British TV/General Discussion

Deedee, it is on Britbox as "Captivated", I watched the first two episodes last night. I don't think this is something you are going to like. It is purely a psychological thriller and it is going to get scary as it continues. 

Not bad, not great - down the middle. Although, I can see why it got the negative reviews. 

It is very predictable, we know what is going to happen as we see part of it in the opening and just on the story alone - it is an old one. In E2 we are in the Cinderella stage of the story, but E3 I expect is going to start to turn darker. This is a story of obsession and control. Every sign is there. How bad things go is still the question at this stage (E2). Something tells me very bad.

It is slow moving, which doesn't bother me, although some have complained about that. I do like Allen Leach in it, overall the acting is good - that is really the draw.  I like watching him on screen. he is very charismatic - I just wish this series was a better vehicle for him. 

Solar, I think you might like this, more for Allen Leach than anything else. Got to say again, he has a real presence on screen. 

Thanks, Brit. Since, sadly, there isn't much else on either pay app, I'll check it out.

Doesn't this sound like a great day... and a visit/tour with "Miss Lemon" to boot! 

https://www.iacf-uk.org/festival-2026/fringe-festival/afternoon-tea-at-burgh-island?fbclid=IwVERDUAQ84GxleHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR4Gfvg4-WPGot0SeIbxZeX59mUZpCiwIr7RzRRPxs-7kYbrpkS4KgPjYtE9xw_aem_JBWrbZZHuJFFNqHBKNNKqQ

PS. I understand they have opened a second afternoon tea trip the next day on the 15th. Only seven tickets left. If I could convince the Hubs, I would fly back in September and stay a few days in Devon and go to this. No way though, he'll look at me like I l have lost my mind since we just got back from a visit. I haven't. 😉

Update... those seven tickets are already gone. Saw the info on FB, posted here, went on a hunt to see if tickets were still available on the festival site and found out the second date was sold out. Didn't think the tickets would last long. 

Sounds  lovely   Brit ....   I could stay at the Burgh Island  Hotel for a month  and they still  would have ta pry my fingers off the door casing to get me out .   Imagine  , staying at the same hotel  Agatha Christie  stayed at  and wrote two of her novels.  Sounds like there're gonna keep adding to this ( afternoon  tea )  as it sounds sooo  popular. 

What a lovely idea. I agree, solar.

Brit, if the tickets sold out that quickly, it sounds like there are many fans of like mind to we three!

Hi Everyone! 

Hoping you are all well amongst (or within) the chaos that is our lives. 😔

Deedee, want to give you a heads-up... Prime has added their 'Sample this Month' category again, at least for April. They haven't done it for the last few months, and I have missed it. It is quite difficult to find the monthly offerings when they don't highlight them under one heading. Anyway, MHz is offering quite a bit this April, more than they usually do, so I am concluding they need to increase their streaming numbers. If you are up for some international programing this is what is available.

Fallen - currently watching this now. Okay, not great, not bad. Gets better after third episode and once it picks up you will want to watch more than an episode at a time. You will roll your eyes and shout at the TV a few times, but overall in the dry patch we are now going through, worth giving it a go. You can always turn it off. 😀

Spring Tide - It looks like I watched a few episodes of this previously and stopped. I don't remember anything about it, so I can't give an opinion or the reason I didn't finish watching.

The Oldenheim Twelve - this is not a MHz program, but a recent add to Prime itself. I think I watched this a long time ago (somewhere) Can't remember much about it... it intrigues me though and I have added this to my watch list because even if I have, it looks to warrant a rewatch.

Alexandra Ejle - I remember  this from my MHz days, never watched it so can not give a recommendation. 

Modus - I watched this when (I think) it ran on PBS. Krister Henriksson has a part in S1. I liked it back then, and may give it a rewatch to see if it will still hold my interest. 

Chantal - this is available in both original language (Netherlands) and dubbed, so you have a choice in version.

Alexander Morton dead aged 81: Tributes paid to star of legendary Scots BBC shows https://share.google/MznLZBAuaLnhDppI6

Actor Alexander "Sandy" Morton who played Ghillie Golly MacKenzie in Monarch of the Glen has died age 81.

Thanks, Brit.

I agree with you on MHz. Interesting on MHz and Amazon, perhaps they are looking to come under the subscription umbrella of Amazon. 

All of your choices are my types of programs, but to see future seasons, they are only available on MHz.

On Modus, it comes from viaplay, never heard of them before.

Good to have new choices, as I've said, the desert has expanded to both Britbox and Acorn. Britbox was holding back the last episode of a series I've already forgotten, and it was underwhelming, imo.

Funny aside on Britbox, they answer emails (or their AI robot does). I asked why they, as opposed to everyone else who had a 'plus' sign for not added and a 'check' mark when adding to a watchlist, Britbox has a 'plus' sign for not added and a 'minus' sign for added! They said they would pass my comments up to management. Yeah, right.

That  guy  ...   sheerwater  ...   seen his  face  before  but did  not know  his  name .   R.I.P.    Sandy  .  Gone at 81 .  

So sorry to hear about Sandy Morton, I remember him fondly from "Monarch of the Glen". Thanks for letting us know, Sheerwater.

Solar, how is everything going by you? You'be been popping in to my mind of late and I hope you are well. 

Deedee, watched the first episode of 'Modus" last night. Forgot how intense it is. Animal red alert in the first episode, it involves a deer. I forgot that Krister Henriksson's wife Cecilia Nilsson is also in the series. 

MHz is already under the subscription umbrella of Prime, at least I think you can subscribe to them through Prime like you can with Britbox and Acorn. I should probably check that, not that I am planning to do it anytime soon. 

Since I have not seen them offer so many series before under the 'Sample this Month" category, my thought is that they need to up their subscriptions - pull you in with the first seasons, get you to join their streaming family to get more (as you said).

Doin' well   Brit  ......  hangin' in there .   ' Animal  red alert '  ,  I like that .   Ya know , I have ta change the channel  when a spot comes on about  donating to  some org.  and it shows homeless , mistreated  cats and dogs.  I'm gettin'  worse .  lol  . 

sheerwater     ....   forgot to add when  replying to you .  I watched a Documentary  on Netflix  about the Lucy Letby Case .  I have been following this for a number of years now and have always believed in her innocence     ...  now  more that ever .  There needs to be a retrial ....  I am a supporter of  this .  The conviction is unsafe   .....  reasonable doubt is so strong .  IMHO .    

Right there with you, solar. But I've always been worse!My question to the tv is always, why don't you show what you've done with all the money that's probably been donated? 

Thanks, Brit. Glad to hear there is no real animal death in the rest of Modus.

Good lineup of shows - Fallen was very good indeed. FWIW, those who wish to catch the series noted by Brit: Fallen, Alexandra Ejle and Chantal are due to be removed from Prime in 13 days.

Brit, did you see this? IMO, not good. NJ PBS has many good local programs. 

"NJ PBS will no longer be the operator of the New Jersey stations as of June 30, 2026. But PBS isn’t going anywhere.

THIRTEEN will be your new home for all your PBS favorites!"

I saw that today, Deedee. I knew this was coming (we discussed it here) but held some hope that a private entity (or entities) would help with the financing of the station to keep it running - it didn't happen. The fact that New Jersey no longer has a PBS station is mind boggling when you consider that we rank #2 in the list of wealthiest states based on median household income... let's get our head around that first... and we can't afford to have a local PBS station. Of course, this has nothing to do with affordability, as a State (apparently) we don't want to fund a PBS station, not publicly or privately. Granted, we lost our federal funding like everyone else and that had a huge impact. What can I say, these are the times we live in. If it wasn't for PBS and it's programming I would never have met you and Solar. It has been twenty years... twenty years. PBS has been responsible for a lot of good in this world.

Brit  ....   sorry to hear about   NJ   turning it's back  on  PBS .  Governments  act if they see enough people are outraged  by this loss.  Look for any  petitions that may be going  around and  sign up.  I get my  PBS thru cable from  Maine , can you access thru cable , a PBS from another  State ? 

Solar, we will now have direct access to Channel 13 (a NY affiliated station), which is Channel 23 in my area. This is new to me, not a station I could access before, it was not available in my area. As of now, NJ Spotlight news will be shown (directly) on Channel 13/23, so some accommodation has been made to include this (although it seems that any other local content has to be watched through the PBS app). Whatever programming (including the Masterpiece shows) that Channel 13/23 offers is what we have direct TV access to in New Jersey unless, as you pointed out, you also have another neighboring state's local station available to you. 

Because I am close to Philly, I currently have two Pa. stations that air in my area, so all is not lost on my end. I hope the Philly stations don't pull their content from us - that happened in the past, they use to come and go, in recent years they have been consistently available. Remember, just as I have access to their local stations, they had access to NJPBS. That is no more moving forward. I will participate in their funding drives as that seems only fair given the fact that I will be leaning on them for programming moving forward. 

As Deedee said, our NJ local station provided some very good content... along with local programming we got a nice selection of British shows - typically older ones (less expensive to purchase airing rights), but very welcomed by those of us who enjoy these. It is a shame that we now need to lean on both New York and the Philadelphia area. 

Unfortunately, we have had very little outrage over this situation, cost of living issues have taken precedent and spending tax payer dollars on PBS TV access is deemed unnecessary.

Unfortunately, we have had very little outrage over this situation, cost of living issues have taken precedent and spending tax payer dollars on PBS TV access is deemed unnecessary.

Sad but true, Brit. I have lately seen a propensity of acceptance of many things. The talking heads on some stations do a good job of pointing out the horrors and inequities of today's goings on, but as I constantly say to no one there on the telly: "so what are you going to do about it?". 

I hope WLIW expands its market. I find they have better programming than WNET. This, unfortunately, is why I added PBS Passport to my lineup of fair to good streaming channels. Think that was the ultimate plan?

I guess Paramount's takeover of the media world will make all things better. Sarcasm on and off.

And so it goes.

Deedee, WLIW is considered at the top of the list of PBS providers when it comes to programming. I lived with WNET when I was in New York so I am aware how limited their content is....which is why I will be leaning on my Pa. neighbors as WHYY and the PBS stations WLVT (39) and 39 Extra (all which I have access to) do a really nice job of including British content. In general their programming is of a high caliber.  I don't want to sound unappreciative of New York PBS, because I am not, but here in South Jersey we have a closer relationship to Philly. Not my husband though, he loves NYC and will go any chance he gets. 

I don't know about you, but I have been having a great few weeks of TV watching. With the limited time we have with the MHz and Viaplay (Modus) monthly sampling I have had tons to watch so that I could finish the first seasons of the series I was/am interested in. I went from nothing to a full plate! 

And... "After the Flood", S2 has started, so I have that to look forward to. Not sure about the new series with Phyllis Logan, "A Taste for Murder" (Britbox). These type of shows always sound like I would enjoy them, yet typically I do not and slog along with it for the first season. I am just not in the mood for that right now, so I'll leave it on the shelf for the time being.

True, Brit. WNET and I go way back, to 1971 and the one and only Upstairs, Downstairs. This was B.C., before cable, after which WLIW and NJPBS became available, and as you say, it was a plethora of goodness.

Not so much now. Here's hoping.

Funny thing, I was all set to enjoy After The Flood, and Britbox, at least the subscription I have, wants me to pay more for episodes 2 through 6, even though it appears they already dropped. So I have to be patient.

Iconic '00s Scottish TV series confirmed to be revived for an all-new "family saga" | Radio Times https://share.google/9pS5KRVpB8mCgEkFt

Monarch of the Glen is to be given a fresh reimagining by Ecosse films makers of the original series in partnership with Masterpiece PBS. It will air in the UK on channel 5. This time the lead will be female lawyer who returns to her crumbling ancestral home for her fathers funeral. With a bank closing in and a brother who refuses to give up the estate. Casting to be announced.