Author Topic: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2009-2010  (Read 114955 times)

mrssherlock

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #400 on: April 09, 2010, 01:05:10 PM »
 

Masterpiece Classic 2010 brings back favorite authors and introduces new authors and programs. See the complete 2010 MASTERPIECE CLASSIC schedule.

NOW DISCUSSING

Small Island
April 18-25, 2010, 9pm

Two 90-minute episodes
When an ambitious Jamaican woman moves to gritty post-war London, she finds that the "Mother Country" is not the land of opportunity she had imagined. Starring Naomie Harris, Ruth Wilson and Benedict Cumberbatch and based on the award-winning, bestselling novel by Andrea Levy. Small Island is available for online viewing April 19 - May 25 at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/smallisland/watch.html



PAST PROGRAMS

The Diary of Anne Frank
April 11, 2010, 9pm

One 120-minute episode
The most accurate adaptation of Anne Frank's account of hiding from the Nazis stars newcomer Ellie Kendrick as the maturing teenager undergoing an extraordinary ordeal. The Diary of Anne Frank airs on Holocaust Remembrance Day, 2010. Watch the program online from April 12 through May 11 at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/annefrank/watch.html


Sharpe's Peril
April 4, 2010, 9pm

One 120-minute episode
The adventures of Colonel Richard Sharpe continue as he leads a ragtag party of civilians and soldiers on a march across India, with the murderous army of an opium lord in hot pursuit.  Watch it online through April 27 at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sharpeschallenge/watch.html


Sharpe's Challenge
March 28, 2010, 9pm

One 120-minute episode
Soldier-adventurer Richard Sharpe comes out of retirement to quash a rebellion in British India. Sean Bean returns as the swashbuckling hero of this series based on Bernard Cornwell's novels. Top Chef's Padma Lakshmi guest stars. Watch it online through April 27 at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sharpeschallenge/watch.html


The 39 Steps
February 29, 2010, 9pm

One 90-minute episode
Secret agent Richard Hannay battles German spies on the eve of World War I in a riveting and romantic new version of the thriller by John Buchan. Rupert-Penry Jones (Persuasion) stars as Hannay.  Learn more about this series at http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/39steps/39steps.html.  Watch the full episodes online at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/steps/watch.html through March 30. Email JoanP for a copy of the book for only the cost of postage. Read some of Buchan's works online at http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/b#a285


Persuasion (Encore Presentation)
February 21, 2010, 9pm

One 90-minute episode
Sally Hawkins plays Jane Austen's Anne Elliot, a woman destined for spinsterhood after refusing a proposal eight years earlier. Then her spurned suitor reappears. Learn more about this series at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/persuasion/index.html. The text of Jane Austen's Persuasion is available online at http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/105


Northanger Abbey (Encore Presentation)
February 14, 2010, 9pm

One 90-minute episode
In a medieval house that appeals to her most lurid fantasies, romance addict Catherine Morland (Felicity Jones) begins a relationship with the younger son of the estate in this adaptation of the Jane Austen novel.  Learn more about this series at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/northangerabbey/index.html. The text of Northanger Abbey is available online at http://www.gutenberg.org/files/121/121-h/121-h.htm#2HCH0001


January 24-February 7, 2010, 9pm

Three episodes.
A new adaptation of Jane Austen's comic tale of a headstrong young woman's failed matchmaking schemes. Learn more about this series at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/emma/index.html.
See resources provided by PBS at http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/masterpiece/emma/emma_links.html


January 10-17, 2010, 9pm
Return to Cranford

Two 90-minute episodes.
The construction of a new railroad line is at once thrilling and threatening to the residents of Cranford. This sequel stars Judi Dench, Imelda Staunton and Julia McKenzie. New faces include Jonathan Pryce and Tim Curry. From the creators: “We leapt at the opportunity to include two strands from Cranford that we hadn’t been able to include the first time around, introducing two colourful new characters: Lady Glenmire (Celia Imrie) and the conjuror Signor Brunoni (Tim Curry). We looked for additional source material to weave into the mix, and finally settled on two very different Gaskell stories that excited us: The Moorland Cottage and The Cage At Cranford." Learn more about this series at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/cranford2/index.html.


December 20, 2009-January 3, 2010, 9pm
Cranford (Encore Presentation)

Three episodes (Episode one 120 minutes; episode two 60 minutes; episode three 120 minutes).
The Emmy-nominated drama about a small English village in 1842 on the brink of change — where some find romance and opportunity, and others fear the breakdown of social order. The series is based on three Elizabeth Gaskell novels: Cranford, My Lady Ludlow and Mr. Harrison's Confessions. Learn more and see a preview at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/cranford/index.html.

Discussion Leaders:  JoanP and marcie


I was wrong, Babi, and you were right.  Two different actors played the ensigns:  Tony Regbo is Ensign #1 in Challenge and Luke Ward-Wilkinson played Ensign Beauclere in Peril.  Challenge is 2006 release and Peril is 2008.
Jackie
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke

Babi

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #401 on: April 10, 2010, 08:45:55 AM »
Well that's a small miracle,  JACKIE.  I don't even remember the
scene where a boy took over command. As soon as a show is over, I start
forgetting.  :-\
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

marcie

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #402 on: April 10, 2010, 03:05:12 PM »
It seems, in times of war, young people are often asked to do things way beyond their years. I don't know whether or not the specialness in some children is called out only by extremely difficult times.

There is an interesting article about "Anne Frank as a writer" at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/annefrank/prose.html. I wonder if she would have written such a mindful account of her circumstances and thoughts and gone back and edited her diary (I  hadn't realized this before I read the new book version!) if she was not cloistered in the secret annex for such a long time, in great anxiety and fear.

There is also a very insightful audio slide show with the actress who plays the role of Anne at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/annefrank/kendrick.html. The actress, Ellie Kendrick, who was born in 1990, was 17 when she filmed the role.

marcie

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #403 on: April 12, 2010, 02:47:07 PM »
I watched the PBS film of Anne Frank and also finished reading the new version of her diary. Despite the horrors of death that surrounded the Jews and everyone involved in the war, Anne's diary seems to me so filled with LIFE. She was a remarkable person and writer. I thought that the actress who played Anne Frank captured her spirit wonderfully.

Phyll

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #404 on: April 12, 2010, 03:45:44 PM »
This seemed to be a more realistic production of Anne's diary and it showed her to be, in many ways, a typical teenager.  At odds with her mother and her sister, not always kind, a little self-centered and concerned at times more by what was happening to herself than what was happening to the world she lived in.  I cannot imagine how eight very different people managed to live for more than 2 years crowded together in that small space under those extremely difficult conditions without physically harming each other!  I know that in those times they did what they had to do because their lives depended on it but I think I would have either broken out or gone crazy.
phyllis

marcie

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #405 on: April 12, 2010, 09:27:20 PM »
Phyll, I think we did catch glimpses of the various individuals going a bit crazy in both the PBS version and, certainly, in the book. They seemed to be very different from one another and in such close quarters!

joangrimes

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #406 on: April 12, 2010, 11:38:24 PM »
I watched the Diary of Anne Frank last night too but I have not read the new book.  I thought the PBS production was very well done.  I will not be reading the book because I have had rather a steady diet of reading about this sort of thing lately and I think I will wait a while before reading the new Anne Frank book.  Anne's story has always been very upsetting to me.  It is such a great tragedy. 
the PBS presentation did present her as a very normal , high spirited girl.  I am glad that I took the time to watch it.Joan Grimes
Roll Tide ~ Winners of  BCS 2010 National Championship

marcie

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #407 on: April 13, 2010, 01:42:38 AM »
Joan, it is an upsetting story, knowing the fate of Anne and the others but, as I mentioned above, I found her diary very full of life. She let's us into her thought processes that show her development as a young woman. I was struck how she put into practice her father's words. She says: "How true Daddy's words were when he said: all children must look after their own upbringing. Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands." Despite all of the agony she went through and her adolescent angst, she was an optimistic person. She said: "Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don't know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!" She was an amazing, perceptive young girl.

joangrimes

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #408 on: April 13, 2010, 07:42:30 AM »
I agree Marcie.  She certainly was and the book and production are well worth the time it takes to read and watch.
Joan Grimes
Roll Tide ~ Winners of  BCS 2010 National Championship

JoanK

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #409 on: April 13, 2010, 04:25:44 PM »
Anne has put a human face on the Houlocast. When you read "six million people died" it is so immense that you can't comprehend it. We need to see all the human potential: the joy, the love, the lust for life, that was snuffed out needlessly.

marcie

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #410 on: April 14, 2010, 01:59:09 AM »
You're quite right, JoanK. Anne's story makes everything real.

Aliki

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #411 on: April 15, 2010, 08:34:28 AM »
Still reading the book...still reading the posts...still not able to get Anne out of my mind. How many others were there of her tender age unable to tell their stories I wonder. I'll be thinking of Anne Frank and all she represented and continues to represent long after we have finished this discussion. I agree. Like JoanK has said, sometimes the holocaust is just too much to get one's head around. But this is simple and true. If we are still discussing this book when I finish reading it, I'll be able to say more.

I will check out the links given us by marcie. Thank you marcie.

Aliki

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #412 on: April 15, 2010, 09:52:03 AM »
dear marcie--

have just finished watching both the links you gave to us and am in the process of sending them to my youngest daughter whose youngest daughter is almost 12 years old. Both keep journals and they read a lot together (her mother's wisdom) and had shown an interest when I was telling Viki, my daughter, about the show and the book.

thank you again for these treasures.  aliki

marcie

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #413 on: April 16, 2010, 12:20:00 AM »
aliki, that's great that your daughter and granddaughter keep journals. They should provide sources of insight in later years.

JoanP

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #414 on: April 18, 2010, 04:19:35 PM »
Still a few hours before "Small Island"  airs, so I will post just a few observations about Anne Frank's diary.  JoanG, the changes in the newly released edition remain true to the original, but more of a graphic description of Anne's growing interest in her body - and the conversations between herself and Peter are much more graphic than in the original...  I wonder what school librarians will do with this newly released version.  Otto Frank is said to have withheld whole chapters because he wanted to protect his daughter's privacy.  Before he died, he released the missing chapters.  I was very glad that I read the book - that PBS made it available to us.
On the one hand, I think that schools might want to withhold the new edition because of the graphic nature - on the other hand, I think that today's young people would not be at all shocked by the content - as their parents might be.

What really caught my attention was the fact that in the Oct.9, 1942 entry in her diary, Anne writes this after hearing the BBC report:

p. 54 (new edition)
Quote
"If it's that bad in Holland, what must it be like in those faraway and uncivilized places where the Germans are sending them.  We assume that most of them are being murdered.  The English radio says they are being gassed.  Perhaps that's the quickest way to die."

I honestly don't know what to make of this information.  All along I have thought that the " final solution"  did not begin until the last year of the war.  And that it wasn't known for certain.  Yet, here is Anne Frank writing in her diary about something that she heard in 1942!  What did you think when you read that?  (It was repeated in the PBS version too, though the date was not given as in the diary...)

Babi

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #415 on: April 19, 2010, 09:13:31 AM »
I have 'Small Island' recorded and will probably view it sometime today.  It doesn't sound as
though it's going to be a light and breezy story.
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

Aliki

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #416 on: April 19, 2010, 10:37:09 AM »
What a difference for me. As difficult as it was for me to watch Sharp, this new movie last night went by so quickly for me I couldn't believe it was over! I truly loved it and look forward to the next episode.

I'm still trying to figure out what turned me off about Sharp. I know it was more than the fighting and blood and gore--and when others of you spoke of the two major characters' relationship I remembered that I also liked what I saw of them. I think I was a bit put off in Sharp by the almost 'Bollywood' colors of the dancing girls. I always picture this sort of scene in muted, seductive colors rather than blatant and gaudy colors. It seemed to wear off the reality edge for me.

Maybe I'll enjoy the book better sometime but for now, I await the second Small Island with almost baited breath.

The first woman who came from Jamaica to UK reminded me of one of the main characters in the DVD about the Presidents and the White House (can't remember name of series--got it from Netflix.)

I guess I'll have more to comment on next week.

marcie

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #417 on: April 19, 2010, 12:13:02 PM »
Thanks for your enthusiastic recommendation, aliki. I didn't have a chance to see the program last evening but I'll watch it online at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/smallisland/watch.html

JoanK

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #418 on: April 19, 2010, 03:09:12 PM »
And I stupidly forgot that it was on.

FlaJean

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #419 on: April 19, 2010, 03:11:13 PM »
I did too!

Aberlaine

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #420 on: April 19, 2010, 06:08:06 PM »
I'm still reading the book, Diary of Anne Frank.  I found the movie being shown online at the PBS site, like they did with Cranford.  Last year I saw the play, Diary of Anne Frank, and "grieved" for all those people for about a week. 

I'm now afraid to watch the movie, but will keep it bookmarked until I finish the book.  Then I'll decide.

Nancy

marcie

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #421 on: April 20, 2010, 01:59:43 AM »
Aberlaine, you do come to know the eight people in the secret annex and be very concerned for them. Of course, in Anne's own account you don't know what happens to them after they have been found. The book does include information about that at the end.

marcie

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #422 on: April 20, 2010, 02:01:20 AM »
I watched the first episode of Small Island "on demand" on my cable tv. I thought the acting was very well done. I'm not sure about the story yet but there is a lot to interest me.

Babi

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #423 on: April 20, 2010, 08:48:02 AM »
 I must confess I chickened out.  When I saw that it was another story about bigotry and
disappointment, I just did not want to watch it.  People's cruelty to one another for such a
stupid reason as bigotry always angers me so much.  I decided not to put myself through it
for a film.
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

marcie

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #424 on: April 21, 2010, 11:43:00 AM »
Babi, I can understand your feelings. I don't know how closely the BBC version parallels the novel since I haven't read the book. From the first episode, while all of the characters face disappointment, I don't think that is the main emphasis.

marcie

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #425 on: April 29, 2010, 11:28:39 AM »
I watched the last episode and thought that the resolution, although difficult, was inspiring. The sacrifices made by the main characters shone through the bigotry of their society.

marcie

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #426 on: April 29, 2010, 11:31:25 AM »
I see that Masterpiece Mystery is starting this weekend with Foyle's War. The schedule is at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/schedule/index.html

At the end of the schedule, Inspector Lewis and DS Hathaway will be back!

JoanK

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #427 on: April 29, 2010, 04:51:36 PM »
Hooray! Foyles War is easily the best of the mystery series. And Lewis is good too, if it would get away from being so predictable.

joangrimes

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #428 on: April 29, 2010, 07:59:39 PM »
I am looking forward to the return of the Mystery Series.
Joan Grimes
Roll Tide ~ Winners of  BCS 2010 National Championship

Frybabe

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #429 on: April 29, 2010, 09:09:55 PM »
I'd say Masterpiece Mystery has a very full plate this summer with those listings. I am especially looking forward to the special on the Orient Express with David Suchet.

Aliki

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #430 on: April 30, 2010, 10:03:16 AM »
Quote
I am looking forward to the return of the Mystery Series.
Joan Grimes

I am also, Joan Grimes!

It's such a relief when mysteries are presented on PBS; they don't rely on sensationalizing. In addition, the British mysteries have such lovely scenery, don't they!  Every time I feel a need to visit a garden here in this Center City location, I order the British mystery series, Rosemary and Thyme from Netflix...sometimes just for the gardens!

I haven't watched part two of Small Island yet--was busy that evening. But I see they will be showing it online until late May.

aliki

joangrimes

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #431 on: April 30, 2010, 10:14:13 AM »
Oh yes aliki, the scenery is always gorgeous in the British mysteries.  I really like them...Joan Grimes
Roll Tide ~ Winners of  BCS 2010 National Championship

marcie

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic
« Reply #432 on: April 30, 2010, 11:47:21 AM »
We'll keep this discussion open for a few more days to see if anyone has last thoughts on SMALL ISLAND or any of the Masterpiece Classic programs we've seen this season. Many thanks to all who participated.

Please post about the new season of Mystery in our new PBS Mystery 2010 discussion at http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=1300.0