe it as ferocious and extraordinarily fast. "
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Marcie - I found it! The reason I didn't see a Sherlock before is that they aren't keeping it up very long. So I didn't catch the other listings. I was looking too soon. They didn't list it until today, and it will only be up until 5/26. What a show!
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Oh, great, Frybabe. I'm so glad you were able to watch it. Yes, they have only been keeping them up a week.
I also have noticed that some programs on various channels sometimes don't get uploaded 24 hours after the broadcast as they are supposed to be.
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PBS is having a sweepstacks for Sherlock Holmes DVD sets.
Enter the MASTERPIECE Sherlock Sweepstakes* now through June 29, 2012 for your chance to win the Grand Prize of one of ten Sherlock Seasons 1 & 2 DVD Combo sets. Also, sign up for the Masterpiece e-Newsletter to get the latest behind-the-scenes buzz about Masterpiece, and be the first to know what is coming up on the series.
Limit one (1) online Sweepstakes entry, per eligible person, during the Entry Period at
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/season2_sweepstakes.html?elq=905209e8ba9d4a35907f0f27e4d007a3&elqCampaignId=361
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Two fake suicides -- HOUSE AND SHERLOCK??
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I get the idea House won't be miraculously returning. I think the show is definitely
over, and Hugh wants to get on with other things.
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I hadn't thought about that, Kidsal. And both House and Sherlock faked their suicides ostensibly for their friends: House so that he could spend Wilson's last months with him instead of being in prison and Sherlock so that Watson, Mrs. Hudson and Inspector Lestrade would not be killed.
Hugh Laurie is going on a world tour with his jazz band, The Copper Bottoms. See a clip at http://hughlaurieblues.com/
There is a nice interview with House about the series at http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2012/05/hugh-laurie-house-end.html
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Spoiler alert:
A fan has figured out 10 points on how Sherlock is alive at the end of the last episode.
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120117181412AAgPxPU
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This Sunday my local PBS station is showing the annual National Memorial program.
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By George, I think he's got it! Excellent reasoning, don't you think, MARCIE? This
theorist, whoever he is, has considered everything in a manner that would make
Sherlock applaud. 8)
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An aside - Just noticed that BBC America is showing a marathon of The Tudors today.
Jean
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Babi, yes, it's very good deducing!
Thanks, Mabel. I missed the first seasons and never caught up with the Tudors.
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My daughter had the complete set of the Tudors, on loan from a friend. She spent hours
watching it. I watched parts of it, but some things I found a bit too much. I haven't got the
slightest bit of voyeurism in me.
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I re-watched Sherlock last night. One of the things the article didn't mention was that just before Sherlock went off the roof, he insisted that John keep his eyes on him. Thus there is another clue that he didn't want John seeing what was going on at ground level.
Can hardly wait until next season.
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Frybabe, could point about that request from Sherlock!
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(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/masterpiecehdg.jpg)
Masterpiece Mystery 2012 presents the best British mysteries. See the complete 2012 MASTERPIECE MYSTERY schedule (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/schedule/index.html).
NOW DISCUSSING
Let's talk about any PBS program of interest to us.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis5_indeliblestain.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/indeliblestain.html)
Inspector Lewis: Indelible Stain (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/indeliblestain.html)
July 29, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
A controversial American academic is found strangled after a guest lecture at Oxford, leading Lewis and Hathaway to narrow down a list of motives that includes politics, ambition and vengeance, in order to find their culprit.
ALREADY DISCUSSED
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis5_fearfulsymmetry.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/fearfulsymmetry.html)
Inspector Lewis: Fearful Symmetry (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/fearfulsymmetry.html)
July 22, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Lewis and Hathaway are drawn into a darker side of Oxford while investigating the murder of a suburban babysitter. Will the babysitter's secret life help the detectives unravel a tangled web of lies and deceit to find their killer?
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis5_generationofvipers.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/generationofvipers.html)
Inspector Lewis: Generation of Vipers (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/generationofvipers.html)
July 15, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Suspicions abound as Lewis and Hathaway investigate the death of a lovelorn Oxford professor. Was her death caused by an embarrassing Internet leak, or something much more sinister? Toby Stephens (Jane Eyre) guest stars.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis2.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/soulofgenius.html)
Inspector Lewis: The Soul of Genius (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/soulofgenius.html)
July 8, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Botany, rivalry and secrecy collide when Lewis and Hathaway attempt to find the killer of an obsessed professor. Kick off the new season of Inspector Lewis with The Soul of Genius. Celia Imrie (Cranford) co-stars.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mystery_2012/endeavour.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/endeavour/index.html)
Endeavour (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/endeavour/index.html)
July 1, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Before his signature red Jaguar, before Inspector Morse, there was the rookie Constable Morse, deductive powers already running in high gear. Shaun Evans (The Take, The Virgin Queen) portrays Endeavour Morse, the low man on the force returning to Oxford with no track record and his future on the line.
(http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mystery_2011/zen.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/zen/index.html)
ZEN: Encore Episodes (from 2011) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/zen/index.html)
Three 90-minute mysteries — Sundays, June 10, 17 & 24, 2012
What does an honest cop do when corruption rules on both sides of the law? Detective Aurelio Zen (Rufus Sewell, Middlemarch), based on the novels by British crime writer Michael Dibdin, brings justice to modern-day Italy, whether the authorities want it or not. Check your local listings to see if the programs are broadcast on your PBS station.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/sherlockholmes2/sherlock2_reichenbach.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/reichenbach.html)
Sherlock Holmes: The Reichenbach Fall (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/reichenbach.html)
May 20, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
The crime of the century is just a prelude for the unhinged criminal mastermind, Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott, Lennon Naked), when he poses the diabolical and inescapable "final problem" to Sherlock.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/sherlockholmes2/sherlock2_baskerville.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/baskerville.html)
Sherlock Holmes: The Hounds of Baskerville (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/baskerville.html)
May 13, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Sherlock and Watson track a gigantic hound to Baskerville, where the military is conducting top-secret experiments. But whether demonic or dubious, something is stalking the moors.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/sherlockholmes2/sherlock2_belgravia.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/belgravia.html)
Sherlock Holmes: A Scandal in Belgravia (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/belgravia.html)
May 6, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Picking up from Season 1's gripping cliffhanger, the whip-smart Irene Adler (Lara Pulver, True Blood) takes on Sherlock in a game he is ill-prepared to fight...love. Watch online through 6/5/12 (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/sherlock_belgravia.html)
Discussion Leaders: JoanP (jonkie@verizon.net) and marcie (marciei@aol.com)
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Thanks, Rosemary. I am a big fan of Emily Watson. The name Dominic West rings a bell, but cannot at this moment place him.
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MaryPage - here is some info about Dominic:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0922035/
Rosemary
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Rosemary, Thanks very much for those highlights from the BAFTAs. I remember Dominic West from THE HOUR.
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I'm afraid I do not remember him from anywhere at all. I never saw The Wire or the other shows listed. I did watch THE HOUR, but do not remember him in that.
Thanks, Rosemary!
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'Appropriate Adult' (the drama based on Fred & Rosemary West) was re-shown last night on ITV4, so Anna recorded it for us to watch when we feel up to it - it is meant to be excellent, but I'm sure it's not for the fainthearted.
Emily Watson is so versatile - Hilary & Jackie, Oranges & Sunshine, and now this. She deserved the award.
Rosemary
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I am looking forward to the PBS show tonight from 7 to 10pm. It is the second story from the "Phantom of the Opera" What happened to him in years later. I read the book. Just can't remember the name of it now.Was something like "Love goes on".
Only thing is, this weekend on ours, they are again asking for money. I hate the thought that they are going to spoil the show by coming in every 30 min. and talking for 15 min. Already they have done this 3 time this year.
It spoils it for lot of people. At times I will just stop watching
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One of our PBS stations shows the British comedies on Sat night. I see they have brought back reruns of "Chef" which i loved.
Jean
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Ours usual to run the British Comedies also. but tonight that show will be one. "Love never dies" That is the Followup to P of the O. With it being a special they can run the asking for Funds. At the Moment Lawrance Welk show is on and they are doing it on it also. The one that was put together years after he died. All the people are so much older.
Maybe it is just a Local station that is doing it today.
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Hope you're not missing the royal family weddings on BBC America, and then Prince Harry and the Will and Kate and then the Diamond Jubilee.
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Thanks, Mabel. I've been watching it off and on today.
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The BBC programming was terrific! Queen Elizabeth really was/is so attractive and always looks so stylish. I love that she wears those bright colors. How she has the energy to do all those events is amazing.
Jean
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Queen Elizabeth is amazing. Always so calm and poised and she seems to always be asking about the welfare of the people she meets.
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My PBS station showed repeats of Downton Abbey last evening.
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Getting a little showing of the Jubilee on the Local Stations today. Feel so sad to see how it rained on all those people standing along the Thames River watching the boats. Over a thousand of them did show.
So proud of how the British will show respect no matter what they have to do to get it done. Queen and Philip looked good. Smiling all the time.
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I would suppose the English are well accustomed to going about their business in the rain. It
does rain so much there. Which, of course, why June is chosen for most of the official celebrations....it generally has the best weather of the year. I do hope the rest of the
events will have sunshine.
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I have always been lucky when I have gone home to UK. It is End of April until May or End of September. Like to go when Schools are in Session and most Tourist have been. Weather seems to be good for me.
Not trying this year as to much has been going on what with the Olympics coming up next. Also flights just to expensive right now
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Those of us whose PBS stations are not showing encore presentations of ZEN will be able to watch them online for a limited time. The first episode, VENDETTA, will be available online starting Monday, June 11, 2012.
We can also see all three episodes of Sherlock season 2 online for a limited time -- available through June 19, 2012 at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/index.html?elq=ddf3efc5ed774aee9204da759fbc85d9&elqCampaignId=367
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Have read every single one of the Aurelio Zen books by Michael Dibdin (now deceased), and loved every one. The films are great and watched each one twice now and could enjoy them again.
Now that we have lost my favorite mystery author, Reginald Hill, I have a new favorite. Kate Atkinson.
The British made a series of Hill's Dalziel & Pascoe, and it ran for a number of seasons. I bought all of the DVDs.
They also took the first 3 of Atkinson's Jackson Brodie series and made a television series. I bought that and watched it several times.
Have just finished STARTED EARLY, TOOK MY DOG, and am amazed at the detail Atkinson puts in re each character's thinking. Apparently she thinks just the way I do about a lot of things, but she has really old age down pat. I find her brilliant.
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You make Kate Atkinson sound intriguing, MARYPAGE. Old age and pets, how appropriate. I'll
look her up.
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If your PBS station doesn't show the second ZEN episode -- CABAL -- tonight, it will be available online starting tomorrow, along with last week's episode of VENDETTA. See http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/index.html
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Zulema, if you see this note, will you please update your email address, or let me know and I'll help you. The Book Bytes email newsletter was returned from the email address we used for you.
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I Believe "Zen" is showing to be on our PBS tonight. I must have missed "Vandetta". The Past 3 weeks they were doing a MOney beg again and didn't watch any of the things they did show. Old TV concerts, Opera, Talk from Dr. Investing. Most lasting 2-3 hours. They would get more people calling in if they ran the regular type things which are usually on
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My PBS station was running similar all this last week, too, JeanneP. I did get to see Vendetta last night, though. They ran it at nine. Glad I did. I liked it a lot better after watching it this time. Cabal is on tonight, but I may not watch it because Ice Road Truckers is on. I can watch Cabal next Sat.
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I watched Zen tonight. I like these kind of shows but this is one, like tonights, I had no idea what the plot was. Even at the end I was lost. I think he mumbles also. Good looking but don't think I will bother to watch it again.
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Even though I have read all of Dibdin's books featuring Aurelio Zen, I could not enjoy the films without the Closed Captioning subtitle feature. With that, I am just as happy as can be and have watched each of the Zen movies twice now.
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Last night from eight until midnight I was treated to three hours of Kenneth Branagh playing Kurt Wallander. It was on one of our PBS stations, and they were repeats I had seen before, but I had a ball. Lovely.
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I ended up not watching Zen last night. There was some kind of background noise throughout (I checked periodically) that sounded almost like some novice doing Morse code. It was annoying. My favorite of the three was Cabal which was on last week.
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A couple of old Agatha Christie's were showing on my PBS station.
How lucky you were, MaryPage, to see Wallander again. I just found a new Wallander book, the last in the series. It was written by Henning Mankell in 2009 and translated into English in 2011. It's called THE TROUBLED MAN.
Frybabe, you can still watch ZEN on the PBS website. The three episodes have different end dates in July. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/index.html
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The Morse 'prequel' is good, I hope you all enjoy it.
For the first time ever, I've just watched an episode of Lewis all the way through without interruptions - girls having a Lord of the Rings marathon downstairs, husband away, cats ejected from bedroom. And I still couldn't follow the plot ??? ::) But it was lovely and peaceful!
Rosemary
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I don't recognize the title of the show scheduled on PBS for this evening. I do hope it's that
Morse prequel, ROSEMARY. (ps., I remember what it was like with teenagers in the house. Peace
and quiet can be a very wonderful thing. :) )
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Apparently, the title of the Morse prequel is called Endeavour. I do not think I ever knew what Morse's first name was. Should be interesting. I haven't checked to see if my station is running it tonight. I sure hope so.
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A quick reminder~
July 1 already! This is the first day of the new discussion of Great Expectations (http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?board=137.0). We hope you are planning to join us at a slow summer pace (about 45-50 pages a week.) We're quite sure we'll come out of it with new apprecation and understanding of what Dickens intended with this novel - more than a boy's coming of age story, though Pip's story is fascinating. You'll be pleasantly surprised. Join us HERE (http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?board=137.0) - today!
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I am wondering what that show is about also. Wonder if it is about 'Morse" as a young man starting out.? Also another hour prior showing the Royal Family. I enjoy them. Other than that there is nothing else worth watching.
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Here is a description of the ENDEAVOUR program from the PBS website:
"It's 1965, and a 15-year-old Oxford schoolgirl, last seen waiting alone in the rain at a bus stop on early Sunday morning, has disappeared and is presumed dead. The hunt for Mary Tremlett draws rookie Detective Endeavour Morse (Shaun Evans), the conflicted young detective on the verge of resignation, back to the university he'd suddenly left only a few years before. Stuck between town and gown, he is patronized by his arrogant old rival, now ascending the ivory tower, and scorned by a DS contemptuous of the "college boy." Only the former opera diva Rosalind Stromming, wife of an Oxford tutor with a murky connection to the missing girl, can offer him solace as he tries to navigate a hostile supervisor, the ghosts of his past, and a mystery that deepens with another tragic death. Discredited and at a dead-end, the solitary and cerebral Endeavour drives his first Jaguar, drinks his first pint and, to the sublime strains of opera, fights for the truth as he forges the identity that will someday become Inspector Morse. Roger Allam stars as DI Fred Thursday and Abigail Thaw (Inspector Morse star John Thaw's daughter) makes a special cameo appearance in Endeavour."
There are short video interviews with Shaun Evans and Abigail Thaw at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/endeavour/interviews.html
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Thought that would be what it was about. Looking forward to seeing it. Wonder if it is just one show or a few week on Masterpiece.
His daughter is a pretty women. I miss John Thaw. She must more.
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JeanneP, so far, it's only going to be the one episode, Endeavour. I don't know if they will create more if there is a lot of positive reaction.
Inspector Lewis: Season 5 starts next week and will run with 4 new episodes.
I miss John Thaw too. He was terrific as Inspector Morse. I can still see and hear him saying "Lewis!" in exasperation. I do like the team of Lewis and Hathaway too (but not as much as Morse and Lewis).
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I like Lewis and Hathaway just as well, truly I do. And I love, love, love the shots of Oxford.
Tonight was great. Thaw's daughter played the editor of The Oxford Mail. I liked the plot, although I did guess who did it and how way too early on. I believe that is called telegraphing. But then again, it is better than totally not having a clue.
Yes, I really liked this show. Hey, did she die? The singer? Or did she get out of prison decades later and Morse, who had ALWAYS been in love with her, saw her one more time? And listened to the record forever. Huh? Is my memory going crackers again?
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Loved the show.
Your memory is better than mine MaryPage. I don't remember if the singer survived her suicide (attempt or successful?) Wonder if there is any background on that somewhere.
Did you catch the end when he looked in the car rearview mirror? Very well done. If any of you recognized the red jaguar on the car lot, that is the one used in the original series.
Wikipedia says there are four more shows scheduled for production this summer.
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Now I loved the show.Now didn't Thaw's daughter play the part of the Singer who did the murder? Looks like her. I just could not tie the young man who played Morse as a younger man. Couldn't picture him then turning into what Morse was like with John Thaw. Also didn''t Thaw limp from having had something as a child that made one leg shorter than the other. Fact I believe this was true for him and they carried the story just to cover him walking different.
Now will this be just the one show? Notice that "Lewis " will start again next Sunday.
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(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/masterpiecehdg.jpg)
Masterpiece Mystery 2012 presents the best British mysteries. See the complete 2012 MASTERPIECE MYSTERY schedule (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/schedule/index.html).
NOW DISCUSSING
Let's talk about any PBS program of interest to us.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis5_indeliblestain.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/indeliblestain.html)
Inspector Lewis: Indelible Stain (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/indeliblestain.html)
July 29, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
A controversial American academic is found strangled after a guest lecture at Oxford, leading Lewis and Hathaway to narrow down a list of motives that includes politics, ambition and vengeance, in order to find their culprit.
ALREADY DISCUSSED
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis5_fearfulsymmetry.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/fearfulsymmetry.html)
Inspector Lewis: Fearful Symmetry (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/fearfulsymmetry.html)
July 22, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Lewis and Hathaway are drawn into a darker side of Oxford while investigating the murder of a suburban babysitter. Will the babysitter's secret life help the detectives unravel a tangled web of lies and deceit to find their killer?
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis5_generationofvipers.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/generationofvipers.html)
Inspector Lewis: Generation of Vipers (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/generationofvipers.html)
July 15, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Suspicions abound as Lewis and Hathaway investigate the death of a lovelorn Oxford professor. Was her death caused by an embarrassing Internet leak, or something much more sinister? Toby Stephens (Jane Eyre) guest stars.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis2.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/soulofgenius.html)
Inspector Lewis: The Soul of Genius (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/soulofgenius.html)
July 8, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Botany, rivalry and secrecy collide when Lewis and Hathaway attempt to find the killer of an obsessed professor. Kick off the new season of Inspector Lewis with The Soul of Genius. Celia Imrie (Cranford) co-stars.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mystery_2012/endeavour.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/endeavour/index.html)
Endeavour (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/endeavour/index.html)
July 1, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Before his signature red Jaguar, before Inspector Morse, there was the rookie Constable Morse, deductive powers already running in high gear. Shaun Evans (The Take, The Virgin Queen) portrays Endeavour Morse, the low man on the force returning to Oxford with no track record and his future on the line.
(http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mystery_2011/zen.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/zen/index.html)
ZEN: Encore Episodes (from 2011) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/zen/index.html)
Three 90-minute mysteries — Sundays, June 10, 17 & 24, 2012
What does an honest cop do when corruption rules on both sides of the law? Detective Aurelio Zen (Rufus Sewell, Middlemarch), based on the novels by British crime writer Michael Dibdin, brings justice to modern-day Italy, whether the authorities want it or not. Check your local listings to see if the programs are broadcast on your PBS station.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/sherlockholmes2/sherlock2_reichenbach.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/reichenbach.html)
Sherlock Holmes: The Reichenbach Fall (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/reichenbach.html)
May 20, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
The crime of the century is just a prelude for the unhinged criminal mastermind, Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott, Lennon Naked), when he poses the diabolical and inescapable "final problem" to Sherlock.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/sherlockholmes2/sherlock2_baskerville.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/baskerville.html)
Sherlock Holmes: The Hounds of Baskerville (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/baskerville.html)
May 13, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Sherlock and Watson track a gigantic hound to Baskerville, where the military is conducting top-secret experiments. But whether demonic or dubious, something is stalking the moors.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/sherlockholmes2/sherlock2_belgravia.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/belgravia.html)
Sherlock Holmes: A Scandal in Belgravia (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/belgravia.html)
May 6, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Picking up from Season 1's gripping cliffhanger, the whip-smart Irene Adler (Lara Pulver, True Blood) takes on Sherlock in a game he is ill-prepared to fight...love. Watch online through 6/5/12 (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/sherlock_belgravia.html)
Discussion Leaders: JoanP (jonkie@verizon.net) and marcie (marciei@aol.com)
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I plan on watching the episode on my cable "on demand" this evening. I'm looking forward to it.
I tried searching to see about the origin of John Thaw/Inspector Morse's limp. LOL. There are dozens of theories stated as fact, from Thaw limping to conform to the description of the Morse character to Thaw having polio, a broken foot or only one leg.
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No, Thaw's daughter played the editor of The Oxford Mail.
She was the one who answered Morse's questions about when the crossword puzzles came in and who delivered them and so forth.
I looked it up.
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Glad to hear more are scheduled, FRYBABE. I did enjoy the one last night. Maybe one of them
will reveal how Morse acquired his limp.
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Doubt they mention the Limp. I was thinking that it was something that happened when he was a young child. Could have been polio because that was around in the early 50s. Don't think he only had one leg.
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I watched ENDEAVOUR tonight. It was very good. I too hope that they will make more.
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This Sundays episode of Inspector Lewis sounds like a good one!
Inspector Lewis Series V: The Soul of Genius
Airing July 8, 2012 on PBS
What is a snark? This is just one of the many unanswered questions Inspector Lewis must ask when botanist Liz Nash accidently unearths the recently buried body of an English professor obsessed with the Lewis Carroll poem, The Hunting of the Snark. Locked in bitter rivalry with his brother, professor Murray Hawes was fixed on solving a legendary riddle hidden in Carroll's philosophical story of an impossible quest for the unknowable. The search for Murray's killer launches Lewis and Hathaway on an impossible quest of their own, taking them from Oxford's botanical gardens to the evidence wall of an interfering amateur sleuth. But when a prime suspect is killed and a secret society is exposed, Lewis and Hathaway intensify their hunt not for the unknowable, but for an all-too-real killer. Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox star alongside James Fleet (Little Dorrit) and Celia Imrie (Cranford) in The Soul of Genius.
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Looking forward to it Sunday. I think they make a good team. Not quite the John Thaw and Kevin Whately. They were a perfect match.
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I was wondering what happened to this site as there have been no recent postings. I watched Inspector Lewis on Sunday and enjoyed the characters. However, I found the story line a little confusing and a bit hard to follow. Did anyone else feel that way?
Sally
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Sally, I watched it too, recorded it fortunately, because I just got a little tired of it in the middle or the show. It seemed to lack momentum. I finally did watch it all, it was okay, but
doesn't come close to a Morse/John Thaw production.
So, is anything going to come about with Lewis and Michelle? And talk about the pot calling the kettle black -- when Lewis tells Hathaway he need a partner, someone in his life.
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I watched the episode last evening on my cable "on demand." Salan, it was a bit confusing with the additional plot of the death of Steven, the "amateur detective" Michelle Marber's son. I thought that his photo, which Michelle showed to Lewis, looked like Vincent Vega (obviously it was not)
Pedln, I don't think that a relationship will develop between Lewis and Michelle, although they share grief over the death of someone they loved. Wasn't something blossoming between Lewis and the coroner in previous episodes? That doesn't seem to be happening now either. You are right, Pedln, that Lewis is giving Hathaway advice that he should take himself.
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People like Lewis, in real life, are not the type to jump in fast after losing a spouse. Little different with Hathaway. I think that in the show he did really like someone when in University. She turned him down.
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And for a while, in the beginning of the series, it seemed that every time Lewis got interested in someone, she turned out to be the murderer.
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I finally got to watch "Endeavour" on my DVR, I really liked it. I loved Morse
Iwould love to be able to watch them again but there are no Captions. I like the way the last scene ended with the young Morse looking at himself in the mirror and seeing the old Morse.
There was a lot of times when Morse was interested in a woman but it never went anywhere.
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jeriron, you're right, Morse never did form a successful relationship with a woman. Pedln, I seem to recall that Morse also quite often fell for the woman who turned out to be the culprit.
I didn't watch the episode last evening (watched Falling Skies on TNT instead). I'll watch Lewis "on demand" tonight or tomorrow.
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I've enjoyed both of the latest Lewis episodes. There seems to be more rapport between between Lewis and Hathaway which is interesting. I looked for the Morris series on Netflix but presently they only have them on DVD and we only use the "streaming" Netflix. Hope they add them.
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I watched the latest Lewis episode, Generation of Vipers, last evening. Toward the end the clues kept going back and forth between two of the characters and finally involved a third. I enjoyed it fairly well. Was there an episode in a previous season where Lewis and the lady coroner had a falling out? She seems to be somewhat cool towards him when they interact.
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I like the show but don't think that the writers do as good a job as when they were doing John Thaw in "Morse". Bet some left when he died thinking would not be anymore shows.
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Marcie, I noticed her coolness too. I can't remember them having a falling out in previous episodes, so I was wondering about that.
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Perhaps she is somewhat 'cool' to him as she expected he would speak up, and he hasn't. She
says she isn't interested in marriage, which could be simple fact or an 'I don't care' reaction.
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I found this comment about the Lewis and Laura Hobson (medical examiner; not coroner) relationship at http://www.squidoo.com/inspector-lewis
"At the end of Series 4, things looked like they were getting tighter between Inspector Lewis and Dr. Hobson. They'd been on a few dates (that we know of), and Lewis seems to be getting over the unexpected death of his wife, which occurred about a year (in TV time) before the beginning of the Lewis program debut.
But, there's the class difference. He's working class and she's university educated. Will the spark between them flame, or will circumstances they cannot control put a damper on love?"
There is about a minute interview with Kevin Whatley about his opinion of having a love interest. Since his opinion is likely what the direction the show will take, you might or might not want to listen to it (in the middle of the page) at http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2011/09/inspector-lewis-the-mind-has-mountains
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Does that qualify as a 'class difference' between them, do you think, MARCIE. It would see to
me that an officer who attains the rank of DI, detective inspector, is considerably different from,
say, the officer on the beat. And people from all kinds of backgrounds now have univerity
educations. Since the war, I think a lot of the old 'class' distinctions have pretty much vanished.
Of course, that doesn't prevent individuals from thinking a degree places someone 'a cut above'.
That can be especially touchy if the better educated party is the wife; I've run into that situation
before. The husband became quite hostile about it.
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Babi, I haven't sensed the same "class difference" between Lewis and Laura Hobson as I did between Lewis and Morse. Morse probably dressed more sloppily than Lewis and had less regard for social manners and did love his pints of beer but Morse definitely had an education in the humanities that permeated his whole view of the world. He was always making allusions and seeing connections that Lewis couldn't understand. Morse always seemed more "ivory tower" Oxford than Lewis.
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Thinking back, MARCIE, I can see that you are absolutely correct. I find it hard to
equate today's 'Lewis' with the young sergeant that worked under Morse, but in the
story line it is the same person. With the same differences in the background.
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Isn't it a fun "turn about" that the blue-collar-type Lewis is now the one in charge and his Sergeant Hathaway is the University-educated junior on the team?
I found this interesting tidbit in wikipedia:
"One notable difference between the Lewis from the novels and [Kevin] Whately's portrayal is that Lewis in the novels is an older man in his early sixties. When Whately auditioned for the role and then learned this fact, he considered it unlikely that he would get the part. However, Colin Dexter has consistently stated that the younger Lewis is an improvement on the character he originally created, and that if he could start the novels afresh he would begin with Lewis as he is seen in the television adaptation."
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Strange he would write Lewis as being in his 60s in the Novels. Didnt think that you could be a policeman of any rank in UK after 60. It is 58 for Firemen. Even if Chief. Retirement with full pension is 30 years. My cousin joined at age 29 but had to retire at 58 making it just 29 years which cost him a % of his pension. Now they try to not hire over age 27 and 29 for policemen. that way can get the 30 years in
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That's interesting information, Jeanne.
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How refreshing that an author would actually say he thought a TV version of his character was an improvement. Colin Dexter must be one in a million. :)
I wonder if that age limit is enforced because of the level of energy and agility
required in a fireman. For them, it could well be a matter of life and death. It was
a considerate move to place an age limit that would permit service through to full
pension.
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"One notable difference between the Lewis from the novels and [Kevin] Whately's portrayal is that Lewis in the novels is an older man in his early sixties.
That is so interesting, Marcie, as is all this background info on Lewis/Morse, etc. I watched several Morse/John Thaw/Whately shows on PBS and also read several of the novels. And even while reading I always pictured Lewis as he appeared on TV. I guess I must have missed Dexter's description of Lewis. Oh well, the power of a picture.
Did Morse ever finish at Oxford? For some reason I keep thinking that he did not, and that he regretted it.
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Good catch, pedln! I looked it up in wikipedia and the article says about Morse and Oxford:
"Although details of Morse's career are deliberately kept vague, it is hinted that he won a scholarship to study at St John's College, Oxford. He lost the scholarship as the result of poor academic performance resulting from a failed love affair, which is mentioned in the series in Season 3, Episode 2, "The Last Enemy", and recounted in detail in the novel The Riddle of the Third Mile, chapter 7. Forced to leave the University, he entered the Army and, on leaving it, joined the police. He often reflects on such renowned scholars as A. E. Housman who, like himself, failed to get an academic degree from Oxford."
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We'll be back to Inspector Lewis and Hathaway on Sunday evening in "Fearful Symmetry."
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I really, really did not like this one. Oxford was gorgeous, as always. But both Lewis and Hateway seemed off their game and I really hated the sexy photos and all the other sex. Gag me with a spoon.
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Something went wrong just as the Inspector Lewis was coming on. Don't know how it happened. TV really messed up. Took 30 min. before I got it up again. Had a hard time catching up to what was happening in it and so was not the best one for me.
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Check your PBS schedule, JEANNE. They will probably be showing the episode again at a
different time.
I was interested that the titles of the first episodes were both literary allusions. The 'snark', and
Blake's line from "Tiger, Tiger". Now 'generation of vipers' from the Bible. They're engaging
my interest before the programs even start. :)
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I found the "Fearful Symmetry" episode interesting although somewhat confusing. I don't understand the meaning of the second death (how the body was posed).
One bit of banter between Lewis and Hathaway was typical of them and funny... when they walk into the artist's home/studio:
"Professional iconoclast, social photo-anthropologist cum cultural pundit,” explains Hathaway.
“Oxford type,” nods Lewis.
“Oh yeah,” Hathaway concurs."
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Marcie, I think both poses were taken from the photos. I vaguely remember seeing one where someone (but I think it was the girl) was skewered in a similar fashion.
What a pair the boy's parents were - one very cold fish and the other an absolute loony-bin.
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I was wondering how the St. Sebastian pose applied to the second death. Maybe you are right, Frybabe, that it was just an image in one of the photos.
Yes, what kind of a childhood could poor Gideon have had?
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That one made me grin, too, MARCIE.
FRYBABE, I wonder if 'cold fish' was because of 'loony bin', or perhaps vice versa. Or
it could just be really bad luck on the boy's part. The dad seemed such a nice man and caring parent in the beginning.
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If anyone is interested I just watched "Inspector Morse: The story of Morse" I rented it from Netflix. I had seen it before but discussing Morse and Lewis here made me want to see it again Bad thing is no CC. so I had to put the sound up a lot.
I hadn't remembered that Colin Dexter showed up in some episodes the way Alfred Hitchcock in his movies.
At one point Morse (John Thaw) explains the difference in their characters and go so far as to say Lewis is uneducated in comparison to Morse. I had forgotten the music at the beginning and end of each show.
They just came out with the whole set of I believe 33 eps. 25th Anniv. It's way over $300 from Amazon and still no CC.
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I've always loved the theme music for Inspector Morse. When I first went looking for info about the composer years ago, I couldn't find much. Now he has a website. http://www.pheloung.co.uk/ It says that he does chamber music and concertos on commission for other musicians, but I didn't see a list of what these works are. Too bad. I'd like to listen to a few. All the YouTube postings, as far as I can see, are for his TV and movie works. Some of you have seen Hillary and Jackie; he composed the music for that. Quite nice. He also composed the music for Shopgirl, also very nice.
On close inspection, it appears that at least some of the concertos and chamber music are included on the Inspector Morse music CDs.
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(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/masterpiecehdg.jpg)
Masterpiece Mystery 2012 presents the best British mysteries. See the complete 2012 MASTERPIECE MYSTERY schedule (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/schedule/index.html).
NOW DISCUSSING
Let's talk about any PBS program of interest to us.
COMING
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/wallander/wallander.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/wallander/index.html)
Wallander: Season 3
Three 90-minute mysteries — Sundays, Sept. 9, 16 & 23, 2012
The brooding Swedish cop Wallander (Kenneth Branagh) returns with a new home and relationship, a new sense of possibility, and three chilling new cases with devastating effects.
ALREADY DISCUSSED
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis5_indeliblestain.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/indeliblestain.html)
Inspector Lewis: Indelible Stain (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/indeliblestain.html)
July 29, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
A controversial American academic is found strangled after a guest lecture at Oxford, leading Lewis and Hathaway to narrow down a list of motives that includes politics, ambition and vengeance, in order to find their culprit.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis5_fearfulsymmetry.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/fearfulsymmetry.html)
Inspector Lewis: Fearful Symmetry (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/fearfulsymmetry.html)
July 22, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Lewis and Hathaway are drawn into a darker side of Oxford while investigating the murder of a suburban babysitter. Will the babysitter's secret life help the detectives unravel a tangled web of lies and deceit to find their killer?
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis5_generationofvipers.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/generationofvipers.html)
Inspector Lewis: Generation of Vipers (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/generationofvipers.html)
July 15, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Suspicions abound as Lewis and Hathaway investigate the death of a lovelorn Oxford professor. Was her death caused by an embarrassing Internet leak, or something much more sinister? Toby Stephens (Jane Eyre) guest stars.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis2.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/soulofgenius.html)
Inspector Lewis: The Soul of Genius (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/soulofgenius.html)
July 8, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Botany, rivalry and secrecy collide when Lewis and Hathaway attempt to find the killer of an obsessed professor. Kick off the new season of Inspector Lewis with The Soul of Genius. Celia Imrie (Cranford) co-stars.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mystery_2012/endeavour.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/endeavour/index.html)
Endeavour (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/endeavour/index.html)
July 1, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Before his signature red Jaguar, before Inspector Morse, there was the rookie Constable Morse, deductive powers already running in high gear. Shaun Evans (The Take, The Virgin Queen) portrays Endeavour Morse, the low man on the force returning to Oxford with no track record and his future on the line.
(http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mystery_2011/zen.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/zen/index.html)
ZEN: Encore Episodes (from 2011) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/zen/index.html)
Three 90-minute mysteries — Sundays, June 10, 17 & 24, 2012
What does an honest cop do when corruption rules on both sides of the law? Detective Aurelio Zen (Rufus Sewell, Middlemarch), based on the novels by British crime writer Michael Dibdin, brings justice to modern-day Italy, whether the authorities want it or not. Check your local listings to see if the programs are broadcast on your PBS station.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/sherlockholmes2/sherlock2_reichenbach.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/reichenbach.html)
Sherlock Holmes: The Reichenbach Fall (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/reichenbach.html)
May 20, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
The crime of the century is just a prelude for the unhinged criminal mastermind, Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott, Lennon Naked), when he poses the diabolical and inescapable "final problem" to Sherlock.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/sherlockholmes2/sherlock2_baskerville.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/baskerville.html)
Sherlock Holmes: The Hounds of Baskerville (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/baskerville.html)
May 13, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Sherlock and Watson track a gigantic hound to Baskerville, where the military is conducting top-secret experiments. But whether demonic or dubious, something is stalking the moors.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/sherlockholmes2/sherlock2_belgravia.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/belgravia.html)
Sherlock Holmes: A Scandal in Belgravia (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/belgravia.html)
May 6, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Picking up from Season 1's gripping cliffhanger, the whip-smart Irene Adler (Lara Pulver, True Blood) takes on Sherlock in a game he is ill-prepared to fight...love. Watch online through 6/5/12 (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/sherlock_belgravia.html)
Discussion Leaders: JoanP (jonkie@verizon.net) and marcie (marciei@aol.com)
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The last LEWIS episode of the season will be broadcast tonight.
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I will be watching Lewis at 8PM. Only watching the Gymnastics on the Olympics at the moment. Love them. Amazing what these young people can do. Hoping they are on from 6 pm to the time Lewis comes on.
Wonder what will be on after this Sunday?. Most probably a repeat of something. PBS is repeating so much this year.
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Jeanne, I think you are right that we'll get some repeat programs during August.
In September we'll have three new Wallander episodes.
I've been watching the Olympics too...mainly the swimming heats and the gymnastics today.
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Re the Lewis reruns, I don't remember one of the titles nor it's description. I don't think I missed any though, will have to see.
One of the new Wallander episodes is The Dogs of Riga. It is one of my favorites, so I will be very interested to see how they portray it. I don't recall that they ever mentioned or played up his long distance romance that ran through his early books. This is where it started.
An Event in Autumn is not familiar to me. According to Google Sites, it was a bonus to readers in the Netherlands when they ordered other crime novels back in 2004. I don't think I've ever seen it published here. BTW, the girlfriend he has in this one is not the same one as in Dogs.
Before the Frost, I think, is the one where his daughter joins the police force. I haven't read it.
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My PBS station is running the Manor House program again tonight, so I will go going down to watch that in a few minutes. Somehow or other I never got around to watching it the last two (?) times they ran it.
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Another good show, tho' I did find it rather difficult to believe the culprit capable of murder.
While I might believe it of the first murder, the motivation for the second was, IMO, decidedly
weak.
The interplay between Lewis and Hawthorne continues to be the highlight of the show for me.
The wry comments and mutual understanding are a delight.
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The interplay between Lewis and Hawthorne continues to be the highlight of the show for me.
The wry comments and mutual understanding are a delight.
I absolutely agree. I love it.
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Tonight is a musical evening on my PBS station. At 7pm, Oscar Hammerstein II: Out of My Dreams
A profile of lyricist-librettist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895-1960), whose work includes "Show Boat," "Carousel" and "South Pacific." Included: remarks from Stephen Sondheim, Harold Prince, Shirley Jones, Mitzi Gaynor and Hammerstein family members.
Following that is Great Performances: Jackie Evancho: Music of the Movies
Twelve-year-old classical crossover prodigy Jackie Evancho sings movie songs at the Orpheum Theatre in L.A., including "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," "My Heart Will Go On," "Pure Imagination," "Some Enchanted Evening" and "What a Wonderful World."
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Our PBS station must be different. Tonight there will be one hour of Masterpiece with John Thaw as Morse. After then will be the next installment of the New one with the younger Chief Inspector.
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I think we have the programming we have because of PBS "pledge week." I just finished watching Oscar Hammerstein II: Out of My Dreams. It was fabulous!!
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Last night I saw (most of) a lovely programme on ITV3 about the making of period dramas - 'The Story of the Costume Drama'. It was tracing their development and discussing their enduring popularity, and had lots of clips from things like Brideshead, Jewel In the Crown, Pride & Prejudice, Cranford, Sense & Sensibility, etc. I think it is the first part of a series - I hope they repeat it so that I can watch the bit I missed. It had lots of interviews with the actors and producers - Art Malik, Susan Wooldridge, Barbara Flynn. I hope you get it on PBS eventually.
Rosemary
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I do hope my recorder picked up the new instalment of young Morse. I didn't know it was
showing (if it was, on my channel), but it's supposed to record the series.
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I see that the "Endeavor" prequel has been picked up as a series to be broadcast in 2013. Hooray!!! http://tellyspotting.org/2012/03/13/itv-commissions-endeavor-series-for-2013/
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Rosemary, the program on Costume Dramas sounds like a good one. I found a trailer for it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dhMNeoVV78
I checked and it already played in the U.S. in March of this year and I missed it! I hope it will come around again.
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Thanks Marcie - I looked it up here and apparently it was first shown in 2008! So I wonder if they will show it again - although we have so many more channels now than we did then, that they have to fill them all with something, and it's usually repeats of repeats...
Anyway, if it does pop up again on US TV, I hope you enjoy it. I am going to try to record the rest of the series, as I have in-laws descending for a stay on Saturday and all they ever want to do is sit on the sofa and watch endless sport - which of course I absolutely loathe. Every so often MIL will say 'Oh Rosemary, I know you don't like this, but...' - I recall taking our children hundreds of miles to their house years ago, only to find that the golf open was on - the TV remained on throughout every meal, something that i did not allow in my home - my children were amazed. Oh well - thank goodness for DVD recorders! Remember the days when if you missed something, that was that?
Rosemary
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Now that we have so much more leisure time, ROSEMARY, I am even more grateful to the
recording technology. And what would I do without internet communication and closed
captioning? Science...it's wonderful!
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Got a set of Masterpiece Theatre at the library the other day. 5 dvd.
They are of John Thaw playing Morse. At the end of his shows. I have watched 4 of them and I don't think they ever came on our TV. No. 4 is where he dies. Really great acting. Wonder what date that was in the show and what date he died in real life.. He really did look ill in that one.
I had watched a interview that was with the Author of the books on 6 minutes couple weeks ago. He was saying that he appears for just a second in the shows and I have now spotted him in them. Funny looking little man. Looks quite old.
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Jeanne, Colin Dexter is in his 80s now, but still as sharp as a knife. He is, however, very deaf, so he might come across as vague - but he really isn't.
I saw him quite recently on a programme about crosswords - he is one of those people who can do the Time crossword whilst eating his breakfast. He was also at the Theakston's Crime Writing event in Yorkshire last month, where he was given a lifetime award, and I have seen photos of him taken with some of the younger (female) crime writers there - he looked very jolly!! (In a completely platonic way of course, I believe he is happily married.)
Rosemary
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I too saw recently that Colin Dexter had a cameo in each of the Morse episodes. I didn't know that when I saw them. I'll have to look for him in repeats.
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Four more Endevour shows are being filmed now.We probably will get them next summer. Also there's talk of this next summer 2014 being the last of the Lewis shows. :(
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Hooray for more Endeavour!
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:D That's me, ROSEMARY. Very deaf, and often seeming vague, tho' perhaps not quite the sharpest knife in the drawer.
I'm doubt if I would recognize Dexter in those cameo appearances. I'll need to see if I
can find a recent photo of him. Ah, here we go: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=colin+dexter&qpvt=colin+dexter&FORM=IGRE
Good to hear more of Endeavour is being filmed. Meanwhile, I look forward to at least
another year and a half of Lewis.
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FYI Did you know that PBS cuts 8 to 10 minutes from the ITV UK Endeavour and Lewis. And when you buy the DVD if it isn't the UK version it will not have those minutes in it.
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Colin Dexter looks like a little man that would be fun to be around. Didn't find who he was married to or if he had a family.
Now "Endeavour". I know that was the first name of "Morse" but what is the show about.? Not heard of it.
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O.K. I have googled "Endeavour" so now finding what it is all about. Sounds like will be another one to really enjoy. John Thaw's daughter said to be in it.
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Jeanne - here is quite an interesting page about Colin Dexter - from which you will see that he is married with children. It also explains how he started to write - stuck in a holiday home in the rain, read a couple of books and thought he could do better - so he did. Just like that :)
Rosemary
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FYI Did you know that PBS cuts 8 to 10 minutes from the ITV UK Endeavour and Lewis. And when you buy the DVD if it isn't the UK version it will not have those minutes in it.
I didn't realize that Jeriron. hmmmm.
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Rosemary.
I still have not found any info on Colin Dexter's family. I have read a few book lately that I have thought the same thing. Could write a better one. Think that there are publishers now that will put anything out there. Put them on the Ipads for $3.95 and someone will buy.
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Jeanne, I found a short bio of Colin Dexter at http://www.bbc.co.uk/lincolnshire/content/articles/2005/08/24/famous_yellowbelly_colin_dexter_feature.shtml
Maybe when Rosemary checks in she will provide the link to the article she found.
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Oh my goodness - I am so hopeless! here it is:
http://www.macmillanreaders.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/cdexter_ads1.pdf
Apologies!
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I read the list of the novels that he has written. I think that most of them were on Masterpiece but a couple I don't recognize. I don't think that I have read any of his books. May start with the ones not seen on the TV.
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Does not seem like it has been ten years since John Thaw passed on.
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Jeanne, the Morse books are quite a bit different from the TV adaptations - see what you think. I've read some but I don't find them as appealing as the shows.
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Having watched all the TV shows it could be that I would not enjoy them like if I was reading books from the start. I have sort of decided that I choose to Watch a movie or read the book. Not both. I always seem to get disappointed
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I received an email from PBS that says
Can't wait to see the sparks fly between Lady Cora's mother Martha (Shirley MacLaine) and the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith) in Downton Abbey Season 3? MASTERPIECE gives you your first glimpse at this epic showdown in an exclusive scene from the new season of the show, premiering January, 6, 2013.
See the very short clip at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/downtonabbey3_ep1_scene.html?elq=12ec449e2db543139d6fcc8c0da38e9a&elqCampaignId=402
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This Sunday my PBS station will be showing the "best of" the current pledge drive programs. I'm looking forward to WALLANDER in September.
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January seems so long to wait for the next season of Downton Abbey, but of course come
January I will be astonished...again....at how time flies. I was startled by Shirley MacLaines
appearance. Perhaps the hair fashions of the day simply don't flatter her. ;D She is actually
much more attractive than that, as you can see here: http://www.shirleymaclaine.com/
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There are some good quotes from Shirley in an article at http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/06/downton-abbey-season-3-shirley-maclaine-im-the-american-whos-for-change.html
The photo there shows her 78-year-old wrinkles but I think that's better than some of the oddly stretched faces you sometimes see in people who have had lots of plastic surgery.
Here's Shirley on the topic of plastic surgery: http://inyourface.ocregister.com/2012/06/26/shirley-maclaines-nip-tucks-over-for-this-lifetime/87430/
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She never was known for being a beauty but I always enjoyed her movies. Now her neck is really bad for a 78 year old. That I think I would do something about. I am looking forward to seeing her in Dalton Abbey.
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(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/masterpiecehdg.jpg)
Masterpiece Mystery 2012 presents the best British mysteries. See the complete 2012 MASTERPIECE MYSTERY schedule (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/schedule/index.html).
NOW DISCUSSING
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/wallander/wallander.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/wallander/index.html)
Wallander: Season 3
Three 90-minute mysteries — Sundays, Sept. 9, 16 & 23, 2012
The brooding Swedish cop Wallander (Kenneth Branagh) returns with a new home and relationship, a new sense of possibility, and three chilling new cases with devastating effects.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/wallander/wallander3_dogsofriga.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/programs/episode/wallander-s3-dogs-riga)
Wallander: Dogs of Riga (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/programs/episode/wallander-s3-dogs-riga)
September 16, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
The gruesome appearance in the Baltic Sea of two corpses floating in a raft prompts Wallander to pursue justice in an eerie post-Soviet Latvia rife with corruption. Ingeborga Dapkunaite (Prime Suspect 6) guest stars.
ALREADY DISCUSSED
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/wallander/wallander3_eventinautumn.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/programs/episode/wallander-s3-event-autumn)
Wallander: An Event in Autumn (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/programs/episode/wallander-s3-event-autumn)
September 9, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Wallander's peaceful new start is disrupted when investigations of two murdered, anonymous girls take him far from home... and to the very heart of it.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis5_indeliblestain.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/indeliblestain.html)
Inspector Lewis: Indelible Stain (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/indeliblestain.html)
July 29, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
A controversial American academic is found strangled after a guest lecture at Oxford, leading Lewis and Hathaway to narrow down a list of motives that includes politics, ambition and vengeance, in order to find their culprit.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis5_fearfulsymmetry.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/fearfulsymmetry.html)
Inspector Lewis: Fearful Symmetry (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/fearfulsymmetry.html)
July 22, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Lewis and Hathaway are drawn into a darker side of Oxford while investigating the murder of a suburban babysitter. Will the babysitter's secret life help the detectives unravel a tangled web of lies and deceit to find their killer?
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis5_generationofvipers.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/generationofvipers.html)
Inspector Lewis: Generation of Vipers (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/generationofvipers.html)
July 15, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Suspicions abound as Lewis and Hathaway investigate the death of a lovelorn Oxford professor. Was her death caused by an embarrassing Internet leak, or something much more sinister? Toby Stephens (Jane Eyre) guest stars.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis2.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/soulofgenius.html)
Inspector Lewis: The Soul of Genius (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/soulofgenius.html)
July 8, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Botany, rivalry and secrecy collide when Lewis and Hathaway attempt to find the killer of an obsessed professor. Kick off the new season of Inspector Lewis with The Soul of Genius. Celia Imrie (Cranford) co-stars.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mystery_2012/endeavour.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/endeavour/index.html)
Endeavour (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/endeavour/index.html)
July 1, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Before his signature red Jaguar, before Inspector Morse, there was the rookie Constable Morse, deductive powers already running in high gear. Shaun Evans (The Take, The Virgin Queen) portrays Endeavour Morse, the low man on the force returning to Oxford with no track record and his future on the line.
(http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mystery_2011/zen.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/zen/index.html)
ZEN: Encore Episodes (from 2011) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/zen/index.html)
Three 90-minute mysteries — Sundays, June 10, 17 & 24, 2012
What does an honest cop do when corruption rules on both sides of the law? Detective Aurelio Zen (Rufus Sewell, Middlemarch), based on the novels by British crime writer Michael Dibdin, brings justice to modern-day Italy, whether the authorities want it or not. Check your local listings to see if the programs are broadcast on your PBS station.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/sherlockholmes2/sherlock2_reichenbach.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/reichenbach.html)
Sherlock Holmes: The Reichenbach Fall (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/reichenbach.html)
May 20, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
The crime of the century is just a prelude for the unhinged criminal mastermind, Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott, Lennon Naked), when he poses the diabolical and inescapable "final problem" to Sherlock.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/sherlockholmes2/sherlock2_baskerville.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlocUk/baskerville.html)
Sherlock Holmes: The Hounds of Baskerville (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/baskerville.html)
May 13, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Sherlock and Watson track a gigantic hound to Baskerville, where the military is conducting top-secret experiments. But whether demonic or dubious, something is stalking the moors.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/sherlockholmes2/sherlock2_belgravia.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/belgravia.html)
Sherlock Holmes: A Scandal in Belgravia (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/belgravia.html)
May 6, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Picking up from Season 1's gripping cliffhanger, the whip-smart Irene Adler (Lara Pulver, True Blood) takes on Sherlock in a game he is ill-prepared to fight...love. Watch online through 6/5/12 (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/sherlock_belgravia.html)
Discussion Leader:marcie (marciei@aol.com)
MacLaine is a top-notch actress. I'm really lookiing forward to seeing what she does in this
role.
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Had looked forward to watching Masterpiece last night thinking is was a new one. Was a repeat and they kept breaking it up every 15 minutes for Pledge money. I just switched it off. They have just overdone it this year. They had been doing it all day. Heard them say here local that only 2 people had called in. I can see why. People are not going to give all the time and have to get Repeats after Repeats all year long.
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Hi...new to the discussion!
Must say that I'm truly looking forward to watching the Wallander Series...all the human foibles always make a character more endearing.
For the same reason, have loved all the Elizabeth George mysteries following Inspector Lynley...got to love Barbara Havers, an entertaining character of great depth in an awkwardly social way!...THAT goes a ways back into the PBS archives. :D
Linda
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Welcome Art Hippy -- Linda. We're glad you're here. I'm looking forward to those Wallender mysteries too.
(And thank you Charter cable for finally fixing what was ailing our PBS channel.)
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Yes, welcome to our PBS discussion, Linda. I too enjoyed the interplay between Barbara Havers and Inspector Lynley ... quite opposites in many ways. The Wallander series doesn't really have that. If I remember correctly, he doesn't have a "sidekick" at all. That's pretty unusual for a police show.
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Marcie I'm trying to remember how the set up was in the books. He had a team of three or four. He also confided in a retired friend and mentor for a while.
I haven't read any of the Kurt and Linda Wallander books. (Before the Frost was the first of those. The Dogs of Riga is one of my favorites. Some of the scenes were shot in Latvia. An Event in Autumn is adapted from a short story/novella. If I remember correctly, it was a special freebie sent with book orders in the Netherlands. It has not been translated into English.
It looks like we can look forward to one more season after this. The Troubled Man is in my TBR pile. The White Lioness will be a two-part episode. The White Lioness is set largely in South Africa. Wallander's role in the book is rather small because he never leaves Sweden. He investigates the Swedish connection to an assassination plot in South Africa. It will be interesting to see how they do this one. The book is excellent. I am pleased that they are attempting to produce it, but would rather, I think, see it as a full blown movie.
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Since I'm unfamiliar with Mankell's writings and Wallander's character traits, I'm ordering The Pyramid: The First Wallander Cases since, supposedly, it covers three distinct, yet important, periods in his life. I don't believe that the early PBS presentations are available for review.
Ciao, Linda
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Frybabe, you're right. In the books Wallander has a team of police men and a woman but they don't seem to go around in pairs as they do in many American police shows. That's an interesting thought... to do a movie based on at least one of the Wallander books. My mother was born in Latvia (met my father when he was stationed in Germany during WWII) so I'm always interested in references to Latvia.
Linda, here is a list of the Mankell books in chronological order of their original publication in Swedish:
http://www.inspector-wallander.org/guide/timeline.html
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RE: the list Marcie posted. It should be noted that Return of the Dancing Master is not a Wallander book, however the detective in that book shows up in Before the Frost. The Grave is the same as An Event in Autumn, just renamed.
Linda, if you haven't checked out Henning Mankell's website please do. He has some very interesting things there about his work in Africa. http://www.henningmankell.com/
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Thank you both so much...always like to start at the beginning, or at least be familiar with it. It develops an intimacy to the the character.
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Linda, I agree. I've occasionally read a book that I didn't realize was part of a series and I had to go back and read the series in order so that I could "catch up."
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I like the new Sherlock a lot. I'm not a Holmes groupie, or anything, but have read all I can find(Conan Doyle and new ones),seen a lot of the movies but I rarely watch TV. Thought this might be worth it after seeing last seasons's on Netfilx.
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You might want to make an exception for the Masterpiece channel, LORAC. They specialize is presenting
both classics and the best mystery series. Most of what they offer I don't want to miss.
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Lorac625, I enjoyed the new Sherlock series too. I've liked all of the Sherlock actors that I've seen in the role, Basil Rathbone, Jeremy Brett, Robert Downey Jr. and Benedict Cumberbatch. I looked up a list of actors who have played Sherlock and I couldn't believe how many there have been. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_actors_who_have_played_Sherlock_Holmes
Jonny Lee Miller, who I like in other roles he's played (eg, in a BBC production of Jane Austen's EMMA) is going to be Sherlock Holmes in a CBS series called ELEMENTARY this Fall. I'm going to watch though I don't know what to think about it yet. You can see a preview at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqOdBSSZkCc (There is a 25 second ad that plays first).
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There is an extended preview of the new Downton Abbey for January 2013 at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/downtonabbey3_preview.html
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ANOTHER Sherlock Holmes? How often can we watch the various incarnations of Mr. Holmes before
we are glutted? Anything that catches the public attention....behold! A dozen other opportunists jump
on the bandwagon. Well, MARCIE, since you like Jonny Lee Miller I'll see what he does with the role.
I'm not familiar with the name. I must admit I am never able to keep track of all the actors. I'm
constantly asking my daughter, 'Where have I seen him/her before?"
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I am most curious to see how they get SH to New York and with a female as a sidekick. So she is a doctor who was hired by SH's father to see that he transitions out of rehab successfully? Wow! I am not impressed. Since when did SH have a living father in any of Conan Doyle's books? His brother is the only relative I ever remember. I get the feeling we won't see any, or not many, Conan Doyle story remakes with this one. Here is the CBS preview: http://www.cbs.com/shows/elementary/video/2239231109/elementary-exclusive-preview
I first ran across Jonny Lee Miller in Hackers. He also did Emma and Mansfield Park. Otherwise the only other movie I saw him in was Endgame, which was about the discussions that brought an end to Apartheid in South Africa. It is well worth watching.
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Okay, I looked up Jonny Lee Miller and recognized the face. I did not see "Hackers", but I did see the
other three FRYBABE mentioned. I think I've seen him in some TV shows, too, but I could be mistaken.
Thanks to Seniornet, he now has another viewer who recognizes him. :)
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Babi, Miller managed to let Angelia Jolie slip his fingers - they were married briefly. She played opposite him in Hackers, which is a movie about a bunch of hacker kids that accidentally come across a cyber crime and are subsequently set up as the fall guys by the perpetrator. They used their collective hacker skills to clear themselves.
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Sounds good, FRYBABE. I'll add that one to my queue. As to Angelina Jolie, I have never been interested
in the private lives of celebrities, so I could have no knowledge or opinion as to whether losing her was a bad thing or a good thing. ;)
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I watched the clip on "Elementary" and it looks really interesting.
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Gosh, actual smiles on Wallander's face. Got to get used to that one. The program seems a bit ordinary to me.
Next week, one of my favorites - The Dogs of Riga.
Is it my imagination or did Brannagh lose a little weight since the last season?
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Frybabe, yes the episode started out with a seemingly "new" Wallander. Smiles, shaven (yes, Brannagh looked good and did look like he lost weight)...but by the end we had our brooding Wallander back. I kinda figured out who did it in the beginning of the show. Not sure about the motive, though.
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I had forgotten how dark and depressing the Wallander series is. Yes, Wallander seemed to have lightened up some. I dvr'd it and will watch again later. Parts of it were a little confusing. I do like Brannaugh, but wish the program had some humor in it.
Sally
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My first experience with Wallander's personality...am drawn to him and his "ghosts". Also, I believe that the macabre atmosphere, generated by the author, touches on my cravings for "Gothic" adventure. I'm going back to re-watch it to better pick up the finer points of the story, now that I know the ending...
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Having read a number of Henning Mankell novels on Wallender - and Sweden - and the "macabre" atmosphere Linda noticed, which permeates ALL of his books, I'm left wondering if his work is a commentary on conditions in Sweden specifically - or if Sweden's problems represent a slice of the contemporary society in which we live. Please don't make me diagram that sentence! Any thoughts on this?
Frybabe, you're right! Branagh has LOST a lot of weight! I was so distracted with the smiling that I noticed little else. :D What is his lady's name? She's the one who seems to know just how to bring out those smiles...that, and the joy he took in the house by the sea...until trouble found him there. Hopefully the smiles will continue. Although they seem out of character...
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There is an article at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2163452/Sir-Kenneth-Branagh-reveals-ready-graciously-accept-knighthood.html that says that next year's 3 episodes will be the last for Kenneth Branagh and the Wallander series.
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JoanP, her name is Vanya, and if I remember correctly, he met her in The Fifth Woman. Next week is The Dogs of Riga where he meets and courts Baiba Liepa, the widow of a Latvian policeman. They had a long term, long distance relationship running through several of the books. I will be curious how they handle the relationship on screen. Vanya came later in the series.
Marcie, The White Lioness will be a two parter and, as far as I am concerned, absolutely not to be missed. I hope they stay relatively true to the book, which means about half or less than half will involve Wallander. Most of the action actually happens in South Africa, while Wallander works the case in Sweden. The thought of waiting a whole year, now that I know they have produced it, is excruciating.
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I've read many of the Wallender series and like them and have enjoyed the TV presentations. Is it my imagination but are Europeans less respectful of the police or is that just the way it is portrayed on TV. I wonder if anyone else has noticed this?
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The one thing that I have noticed regarding police in Europe (as per my reading) is that they do not seem to possess the "primadonna" illusion about themselves. Work roles do not seem as departmentalized as in the US, and they don't seem to mind getting "down" and "dirty".
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My PBS station is running the Ring Cycle. Last night was, I think, a look at the sets, costumes, how the production was put together. Tonight is part one. I might actually try and watch it.
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hmm, FlaJean, I'm not sure about the "respect for police" attitude in the U.S. Do you mean in the tv police shows or actual police. I think real life attitude toward police probably depends on the community. There seems to be quite a range across the U.S. Linda, probably what the police actually do depends on the community too.
Frybabe, I'll look to see if the RING CYCLE will be showing sometime on my station.
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So far as the UK goes, I think most people are respectful of the police - though of course there are some communities where they are (rightly or wrongly) loathed and feared. Parts of our police force do have a long history of racism, although there have been huge efforts to eradicate this. It is still said that a black driver is far, far more likely to be pulled over than a white one.
Having said that, most people like and trust our police and would happily approach them on the street for help. The main complaint these days is that there aren't enough of them walking about in local communities - though again they are trying to address this.
From my very limited experience in the US, the police there appear far less accessible and scary. I would not stop one just to ask for directions - but would certainly do that here. In France they are also quite distant and unwelcoming.
Rosemary
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Last night, I made an attempt to watch the first episode of The Metropolitan Opera production of The Ring Cycle. I ended up watching the first and last half hour. The music, as always, was good, the set was very interesting, but I couldn't handle the dialog. Seems to me that they were saying an awful lot for the little bit of captioning they used for those of us who don't speak German. Also, it seemed very simple, like from a children's book. The costuming was not impressive, for the most part. The cast made the singing seem effortless, a plus.
Now to the set. They used lighting and moving platforms only. Much of the lighting seemed to come up from the floor and followed the actors. It was very effective for the Rhinemaiden and Thor's scenes. Every time the Rhinemaidens or the thief moved, the gold spots on the floor moved too in a cascading fashion. In Thor's scene at the end, he swung his arms around and the clouds on the floor of the platform swirled; every time he walked, the floor light up under his feet; when he struck the platform with his hammer, lightning streaked out from the spot across the platform floor. The representation of the aurora display at the end was also good. The representation of the castle walled looked like black marble with white streaks. Very nice.
I didn't catch the name of the actor who played the god responsible for the aurora, but gosh was he good looking in his curly blond wig.
Keep in mind that I am not an opera buff, so I haven't seen much to compare it with.
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Sounds like the lighting effects were the main attaction there, FRYBABE. Did they distract from the singing, I wonder?
Valerie watched "Voice" last night, and from what I caught of the praise given the singers, I couldn't help but regret once
again my loss of hearing. Ah, well. I'm quite confident that when I'm finished with this old carcass, I'll get my hearing
back and hear the angels sing!
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Remember that Wallander: Dogs of Riga is on tonight.
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Babi, sorry I missed your comment earlier. I don't think the effects distracted from the singing, but they were pretty neat. The second night was Das Valkyries which, as far as the actual story and action went, I liked a lot. There didn't seem to be as many gaps as the first night. Third night was Sigfried. I got through the first act and fell asleep sometime in the second. The first act was a bit repetitious to my thinking. Fourth night, Twilight of the Gods, I didn't watch a whole lot of it, just the first bit up to the bit where Hagan and his two conspirators showed up.
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I'll be watching tonight, Marcie.
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My station elected to show Les Mis 25th Anniversary performance tonight and is showing two Wallendars next week. Will definitely have to record, can't sit forl three hours.
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Last night we saw the first episode of the new series of Downton Abbey - a special 90 minute one to start the season. I won't give anything away - but it was good!
Rosemary
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(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/masterpiecehdg.jpg)
Masterpiece Mystery 2012 presents the best British mysteries. See the complete 2012 MASTERPIECE MYSTERY schedule (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/schedule/index.html).
NOW DISCUSSING
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/wallander/wallander.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/wallander/index.html)
Wallander: Season 3
Three 90-minute mysteries — Sundays, Sept. 9, 16 & 23, 2012
The brooding Swedish cop Wallander (Kenneth Branagh) returns with a new home and relationship, a new sense of possibility, and three chilling new cases with devastating effects.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/wallander/wallander3_beforethefrost.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/programs/episode/wallander-s3-before-frost)
Wallander: Before the Frost (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/programs/episode/wallander-s3-before-frost)
September 23, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
A hiker meets a grisly end, and the childhood friend of Wallander's daughter, Linda, appears out of nowhere, then disappears. Don't miss the riveting Wallander season finale.
ALREADY DISCUSSED
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/wallander/wallander3_dogsofriga.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/programs/episode/wallander-s3-dogs-riga)
Wallander: Dogs of Riga (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/programs/episode/wallander-s3-dogs-riga)
September 16, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
The gruesome appearance in the Baltic Sea of two corpses floating in a raft prompts Wallander to pursue justice in an eerie post-Soviet Latvia rife with corruption. Ingeborga Dapkunaite (Prime Suspect 6) guest stars.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/wallander/wallander3_eventinautumn.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/programs/episode/wallander-s3-event-autumn)
Wallander: An Event in Autumn (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/programs/episode/wallander-s3-event-autumn)
September 9, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Wallander's peaceful new start is disrupted when investigations of two murdered, anonymous girls take him far from home... and to the very heart of it.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis5_indeliblestain.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/indeliblestain.html)
Inspector Lewis: Indelible Stain (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/indeliblestain.html)
July 29, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
A controversial American academic is found strangled after a guest lecture at Oxford, leading Lewis and Hathaway to narrow down a list of motives that includes politics, ambition and vengeance, in order to find their culprit.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis5_fearfulsymmetry.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/fearfulsymmetry.html)
Inspector Lewis: Fearful Symmetry (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/fearfulsymmetry.html)
July 22, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Lewis and Hathaway are drawn into a darker side of Oxford while investigating the murder of a suburban babysitter. Will the babysitter's secret life help the detectives unravel a tangled web of lies and deceit to find their killer?
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis5_generationofvipers.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/generationofvipers.html)
Inspector Lewis: Generation of Vipers (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/generationofvipers.html)
July 15, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Suspicions abound as Lewis and Hathaway investigate the death of a lovelorn Oxford professor. Was her death caused by an embarrassing Internet leak, or something much more sinister? Toby Stephens (Jane Eyre) guest stars.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mysterylewis/lewis2.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/soulofgenius.html)
Inspector Lewis: The Soul of Genius (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/soulofgenius.html)
July 8, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Botany, rivalry and secrecy collide when Lewis and Hathaway attempt to find the killer of an obsessed professor. Kick off the new season of Inspector Lewis with The Soul of Genius. Celia Imrie (Cranford) co-stars.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mystery_2012/endeavour.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/endeavour/index.html)
Endeavour (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/endeavour/index.html)
July 1, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Before his signature red Jaguar, before Inspector Morse, there was the rookie Constable Morse, deductive powers already running in high gear. Shaun Evans (The Take, The Virgin Queen) portrays Endeavour Morse, the low man on the force returning to Oxford with no track record and his future on the line.
(http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/mystery_2011/zen.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/zen/index.html)
ZEN: Encore Episodes (from 2011) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/zen/index.html)
Three 90-minute mysteries — Sundays, June 10, 17 & 24, 2012
What does an honest cop do when corruption rules on both sides of the law? Detective Aurelio Zen (Rufus Sewell, Middlemarch), based on the novels by British crime writer Michael Dibdin, brings justice to modern-day Italy, whether the authorities want it or not. Check your local listings to see if the programs are broadcast on your PBS station.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/sherlockholmes2/sherlock2_reichenbach.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/reichenbach.html)
Sherlock Holmes: The Reichenbach Fall (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/reichenbach.html)
May 20, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
The crime of the century is just a prelude for the unhinged criminal mastermind, Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott, Lennon Naked), when he poses the diabolical and inescapable "final problem" to Sherlock.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/sherlockholmes2/sherlock2_baskerville.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlocUk/baskerville.html)
Sherlock Holmes: The Hounds of Baskerville (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/baskerville.html)
May 13, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Sherlock and Watson track a gigantic hound to Baskerville, where the military is conducting top-secret experiments. But whether demonic or dubious, something is stalking the moors.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/sherlockholmes2/sherlock2_belgravia.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/belgravia.html)
Sherlock Holmes: A Scandal in Belgravia (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/belgravia.html)
May 6, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Picking up from Season 1's gripping cliffhanger, the whip-smart Irene Adler (Lara Pulver, True Blood) takes on Sherlock in a game he is ill-prepared to fight...love. Watch online through 6/5/12 (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/sherlock_belgravia.html)
Discussion Leader:marcie (marciei@aol.com)
OK, I will not talk about the plot of this latest Wallander, which is set in Riga, Latvia.
But I really did not much like it.
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I didn't either. I'm really not that crazy about any of them. Question... who was the woman in the hospital in a coma. I thought his wife was dead???
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Not near as good as the book. Is it my imagination or is Brannagh playing Wallander a bit "softer" than before? Naturally, things were missing from the production that were in the book and one thing added that I don't remember reading in the book. Won't say more for now.
The woman in the hospital was his colleague, Ann Britt. I suppose they had to do a tie in with the last episode where she was bashed with a shovel. Actually, when this book was written, I don't think Ann Britt was part of the team yet. Last week's episode, An Event in Autumn (published as The Grave), was written much later than The Dogs of Riga.
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FRYBABE, I admire your perseverance in attempting to sit through four nights of
Wagner! I would have had to REALLY enjoy the singing to even try it.
Oh, good, ROSEMARY. MARCIE, do we know when Downton Abbey will be returning to
Masterpiece here?
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Frybabe
Thanks... I had forgotten all about her. Just shows how closely I'm watching them.
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I missed Wallander last evening but will watch it when it's available on my cable "on demand."
Babi, the new Downton Abbey, Season Three, will be broadcast in the U.S. in January 2013. Here's a clip: http://video.pbs.org/video/2274892886/
Rosemary, I'm glad to hear you think it's good.
Masterpiece will be showing rebroadcasts of the Second Series of Upstairs Downstairs starting in October and into November and the Second Series of Downton Abbey in November and December. See the schedule at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/schedule/
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Last night's Wallander I found very unsettling and horrifying - I could not help realize how often I had thought based on the look of a person that they would be a safe with similar morals and values and it turned out the one that looked very different with a sharp and stern look was actually the safe one - I thought that the story taking place in Latvia could be any number of places in the world just now.
Thanks for the reminder that the girl in the coma was his co-worker - his new family relationship did not last long did it - his sleeping around is not adding to his character in my opinion - seems like they are trying to create an edgier Wallander instead of a comfortable driven man who takes things to heart so that he cannot sleep without a bottle - I think his being thinner is showing he is using drink in moderation and so now to sleep is it to be a women...? I guess with this change they hope to bring in another audience.
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Vanya (his girlfriend in An Event in Autumn) showed up in The Fifth Woman which would have come after The Dogs of Riga. That explains why she wasn't in the latter. We should see her again next week, as IMDB lists Saskia Reeves as a character in Before the Frost.
In the earlier books (including Dogs) Wallander actually lived in an apartment in town. Wallander's daughter has been popping up in the books all along, always with a different job and/or boyfriend. I believe in Before the Frost we will see that she has finally settled on following in her Dad's footsteps. I have not read this book.
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aha - ah so... I still did not enjoy last night's show - the whole thing was too unsettling - I felt like going up the steep hill of a roller coaster expecting the worst while he was in Latvia.
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I watched all of the show but would have turned it off about half way, but my dh enjoyed it. I wish they would produce the shows in book order.
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I too was surprised by which of the Latvian policemen was the trustworthy one...a good lesson not to prejudge by appearances!
Also, the multiple trips back and forth between Sweden and Latvia struck me as a basis for broadening future episodes, especially since his new "squeeze" is Latvian...we'll see!
Also, if Latvia was in season of constant light, why did Sweden have night scenes in last episode?...They are same latitude and very little time had passed.
My trip to Gottenberg in 1998 was during daylight season...took outdoor pictures at 2am without flash going off! It was hard to retire without the darkness...bizarre!
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I noticed the original Wallender is on Netfix streaming. I think I will try watching that.
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I thought that the episode was well done. I found Wallander to be sympathetic-- in his interactions with the Latvian policeman, Karlis Liepa, and his widow. He also took responsibility for finding out what happened to Karlis, despite the danger.
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Jeriron, I also noticed the Wallender series on Netflix streaming, I'm going to put it in my instant queue.
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I agree, I thought the good guy was the bad guy and the bad guy was the good guy. And sometimes I thought they were both bad guys.
There is just too much falling between the cracks for me to get a good hold on how the plot really fits. For instance, when the 2 fishermen came upon the raft with the 2 dead men in it and the one properly fired a rocket to alert authorities as to the location and then that same one wanted to bring the raft on board, WHY did the other fisherman get so upset and refuse? And then later, was it not this SAME fisherman who did not want to get involved who met Wallander secretly? Or am I wrong and was it the other?
I reckon maybe the point was they could tell right off from the obvious torture of the bodies that this was something to do with BIG CRIME on the waters and were scared of making themselves targets.
You think?
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what ever it was all about it was a thread that did not go anywhere - I thought it was included to raise the threshold of anxiety for those of us watching the story. Sort of a shadow to the remarks made by Karlis Liepa in Wallander's cottage about not trusting the police.
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Yes, the fisherman ordeal confused me too. Especially when the one met with Wallander, then fired at him (purposely missing him?), then escaped. Why....?
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Did he fire bullets at Wallender - or a flare? Rather than watch the whole thing again, I think it would be helpful to read Mankell's story on which this was based...
I agree - it was like a roller coaster ride, as Barbara describes it...except most of the time the roller coaster was chugging uphill. There wasn't much time to catch your breath. Bruce liked it better than I did. Maybe it was a man-flick.
I kept telling Bruce that I never ever wanted to visit Riga. I also told him in the very beginning which of the two was the good cop, and which was the bad. Don't know how I deduced that from the start - but once I did, it was reinforced for the rest of the film.
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I actually thought that the story was a little "choppy" like what happened with Sidetracked, only not quite as bad. The two dead guys were indeed killed by the organized drug gang in Latvia. One of them was an informant working with Karlis Liepa. I thought the scene with the fishermen was a little confusing, too. I believe one didn't want to get involved and the other wanted to do what was right. The "escape" to the country was not well defined in the show either.
I would have to go back and see one of the early Wallander programs, but I could swear Brannagh isn't playing him with as strong a dark, brooding emotion as the earlier ones. He seemed more, well, bland.
Yes, JoanP, the book is likely to be more helpful. No, I don't recall whether he fired a flare or a pistol at Wallander, either.
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There's an interesting article here, about DOGS of RIGA: http://publicsphere.typepad.com/toberead/2012/05/the-dogs-of-riga-weakest-wallander.html
It says that the two fishermen are smugglers who didn't want "awkward" questions asked by the police.
I believe that the gun that one of them fired close to Wallander near the end was a flare gun.
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My memory, which does not get a passing grade these days, tells me that it was a FLARE GUN that was fired from the fishermen's BOAT when they discovered the raft with the bodies in it. To alert the authorities to go there and find it. Then they hightailed it out of the area.
It was a handgun that was fired later, when Wallander met with the one fisherman because of the call or note he got, and it seemed clumsey and I could not understand it except to think that (1) the guy was mental or (2) he was just trying to warn off Wallander from trying to trace him and ask him any further questions.
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It just seemed so odd that the fisherman, first seeks Wallander out, then chases him off with force...of course, other officials had arrived, so possibly this threat put an end to their communication.
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I had forgotten that the "fishermen" themselves were of a criminal element. That is one more thing not stated clearly in the TV program. It really does a disservice to those who haven't read the books to skip such tiny but important information. Otherwise, the program looks disjointed and choppy.
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Otherwise, the program looks disjointed and choppy. by Frybabe
EXACTLY!
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What may make" Wallander " disjointed is because PBS usually cuts 8 to 10 minutes from the shows when they"re shown here. That's why sometimes when you buy the DVD it will say original BBC series, which means each one is slightly longer then the one on PBS.
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Jeriron, I noticed that this season the show were running about 10 minutes short. I don't remember them doing that in the other seasons. It kind of makes me think they truncated it for commercial TV or, perhaps, the stations that want to show it during begging weeks.
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They've done that on Inspector Lewis and I've also read on Downton Abbey'
It's to fit in their time slot of 90 minutes but they usually end before that so it must be about coming attractions or whatever they want fit into 90 minutes.
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I knew that about Downton Abbey; read it somewhere ages ago. That is precisely why I insist on purchasing the DVD sets. You get the whole thing and more.
I did not know the same applied to other British shows. Bummer!
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Well, this will be my third try since tonight's episode ended and I posted in here. The first two posts disappeared into thin air!
I said, basically, that I liked tonight's story better than last week's. I believe this was because Wallander and his daughter seemed to be bonding over the coming baby.
I was angry that Wallander simply cannot talk about things. Being all of my life the type of person who wants to put everything right up on the table in plain sight and attempt to sort it all out and arrive at at consensus, people like Wallander, who have every right to be the way they are, drive me up the wall. SPEAK UP, MAN! I want to shout at him.
It bothered me that the gal who was a cop seemed to be sending him away for good because she was afraid he only came to see her out of guilt. And he needed to tell her this was not the case, but he came faithfully because he CARES about what happens to her and because he wants to be a part of her life forever.
Scheesch!
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I agree, MaryPage, that this show was better than the last; but then I haven't read the book, so I can't compare it.
I was surprised about the pregnancy because I thought this was the book in which Linda would become a police officer. I looked this up this morning and discovered that he changed his mind about writing three Linda Wallander novels after the person who played her on Swedish TV committed suicide. Sad story, that. She and her three year old survived the Thailand tsunami. Apparently the experience devastated her emotionally. At least that is the theory; she didn't leave a suicide note.
Although barely mentioned in the show, Ann Britt had a husband and child. In the books, the husband was absent much of the time because he was a seaman. Ann Britt to juggle her job with it's sometimes odd or long hours and being what amounted to being a single Mom for at least six months out of the year. She did leave the force, but I just don't remember how that came about in the books. Will have to check.
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I do not suggest she have a Romance with Wallander, and I knew about her family. I only think it all wrong that she suggest, obviously in order to spare HIM, that they have no further contact; that he no longer follow her progress. As the 2 cops who were out there in the gunfire that day, they should be bonded as BUDDIES forever more!
Were I in his shoes, I would keep in touch with her for the rest of my life. And were I in hers, I would want him to.
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I am trying to sort this out but I picked up from this show that Linda was the child of Wallander and Ann since early when Linda shows up at the police stations she says she is staying the night at her mother's - then we learn at the end that at age 15 Ann had an abortion of the child impregnated by her father and this is the first that Wallander learns of the extent of her damaged life so that stunned he can only sit on a garden bench after she is safe.
Now what police officer are you suggesting should be his life long 'buddy' - there were several times guns were used and I cannot remember when there was a women involved other than the one helping him after he had his foot removed from the animal trap.
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Anna is a friend of Linda's. Linda's mother, Mona, is remarried and lives in Stockholm, where also Linda lives. Wallander was accused of having an affair with Anna's mother which led to Mona divorcing him.
I didn't think you were inferring that there was a romantic interest, MaryPage, but I get your point about bonding because of a traumatic experience. Many people do, others don't want any kind of reminder of a bad experience. Perhaps, since she is leaving the force, she doesn't want to be reminded that they entered the property without a warrant. She did point that out to Wallander and then followed him in when he went in anyway. Perhaps she partly blames him and partly blames herself for the outcome.
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OK so the blond women who was playing the 'crying' symphony when Wallander first visits was Anna's mother - I thought she was a friend to Anna - OK now it is being pieced together. And from your response to MaryPage the police women 'buddy' is the gal who was in the hospital and he faithfully visits after they were involved with the attack dog and the guy came out and hit her over the head with the sledge hammer.
That episode ended without my knowing if he went to jail at all - for the original crime no but does he go Scott free after hitting her over the head causing so much bodily injury? I realize they were trespassing and they end up killing the dogs that I would assume would be considered self defense but does that give him the freedom to so brutally attack the trespassers?
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I thought last night's episode was good, reuniting father and daughter with a few very touching moments.
Wallander's hurt feelings (over not being invited to his daughter's wedding) were finally blurted out, and proved to be NOT a personal thing since the groom's family wasn't invited either.
It would be interesting to see if earlier episodes address Wallander's dysfunctional practice of burying his hurt feelings.
I found on Netflix the full series in Swedish with subtitles...think I'll view, at least the early ones, and see if they address some of his personality issues!
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BARBARA. I am sorry, but you have it all wrong. You see, this was the 6th or 9th Wallander film, and in the first episode of this last batch of THREE (3) films, of which last night's was the FINAL AND LAST film, in that one back 3 weeks ago, the female cop he was working a case with got seriously shot when he was right there with her and she was in a coma and not expected to live at the end of that episode. Then, in the episode previous to last night's, she was still in a coma. Last night, to my intense relief, she was improving, but apparently would never be well enough to do more than hold a desk job in future. And he has been going to see her faithfully from the beginning and she told him not to come any more. And it is my opinion she was just trying to spare him the effort and it is also my opinion that he should not have agreed to not come any more.
And Monica's daughter DID have a father and he was the crazy religious nut who had been in America and then declared dead and the girl, Linda, was grieving for him and near mad with her grief and then she discovered he was alive and went along with his crazy die for Jesus ideas right up to the very last moment when her mother and Wallander talked her down from it. And the cops moved in and got her father out of there and off to the looney bin lock up and Linda was taken out, too, all before the place caught on fire. Linda was NOT Wallander's daughter.
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Oh, and Barbara, the man in the beginning of this episode did hit a grandmother over the head and then burn her to death. But he killed himself by burning up in a church he burned down.
Only Linda's father was left to lock up in the end, not the man at the beginning who burned the swans and then the woman.
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Ok I probably have all the names incorrect - I thought the tall blond girl that was Wallander's daughter was named Linda - and the shorter girl with dark short hair at the table in the end was Anna and the blond middle age women also at the table that played the music of crying people and brought in wood in a basket was a friend of both Wallander and Anna - I learned from an earlier post that Anna was not Wallander's divorced wife, although I never thought she was the mother of the blond girl now pregnant who I thought her name was Linda. I thought Linda, Wallander's daughter, had a mother who remarried and lived in Stockholm and Anna was Wallander's more recent wife but I guess not - he seems more attached to finding Anna if he is not related and she is only a friend of his daughter's.
Recap to be sure I have the names correct for these various characters -
1.Tall blond pregnant stays at first her mother's apartment and then stays with her father where he lets her know how hurt he was not being able to walk her down the aisle although her mother was at the wedding. Is she called Linda - if not what is her name
2. Anna was missing and at the end sits at the table while her father holds his hands over her folded hands when he goes on a rampage spilling the beans that the child was his and his grandchild - is she only a friend to Wallander and his daughter - she would have to be an awfully close friend to (Linda) the daughter because she came up from Stockholm because Anna was missing and when Wallander called his daughter to ask about her Linda says, he did not sound convincing that all would be well.
3. Was I to understand the blond lady living alone who was playing the crying symphony and later carried wood into her house in a basket when Wallander drove up and is the one who there was rumor he had an affair with and she looks for all the world like Glen Close - she was not a friend but actually the mother of Anna who urged her to get the abortion.
4. And who was the older women hiking that was beamed on the head in this program at the beginning by the guy who sets the birds on fire and why did he set the birds on fire - what was that supposed to tell us - and who was she - was she the skeleton in the first grave with the cross in the woods that Wallander finds.
5/6 And I do not remember the detective/police women who was in a coma from being shot I remember in one of the first shows this fall the police women that was hit on the side of the head by the crazy guy with the two dogs who, after the dogs were shot, after they attacked Wallander and this police women, the crazy guy flies out of either the mobile home or a metal shed next to one of two mobile homes - in his hands he has a long handled sledge hammer and hits her hard on the side of the head with all his fury. Later in jail they had to release him and we never learn if he was put on trail for putting the police women in a coma.
Yep, I am still confused - thank goodness some of you know these stories from the books - I did not know they were books till last week when someone said as much.
As to Wallander's lack of communicating - that is one of the problems included on the list of behavior defects of an alcoholic and also on the list for Adult Children of Alcoholic explained that they observe and adapt this behavior while growing up as learned behavior - we know Wallander has a drinking problem - he drinks to sleep and he is drinking at night alone - this recent group of programs showed him having one slip although he has not cut all drinking out of his life his drinking alone to sleep happened so far only once and so I associate his poor communication skills to the typical problem of an alcoholics. That explanation is they turn inward and believe they must handle everything with no help from others to the point most are more comfortable alone in their thoughts and problems.
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Barb,
1, 2, & 3 are essentially correct, except in #2 Linda stayed overnight at Anna's apartment in case she turned up. Linda's mother lives in Stockholm as does Linda.
4. I think she just happened to be in the area and saw the initial fire where Weston lit up the swans (or geese). Does anyone remember if she had any other connection? Apparently thee was some scriptural meaning to burning the birds, something symbolic, but I don't recall that they gave an actual passage number.
5/6 also correct.
I like your thoughts about Wallander being uncommunicative. The books are a little more detailed about the drinking problem than is shown in the programs. His several girlfriends' (the exception being Baiba Liepa because that was pretty much a long distance relationship) major complaint over the years is that he neglects to call and let them know if he is unable to get home or to a date on time.
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Whewwww :-*
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Masterpiece Mystery 2012 presents the best British mysteries. See the complete 2012 MASTERPIECE MYSTERY schedule (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/schedule/index.html).
NOW DISCUSSING
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Wallander: Season 3
Three 90-minute mysteries — Sundays, Sept. 9, 16 & 23, 2012
The brooding Swedish cop Wallander (Kenneth Branagh) returns with a new home and relationship, a new sense of possibility, and three chilling new cases with devastating effects.
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Wallander: Before the Frost (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/programs/episode/wallander-s3-before-frost)
September 23, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
A hiker meets a grisly end, and the childhood friend of Wallander's daughter, Linda, appears out of nowhere, then disappears. Don't miss the riveting Wallander season finale.
ALREADY DISCUSSED
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Wallander: Dogs of Riga (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/programs/episode/wallander-s3-dogs-riga)
September 16, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
The gruesome appearance in the Baltic Sea of two corpses floating in a raft prompts Wallander to pursue justice in an eerie post-Soviet Latvia rife with corruption. Ingeborga Dapkunaite (Prime Suspect 6) guest stars.
(http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/wallander/wallander3_eventinautumn.jpg) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/programs/episode/wallander-s3-event-autumn)
Wallander: An Event in Autumn (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/programs/episode/wallander-s3-event-autumn)
September 9, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Wallander's peaceful new start is disrupted when investigations of two murdered, anonymous girls take him far from home... and to the very heart of it.
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Inspector Lewis: Indelible Stain (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/indeliblestain.html)
July 29, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
A controversial American academic is found strangled after a guest lecture at Oxford, leading Lewis and Hathaway to narrow down a list of motives that includes politics, ambition and vengeance, in order to find their culprit.
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Inspector Lewis: Fearful Symmetry (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/fearfulsymmetry.html)
July 22, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Lewis and Hathaway are drawn into a darker side of Oxford while investigating the murder of a suburban babysitter. Will the babysitter's secret life help the detectives unravel a tangled web of lies and deceit to find their killer?
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Inspector Lewis: Generation of Vipers (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/generationofvipers.html)
July 15, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Suspicions abound as Lewis and Hathaway investigate the death of a lovelorn Oxford professor. Was her death caused by an embarrassing Internet leak, or something much more sinister? Toby Stephens (Jane Eyre) guest stars.
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Inspector Lewis: The Soul of Genius (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/lewis/soulofgenius.html)
July 8, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Botany, rivalry and secrecy collide when Lewis and Hathaway attempt to find the killer of an obsessed professor. Kick off the new season of Inspector Lewis with The Soul of Genius. Celia Imrie (Cranford) co-stars.
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Endeavour (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/endeavour/index.html)
July 1, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Before his signature red Jaguar, before Inspector Morse, there was the rookie Constable Morse, deductive powers already running in high gear. Shaun Evans (The Take, The Virgin Queen) portrays Endeavour Morse, the low man on the force returning to Oxford with no track record and his future on the line.
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ZEN: Encore Episodes (from 2011) (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/zen/index.html)
Three 90-minute mysteries — Sundays, June 10, 17 & 24, 2012
What does an honest cop do when corruption rules on both sides of the law? Detective Aurelio Zen (Rufus Sewell, Middlemarch), based on the novels by British crime writer Michael Dibdin, brings justice to modern-day Italy, whether the authorities want it or not. Check your local listings to see if the programs are broadcast on your PBS station.
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Sherlock Holmes: The Reichenbach Fall (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/reichenbach.html)
May 20, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
The crime of the century is just a prelude for the unhinged criminal mastermind, Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott, Lennon Naked), when he poses the diabolical and inescapable "final problem" to Sherlock.
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Sherlock Holmes: The Hounds of Baskerville (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/baskerville.html)
May 13, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Sherlock and Watson track a gigantic hound to Baskerville, where the military is conducting top-secret experiments. But whether demonic or dubious, something is stalking the moors.
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Sherlock Holmes: A Scandal in Belgravia (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/belgravia.html)
May 6, 2012 at 9pm
One 90-minute episode
Picking up from Season 1's gripping cliffhanger, the whip-smart Irene Adler (Lara Pulver, True Blood) takes on Sherlock in a game he is ill-prepared to fight...love. Watch online through 6/5/12 (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/sherlock_belgravia.html)
Discussion Leader:marcie (marciei@aol.com)
Linda, I meant to mention there are two Wallander series. One is the Swedish TV show (26 episodes and, I think a few "cinema" films according to Wikipedia) and the other is the BBC production series with Branagh as Wallander. I believe that the Swedish series was also shown in the UK.
I'll get to watch this last one again this coming Saturday.
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tra la - here it is although the info says only till 11:59 on the 23rd of the month which was yesterday - but I have it streaming in now...
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch-online/full-episodes/wallander-series-iii-frost/
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Ok still not clear - who is the young Mom with the little ones at the table that Wallander and another woman police officer visits and get the key from this young Mom to Anna's apartment?
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I don't remember that bit. Landlord maybe?
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I am not sure, but my memory tells me that when Wallander's daughter (Linda, blond) wanted to go check on her friend to see if she was ok, and Linda did not find her friend at home, she stopped at the home in the same building of a mutual friend of hers and her friend's to pick up the key to her friend's apartment so that she, Linda, could stay in her friend's apartment until she returned from wherever she had disappeared to. And Linda's friend had told her this mutual friend/neighbor had a key. And, obviously, she had told the friend/neighbor that Linda was allowed to claim the key and enter the apartment.
That is my take on it.
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I was just looking MaryPage at a the show and Linda had a key so that she stayed the first night at Anna's and only gets in touch with her father that she appears gone for good while he is walking in the woods when he finds the grave - it was only after that Wallander and a female police officer in plain clothes visits this Mom and gets a key to Anna's - Don't want to watch it yet again but maybe tonight...
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So much confusion! I am quite happy I did not care to watch it. :)
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Me too. I have it on DVD but I'm not sure I'll bother with it. It sounds more like a soap opera.
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Now that I know that PBS cuts 8-10 minutes out of the BBC productions, I am wondering if that is what makes some of the programs confusing. Has anyone watched the uncut productions? I have frequently felt like some of the productions skip over vital portions--maybe that's the fault of PBS, not BBC. They are still worth watching imo!
Sally
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I wonder that sounds like a good rational for becoming confused - I would think a TV adaptation should be able to stand on its own without having to reference the original novel - I guess I can dream on... ::)
Alll in all the Wallander series is far better than most police/detective TV shows from the US. The characters are so much more believable as real people - there is nothing stylized about the show nor are they dependent on the latest lab technology and computer science.
I have no idea when this story was written but there are bits and pieces that remind me of the mass murderer Norway dealt with last year and the guy was brought to trail this year. I think he too was a religious ideologist with strong views about 'others' - Islam, Judaism, Woman, Gays etc.
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In that respect I would have to agree with you, BARB. The English and European films don't seem to make everyone
witty, or charming, or handsome/beautiful. Can you really imagine a group of officers, or any group for that matter,
where everyone is a master of one-liners, quips, and pungent comments?
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We can continue to talk about Wallander and related topics in this discussion.
We've opened a new discussion for Masterpiece Classic's new 2012-2013 season which will start at the end of this month with re-broadcasts of Season 1 of the new Upstairs Downstairs. Then Downtown Abbey will follow. A new program, Mr. Selfridge, is promised for 2013. It's a drama series based on the real life story of the flamboyant and visionary American founder of Selfridge's, London's lavish department store.
See more info in our new Masterpiece Classics discussion at http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=3496.0
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I understand the fall episodes of Downton are what we have seen and the new does not start till after Christmas.