British TV/General Discussion

@Sheerwater wrote:
@BritMystery  The only DVDs of Martin Shaw's Dalglish stories that I can find at a reasonable price are Region 2. Both of them were recently shown on  the Drama Channel in the UK and are streaming on UKTVPLAY, which is probably not accessible to viewers outside the UK. 

Sheerwater, I am on the hunt for a new all region DVD player. I had a Philips for years that played beautifully, but it finally died. I tried a portable one I found on Amazon, the picture wasn't too great and it broke in a year. I did locate a used Philips exactly like the one I had been using originally -  the picture is fine, the sound isn't - very muffled. I think the unit is just too old. For that TV I need the old style cable player - not an easy find these days. I may have to locate one that can be used with the smart tv I have in the bedroom if I can't find the cable one. I wouldn't mind another portable, but what I see are no better quality than the one I had. Gone are the days when top electronic companies are making these. 

When you mentioned the Region 2 DVD, it made me think to see if I could locate S4 of "Bergerac" as that season will never be shown again on TV (or Britbox). I went from S3 to S5 and now that I am almost finished with S5, I would like to go back and see S4 again. Once this series moves on to S6 it definitely changes. One of my favorite characters, Diamante Lil (Mela White) is still in S4. There may come a time when the DVD is no longer available.

I did find "Bergerac" S4 on Amazon!

No, Brit! I don't remember where I stopped but I thought it was the end. Thank you.

Now that The Tower is playing dripping out episodes like Grace did, I have turned to Three Pines with Alfred Molina on Britbox. Excellent.

Well  this is interesting ..

Downton Abbey could be set for shock return as TV bosses try to lure back big names | Daily Mail Online

I say , bring it on .  Would love to see more Downton .  BUT ..  I haven't  seen the second movie  ' A New Era '  but I understand there will be a big cast change , as one particular character will not be in  any 7th  season.   Will still watch ( if it comes to pass ) and wait for it with eager anticipation .  lol  

Three Pines - very good but not good enough for Amazon. They cancelled the series. When obviously everyone thought they were being renewed. 

Thanks for sending me back to PBS passport, Brit. I had watched all of season 1 - but there is a season 2. 

BTW, did you see Martin Shaw on a Poirot from waaaay back when in 2010?

@solar wrote:
Well  this is interesting ..

Downton Abbey could be set for shock return as TV bosses try to lure back big names | Daily Mail Online

I say , bring it on .  Would love to see more Downton .  BUT ..  I haven't  seen the second movie  ' A New Era '  but I understand there will be a big cast change , as one particular character will not be in  any 7th  season.   Will still watch ( if it comes to pass ) and wait for it with eager anticipation .  lol  

Solar, I found the article referencing the reboot you are speaking of. Thanks for the heads-up, I had no idea that this was in the works. I too have not seen the most recent movie - I keep meaning to, but somehow I never get to it. I have read reviews which say that it is only so-so, but I will leave that where it is, 'cause I really enjoyed the prior Christmas movie and since the most recent is based in the South of France, I (hopefully) will enjoy it as much as the previous one. Now that you mention it, I am going to make sure I watch "A New Era" this week - no more pussy-footing around!

I am very willing to give another season a chance with or without one of our favorite characters. The series was a lot of fun and brought a great many people together... it may have just enough juice left to do that once again, we will have to see, but I am all for giving it a go.

Funny you should be mentioning this now as I just watched Mary Berry's "Country House Secrets" Highclere Castle episode (for the third time) last night. It is my favorite episode of the series. 

I was doing some research on Lady Fiona Carnarvon after watching as I find her so lovely and she has made such a contribution to keeping Highclere Castle alive and solvent today. Of course a large part of that is due to the Downton series, but she does play an important part in the PR/marketing of the franchise. 

Apparently though, there are some controversies surrounding her regarding the Earl's children (a son and daughter) with his first wife. It seems from what I read, she drove them out, or a least apart from their father. Who knows what actually happened, but it doesn't seem that it was the best move on her part - looking forward - as HC is entailed to his oldest son (by his first marriage) and this will leave her in a somewhat precarious situation if her husband dies before her. Never a good thing to alienate the person who eventually holds ownership.

The Earl's daughter has left the estate to live elsewhere (the current heir lives in a cottage on the estate) and there is some question whether his oldest children even speak to him at this point. 

I also read that there are those in Lady Fiona's own circle who question some of her decisions (presumably speaking of this one). Everyone assumes she would like the estate to go to her son, but that is never going to happen under current law - (which has been so for hundreds of years). I can't see how this is going to end well. The whole situation sounds like a bit of a mess. 

@deedee713 wrote:
Three Pines - very good but not good enough for Amazon. They cancelled the series. When obviously everyone thought they were being renewed. 

Thanks for sending me back to PBS passport, Brit. I had watched all of season 1 - but there is a season 2. 

BTW, did you see Martin Shaw on a Poirot from waaaay back when in 2010?

Deedee, let me start with your question regarding Poirot and Martin Shaw... Did I see it? 

This Is one of my most favorite episodes of the series!  "Three Act Tragedy".... I can not get enough of it - I have watched it countless times and never tire of it. I think Shaw and Suchet are sublime together, one of the best pairings (after Hasting, Miss Lemon and Japp) of the entire series. Even has my other favorite, Art Malik in it. Only criticism, was not a fan of the actress Kimberly Nixon's portrayal of Egg - she was annoying and whiney in that role. They could have made a better choice, but otherwise a pure joy to watch.

I am still finishing up S1 of "Astrid" - S2 has not hit the "TV" airwaves as yet, but it's coming soon I think.

Yes, "Three Pines" did not get a green light for another season. That was a surprise to many. It seems that Amazon and Left Bank Pictures/Sony (who were producing it) did not come to an agreement on moving forward with a second season. That has to be about cost of production vs. viewership. My guess, the numbers weren't quite there to carry the cost to produce it, so everyone politely walked away. 

@BritMystery 

Apparently though, there are some controversies surrounding her regarding the Earl's children (a son and daughter) with his first wife. It seems from what I read, she drove them out, or a least apart from their father. Who knows what actually happened, but it doesn't seem that it was the best move on her part - looking forward - as HC is entailed to his oldest son (by his first marriage) and this will leave her in a somewhat precarious situation if her husband dies before her. Never a good thing to alienate the person who eventually holds ownership.

Brit  .....  after reading this , I thought  ...  Art imitating Life  ,  going on here.  I started  bindging  Downton  ( again ) .  The series starts with  Lord Grantham's  heir dying on the Titanic  ,  the whole business of Mathew Crawley stepping in as heir replacement  to take over  estate and  Cora's fortune  , much to the shagrin of  Violet . But the law is the law so it must pass to Mathew .  So funny .  Didn't know about that business with  Lady Fiona Carnarvon  and her husbands  children.  Quite common even with us lowly common folk. Know of several cases  where spouses of late partners grown children go to war  when  wills and property are concerned.  

Lady Carnarvon better look after her husband really good and  help him live a long life , or else find out where that cottage is on Highclere as it could very well be her next  home.  lol  

@BritMystery 

I can't see how this is going to end well. The whole situation sounds like a bit of a mess. 

Brit .. I think you just solved a story line problem that Julian Fellows might have in writing S7 of Downton . He should go to Lady Fiona , write up her situation and use that. lol     Watched  an ep. of  Celebrity Antiques Road Trip  that featured  John  Nettles .  Found it by accident  by channel surfing . Lots of time on his hands now that he's not Tom Barnaby .    One last thing before I leave ,  Finding Carson more insufferable every time I see him .  He's just the butler , easily replaced , but thinks the high standards of the ' house ' are all down to him .  $#@#$  is all I got ta say.  

@solar wrote:
@BritMystery 

Apparently though, there are some controversies surrounding her regarding the Earl's children (a son and daughter) with his first wife. It seems from what I read, she drove them out, or a least apart from their father. Who knows what actually happened, but it doesn't seem that it was the best move on her part - looking forward - as HC is entailed to his oldest son (by his first marriage) and this will leave her in a somewhat precarious situation if her husband dies before her. Never a good thing to alienate the person who eventually holds ownership.

Brit  .....  after reading this , I thought  ...  Art imitating Life  ,  going on here.  I started  bindging  Downton  ( again ) .  The series starts with  Lord Grantham's  heir dying on the Titanic  ,  the whole business of Mathew Crawley stepping in as heir replacement  to take over  estate and  Cora's fortune  , much to the shagrin of  Violet . But the law is the law so it must pass to Mathew .  So funny .  Didn't know about that business with  Lady Fiona Carnarvon  and her husbands  children.  Quite common even with us lowly common folk. Know of several cases  where spouses of late partners grown children go to war  when  wills and property are concerned.  

Lady Carnarvon better look after her husband really good and  help him live a long life , or else find out where that cottage is on Highclere as it could very well be her next  home.  lol  

@BritMystery 

I can't see how this is going to end well. The whole situation sounds like a bit of a mess. 

Brit .. I think you just solved a story line problem that Julian Fellows might have in writing S7 of Downton . He should go to Lady Fiona , write up her situation and use that. lol     Watched  an ep. of  Celebrity Antiques Road Trip  that featured  John  Nettles .  Found it by accident  by channel surfing . Lots of time on his hands now that he's not Tom Barnaby .    One last thing before I leave ,  Finding Carson more insufferable every time I see him .  He's just the butler , easily replaced , but thinks the high standards of the ' house ' are all down to him .  $#@#$  is all I got ta say.  

Solar, I found the Nettle's episode on my local PBS's website. I will watch it later on. Thanks for the heads-up! 

The present Earl of Carnarvon is in his late sixties, if he lives another twenty years until his late eighties (or so) Lady Fiona will have come out on top and won her battle (so to speak). 

She will continue on as the Lady of the Manor with all the prestige that that brings in of itself, as well as because of Downton, without any interference from the current heir apparent or his sibling. She currently runs the Estate as it's administrator and it seems that her husband, the Earl, follows her lead, so she is in fact the Audrey fforbes- Hamilton (To the Manor Born) of her world, her word is the only one that really matters. Great gig if you can get it and I can't fault the woman for trying. 

Her son with the Earl will be in his forties by that time and she will have succeeded in establishing him as "the son" of the Estate for nearly the same amount of time as the heir who is only eight years older than him. Granted he won't inherit, and most likely will be designated to the cottage his older half brother now lives in once his father passes, but until that time he will hold sway as his mother's child over the estate and it's prestige. She is no fool, she is gambling with fate, but from her perspective, she is willing to go for broke. 

@solar  John Nettles is such a lovely, lovely man. Thoroughly enjoyed the episode!

Yes Brit  ..   felt like Tom Barnaby  had a day off and spent it visiting antique shops .  Just might  put  Celebrity Antiques ..  on  PVR  ta see what other  celebs it features . 

felt like Tom Barnaby had a day off and spent it visiting antique shops. 

I felt the same way, Solar. 

@solar, I watched E7 of the Diplomat a few nights ago and wow, talk about a downward spiral... gees, we went from everyone working together and succeeding to put the prime minister on a better path - I won't say "right path" because with this story/series you never know what is actually the right thing to do as they all live in a grey, murky world and no one is quite sure where they ever stand.  

Kate and Hal were moving in a positive direction and I thought we were going to end on that note (although we have this triangle thing going on that will ultimately lead to no good imo)... then Afghanistan was brought back in to the conversation (and all that that brings with it) and it all implodes. I did not see that coming. What happened in Afghanistan was and is a deal breaker for Kate, I don't think she will ever get passed that.

I am afraid of where we are going to end up next. I plan to watch the finale tonight. Good thing I know there is going to be a S2 going in to it!

Soler... well, as a follow-up to my last post... what a finale! 

Two things; first, I don't believe that the PM, the war mongering jerk he may be, initiated a terrorist attack and got his own servicemen killed to solidify his position in the history books. 

He may want Lenkov gone, (it certainly is looking that way), but I think he is taking advantage of the current situation to get rid of him because he has a past "professional" relationship with him that he wants erased. 

Two, I think Hal will be back for another season. He was to far away from the car to get the blunt of the blast. That's my call, we will see. 

I am currently watching "Designated Survivor" (Netflix) with Kiefer Sutherland. Reminds me a lot of the "West Wing", although not nearly as engaging  in terms of characters, storyline itself is compelling. 

Tom Kirkman lacks Bartlet's ego and swagger - even when Bartlet was infuriating because of it (and he was many times), it served him well as President. The First Lady is so sweet she is cringy - she could take a few lessons from Abbey B. in the art of well placed snarkiness. Overall though, a decent watch - I plan on finishing the first season at the least.   

Good way ta end The Diplomat ,  S1  Brit .  Lots of drama and suspense . Lead in in for S2 is already set.  Ya could be right about  that PM ...  thou I feel he dosn't really care about anybody but himself.  As long as Hal  continues  ta be a riddle my interest is locked it.  Still thinking about that fight scene between Hal and  Kate  in the garden  ( with Secret Service looking on from  Balcony )  was one of the funniest moments in  S1  .....  but a strong bond is there,  just shows how complicated their relationship is. 

 Will have a view at  Designated Survivor ,  probably  wouldn't have had a look on my own as I'm not a Kiefer Sutherland  fan but will have a go .  Just found out that  Midsomer Murders  S23 will be on  Netflix and  Crave  but don't know when , haven't gone lookin' for it yet.   Went immediately to check  Amazon  to see if it was in release  but it's not .  I think I would like ta wait for it's release on  CD so I can fit it in to my viewing schedule  (  currently on  S11 )  and view it after S22  but don't know if I have the  discipline  to wait or just go view it on  Netflix as soon as I find it.   LOL  

@solar wrote:
Good way ta end The Diplomat ,  S1  Brit .  Lots of drama and suspense . Lead in in for S2 is already set.  Ya could be right about  that PM ...  thou I feel he dosn't really care about anybody but himself.  As long as Hal  continues  ta be a riddle my interest is locked it.  Still thinking about that fight scene between Hal and  Kate  in the garden  ( with Secret Service looking on from  Balcony )  was one of the funniest moments in  S1  .....  but a strong bond is there,  just shows how complicated their relationship is. 

 Will have a view at  Designated Survivor ,  probably  wouldn't have had a look on my own as I'm not a Kiefer Sutherland  fan but will have a go .  Just found out that  Midsomer Murders  S23 will be on  Netflix and  Crave  but don't know when , haven't gone lookin' for it yet.   Went immediately to check  Amazon  to see if it was in release  but it's not .  I think I would like ta wait for it's release on  CD so I can fit it in to my viewing schedule  (  currently on  S11 )  and view it after S22  but don't know if I have the  discipline  to wait or just go view it on  Netflix as soon as I find it.   LOL  

I am not a fan of Kiefer Sutherland either, Solar. It is an easy watch - if you are looking for a series to binge this fits the bill - enough intrique to keep your interest episode to episode without being overly complex and difficult to follow (I love those types of shows, but they aren't the ones I will binge). 

Hmmm, the latest Midsomer on Netflix. I might give an episode or two a go. I haven't watched the "new" Barnaby in so long I probably won't recognize the show, it has come so far from the Tom B. era. Who knows, that could be a good thing, I'll watch it as if it's a new series.

Something to look forward to for 2024...

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/specialfeatures/the-marlow-murder-club-tv-adaptation-is-coming-to-masterpiece/

Okay everyone, this is a biggy... Deedee are you there... Bill Nighy movie "Living" on Netflix.  Soler, don't know if it's in Canada yet, give it a check. 

@britmystery    Something to look forward to for 2024...

The Marlow Murder Club  ....   absolutely  Brit.  Been seein' a lot of Samantha Bond  , as she has a prominent role in Downton Abbey .  I'm just rapping up my binge of Downton  so now I'll be lookin' for  Kiefer's  Designated  Survivor  and  Bill  Nighy's  Living . 

@solar wrote:
@britmystery    Something to look forward to for 2024...

The Marlow Murder Club  ....   absolutely  Brit.  Been seein' a lot of Samantha Bond  , as she has a prominent role in Downton Abbey .  I'm just rapping up my binge of Downton  so now I'll be lookin' for  Kiefer's  Designated  Survivor  and  Bill  Nighy's  Living . 

Solar, "Designated Survivor" is a good binge, I have been watching every day (so nice to have something ready to start my evening TV viewing - I usually don't have a series with so many episodes except my Korean ones, and those I don't binge, they are long-haul viewing for me) so I am enjoying this! I am just finishing up the first season. It gets better as it goes, definitely gather's more of the West Wing vibe as it continues. Heads-up, episode nine really dragged midway - I was bored to the point of FFing, it then picked up at the end. There is one storyline that started strong, but they are now drawing it out (at the end of S1) with a painfully slow investigation. Everytime they go back to it I roll my eyes. Don't let this sway you though, there is certainly enough going on to propel you to the next episode, so still a thumbs up.

I am going to be honest, 'Living" may not be for you. It is a slow moving, quiet movie (literally, I could barely understand what they were saying in the beginning) and the first thirty minutes is a bit confusing - I had to read a synopsis after I was done to totally understand what was going on in the first part. Now that I get it I am going to rewatch. Die-heart Nighy fans (Deedee) will love it because it show cases him beautifully - he is perfect in the role and it is uplifting - it just crawls to get there.

I am here Brit! In a fit of pique of not finding anything decent, I cancelled Netflix. Seems I may have to restart as Britbox and Acorn equate police procedurals with ...............SPOILERS................. interoffice romance and lack of birth control.

BTW, I use CC on every show.