For those with NJ PBS, the entire season 9 will replay on July 12th, documentary will replay on July 5th.
Hi, All!
Just to let you know I am not reading your comments on the finale episode just yet as it will not be aired until July 12th by me (as Deedee noted above) and I don't want to spoil anything. DVR is set!
I did see "Ridley" last night (that did air) I've got to say, the writing of last night's episode was lackluster at best. I was hoping things would pick-up with the series this second episode, but I was disappointed. I might try watching again to see if I missed something. Maybe the second half of the story will take it up a notch.
Happy 4th Deedee! Solar, we have a small chance of rain tomorrow, I decided to make pot roast tacos 🌮, I am cooking the pot roast on the stove as we speak, so I won't have to rely on the weather. Even if it pours the Hubs and I will have a fun time - nothing like a good taco with all the trimmings.
Happy 4th .... Brit and dee , pot roast sounds good Brit.
Hope I didn't say too much, Brit.
Tacos are an excellent idea. Nice idea on the pot roast, I usually just make ground beef or shrimp. Don't forget the margaritas, if you like them.
I was trying again to figure out why I was underwhelmed with Ridley, and again I have to say it's down to Dunbar. Can't remember a show where he shone, so it might be me. Nice intro music, though.
The shows Britbox is pushing are leaving me cold, I hope they don't follow Netflix.
Thanks solar and Brit!
I re-watched the latest episode of "Riley" last night... I saw red flags the first time I watched and even bigger ones this go around - I am putting the wife of the land owner who had the affair with the victim (who he thinks doesn't know anything about it - so wrong, she knows something, if not all) right in the middle of the frame for the murder. She seems to be closely watching from the sidelines, but I think she is directly involved.
Btw, the pot roast tacos were the bomb. Not something I would do all the time, but when I want to be extra, that is the way to go. Definitely takes it up a notch.
I guess I blinked........where was Daniel in the latest Grantchester? Oy.
Ridley is done and dusted, I hope? Adrian: you can't sing.
I hope this isn't the best Masterpiece has to offer. DI Ray was better than both of these.
@deedee713 wrote:
I guess I blinked........where was Daniel in the latest Grantchester? Oy.Ridley is done and dusted, I hope? Adrian: you can't sing.
I hope this isn't the best Masterpiece has to offer. DI Ray was better than both of these.
Adrian: you can't sing.
No, he can't. He really can't. That whole bit at the end is so tagged on, there is nothing organic feeling about it. It is like they were looking for something to make him interesting (he has the personality of a snail) and someone said " oh, let's have him sing" - might have worked if he really had a good voice, but no, just no.
That being said, I thought the second part of this episode was much better than the first. I was totally wrong about the "who done it" 🙄, I never saw that coming. Not even an inkling. (I said the same thing about the second half of the first episode as well.)
I think Ridley is growing on me, it will never be up there with the best, but it has enough to keep me coming back.
On the other hand, I didn't care for the vibe of "DI Ray". I have read glowing reviews of this series and I was surprised that this was what people were raving about. But....I think anyone who liked " Prime Suspect" would also enjoy this so, I thought you would give it a thumbs up Deedee as you are a great fan of that show. (I called it! 😀)
I never cared for the original Prime Suspect either (I know I am in the minority on this as that series is much beloved). I am going to follow on to the next episode, I gotta give it a full chance, but I doubt I would watch another season after this one.
Interested to hear what Solar thinks, I have a feeling he is going to like it more than me. I probably will be standing out on my own on this one.
I didn't watch "Grantchester" yet, I will get back to you on a Daniel sighting.
I think Ridley is growing on me, it will never be up there with the best, but it has enough to keep me coming back.
My sentiments exactly , Brit. and as dee mentioned in a post .. Nice intro music, though. I agree , I like the lead in music and will reverse a few times just to hear it. His voice is strictly for the ' shower ' thou , we were spared last week .. not so lucky this week. It seems when he solves a case he breaks out in song but over all ' The Singing Detective ' will always have a spot in my PVR .
@deedee713 wrote:
I guess I blinked........where was Daniel in the latest Grantchester? Oy.
In 801? He was there, but just barely. He was helping Leonard at the halfway house thing, he was only on screen for maybe 5 minutes.
Hello @kevin87! I came to post the same thing. He had two walk-ons in the scene(s) at the half way house and that was it. At least he was there though - glad to see him.
I don't know guys, why do we have to have an existential crisis every season?!?.... based on that last scene we are in for another one - it is going to be a heavy, drama filled story that is going to suck the life out of everyone. I find it exhausting.
@BritMystery wrote:
Hello @kevin87! I came to post the same thing. He had two walk-ons in the scene(s) at the half way house and that was it. At least he was there though - glad to see him.
I don't know guys, why do we have to have an existential crisis every season?!?.... based on that last scene we are in for another one - it is going to be a heavy, drama filled story that is going to suck the life out of everyone. I find it exhausting.
I've watched up to episode 5, and it's not gotten better in regards to Will's storyline. It's gone in the opposite direction of what I expected to be happening after season 7's romance.
Phew. So glad I was not alone in these latest, ahem, 'masterpieces'.
Darn, if I could stomach it, I'd re-watch to see Daniel, but why isn't he there side by side with Leonard throughout? Didn't they end last season with everyone getting along?
Mrs. C? Chill re the motorcycles.
I thought you would give it a thumbs up Deedee as you are a great fan of that show. (I called it! 😀) .............I am too easy to figure out, Brit!
but over all ' The Singing Detective ' will always have a spot in my PVR . ........... Bingo, solar.
NJ PBS had the nerve to rerun Curtain last night! No thanks.
Well, Will Davenport is leaving Grantchester at the end of this season. Tom Brittany has announced his departure from the series. Rishi Nair will be introduced as the new vicar in S9.
I am not surprised, as seeing where Will's story is going this season actually leads to this as a conclusion. It is going to be another Hail Mary emotional rollercoaster and once the ship gets righted again Will will ride in to the sunset. All this according to the most recent Masterpiece Mystery newsletter out today. It is also all over the press on the internet - so PBS is giving people plenty of time to get use to the change.
I have decided to end my viewing for this season with the first episode. I have no appetite for his latest struggle - I'll start back up with the new vicar in the next. Hopefully he will not come with a ton of baggage and will put a little ump in to the role.
Besides this, Britbox has commissioned a new Agatha Christie adaption - or I should say a remake, as Julia McKenzie did this one back in 2008... "Murder is Easy". The original story does not include Miss Marple - the story was rewritten to include Miss Marple as a primary character during McKenzie's reign. I am imagining that this adaption will be closer to the book. We will see, the cast though is really good, it includes Penelope Wilton, Mark Bonnar and Douglas Henshall!
Deedee, I know you probably watched the McKenzie version as you are a fan of her Miss Marple portrayal (along with Joan Hickson of course). I didn't, you and I are at opposite ends on this, as I could barely watch McKenzie in the role and opted out of her series early on.
I loved Geraldine McEwan as Miss M., I have to say I enjoyed her as much as Hickson. I will add, I did not care for the changes they made to the stories - no one comes closer to the original stories than dear Joan, but as Miss M. I thought she was spot on. Her first season was her best, they stayed closer to the original stores with these, just livened them up with great casts and aesthetically beautiful productions. It was in the second series they started to make things up, which was a shame as it turned many people off.
I know I am the only one who feels this way as Solar is team Joan all the way if I remember correctly. What can I say, to each her/his own. 🙂
@BritMystery wrote:
Well, Will Davenport is leaving Grantchester at the end of this season. Tom Brittany has announced his departure from the series. Rishi Nair will be introduced as the new vicar in S9.
I am not surprised, as seeing where Will's story is going this season actually leads to this as a conclusion. It is going to be another Hail Mary emotional rollercoaster and once the ship gets righted again Will will ride in to the sunset. All this according to the most recent Masterpiece Mystery newsletter out today. It is also all over the press on the internet - so PBS is giving people plenty of time to get use to the change.
I have decided to end my viewing for this season with the first episode. I have no appetite for his latest struggle - I'll start back up with the new vicar in the next. Hopefully he will not come with a ton of baggage and will put a little ump in to the role.
I felt like they wrapped everything up too quickly this season, felt like it just took a turn and tried to give a happy ending in 5 seconds. I'm probably out with the show and will probably just end up going back and watching all that I've missed once they decide to end the show, I haven't really even liked it as much since Sidney left anyway. I guess Will will be around for an episode or two and then leave in the same fashion Sidney did.
I finally watched the finale of Endeavour! Oh my goodness, that was a finale and a half! The first part about their current investigation (the deaths associated with the obituaries) seemed slow to me, but I think that was because I was so anxious about what was going to happen next and worrying about someone (Thursday) dying in this series end. That didn't last because the second half went on in a blaze.
I know I missed a lot - there was so much that was included to bring us both back to the beginning of Endeavour (and the Morse series) that I had to look up recaps of the finale to help me fill in the gaps and bring attention to all the nuance in the script. I know you are all ahead of me and probably have done the same - I read so many - the one though that stood out to me was from tellyvisions.org (recap series finale). That is the one that resonated the most with me.
Yes, Deedee, we didn't need that shot ringing out, it only brought confusion where we really didn't need it. I saw that as more symbolic than anything else. At that point in his life everything that Endeavour held dear was gone - completely washed away never to be revisited - except of course Strange, who we know stayed a part of his life to the end. He went from being Endeavour to moving on to the Morse character we know. (Solar, he didn't do what you may have thought he did, as I said, it was confusing - we do see him next singing in the choir).
Russell Lewis (the writer of the entire series) did try to give us a reason why Thursday was not part of Morse's life (we all know that he made him up, that's why) but at least he addressed it. Because of what happened with Sam, Thursday had to leave the area. Although the bikers did not know of Thursday or his involvement, they did have Sam on their radar. Unlike some of the recaps/discussions I read, I don't believe that Thursday, Win and Sam went underground - they didn't have to hide the rest of their lives - as Endeavour said though, they needed to stay clear of Oxford and the surrounding area so that the bikers would run never run in to Sam.
There are many beautiful places in England for the Thursday family to retire to and live a happy life without the need of laying low to the point of hiding out. He also had the families life savings back so he could afford to move on and no longer work on the force. The whole point of this discussion was to explain why Morse never spoke of or saw Thursday in his later life - they needed to cut ties and move on to keep everyone safe.
The irony though that Thursday killed the person that they had been searching for all these years was heartbreaking. It was a very bittersweet ending. The horror of that entire investigation and all the people who were hurt by what happened at Blenheim Vale - and to learned it was Thursday's old bag man and nemesis who covered it all up, and actually orchestrated it, was sickening. Then to have his brother Charlie involved, let me tell you Thursday went through so much during this series - you wonder how he managed to keep it all together in the end. I'll answer my own question - because of Endeavour. Endeavour had his back no matter what.
Can't forget Bright's good-bye speech which was heartfelt and touching. And, the thought to show the faces of the people who were so much a part of Endeavour's journey and meant a lot to those who watched all these years...two thumbs up. It was a well crafted, beautifully done ending to the series that left me wanting more.
Good ta see the forum up and running again , missed posting and reading all the comments. Brit .. I had a long rant written up yesterday and when tried posting it I found the forum down. Tried ta save it but it got lost. So here I am , back again. It was about that ' shot ' ...... the shot heard round the world . It took me in ... I fell for it. The way it was set up and played thru with the scene cutting away ... to something insignificant .. then the shot . was like a thousand lead - ins to a suicide . I saw that choir scene but thought it was a bit of back story. What were those writers playing at ... what was the purpose of it. Trying for a bit more drama I suppose . I had good things ta say about the wrap - up of Endeavour ... one of the best I 'd ever seen , even thou this was a show I was always quite critical of it's climbing on the back of Inspector Morse . There .. I've had my say. lol
Put a reality show in my PVR called ' The Savoy ' .. about that grand old hotel in London where the guests roll up in Rolls Royces . A bit of a light watch with cameras following around the staff as they go about their daily routines . One down point was I caught a sight of that Gordon Ramsey creature flying around the kitchen hollering at every body. Must have been filming one of his shows there.
Same here, solar. Thing is, I don't remember what I said. Back in the say, we used to save our posts before putting them on the forum!
Bingo on the shot, cheap trick, and not the band. Still and all, I will miss the show. As I said when I finally saw all of Downton Abbey, and posted that I liked it - 'well I never', thought I'd miss it, that is. Still didn't believe Evans as Morse, not a bit of it. The supporting cast was lovely, right unto the end.
kevin87, talk about cheap tricks. This last season of Grantchester is a big Huh? for me. Tell me again where Daniel is? And why they are not together. Hello, Leonard is no longer in the church. Different writers for the last season?
That's right, there was a lot of me saying 'flogging a dead horse' and I hate that phrase. They did it and are still doing it in DIP, but at least that's good eye candy. Another Grantchester? Give me a break, is that why they made Leonard a civilian? So as not to give him his due?
Ah well, Ridley is still a zero......please who can't see what's coming?............and so I'm looking forward to................um, what is it I'm looking forward to? At least Ridley didn't sing last night.
Anyone watching DI Ray? Worth sitting through Ridley and Grantchester for this show, and I can see where that's going too. Remember when shows weren't so obvious?
Ah, nice to be back to kvetch!
Sooo frustrating when that happens, Solar! It happened one too many times in the past to me so that I was doing what Deedee said - writing my posts out elsewhere and copying and pasting. Can't do that here, mainly because I am using my phone... now that I think of it, I probably could do it if I was using a computer. Well anyway... going forward, because I tend to be long winded when I write, I am going to keep my posts shorter, post and then add to them through the edit feature.
I am just finishing up S2 of "Designated Survivor" - one more episode to go. I thought we were going to go off a ledge there when one of the cast members unexpectedly left (trying not to Spoil here), but it got itself back on track - an entire half season of mourning would have been too much, and that is where I was afraid they were going to go - they didn't though, and the intrigue kept going. This is one of the best binge watches I have had, ever. Never a dull moment!
You may want to check out "Claridges" on Netflix, Solar sounds similar to the "Savoy".
Deedee, do you remember you told me about a French detective series that had stories shot in different locations throughout France? I couldn't watch because I didn't have the streaming service (I think MHz) well the first season is currently part of Primes' July sample month. I am watching all the episodes with Elizabeth and Paul, really enjoy these two and if I have time will try some of the other episodes.
I do agree with all of you on "the shot" in the finale of Endeavour, it was a bit too tricky - as I said, more confusing than anything else.
Caught about one half of "Grantchester" last night - not as bad as I had expected. I probably will check in on next week's episode. I know I am not going to make it through the entire season, we will see how long I last.
I thought the opening shot of "Ridley" was good - agree Dee, glad there was no singing on his part. What a difference when you have someone who can actually sing performing - that is what made the opening so much better (along with the camera work). I enjoyed this episode - the first time I have said that with any of the first part's - so far the stories have had their "punch" in the rear - this one was much better than the previous two.
I get your point Deedee about seeing where these stories are going...I was thinking the same last night while I was watching both "Grantchester" and " Ridley". I have been wrong about Ridley twice before, so maybe we will be surprised by the turn of events there.
Haven't watched the second episode of DI Ray as yet.
Brit, please remind me of the name of the series, it's been a dog's age since I had MHZ. Prime what? Elizabeth and Paul?
I hope I am wrong about Ridley, but I think the singer is playing him.
Oy, I am watching the 3rd episode of DI Ray on Passport and.......not a spoiler.......it appears Brit TV is as bad as U.S. TV when it comes to coppers approaching a perp. Blue Bloods is the worst - HOLD IT RIGHT THERE - yeah okay. Of course they don't. DI Ray advising a perp of the same, has to be at least 10 feet between them and GUESS WHAT no one in the rear.
As I told my hubs, when I rule the TV world, there won't be any women and children and animals in peril out of proportion to men, and stupid coppers will post a backup contingent behind a perp.
Ah well. I still prefer international TV to U.S.