British TV/General Discussion

Yeah   Brit  .......    ' Designated  Survivor '   ,  sure do remember that .  Enjoyed  that series  very  much , had a nice flow .  Not a fan of  Kiefer Sutherland but he was good in  this.   Enjoy  Maggie  Q .    

A Miss Marple  rewatch is always good.  Of all the Marple actresses Joan Hickson  is my  No. 1  ,  have most of her  Eps. on   DVD .  She passed  around  1992  (  without taking the time to look it up )  and shortly after  saw a  clip of her son in a interview .  Remembering him saying  his mother  enjoyed playing  Miss Marple  very much. 

NOTE  :   Just  looked  up Joan  Hickson's  passing.    She died in  1998  at the age of   92 . 

Still working on "Ballard", two more episodes before I wrap it up. There are a few tough scenes in some of the later episodes, nothing a little FF can't fix - sometimes I just can't handle the violence. Overall it has been a good watch. I expect the last episodes to throw a few curve balls in which I am looking forward to. 

Will be pivoting to "Grantchester" tonight, I have a few more episodes there to watch as well. Can't believe how much I have enjoyed this season. So far the best one for me. I hope this holds up to the end. 

And, I have been thrown a real curveball. BBC Radio has pulled all their radio plays/audiobooks from audiences outside the UK. This is major for me because I have been listening to BBC Radio for years (and years). They had really cut down on the radio entertainment quite a bit in the last few years, recycling mostly from recent archives (no more of the real old stuff which was oftentimes just fabulous) and leaving the same productions up continuously, swapping out a few for something new every so often. It has been nothing like their hey day. For years, the entertainment BBC Radio provided their audience  - from all over the world  - was varied and exceptional.

Even with the pull back of content over the last few years, I checked the site regularly to see what they may have added to the repertoire that would interest me. It was a staple in my life. Now, no more. 

About a year ago I started purchasing audiobooks from Audible through Amazon. I thought about it for a long while and decided I would rather purchase the books I want rather than to have a monthly subscription. I slowly add to it every few months or so. I have a little over 40 books currently on the list. Mostly Hugh Frasier's Poirot audiobooks (which I can't live without), and many of the BBC Radio Poirot's/Miss Marple's, along with many other of their audiobooks I have come to love and like to revisit. So at least I have that, and I now will make more of an effort to add books more quickly to my Audible library. 

Another end of a era for me. 

Watched E5 of "Grantchester" last night.. won't say too much not to spoil it for those who haven't watched yet, just saying, best episode ever. 

Correction... I meant E6 of "Grantchester"!

Brit   ......   although I have not  been a fan of  Grantchester  in the past  I did watch this Ep.  last  night .  See slight changes in  format  and it makes me thing they have different   (   better )  writers  as  well.   Will watch  future  Eps. to see if  I'm  right  in my views.   

Thanks, Brit, hope you're doing well. I have to look into Ballard and Signora Volpe (again).

Acorn has finally gotten around to dropping another Madame Blanc (wrapped in March!), I even wrote them. One more episode to go. It's not stellar, I wonder what their aim is in doling it out. The plotline of keeping their romance secret is growing whiskers.

Oh I loved Joan Hickson's Miss Marple, she was the best. 

I'm mixed on Grantchester as well solar, I have to find Episode 6. Didn't they already write Leonard and Daniel happily ever after? Alcoholism, a bigoted mother? Enough already.

So BBC Radio is bowing to political pressure? What a shame.

Hi Deedee! You know, I didn't think of it as a political move, but now that you mention it, I can see where politics may well have crept in to that decision. (Or be the cause of it).

Solar, is everything alright by you? I read that the are fires raging near Halifax, that the air quality is very bad and it is extremely hot. This was a comment on YT posted by someone who lives in Halifax. This person said they have a bag packed in case they have to evacuate. This is concerning to say the very least. Please let us know how you are if you can.

Yeah Brit  ...  Hangin'  in  there.  Fires are close to the city  ,  it's the air quality that gets to me , can't get away from the smoke . Closed up in the house with the air on does little good as the smoke smell  comes in thru the air  conditioners.  On top of that , it's the stifling heat . A few days ago with the humidity factored in , it was  38 ....  unbearable. Loooooong  for the cool , crisp days of  Autumn ,  my favorite time of year.  Now, for the  bright  news .  Quite unexpectedly a bunch of  ' Professor  T  '  eps.  downloaded into   PVR .   9 in all .  Good thing  about  PVR ,  it has memory .  I had locked these  Prof  T    eps. in a few years ago  and when it replayed them on  PBS  ,  PVR picked them  up.  Checked  PBS  and Season 4  will be starting  the Sunday after next .  Prof T  (  never one of my favs )  is fun to watch .  That  socially  inept  , filterless  ,  OCD  inflicted  genius  who teaches  criminology   at  Cambridge  University.  Fun to watch how he goes about solving murders.    Oh ...   saw  one of  those Digital  overhead road  signs  the other day  that  read  "   STAY OUT OF THE WOODS ,   BURN  BAN ,   $25,000.00  FINE  ....  Neighbour said  they  caught   6  so far.    $25,000.00  That 'll teach m .  LOL     

Solar, I can only imagine how being in the smokey air must feel since you are so close to the fires! We, by me in NJ, had only the remnants of smoke from the horrible fires you had a few years ago and it was difficult to breath here. Top that with the heat, Dear Lord I can't wait (as you can't) for this to be over for you.

Autumn is my favorite time as well. I love September right through to the end of December. It is "my time" and I enjoy it all. I can do without January, February and March. I am glad to be still living on this earth, so I can't complain too much, but those months are the pits. Nothing redeeming about them except for the fact that I am cozy in my house for most of it and only venture out for essentials. 

Re-watched the first season of the "Bletchley Circle" last night and I have to say I forgot how good it was. It is a tougher watch at times than I remember, but that is what FF is for (if I start to get a bit too anxious, I move forward to see how the scene turns out and than go back and watch knowing what is coming). I am going to move on to season two.

And yes, the DVR/PVR memory is such a good thing. It has saved some really great things for me that I totally forgot about and didn't think to record or re-record. 

solar, we had a bit of that here, not sure where the smoke was coming from. A completely cloudy day, a neighbor told me it was smoke, after I had been sneezing my head off. Be careful, for sure. 

I still prefer the original Belgian Professor T., but when all is an empty wasteland, even Ben Miller looks good. 

Brit, it's been awhile but I do remember Bletchley Circle was very well written.

Acorn finally dropped all of the Madame Blanc Mysteries episodes. They were only filmed in March! I hope there's another season.

Yeah  dee  ......   Heard about  the Belgium  version  of   Prof. T   but have never seen it.  Would like to so as I could  compare it to the Ben Miller version .   Don't mind  Miller  ,  it's that  one who plays his mother  I don't care for. lol   

solar, I think you would like it. I have to give it to Ben Miller, he has grown on me.

Funny thing about Frances de la Tour, she and I go back, waaay back, to Dennis Potter's (oh I hope you've seen the series) Cold Lazarus from 1996. Here is a brief description from IMDb (I do like 'em weird):

Writer Daniel Feeld, first seen in Dennis Potter's "Karaoke," returns three centuries later as a disembodied head.

Some  good  viewing  coming   up  on  PBS next  Sunday :

August  24 th   ....   The   Marlow   Murder  Club    S2   E1  

August  24 th   ...   Unforgotten    S6   E1  

October  5 th   ....   Maigret      Episode  1   Part   1     

On Netflix  a series  called   ' Hostage '  starts  tomorrow   with   Suranne   Jones .  Interested to see what  this is like .  

Yay! We are back on with the Mystery season. Look forward to it every year. May I just point out that we are now in our 19th season together from when we first met on the PBS board. The fact that we are still standing is really something. 

Solar, looked "Hostage" up... it's a political thriller, could be really good. Let us know. 

I am still watching "The Bletchley Circle", have started S3 of "Departure" (on Prime) - I am pretty sure I watched S1 a while back, 'cause when I clicked on it, it registered (even though I don't remember the story) - decided to move on to another season and passed over S2 and went directly to S3 because the story interested me. Deedee, this stars Archie Panjabi, I know you are a fan of her's - she was in that show on PBS Mystery last season (can't remember the name at the moment). The 3rd season is pretty good, it's not a great series, not a bad one - straight down the middle I'd say. 

I have also gone back and watched the older versions of "Sense and Sensibility" and the original BBC version of "Pride and Prejudice". So interesting to see the difference in how the story is portrayed from the more recent "iconic" versions. You would think this type of endeavor would be boring, but it is not. Though the main plot is there, they are all so different that each is fresh in its' own way.

Btw, Deedee, are you planing on watching "Irish Blood" on Acorn TV. It is getting a lot of buzz. 

Brit  ....    19  ..  19 ..  19  ..  can hardly believe it.  I remember those days on the PBS  board and also  the  A & E  board as  well.   Time goes by so slowly and quietly and your not aware of it until you stop , look back , and add it up.   Read something on  All  Creatures  G and S ......  They  wrapped up production on  S6  back in  June and it said  it will be airing  (  not quite believing it )  on PBS  this  fall.  Sounds too soon for me but wait and see.  They also said that  the paperwork has been sighed  for  S7 .  Big holler out from me as this is my  fav.  ' feel good '  show . 

Finished  Hostage  Brit     ..   Lots of comments on social media about this one.  Mixed comments I might say .   I liked it.  Lots of intrigue  even if some of the plots  seemed a little far fetched .  Have liked Suranne  Jones since her days with   Scott  and  Bailey  /  Dr. Foster .  Short series  only  5  Eps.  Not very savvy  but the way I judge a series  is by how much I want to view the next  Ep. and with this  series I wanted the next Ep. immediately.  I found it had that much  intrigue .   

I think I would like it Solar, because I am all about the intrigue. Any series that makes me want (have) to move on to the next episode 'cause I just can't wait, I am all in for. I will put this on the list for when we get Netflix again. 

Well all, I watched the first episode of "Unforgotten" last night. All I got was the feeling that this is going to be a very (very) depressing season. This series has always skewed towards sad, depressing stories, but this one seems like it is going to be particularly so. Not a great start (at least for me) to the Mystery season.  Interested to see if anyone else feels the same way. 

If anyone has anything to say to rally me on, I would appreciate hearing it 'cause we have five more episodes in front of us. 

Interesting   Brit    ......   was  gonna  watch it  last  night  but turned in early .  Was hopin' it was gonna be  a good series as I was looking forward to it all  summer .    So if it doesn't give me that  ' feel good '   feeling  or if I'm not anxious for the next  Ep,  it doesn't  bode  well.  Will let ya  know. 

Couldn't wait for this evening  Brit  ....    viewed it this afternoon .  Must say , was expecting the worst  but didn't feel that  at the end of this Ep.  Always liked the slow burn of this series  and in that regard it did not disappoint.   I was wondering how all these seemingly  different  plots are  connected  and started to see that at the end with the identification of the  remains to that woman with the troubled  daughter . Wondering now how that autistic  guy  and that lorry load of illigal  migrants  are connected , might find out  next  week.  Thought that  leg on the  M. E.'s  table was a little gross and those close up shots I could have done without.  Hang in there Brit ...  you might find next weeks Ep. a little more bearable.  Still  miss Nicola  Walker , she had 4 Seasons  with this show and I'm still getting used to  DCI  Jess  James.  

Allan  Cummings  always has a different look  at the beginning of each  season .  Those facial expressions of his at the end are a laugh.