PBS Masterpiece 2014 Cont. - Downton Abbey & Other PBS programs

[nlhome]

 

See the 2014 MASTERPIECE schedule.  

NOW DISCUSSING Let's talk about PBS programs that we enjoy. Downton Abbey, Season IV A reprise of Season IV will be broadcast on some local stations during December. Watch for the new season in January 2015! ALREADY DISCUSSED   This summer (June 15 - September 7) we're talking about 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. MISS MARPLE, Season VII (September 21 -28): Get a double dose of Marple as season VII kicks off on Sunday, Sept. 21! A Caribbean Mystery at 8pm and Greenshaw's Folly at 9:30pm. Check local listings.  THE PARADISE, Season 2 (September 28- November 16) Time has not stood still since last season’s wedding disaster. Moray, Denise, and Katherine reunite under a new regime. INSPECTOR LEWIS, Season VII (October 5 - 19): Will Inspector Lewis retire and leave DI Hathaway on his own?  DEATH COMES TO PEMBERLEY (October 26; November 2),  Six years after the end of Jane Austen's timeless classic, Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth and Darcy plan a ball...with fatal consequences. Watch a star-studded adaptation of crime-writer P.D. James' bestselling whodunit. Starring Anna Maxwell Martin (Bleak House, South Riding) as quick-witted Elizabeth Darcy, Matthew Rhys (The Americans) as the principled Mr. Darcy, Matthew Goode (The Good Wife) as the roguish Wickham, and Jenna Coleman as coquettish minx Lydia (Doctor Who). The Worricker Trilogy, parts 2 and 3 (November 9; 16). Page Eight, Turks & Caicos, and Salting the Battlefield form The Worricker Trilogy—three gripping films that follow the exploits of the intensely private and scrupulous Worricker—from MI5 headquarters in London to exile on a Caribbean island to life on the run with his former lover and fellow agent. Featuring Bill Nighy, the all-star cast also includes Oscar winner Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter), and Oscar nominees Winona Ryder (Little Women, The Age of Innocence), Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech, The Wings of the Dove), Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient, Schindler’s List), and Judy Davis (Husbands and Wives, A Passage to India). Also starring are Rupert Graves (Sherlock), Saskia Reeves (Wallander), and Ewen Bremner (Black Hawk Down).

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:  marcie

We haven't had Scott & Bailey for quite awhile. I hope we do this winter, as I enjoy that program too.

We do have Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, though, and those are fun.
nlhome

[MaryPage]

I really find The Paradise is getting too sick for me.  I kind of ignored it last night, although I did have it on.  It seemed that each situation just became darker and more impossible, and it was not pleasurable.
I DID enjoy the second and last installment of Death Comes to Pemberley.  They tweaked the book a bit here and there, but it pretty much turned out as expected.  It was lovely to see the outside of Chatsworth, which I visited way back in 1971,  As a tourist, that is;  I do not mean as a guest of the family.  The last of the Mitfords, the dowager Duchess, died there this year.  I had such an interest in the Mitfords that I bought every book published about them.  This last one, Deborah Cavendish, wrote quite a few herself, mostly about Chatsworth.  Ah well, end of an era;  and I am feeling I have witnessed so very many of those!
Finally, I started to watch an episode of Scott & Bailey, which I had already seen, so I switched over from the Baltimore to the Washington, D.C. PBS channel and watched a marvelous film about the two royal brothers, David & Albert, both kings of England, though only the second had a coronation.  Great stuff!

[jeriron]

Downton Abby has been renewed
Midwives has been renewed
The Paradise is ending on Nov 16 so I guess that's it because it hasn't been renewed

[marcie]

That's great about the renewals, jeriron.  Mr. Selfridge was renewed instead of The Paradise.

This Sunday, part 2 of the Worricker Trilogy will begin. (Part 1 - Page Eight - was shown last season). In part 2, Turks & Caicos, we'll learn why Johnny Worricker (Bill Nighy) returns to work after his escape to Turks & Caicos. Winona Ryder, Christopher Walken, Helena Bonham Carter and Rupert Graves also star.

[MaryPage]

And I can hardly wait, because I am flat out nuts about Bill Nighy.  Not a romantic crush, such as I have felt in the past for Leslie Howard and Paul Newman, among others, but a strong admiration for his abilities as an actor.  Bill Nighy is Top Notch!

[marcie]

I really like Bill Nighy as an actor too, MaryPage. And the other actors  in this episode too!

[marcie]

We can watch the first part of the Worricker Trilogy, Page Eight, online through  November 30 at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch-online/full-episodes/worricker-s1-page-eight/?elq=51719fcc2bfe42678776a569c32082f5&elqCampaignId=1086

[FlaJean]

I re-watched Page 8 yesterday and enjoyed it even more than I did the first time.  Am looking forward to seeing tonight's episode.  I agree Bill Nighy is an excellent actor.

[CallieOK]

The first part of the Worricker Trilogy is on my PBS station tonight.  Thanks for the "heads-up".

[ginny]

OH my word, what a cast!! Thank you for that link to the Page 8, Marcie, Netflix has Page 8 also.  All I can get on the IPad is the previews and I've watched them all, it looks wonderful!!

[FlaJean]

Ginny, I went to the PBS app that I have on my iPad and watched the first Page 8.  They will have it on their site for viewing until Nov. 30th.

Tonight I watched the first of the trilogy and really enjoyed it.  What a great cast of characters!

[MaryPage]

Well, I thoroughly enjoyed tonight's show, and adored Bill Nighy and Christopher Walken.  That being said, I must admit I really thought they were speaking a bunch of cliches and gas filled rubbish most of the show, and I hadn't a clue as to what was going on.

[FlaJean]

I thought it was quite clear.

[Frybabe]

MaryPage, I just thought it was me. Didn't have a clue. I missed the first 10 minutes and kept trying to doze off on the rest of the first hour, so I thought I was just fuzzy brained enough not to be able to follow. I didn't finish watching. I'll try again on the rerun.

Observations I did make were that the filmography seemed exceptionally clear, Bill Nighy spent in inordinate amount of filler time walking about, and that Christopher Walken seemed a bit stiff, like he was afraid his face would crack if he turned his head to look at Nighy when he was talking to him. Oh, when Stirling Rogers (Rupert Graves) told Margot (Helena Bonham Carter) to ask if she required a separate room, I thought her reaction was perfect. Subtle, not overstated.

[MaryPage]

Yes, the acting was of the very highest quality, the filming was superb.  It was the PLOT and most especially the DIALOGUE that was and remains a mystery to me.  I mean, I could follow the words and understand what they were;  I just could not pick up on what the hey they were talking about!

[FlaJean]

It started with Page 8 and the fact that during the Irag War the Prime Minister was running a rogue intelligence service and knowing about the CIA building the "camps" in various countries for torture and MI6 and the British Not Being Told.  The job was left to Johnny by his dear friend to discredit the Prime Minister.  Last night continued that theme with the Jersey crooks coming for a "rich men's" meeting.  Now the CIA realizes that those Jersey crooks charged way too much and want to get some of their their money back.  After the CIA drags in Johnny, he realizes he can use this to get the Prime Minister.  The rich British gentleman is skimming off money in deals with the British gov. for a special fund for the Prime Minister so he can work helping to make more money and solve problems wherever in the world for him (Sterling) when he (the Prime Minister) is out of office.  Johnny sees his chance in bringing the Prime Minister's duplicity out in public.  Remember when Johnny mailed that package.  No doubt that was going to his newspaper friend.  I think we find the plot a little clearer next week.  I believe the whole series is about the Iraq War in a very British nuanced way.  AT LEAST THat IS SOME OF WHAT I GOT OUT OF IT.  

[marcie]

Thanks for the  help with the interpretation of the plot, FlaJean. I too thought that the actors were wonderful. I didn't recognize Winona Ryder at first. I thought she was excellent in the role.

[BarbStAubrey]

I got the impression it was not just about past history with the profiteering during and after the Iraq war but was an exposè of what is still going on and by bringing in the fictitious Island it was bringing in the problems of Haiti torn by politicians and big money wanting a tourist trade and Bermuda where jobs for everyday people are still not being created.

[MaryPage]

'Cept for one thing, Barbara Dear:  the islands are NOT fictitious!

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

[BarbStAubrey]

Ah so another Island that is a tug of war between the haves and have nots.

[ginny]

FlaJean, I live too far out for a strong connection, apparently. It wouldn't load at all on the IPad,  then to watch it on the computer satellite and  it (Page Eight) started well, but then it just stopped and the whirling dervish tried to load the next part.  For a long long time. (Just like the old days, some of us are still living in them,  apparently. Kind of spoils the ...ambiance, however.

But I did tape last night's Turks and Caicos  and was smitten by the first 20 minutes.   I got up thinking how strange Christopher Walken is, I think the other actors said you never know what he's going to do. I thought (this is as far as I got) the scene where  Nighy calls for assistance? And the phone rings in the room with only another phone to answer it was striking and kind of exciting since I don't know what's going on yet. Something is obviously up tho with the Nighy character.

Thank you for that great synopsis, FlaJean!

I agree with Frybabe the photography is crystal clear, a pleasure to watch. Can't wait to really get into it to see what all you are talking about.

[FlaJean]

No one has mentioned how they liked the end of the trilogy of Worricker.  I was a little disappointed with the storyline.

[BarbStAubrey]

Could not understand anyone arguing in the middle of the street - could not figure out what the Prime Minister's skimming money had to do with his next job with I think it was the EU or something like that - Worricker ends up loosing his girl - lost his wife someplace along the line and severely impaired his relationship with his daughter for what - not sure the message was for country after he turned out to be a friend to the very leader who was taking the country for what he could - seemed like a useless life.

I thought they wrapped up Paradise nicely - if that was not intended as the end, it sure would have been bringing life back to a dead story if they originally intended to keep it going - there were a lot of side stories left without being tied up so maybe that would have been the way to revive what was going on.

Been enjoying DCI Banks - like that they have a love interest going...

[marcie]

I also was a little disappointed with the Worricker episode. What was the building that he was standing in front of at the very end?

I enjoyed the actors in The Paradise. Katherine and Tom Westin getting together as a family with his daughter and a new baby on the way seemed somewhat of a stretch :-)

[MaryPage]

I enjoyed the ending of The Paradise, albeit it did seem a bit toooooo contrived.

I really cannot say that I enjoyed the Worricker, except for the wonderful acting, and especially the great and one and only Bill Nighy.  I hated the story line, all the wickedness and cynicism and hateful spitefulness and stealth.  Scheesch!  I would not, COULD not, live in a world like that!

Yes, I love the realness and the everydayness of the DCI BANKS series.  And I was lucky enough to catch a Scott & Bailey after that!

Oh, I am pretty sure it was the door to the building that holds MI6 (or MI5, whichever one it is that does the Foreign spying thing) that Johnny Worricker was entering.  At the end of the episode.

[BarbStAubrey]

I wondered also at the huge imposing building with the very large cobbled courtyard that it appears along the side were the gates to the inner back door - sure not anything like Downing street or the headquarters for MI5 or MI6 since we have seen the actual buildings for them on TV so what was it and what was it supposed to represent - Did not look like any of the museums in London that I can remember - and so two things what was the building and what was it supposed to represent.

[marcie]

Like you, MaryPage, I think he's going to walk into the MI5 headquarters. I was sort of hoping there was some other meaning to the ending but I think that Johnny accepts the offer to return to MI5 in return for Julianne and Margot's safety and Maverley's reinstatement.

[MaryPage]

And to set up for a future Worricker series, perhaps?

When he is not busy filming with Judi Dench in India, that is.

[jeriron]

I really didn't enjoy the Worricker series to much. I think it's because I'm not crazy about spy shows. Somewhere during the show it loses me and I realize I don't know what's going on.

[MaryPage]

NOTHING on PBS here tonight!  No Masterpiece Theatre!  No nothing that I want to watch.

I will be forced over to the 8:00 o'clock movie on the Hallmark Channel.  The Christmas Shepherd, who, it turns out, is a German Shepherd dog.  No, no, no!  Not in the Nativity scene!  In this brand new movie set in our time.

[mabel1015j]

Just saw Worricker: Turks &Caicos on my PBS station. Interesting.

[BarbStAubrey]

Last night we had the very last Poirot - shocking ending - he does not go in a whimper - has anyone seen it?

[nlhome]

Curtain? I saw that last week. I know I read the book but I still didn't remember the plot line.

[BarbStAubrey]

Wow so out of character to end that way - he never played judge, jury and enforcer about any character no matter how despicable - and frankly where, I forgot his name but, where he appeared oily without the back story that we only get from Poirot we would never know since he did not come across as being that base and maybe that is it - the message is to realize the dangerious folks can appear as if they are not causing damage, that manipulation is sublet.

Strange group of people, the wife (who is in the Halifax thing we all love) was really a shrew and then Poirot scolding and being more than insensitive but cruel to the inspector - I guess they were showing how the best of us can become impatient with those we love in old age when we are not feeling as we had or are really sick. All and all I do not like the feeling that ending left with me. blah humbug

[MaryPage]

I am going to be lucky enough to watch the last episode of Last Tango In Halifax once more this evening on PBS BBC (our channel 265), and I am going to do so just to hug the Joy of seeing Derek Jacobi do that song and dance routine.  Giving myself a Christmas present, I am!

[MaryPage]

I did.  I did watch that last episode again, and found that I loved it even more the second time around.  Wonderful.

[marcie]

That's great, MaryPage, that you had the opportunity to see that episode again. I agree that the song and dance routine was a wonderful surprise/bonus at the end.

[bellamarie]

Through my Christmas break I actually rented all 4 seasons of Downton Abbey and am now caught up and ready for season 5 to begin!  I was so sad when Matthew got killed off, he was my favorite. 

Ginny, Thank you for your post about others being so upset about Matthew, and how he decided not to return.  I still have not gotten over him being gone.  I will have to check out his new venture.  I am so glad they left his mother in, she does ground the rest of the characters.

Marcie, thank you for the link!  I am a newly, overexcited viewer of Downton Abbey.  Can't wait for it to begin in just 7 days!!

[BooksAdmin]

Let's continue to talk about Downton Abbey and other PBS programs in our new 2015 discussion at http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=4555.msg242349#msg242349

Season V starts on January 4!