Author Topic: PBS Masterpiece 2014 Cont. - Downton Abbey & Other PBS programs (Read 118120 times)

ANNIE · « **Reply #320 on:** May 25, 2014, 07:30:19 AM »

See the 2014 MASTERPIECE schedule.

NOW DISCUSSING
This summer (June 15 - September 7) look forward to new and continuing series: THE ESCAPE ARTIST (June 15-22): David Tennant (Doctor Who) and Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda) star in a gripping legal thriller; ENDEAVOUR, Season 2 (June 29 to July 20): Shaun Evans returns for a second season with four all-new mysteries as young Endeavour Morse, before his signature red Jaguar...but with his deductive powers already running in high gear; HERCULE POIROT, Season 12 (July 27 to August 3): David Suchet returns as the suave Belgian super-sleuth in two new mysteries; BREATHLESS (August 24 to September 7): In this stylish and compelling new medical drama set in London in 1961, Jack Davenport (Smash, Pirates of the Caribbean) stars as a brilliant surgeon who believes he can make a difference in women’s lives.

ALREADY DISCUSSED

Watch Season 2 of SELFRIDGE March 30 through May 18.

Season 4 of Downton Abbey during January and February 2014.

Sherlock, Season 3, returned, starting January 19, following the 9pm broadcast of Downton Abbey. Benedict Cumberbatch (The Fifth Estate, Star Trek Into Darkness) and Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, The Office UK) returned as Sherlock Holmes and John Watson in three new 90-minute episodes of the contemporary reinvention of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle classic, created by Steven Moffat (Doctor Who) and Mark Gatiss. Watch episodes on TV or online after they air.

Discussion Leaders: JoanP and marcie

Barb, So glad to hear that. We did watch again last night and laughed even harder at the going's on that the writers come up with. We have such poor sit-coms in the states anymore. Just silly dumb stuff. No cleverness or good writing. Thank goodness for BBC and PBS.

Today was high school graduation day for our oldest grandson here in Ohio. Last high school graduation we went to was in New York and 15 years ago. Our first grandson there. After this graduation which went well for the 559 graduates, our son, grandson and 3 siblings left for a 10 mile overnight hike in the Zaleski State Forest . Getting ready for the 7-day AT hike they have planned for June.

Steph · « **Reply #321 on:** June 03, 2014, 08:44:21 AM »

no Doc Martin in Orlando, possibly when I get to Franklin, that PBS will have it or the BBC

FlaJean · « **Reply #322 on:** June 14, 2014, 09:21:34 AM »

Am looking forward to this new mystery season on PBS. I enjoyed David Tennant in Broadchurch, but never saw his other series, Dr. Who (?).

MaryPage · « **Reply #323 on:** June 14, 2014, 01:54:51 PM »

So, Steph? Have you seen any Doc Martin yet?

marcie · « **Reply #324 on:** June 15, 2014, 01:13:13 PM »

Jean, yes, the new series, THE ESCAPE ARTIST with David Tennant, starts tonight. He plays star defense lawyer Will Burton. See a preview at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch-online/previews/escape-artist-preview/

MaryPage · « **Reply #325 on:** June 17, 2014, 07:59:47 AM »

Ohmigawd, I am SO in love with him, and completely missed seeing it listed. Will know to look next time, but I saw a rerun of an Endeavor episode. Somehow, I don't think Escape Artist was on my local PBS channel. Will check it out soonest!

Frybabe · « **Reply #326 on:** June 17, 2014, 09:29:46 AM »

I watched the first 15 minutes and couldn't get into it.

jeriron · « **Reply #327 on:** June 17, 2014, 10:11:03 AM »

I thought it was good. A little different then the usual Masterpiece but there is rarely anything that I don't like on masterpiece that's comes from England. I'm looking forward to the new Endeavour that starts the end of the month.

marcie · « **Reply #328 on:** June 17, 2014, 11:08:23 AM »

I watched the first 45 minutes or more of Escape Artist and got too anxious about the "perp" and what he might do. I thought the program was well done and liked the defense lawyer and his family but I couldn't watch the rest. Maybe I'll be braver this week and watch it on demand.

FlaJean · « **Reply #329 on:** June 17, 2014, 11:39:15 AM »

I watched it all the way through but came close to changing the channel once or twice. David Tennant is good in that part and sure makes it all believable.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #330 on:** June 17, 2014, 12:59:37 PM »

I thought he was stiff - the actions were there as he protected his child but there was a sterile overtone - the only warm believable part for me was when the two boys were coming home together on the bus. Tennant seemed like an empty paper shell even before his wife is killed - he and the apartment are a match - so far not enjoying it.

MaryPage · « **Reply #331 on:** June 17, 2014, 01:18:16 PM »

I checked, and although we have 3 PBS channels available to us, WETA & WHUT did not offer it at all, and MPT offered it only at four o'clock in the MORNING! Scheesch!

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #332 on:** June 17, 2014, 02:26:54 PM »

MaryPage try the PBS web site they sometimes have the show on the web site and sometimes it is only available a week after it was shown on TV.

Dana · « **Reply #333 on:** June 17, 2014, 03:02:55 PM »

I didn't like it at all. I agree with Barb and thought like she did that it was an empty shell of a piece with paper characters. Glad we didn't watch it all, now that I learn his wife was killed! How predictable. Is that all they could do to give it shock value. Makes me think of something I heard about the recent Cannes film festival--that the latest trend is for movies to torture animals. How low can we go I wonder. I guess having everyone sexually abused is becoming old hat. I don't mind violence ( but NOT to animals) when set in a context of real characters--eg the Sopranos or Wallendar (Swedish version) come immediately to mind, but they are both exceptional.

FlaJean · « **Reply #334 on:** June 17, 2014, 08:36:46 PM »

I guess I'm the only one that thought it was good. I don't believe a lawyer who "wins every case" will be naturally a warm person, but I thought he showed his wife real love.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #335 on:** June 17, 2014, 11:00:20 PM »

Interesting - the difference between British and American sense of humor from Stephen Fry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k2AbqTBxao&list=TLwW83qizS64YsSRdGcWy6-0SwvHD9hawI

marcie · « **Reply #336 on:** June 18, 2014, 12:01:47 AM »

Well.. I finished the episode today. I had to know what happened. I thought that the acting was very good and didn't find the husband/father cold. He did seem very pre-occupied with his work. I thought it was interesting that he called his wife and told her he was scared to go into his class reunion by himself. I think they had a good relationship even though he works all the time. I am wondering what happens in part 2 (the final episode) next week.

jeriron · « **Reply #337 on:** June 18, 2014, 09:28:33 AM »

I was confused over the fct that PBS says 2 part an I've read 3 parts so what it is is that It was shown in England in three parts and here pbs has made it 90 mins each in 2 parts. Seems they have done that with several shows.

marcie · « **Reply #338 on:** June 18, 2014, 11:27:22 AM »

Yes, I think they have, Jeriron.

ANNIE · « **Reply #339 on:** June 18, 2014, 12:49:19 PM »

Since I am not a fan of David Tennant's Dr Who acting, I was really not surprised at how blah this was. I think we will skip the rest of it.

ginny · « **Reply #340 on:** June 20, 2014, 11:28:28 AM »

Jack Davenport!! I saw the blurb in the Newsline about Pirates of the Caribbean and couldn't figure out who he was, so I looked him up.

Oh I like him so MUCH. Here he is in an interview included in the Pirates II DVD, he's Norrington, love him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J43Wc_51Fdk

I'm going to have to watch that one, he's got quite a sense of humor.

MaryPage · « **Reply #341 on:** June 22, 2014, 07:15:57 PM »

I just found out today, and it is driving me crazy that I did not know it before, as probably all of you did, but did you know that Colin Dexter, who is the author of the Inspector Morse series, and now the prequel of that, the Endeavor series, always appeared in every episode of Morse, and now does so with Endeavor? I shall be looking for him and hoping I spot him!
Just one more thing to goad me!

ginny · « **Reply #342 on:** June 24, 2014, 08:05:39 AM »

Oh fun! Just like Raphael, i don't know what he looks like, will have to study up, when anybody sees him, holler!

Last night was looking for something, anything to watch while folding laundry, flip flip flip, and on PBS channel 33 UNC Asheville NC, I found House of Cards. Not the new one with Kevin Spacey, the old one with Ian Richardson, boy is he good. Just put down the towels and gloried in his wonderful acting. He's absolutely marvelous. It was episode 3 of 4 and so I ordered the entire set again, I had an old VCR tape set but they now have all 3 seasons on one DVD, remastered in 2013 on Netflix. I've also read the books by Michael Dobbs, there's a trilogy.

That man is incredible. So WICKED in portraying the cold blooded machinations and ambitions of the Chief Whip in Parliament.

Loved the debate scenes, nobody can do it like he does. One person on Amazon said, but there's nothing positive or redeeming here. Yes there is: Ian Richardson. Just watch the master at work. I mean he can do more acting with his eyes than most can with an entire movie.

What a treat to watch. I love Kevin Spacey who does the new US version, (which was smart because there will never be another Francis Urquhart like Richardson's. ) Wow wow wow. 5 thumbs up! I hope they are rerunning the entire series on PBS.

Masterful!

ginny · « **Reply #343 on:** June 24, 2014, 08:31:09 AM »

I've just read a lovely piece by Ian Richardson's wife (he died in his sleep in 2007 the night before starting a Midsomer Murders) and right before their 46th anniversary.) It begins with Helen Mirren bursting into tears at a BAFTA awards and dedicating hers to him. It's called something like "The Night Ian Richardson Died in My Arms," (it's the Daily Mail), but it's not histrionic, it's lovely.

I guess the thing is, he apparently was in life the opposite of the character he played in Urquhart, and he really did deserve all the awards and nominations he got for that part. He was 72, a previously unknown heart condition and what a love story.

Here's an Obit, this is nice, on the effect his portrayal of the fictional Urquhart on the real government:

http://www.today.com/id/17067009/ns/today-today_entertainment/t/house-cards-star-ian-richardson-dies/

Dana · « **Reply #344 on:** June 24, 2014, 11:34:40 AM »

I've never been able to watch the entire netflix version, the original is so good.....they don't acknowledge that the new one is a copy, maybe they do but I haven't seen an acknowlegement anywhere----like so many things--Come Dancing, Britain's got Talent...etc, etc...

mrssherlock · « **Reply #345 on:** June 24, 2014, 12:24:26 PM »

Oh, yes, bring back House of cards!

Did you see Neil Burnside, aka Roy Marsden, on Escape Artist? I'll have to watch Sandbaggers again, he's such a good actor. Like Fargo's ending it was too pat for my taste.

Dana · « **Reply #346 on:** June 24, 2014, 02:59:00 PM »

I loved The Sandbaggers, but watched some recently and they had really dated. You'd be disappointed I think! I liked him as Inspector Dalgleish. He looked a bit fat and old in the escape thing I thought.

marcie · « **Reply #347 on:** June 28, 2014, 12:56:02 AM »

Dana, yes he did look a bit fat and old in THE ESCAPE ARTIST. I found myself worried for Will at the end...worried that the lady lawyer (his "competition") would cause him to be found guilty. My sympathy for him was kind of a gut reaction. On thinking about the episode, what Will did seemed crazy though I could see that someone would be driven "over the edge" by a smirking, deliberate, deranged killer.

marcie · « **Reply #348 on:** June 28, 2014, 12:58:11 AM »

Season 2 of Endeavour starts this Sunday!

See http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/programs/episode/endeavour-s2-e1-trove/

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #349 on:** June 28, 2014, 01:53:44 AM »

the plot of the Escape Artist was I do not even know what - it showed a side of life and how the law has become a tool that I am not comfortable with and yet, it is more true than not - so that to get what we consider justice is like playing chess to outwit the police, judge, jury and a courtroom - I still did not see this was the best performance i have ever seen from David Tennant - the deranged killer acted his part better without being so stiff and the female lawyer was also good again better than Tennant - so I cannot imagine what happened except he may have been attempting to portray a man who lost his soul and integrity which would make him appear in comparison to his full early family life like a stick figure empty egg shell of a man.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #350 on:** June 28, 2014, 02:55:39 PM »

So, who was the escape artist? Can you spell irony? David Tennant's normal expression he looks angry. The female lawyer was very sympathetic until she defended the deranged killer there she lost me. The author's viewpoint, though seemingly authentic, was too cynical for my taste.

marcie · « **Reply #351 on:** June 29, 2014, 07:05:08 PM »

Jackie, yes I didn't realize the irony of the title until the end. I understood that the female lawyer was trying to win her competition with Tennant's character as number 1 lawyer. I think that is why she took the case. She wasn't very sympathetic in how she won but Tennant's lawyer character might have done the same. I really didn't get why she was following up leads and figuring out what Tennant was up to (other than to be the one to tell the audience what he likely did).

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #352 on:** June 29, 2014, 07:58:45 PM »

what it amounts to Tennant's character gets away with murder - so sure she wanted to prove it however,it was wrapped up in her defending the killer of his wife and getting him off in the first place.

marcie · « **Reply #353 on:** June 29, 2014, 08:54:32 PM »

I had forgotten what happened at the end of SEASON 1 of Endeavor. I just watched the last episode, HOME, of last season at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch-online/full-episodes/endeavour-i-home/

It was a good one I think.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #354 on:** June 29, 2014, 11:21:58 PM »

I forgot as well - something must have happened that laid Morse out of commission for awhile and whatever it was still haunts him - he does come across more hardened than earlier - The Halifax thing came on here just before Endeavor - what a hoot it just keeps coming with what would have been typical beyond the pale behavior for the 1950s mixed in with wanky behavior for today.

MaryPage · « **Reply #355 on:** June 30, 2014, 02:45:45 PM »

He got shot, but saved the day, at the end of the last season. I hate to admit it, but I like this young Morse better than the old one.

Did anyone spy the author anywhere?

"As was traditional in the original series, writer Colin Dexter who created Morse, makes cameo appearances in each episode, for example, reading a newspaper on a bench in one scene and in another, sitting on the upper deck of an Oxford bus service."

jeriron · « **Reply #356 on:** June 30, 2014, 04:53:18 PM »

Marypaige can't agree with you on that one.
I watched a new British sitcom that came on last night at 10 Called Vicious . It was about two senior gay men. (Comedy) the stars are Derek jacobi and Ian McKellen.
I was surprised to learn that that both actors are actually gay.

marcie · « **Reply #357 on:** June 30, 2014, 10:00:20 PM »

I do like young Morse and I liked the old one too :-)

I thought this episode was very good. I didn't find Colin Dexter in the episode. I forgot to look part of the time.

I am not sure about the new season of LAST TANGO IN HALIFAX. Kind of screwy behavior.

I'm going to watch Vicious on my cable "on demand" in the next few days.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #358 on:** July 01, 2014, 02:31:34 PM »

Screwy? Last Tango in Halifax cast? Understatement of the year!

Vicious' dialog reminds me of La Cage aux Folles. Facing the common concerns of aging from a slightly skewed viewpoint.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #359 on:** July 01, 2014, 04:28:08 PM »

I thought it was more about the girls than the two elders except for their opinions which were strong. Poor Gillian instead of being outraged at the dead beat husband it is easier to be outraged at her - then one minute she has no privacy and a houseful the next she is alone - oh my - it is a bit like a soap opera but fun, easy and the scenery/homes/etc are wonderful.

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Author Topic: PBS Masterpiece 2014 Cont. - Downton Abbey & Other PBS programs (Read 118120 times)