PBS Masterpiece 2015 ~ Downton Abbey and Other PBS Programs

[Steph]

 

See the 2015 MASTERPIECE schedule.  

Let's talk about PBS programs that we enjoy.

COMING

Poldark, Season 1
June 21 - August 2, 2015
Set in the picturesque, seaside county of Cornwall, Poldark follows a rough-and-ready hero with nothing to lose as he tries to restore his community, fortune, and family name. It’s 1783, and Britain is in a crisis of falling wages, rising goods prices, and civil unrest. Dashing, adventurous scoundrel Ross Poldark (Aidan Turner) returns from fighting overseas to find his world dramatically changed: his family estate is in ruins, his father has died, and his sweetheart is engaged to another. Poldark is based on the first two novels in Winston Graham’s sweeping 18th-century saga. The first television adaptation of the series aired on MASTERPIECE in the 1970s, and now a new generation can delight in the exploits of a romantic hero like no other.


Sherlock, Seasons 2 and 3
August 16 - September 20, 2015

While we wait for Season 4 of Sherlock (said to be broadcast in 2017), we can watch encore presentations of the exploits of the world's only consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his long-suffering faithful friend, Dr. John Watson in Seasons 2 and 3. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness; The Imitation Game) and Martin Freeman (The Hobbit trilogy).

ALREADY DISCUSSED

Mr. Selfridge, Season 3
March 29 - May 17, 2015
All sales are final as Harry Selfridge gambles his store, his fortune, and his personal happiness on an audacious retail strategy in Mr. Selfridge, Season 3.


Wolf Hall

Wolf Hall, a six-hour miniseries adapted from Hilary Mantel’s best-selling Booker Prize-winning novels: Wolf Hall and its sequel, Bring Up the Bodies, airs on Sundays, April 5 to May 10, 2015 at 10pm. Wolf Hall stars Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winner Damian Lewis (Homeland) and Tony Award-winner Mark Rylance (Twelfth Night) and shines a spotlight on Thomas Cromwell's involvement in King Henry VIII's marriage to and divorce from Anne Boleyn. See http://www.pbs.org/wolfhall and http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/programs/wolf-hall/

Discussion Leaders:  JoanP and marcie

Ah. I have seem that behavior before. But it is more of a reflex than a faith decision.

[MaryPage]

Oh, absolutely, I could not agree with you more.  Nevertheless, I still feel our native religion, i.e. the one we are reared on, is like a comfort food in certain situations.

Hoping you have a terrific Irish holiday, Steph!  My principal desire re Ireland is to go to Dublin and do the James Joyce Bloomsday tour.  It would be SO much fun to see all the places!

[MaryPage]

Barnes & Noble just sent me an email telling me they shipped out my WOLF HALL DVD today!  Hurrah!

[marcie]

That's great, MaryPage. I know you'll enjoy viewing it again.

[MaryPage]

The DVD set of WOLF HALL arrived in my mail yesterday.  Have had no time to get at it yet, but am so happy to have it.

Has anyone seen the follow up history documentary about the court of Henry VIII?  It is brand new and quite, quite outstandingly good.  Our PBS channels have been running it recently.  Catch it if you possibly can.

[Steph]

Home and think I would love the Henry VIII series.. Our guide spent a lot of trouble setting up Irelands history starting in about 580 ad. whew..

[ginny]

Welcome home, Steph.

 I just finished watching the last of Wolf Hall, I'm surprised more people aren't watching it. It sure looks to me like a sequel would be in order, I wonder if one is planned.

I am not sure I agree with a review I read of it in the New Yorker, (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/05/04/queens-boulevard}, tho I do agree that " along with some of the more memorable hats in TV history," is accurate. They were somewhat subdued on Mark Rlance's incredible performance, although praising it,   but in great praise of the actress playing Anne Boleyn.  Having now seen the end, I do agree that the actress playing Ann Boleyn (Claire Foy?)  was outstanding.  And so was the  actor playing Henry VIII,  too, Damien Lewis. He really came into his own, very powerful acting. I thought the two of them really stole the show in the 6th episode, while Cromwell, I thought, was somewhat subdued.  I'm not sure why. Perhaps he's afraid.  He seemed to take on another persona there for a minute, too. It was fascinating to watch.

Revenge seemed to be his dominating feeling at the end. I don't know if that's true in real life.  And of course Norfolk was perfect to the end, also commended by the review: a really strong ensemble cast, I thought.

I'd like to see it continue, just for the performances, really.

I'm glad it's  on DVR so I can watch it again from the beginning.

[ginny]

Oh look! They  ARE wanting to do a sequel, they are just waiting for Hilary Mantel to finish her third book on it:  http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Stars-Wolf-Hall-eager-sequel-filmed-soon-author/story-26002083-detail/story.html

And she, in turn, apparently loves the production:

The double Mann Booker prize winner said: “My expectations were high and have been exceeded: in the concision and coherence of the storytelling, in the originality of the interpretations, in the break from the romantic clichés of the genre, in the wit and style and heart.”

[Steph]

I am still in love with Call The Midwife, missed two episodes while traveling and little Cynthia has come back as a novice num.. But still smart and so very gentle.

[MaryPage]

I haven't missed a single moment of Call The Midwife, and am astonished at how well they have held to their high standards.  I love that show!

And who knew that I would watch about the billionth recreation of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn and come under the spell of Thomas Cromwell!!!  But I DID!  I DID!  I just burble up with nothing but superlatives to describe that actor.

Yes, it was a great series, and I am over the moon at the expectation of more to come.

Over and over and over again I am struck by the strange vagaries of history.  Since a year of English History in 8th grade served with  the perseverance of Miss Lewis, I have wondered how it happened that Elizabeth survived to become Queen. 

[BarbStAubrey]

Ahhh we get the new episodes of that Halifax thing the first weekend in June - tra la -

Yes, Cromwell not only the actor but the portrayal was fabulous - to have to arrange the awful death of someone he obviously had a crush on and then be congratulated for doing it - sure the men he saw as enemies of his dear friend and mentor Wolsey but Anne was a friend. Painful -   

[MaryPage]

I don't know about the crush, though some seem to see it that way.  Remember, the Boleyn's were responsible for bringing down Wolsey, and Cromwell seems to have been devoted to Wolsey.
Whatever was going on in his mind, one thing is certain: the king charged him with getting rid of Anne, and in those times it was carry out the king's wishes or suddenly find yourself in the Tower with your execution at hand.  Which of course we all know was Henry's whim re Cromwell after two more wives, a whim which apparently he later regretted.

I am THRILLED to hear we will have another season of The Last Tango In Halifax!  I had thought they had said it definitely ended with the second season.  I still think, after viewing it several times, that last episode of Season Two had one of the greatest bits I have ever seen!  I refer to Sir Derek Jacobi's wedding "speech!"  As a hint to any of you who've not yet known the joy of seeing that act, it was NOT a speech, albeit it was supposed to have been.

[Steph]

Alas, I don't seem to get the Halifax thing, although maybe up in the mountains, I will.

[MaryPage]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Tango_in_Halifax

http://www.pbs.org/last-tango-in-halifax/home/

[Steph]

Alas, this Call the Midwife was the end of the year for them.. Darn.

[ginny]

One last thought about Wolf Hall. I went to Hampton Court last week because every time I'm in London I try to go-- I really like Hampton Court.   And I was particularly interested this time to see Wolsey's Closet,  where in the film Mark Rylance had his office .  I don't remember it to be as large as I said earlier,  as they showed it in the series. I did find it, and it's quite small. The audio says that somebody, could have been named Knox, for William of William and Mary, I think, had changed all those areas and transformed them into other uses. So Wolsey's Closet in reality still consists of that beautiful paneling,  that fireplace, a nice leaded small  window,  and the the beautiful paintings, and I actually paced it --off I'm sure people thought I was out of my mind. Or would have if anybody else had come in it.    I'd say it's 10 by 10. if it's that,  more like 9 x 9...very small .  Nothing like it appears in the series.  

 And then there's another tiny little room off it barely enough room to stretch out your arms both sides with the paneling in another lighted window and that's it ..

So obviously the moviemakers decided to restore it. And Wolf Hall the book is for sale everywhere here in the palace which is having a big anniversary, lots of re-creations, re-enactors, films, really well done.  

 It's really a nice day out .   And you can take the boat back to London and pretend to be Henry VIII.

[MaryPage]

What a great treat for you, Ginny;  I'm so glad you were able to do that.
I was at Hampton Court way back in 1971.  I was thrilled and delighted to have finally seen it, but it was not one of my favorite places.  I especially disliked the arrangement of the rooms, but also did not find the place pretty or even attractive.  The maze was a fun diversion, though.

[ginny]

You've got to be kidding. Really?  REALLY?

Not "attractive?"   The mind boggles.

The only reason I put that here was not to enter in a beauty contest of historic palaces,  but so that people might know that the actual Wolsey's Closet or Cromwell's office where he is shown so much in the film, is not as it's portrayed in the film. 

I actually go every year. I think it's drop-dead gorgeous. And some day  I'm going to stay because you can actually rent one of the former grace and favor apartments in Hampton Court and stay there. And that's on my bucket list. 

[MaryPage]

Well, we all have our favorite things.  We both liked Chatsworth and Blenheim and any number of other great homes better.  We saw quite a long list of cathedrals, which were big on our list, and stately homes.  Nope, Hampton, with all of its history, fascinated but did not charm.

[BarbStAubrey]

I never could wrap my head around Chatsworth however my favorites were Hardwick Hall where some of the embroidery stitched by Queen Elizabeth I is on display - the embroidery at Hardwick Hall http://tinyurl.com/qjz94vj

The other, more for the current owner, is Parnham House in Dorset. http://www.dorsetlife.co.uk/2009/08/parnham-house-a-family-home-again/

The current owner is John Makepiece who designs and makes the most incredible furniture imaginable

Here is a page of his furniture - http://tinyurl.com/nk8hcdy

This bed is just beautiful  - the bend in the wooden bedposts is not a trick of photography.

[Steph]

hmm,depends on whether you are talking inside or the gardens.. Some of the gardens are favorites of mine, others not so much.. The Castle I wanted to see, but it is not open to the public is the old Queen Mothers family home, way up in Scotland. I have heard so many things about it, but alas it is private.

[MaryPage]

They had a really great series about Royal Homes and Prince Charles narrated when they filmed the Queen Mother's home;  apparently he has the use of it now she is gone.  Clearly, he loves it and loved her.
Or perhaps I am wrong, perhaps it was a segment in that series about Scottish Castles that is quite recent.  Honestly, since I try to catch them all, they then get mixed up like a tossed salad in my head.  Anyway, I DID see the place you speak of in one of those shows.
I think we are talking about Birkhall, but again, I am not sure.  There are a lot of places in Scotland associated with the Queen Mother, but this is one she left to Charles.

[marcie]

Coming next to Masterpiece (starting June 21) is a new adaptation of POLDARK. The first television adaptation of the series aired on MASTERPIECE in the 1970s. The series is based on the first two novels in Winston Graham’s sweeping 18th-century saga.

That will be followed on many PBS stations, starting in mid August, with repeat broadcasts of Seasons 2 and 3 of SHERLOCK. We'll have to wait until 2017 for Season 4 but it looks like there will be a new SPECIAL episode (not part of the regular series) that is rumored to be broadcast this December, in the UK at least. See the short article at http://www.ew.com/article/2015/03/16/sherlock-special-victorian-

[MaryPage]

Many decades backward in time, I read every book Winston Graham wrote and adored him.  Wonder if I would like him today?  This past year I have been rewatching the Poldark series on WETA-UK, a special channel one of our local public television PBS groups has set up for pretty much watching miniseries around the clock.
Curious about the actors I came to adore, I just read up on them.  The one who played Ross Poldark is now in his seventies and living with his American wife in France.  Our darling Demelza died in 2012;  oh, but she was a fascinating little actress.  I shall watch with great interest to see how these new Poldarks do, and especially to see if I can spot our old Ross, as a news squib tells me he will have a cameo part in this new filming.  Fun!

[Steph]

The castle that the queen mother was born belongs to her family and not to her. It is very remote. That is the one, if only I could remember the name. I did see the one that Charles inherited the rights to.. on tv, not person.

[MaryPage]

You must be speaking of Glamis Castle.  I think that is the name.  The Queen Mother was not born there, but she spent most of her childhood there.  I think I read she was born in London, but I am not sure of this.

[Steph]

Yes, Glamis. It is her family home in Scotland and very inaccessible.. I have seen pictures of the outside and it always reminds me of King Arthur..

[MaryPage]

I expect when Miranda Hart, who was already a very big star in Great Britain, signed up to do Chummy in Call The Midwife, she probably had it written into her contract that she would have to leave the series from time to time in order to fulfill other contracts for her talents that she had already signed up with.  And so she has done.

To my great surprise, she has just made an American film with Melissa McCarthy called SPY.  It is supposed to be sort of a feminine spoof on the James Bond series, with an entirely different twist.  Now I expect those avid American moviegoers who do not watch the BBC offerings on PBS will come to adore her, as well.

[Steph]

Yes,Chummy tends to comeand go way too much.

[MaryPage]

Oh well, when we have her it is a great joy.  And when we do not, Call The Midwife is still a most excellent entertainment.

[Steph]

I love Call the Midwife and wish I could get my hands on the original book. Not sure how much of it now is scripted and not from the book.

[MaryPage]

I think all of it is not from the book now.

[Dana]

I used to live about 20 miles from Glamis Castle....place called Blairgowrie....not that remote,about 50 mls from Edinburgh (tho I did think it was the back of beyond as a child)...but I was wrong. Have lived in more isolated places, certainly culturally anyway.....

[Steph]

I think the problem for tourists is that Glamis is privately owned by the family and not open to the public

[ginny]

I am well into Bring up the Bodies now and I am really enjoying it. I did find an explanation for Anne Boleyn's slurred use of the name Cromwell, which we noticed in the film, in the book itself, and thought I'd mention it here for interest.

Anne  Boleyn  says on page 92 in the paperback: "So look. Do you,  Cremuel, go and see her without warning. Then tell me if she is feigning, yes or no."

Then the author explains this use. "She maintains, as an affectation, a skittish slur in her speech, the odd French intonation, her inability to say his name..."

This is repeated in anybody who speaks French from then on. Chapuys calls him  Cremuel.

So this is what we heard initially. What an odd thing for an author to do, she doesn't do it when the Spanish speak to him or Katherine.

[BarbStAubrey]

Do you think it is a way of introducing that Anne spent most of her formative years in the French Court - the indictments of her sexual encounters that historians are questioning since the dates do not match where she was compared to where the indictments are saying she was - anyhow the rational for her enticing these 6 men to her were her 'French Kisses' -  I was surprised to learn that she was in the French Court during the time Henry's sister Mary was married to Louis XII -

I thought this site was informative - only reading it did I truly realize her importance in history - it was because of her we had the Reformation and she was the mother of Elizabeth one of the most powerful Queens of England. I always saw Anne Boleyn as simply one of Henry's six wives.

http://www.historytoday.com/retha-warnicke/anne-boleyn-queen-england

[ginny]

It's certainly possible.

She MAY have taken this up, too, in the first book,  Wolf Hall,  which I have not read yet.

I saw something the other day that seemed to indicate Anne Boelyn DID do this in reality but I wasn't paying attention and so I can't say. For me that's what's wrong with "historical fiction," you never know what's fact based or fiction. Thank you for that link. I've always wanted to get to Hever, but never have, always something else I wanted to see more.

It's a good read. I have really enjoyed the experience and am almost through it and it's a good sized book, really escapist fare but now, since I saw the PBS show,  I see Mark Rylance and the guy who played Henry VIII, I thought he did a super job. And the actress playing Anne Boleyn did too.

I'm really enjoying it, which surprises me no end.

[Steph]

Anne always interested me.. She was smart and got initially what she wanted. Nature decreed a female baby and that was it for Henry.. Now he strikes me as way way angry at the world.. and he really thought he was changing his kingdom and did in some important ways.. But without Anne, there would have been no Elizabeth. She was her mothers child in a great many ways.

[BarbStAubrey]

Good Grief we are getting TWO new ones tonight - both appear to be blockbusters - Poldark AND Crimson Field, a WWI Medic story. 

[ginny]

Uh oh, I better get in this last thought on Bring Up the  Bodies then! hahaha Before the conversation turns.

 I just did something on it in the Library but here I would like to say that I was quite surprised at the mentions of one of Henry VIII's musical compositions repeated in the book: Pastime With Good Company:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YcDFOu6qWw

As you can see it's quite different from Poor Robin which the PBS film plays in the background. It's as if the movie producers thought it might be a bit too jolly for the production. Yet Henry VIII wrote it.

I don't think as someone said earlier that Henry VIII was doing his religious observations for show or out of habit.  The book kind of makes plain that he was truly concerned almost to obsession with the state of his own soul as it were. Hard as it may be to believe.

There is also an excellent and interesting  documentary, Hampton Court Secrets of Henry VIIIs Palace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgQ_JGFbufM

So farewell, Henry and Hampton.  It's been quite interesting. I am so glad this discussion is here, it's truly worthwhile TV.