PBS Masterpiece Classic 2011

[BarbStAubrey]

 

Masterpiece Classic 2011 brings back favorite authors and introduces new authors and programs. See the complete 2011 MASTERPIECE CLASSIC schedule.

NOW DISCUSSING

South Riding
May 1, 8 & 15, 2011 at 9pm
Three 60-minute episodes
Anna Maxwell Martin (Bleak House) and David Morrissey (Sense & Sensibility) lead the cast in Andrew Davies's (Bleak House, Little Dorrit) three-part adaptation of Winifred Holtby's moving love story.

ALREADY DISCUSSED

Upstairs Downstairs
April 10, 17 & 24, 2011 at 9pm
Three 60-minute episodes
Upstairs Downstairs is an updated version of one of the most-loved television series. Jean Marsh reprises her Emmy-winning role as Rose along with series co-creator Eileen Atkins (Cranford). Keeley Hawes, Ed Stoppard and Art Malik (The Jewel in the Crown) also star. Watch the episodes online at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/index.html


The 39 Steps
March 27, 2011 at 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.  Read some of Buchan's works online at http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/b#a285


Any Human Heart
February 13, 20 & 27, 9pm
Three 90-minute episodes)
William Boyd adapts his acclaimed 2002 novel about a man making his often precarious way through the 20th century. Matthew Macfadyen, Gillian Anderson, Hayley Atwell, Kim Cattrall and Jim Broadbent star. Watch online through March 22 at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/index.html.


The Unseen Alistair Cooke
February 6, 9pm
One 60-minute episode
Told in his own voice and home movies, The Unseen Alistair Cooke shows America as the beloved Masterpiece Theatre host Alistair Cooke saw it — the raw material for a lifetime of journalism. (Repeat) Watch online through 2/13 at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/cooke.html


Downton Abbey
January 9, 16, 23 & 30, 9pm
(Four 90-minute episodes)
A stately country house, a noble family and a succession crisis are the backdrop for this epic drama by Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) starring Hugh Bonneville, Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGovern and others. Watch full episodes online through 2/22/11 at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/index.html


My Boy Jack
January 2, 9pm
One 120-minute episode)
Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) stars in a World War I drama about beloved storyteller Rudyard Kipling's only son, missing on the Western front in 1915. David Haig and Kim Cattrall co-star as the famous author and his American wife, Carrie. My Boy Jack offers an intimate portrait of a nation at war and one divided family. (Repeat)

Discussion Leaders:  JoanP and marcie

Rosemary. For most often two weeks and sometimes 3 weeks at least twice if  not three times a  year the usual programing is set aside with special programming that is interrupted at least 3 times an hour with an appeal to pledge your annual donation - with the pledge of various suggested amounts are gifts that will be sent when the pledge is paid - today most of us call in and put the amount on our credit card and the gift of most often a Cd or a DVD or a combo of both of the show we are watching is sent right out - when the volunteer takes our information we are encouraged to tell what programs we like and would like to see in the future.

Each area of the country and often each major city has its own local call letters that show the PBS shows along with local programing - our local channel is KLRU - where  my daughter lives they have access to three different PBS stations - one from the  University of NC and one from close by SC and I forget where the other comes from - each station has a different lineup and according to the success of the pledge weeks they can purchase various shows - Austin has always been generous so we now have three versions of KLRU almost like 3 separate channels - one channel Q2 it is called is nothing but cooking, sewing, gardening and travel shows.

[rosemarykaye]

Thanks Barb, I've never heard of that before.  We pay our TV licence fee to cover the BBC channels (and we all complain heartily about it); the commercial channels are all financed by their advertising - which on some channels is becoming so extensive that you begin to wonder if the programme is ever coming back.

I was imagining that pledge week was something like Lent - ie you all gave up TV for a week as some sort of penance!

Rosemary

[salan]

Don 't you hate those pledge drives.  It seems like PBS is having more of them and they are lasting longer.  The last one lasted a whole month.  Plus they keep repeating the same programs over and over and over!!  I support PBS and send my contributions deliberatly during non pledge drives with a note of protest about the frequency and length of the drives.  I don't think it does any good, but at least I feel that I am making my point.
Sally

[BarbStAubrey]

Sally I know the last two pledge drives the programs were not grabbing me - sometimes the special programs are really wonderful and I do not mind seeing them more than once - and yes, I too prefer a two week rather than a 3 week pledge drive - I think the economy tanking meant they needed more time to entice more watchers to pledge. A few times in the past I would make my pledge and then a program would come on that was so wonderful I had to have a copy or wanted a copy for one of my children as a gift and so I would pledge more dollars. This last time I was real chintzy and only pledged the basic senior amount of $35 - not only did none of the shows grab me but I am thinking it is about time the younger folks step up - heck I am remembering when we used to have the auctions on TV and I always donated mostly needlework supplies including in the basket swan shaped scissors and then I always bid on a few things - it was a lot of work but Austin was smaller than and so many of us knew each other - life goes on and with growth came change.  But bottom line thank goodness for PBS where we are not bombarded with shows you cannot watch with your family, half truths or slanted views as we are on commercial TV.

[MaryPage]

PBS (Public Broadcast Service) stations are each individually licensed and each has a different board of directors and staff and schedule.  Rarely is more than one such channel available in a particular area.  Exceptions are the large cities and the megalopolis sections of our nation, such as the Baltimore/Washington DC megalopolis area I reside in.  I have 3 such channels on tap:  MPT, which is Maryland Public Television, WETA, which is supposedly Washington, D.C., but is actually working out of Arlington, Virginia and WHUT, which is located on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C.  Sometimes their schedules hit the same time spot with the same program;  Masterpiece is at nine on Sunday nights almost uniformly.  I honestly believe I would go insane without this for the most part calm, serene and informative brand of television.  The noise and nonsense, sex and violence, rude and crude commercial and cable channel offerings have the ability to tip me over into apoplexy very quickly.

I give MPT and WETA each a sensible donation once a year in July, out of a sense that I owe it to them because I watch them so much.  I ignore the requests for additional contributions.  The frenzy right now has been brought about by their donations from government sources having been cut way down, and in some cases completely out, plus the large donors having to cut back on their spending and so many of us in the real public likewise having been constrained in our giving.  In short, this vital source of information and excellence in programming is in deep trouble.  Sad, but a sign of these economic times.

[pedln]

I support PBS and send my contributions deliberatly during non pledge drives

Ditto, Sally, but with only the check, no note.  And I never watch the messages as they are not captioned.  We have access to only one PBS channel, from Southern IL University, and while I don't always agree with some of the local programming (SIU/Saluki Basketball games) I realize that they are trying to cover all bases for their viewing audience.  When I was having captioning problems during the analog to digital switch, they bent over backwards to be helpful. (The engineer and I are on a first-name basis     )

I really enjoyed the first episode of South Riding and today ordered the Kindle version of the book.  Thanks for mentioning the print version and the author, Rosemary.  (By the time I get around to reading it, I will have forgotten all about the film)  I suspect the book will have a lot more in it.  Amazon review mentioned a lot of characters.

[rosemarykaye]

Yes Pedln - there were some cross letters in the Radio Times about it missing bits out, and I remember someone was very unhappy that the ending is somewhat condensed - they felt that the serial should have been several episodes longer, which is perhaps a good point, although I still loved it.  The original TV serial, shown in my youth, was considerably longer - here is some info about it and about Winifred Holtby and Vera Brittain:

http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/southriding.htm

Rosemary

[marcie]

Thanks for the information, Rosemary, about the 13-part original series. What a difference to compress the story into 3 episodes!

I watched the first of our 3 episodes "On Demand" on my cable. I thought the acting and production were great. Lots of different characters to clash. I'm looking forward to next week.

[CallieOK]

I had recorded "South Riding" and just watched the first episode.

Is the actress playing Mrs. Beddows (the lady on the school governors board) the same one who played the cook in "Upstairs Downstairs"?

[rosemarykaye]

Yes, it's the wonderful Penelope Wilton

Rosemary

[MaryPage]

The actress playing the councilwoman Mrs. Beddows in South Riding is the same who plays Isobel Crawley, mother of the heir to Downton Abbey in that series.  Penelope Wilton.  As far as I know, she has never appeared in Upstairs/Downstairs.

[Babi]

Whatever she appeared in, she's a wonderful actress, I'm always glad to see her, and I'm pleased to know her name ..Penelope Wilton!  (I'm so bad at learning the names of actors and
actresses. I accept them as the people they're playing for the duration of a role, and often don't
know their actual names.)

[marcie]

Babi, I also often don't pay attention the names of the actors and actresses. The credits usually roll by very quickly. I, too, really like Penelope Wilton.

[rosemarykaye]

Years and years ago, she was in a very popular sitcom called Ever Decreasing Circles.  I quite liked that, but I think she's got more to her than she was allowed to show in comedy - she's certainly seems to get better and better with age.

Rosemary

[CallieOK]

IMHO,  Penelope Wilton as Mrs. Beddows looks and sounds very much like Anne Reed, who played Mrs. Thackerey. 
It's always fun to see actors portraying different roles.

(Sorry I miscalled a councilwoman a governor    ;  although I knew it wasn't a "school board", as it would be in the USA, I wasn't clear about the title of the committee overseeing the school.)

[BarbStAubrey]

Whom I was delighted to see was Peter Firth - I like him in MI-5 that I understand in Great Britain is called Spooks - as a young actor, I understand he played a curly haired, naked Alan Strang, the young patient in Equus

[MaryPage]

Hey, Callie!  I'm not sure what the correct title is EITHER, so there!  Was typing in what I thought I remembered, just as you were.  One of us or neither of us wins an imaginary nickle Sunday night!  Are you on?  We must listen carefully!

[CallieOK]

We're on, MaryPage!    (Guess I shouldn't confess that, because of Mother's Day invitation, I will probably record it and can do rewinds   

[MaryPage]

Callie, I am not trying to welsh on you, but I watched South Riding last night, and I still didn't know whether Mrs. Beddows is a governor or a councilwoman or what.

She mentions to our teacher heroine Sarah Burton that the governors are pleased with her, but one does not feel certain she is one of them or if they are a separate bunch.  My biggest point of confusion was when she showed up in a flash back as being AT the birth of the baby Midge Carne.

So I looked it up, and this is what a cast description says at one web site:
"she is the district's first alderwoman and a formidable and vocal presence on the County Council."

So I am inclined to think we BOTH win, and take our nickels back.  Perhaps someone who is actually from in or around Yorkshire can enlighten us as to how many titles are used for just one job like that!  Sounds to me as though the situation is that she was elected alderwoman from a particular district or area and that puts her on the County Council from which she has been named to a committee to oversee the county girl's High School (they don't call them that) and the citizens on that committee are called governors!  Over and out to anyone else!
 

[salan]

I watched last night and really enjoyed it.  All the actors are excellent!  I DVR'd it to re-watch later, as I miss alot the first time around since I am caught up in the story.   It also helps me acclimate myself to the English accent.
Sally

[nlhome]

Yes, I got to watch the first two episodes last night. I missed the first 15 minutes, though, because the weather was so fine I was not in the TV mode. Anyway, I did enjoy it and look forward to next week.

[CallieOK]

For some unknown reason - and for several weeks, our local PBS station has gone dark on Sunday nights.
So I have had to record Masterpiece Theater episodes later in the week - usually at about 3:00 a.m.  

So-called "spoilers" don't ruin anything for me - just make me more interested in watching how a plot gets to that point. 

Carry on      ; I'll catch up with you when I can.

[marcie]

Callie, I'm sorry that you have to wait until later in the week to catch the episode.

I, too, am enjoying the series.

At first when Robert Carne had the "episode" in Sarah Burton's hotel room, I thought that he was overcome by thinking about his wife. But I guess he had an attack of angina. The sort of love-hate relationship between those two is kind of interesting. I can see that Sarah could remind him of his wife... Sarah is impetuous and wilful to some extent.

I think that all the actors are very good. The girls who play Midge Carne and Lydia Holly are great.

There is some interesting information about the cast members and their roles at http://www.bbc.co.uk/tv/features/southriding/aps/cast_characters_index.shtml

[Babi]

 I agree, MARCIE.  'Midge Carne' in particular is doing an excellent job of treading
that borderline between sanity and possible breakdown.  A moment of 'fey' in
her expression, and then she reverts immediately back to normal teenager.

[rosemarykaye]

Yes I agree - she's a genius actress - you never really know which side of the line she will end up on.

Rosemary

[MaryPage]

Well, I was really surprised at how it all ended.  Tied up all the loose ends.  Did not feel completely satisfied, but there you are.  I still do not understand the close ties between Carne and Mrs. Beddows, but will never know now.

Happy the headmistress stayed on and Lydia Holly got to university.  Looked like Oxford;  what did you think?  Someone in here read the book and might remember if it said.

And Mrs. Carne finally got home, sort of.  Bothers me that he really did not commit suicide and no one appeared to know that for a fact.  You would think the cliff itself would have shown the story.

Midge looked so pretty in that dress at the end.  And happy.  I wish they could have shown just a minute or so more of that.

[CallieOK]

I decided to turn the PBS station on early this evening and keep it on to see when it went black.
It never did!!   (Maybe my live on-line exchange with the cable co. fellow caused somebody to push a button somewhere).

So I was able to watch the 3rd episode right along with the rest of you.

This was a weird series! I liked the story but felt the filming was discombobulated.
  Jumpy camera work - quick shifts from present to past and back again - etc. - and I hated the dark lighting of the interior scenes.

I would have thought someone would have noticed the damage to the cliff while they were searching for the body.  

The actress who played Midge was amazing!

I don't care for Hercule Peirot so won't be watching that one.

[rosemarykaye]

Oh, did none of you end up in floods of tears at the demise of David Morrissey?      

I did feel they tied everything up too quickly really, but that was because TV channels don't seem to want any long serials any more unless they are thrillers/detective stories.

I think the dark interiors probably showed life as it was then.  I grew up in a big (no, not as big as the one in the story!) old house in the 1960s - ie at least 30 years after South Riding - and I remember it being very gloomy and dark.  We did not have the kind of omnipresent lighting that houses have today, and there was a lot of dark wood.

Rosemary

[marcie]

MaryPage and Callie, I too thought that they could see right away that part of the cliff had fallen away. I'm not sure why they had the suicide focus, except that it provided the opportunity for Sarah to blurt out her feelings for him.

Rosemary, everything happened too quickly for me to feel much emotion about Robert Carne. Since his wife was still alive, a relationship between him and Sarah couldn't have gone anywhere. ;-)

MaryPage, I don't know which college Lydia was attending. The camera lingered for an extra second over the arch to the college but I couldn't see if there was any writing on it. Earlier, Sarah had said that Lydia was smart enough to attend Oxford or Cambridge.

[CallieOK]

From the quick shot of Lydia right at the end (didn't she have red hair a la Sarah?), it seemed to me that she might have been entering a school as a teacher.  ??

Did the new school for girls ever get built in South Riding?  Those wrap-up-the-story scenes went by too fast for me to catch that.

[rosemarykaye]

I can't remember the book, but I think Lydia ends up at Oxford.  That's where Winifred Holtby and Vera Brittain went.

Rosemary

[CallieOK]

Rosemary, could you tell if it was a building at Oxford in that last shot of Lydia?

[rosemarykaye]

No I could not tell for certain, but it did look very like some of the colleges.  Of course in those days she would only have been able to attend one of the women's colleges, so that narrows it down.  I will have a look and see which one Winifred H went to - maybe it was that one.

Rosemary

[MaryPage]

I sort of intuited it as Oxford.  My husband and I toured both Oxford and Cambridge, and I swear the light is different in those two places (we loved both), and this stone and this light looked more oxfordy to me.  I think the idea was that the porter or proctor was putting her name outside a suite of rooms.  She made it to university!

[BarbStAubrey]

See now I  thought she was returning to the Girl's School as a teacher while Sarah was teaching at the new school finally built - sorta symbolizing Sarah was a new women with a career while Lydia was a traditional girl who will teach and marry as well. May not be what the story intended but that was how I saw the last scenes.

[CallieOK]

The last scenes went by in a blur for me.   I never did realize that the new girls' school had been built - or the new cottages.   The last scene I remember is a red-haired Lydia entering an "imposing" doorway.  I didn't see a proctor putting her name anywhere.

Many thanks to those of you who "look faster"  than I do.  

[JoanK]

The last scenes went by in a blur for me, too. And I never quite understood the politics either. Good that the land speculators got what they deserved, but the poor people living in those trailers never got what THEY deserved-- decent housing.

I THOUGHT Mrs. Beddows was the mother in Downton Abbey. She was great in both parts. Hwer face when Midge decides not to stay with her is perfect. Both women are left with their careers, but no family.

Who played the yummy man who proposed to Sarah near the end. I would have taken him in a flash. If he had waited and been a friend to her, she would have fallen in love at the end, I'll bet.

[marcie]

Yes, the land politics were confusing to me too. I wasn't sure if bad guys got their way or not.

I really like Douglas Henshall too, JoanK. See more at http://www.douglashenshall.com/

[Babi]

 MARCIE, I assumed that it was the changing of his will, his financial problems,
and then the law suit on top of that that made people think of suicide as a
very real possibility. I didn't believe a word of it, of course.
  Later, of course, when we saw the flashback of what had happened, my
immediate response was, "They would have seen that in the beginning and known
what must have happened!"  A weak point in the story, definitely.
  If I'm not mistaken, that was not the college Lydia attended; it was the
one where she was now a teacher. I couldn't make out the name of the college,
either, but her name and title was clearly on the side post of the door.

 Oh, JOANK, the 'planners' did buy a plot of land for the new cottages, just
not the plot the schemers wanted.  The cottages were built and all is well.
And I agree, I liked Joe (the yummy man) much better than Crane.

  The only unclear ending, for me, was the young woman whom I assume(?) was Marge
Crane playing in the sea.  Was it Marge?  And are we to take it that she is well and happy?
Well, I will choose to do so.

[CallieOK]

I thought the young woman playing in the sea at the end was Sarah - like she had been in a first episode scene when she first arrived to begin her teaching job and was so happy with Life.
I assumed it was supposed to indicate that she felt that way once again.