Masterpiece Theater

[Drunk Monk]

The Woman in White was really good. It was thoroughly engaging, gripping even, and the ultimate payout was excellent karmically. It was the kind of series that keeps us addicted to Masterpiece.

Best of all it ended with a tasty bit of sword action. DOOM recommended. 

The Long Song e1 was okay. It has an odd tone vacillating from quaint homey humor to the brutality of slavery. It made us both wonder how long patois has been around in JA. Not sure if we'll hang with it.

[Drunk Monk]

The Long Song e2: still rather uneven. The romance, which was obvs impending, wasn’t set up well enough. It doesn’t feel likely. The vapid plantation owner and the new overseer are running into predictable and shallow issues. Apart from the watered down patois this doesn’t feel like ja.

[Drunk Monk]

Remember Me - A PBS Masterpiece modern ghost story. I didn't know they did ghost stories. 

The best part is that it stars Michael Palin. He's one of my fav pythons. Well, he's definitely in my top 6. 

This came out in 2017 and it's 3 1-hour eps. It's spooky and circles around Scaroborough - the town and the song. The 1st ep was decidedly the most creepy, mostly because it caught us off guard - not at all what we were expecting. Ep 2 could've used more Palin. Ep 3 was a satisfying conclusion for me, not so much for Stacy. 

Palin can act tho. He delivers an intricate and complicated performance. Like I said, he's one of my fav pythons, so I am biased. 

No sword fights. DOOM recommended.

[Drunk Monk]

All Creatures continues to be charming. I think there's only 2 or 3 eps left. HP-Neville is having issues.

Miss Scarlet finally teases a larger story arc. I think we're over halfway through on this one too. 

I called the perp really early on, like the first scene when the crime was revealed. It's so much about Kate Phillips incredible smile. I never watched Peaky Blinders. Any DOOM recommendations for that?

[Greg]

Peaky Blinders: I saw the first couple of episodes but it never really held it for me. I listen to a podcast, though, where the female host raves about the show constantly. Part of the problem is tQ never saw it and it would take those three episodes or so to catch up. And we don't got time for that.

[Drunk Monk]

The Imperial (aka The Grand Hotel) - Another Walter offering - Italian, 12 eps, 2015. A worker disappears from a grand hotel and her brother goes undercover as a waiter to discover all sorts of intrigue. I only watched the first and last few episodes. Stacy binged the middle eps and filled me in. It was a gorgeous setting, a majestic lakeside hotel against a picturesque mountainside. Stacy felt it was rather telenovela, and I concur from what I saw. A period piece. Stacy called the serial killer when we tucked into the last three eps.

No sword fights. There was a gun duel that I missed. And some murders with a gold knife. Not DOOM recommended.

[Drunk Monk]

Miss Scarlet - the larger story arc about Eliza's father's death is on. This was one of those eps where you keep saying stuff like 'get out of the cell' and 'shoot him before he makes a move' to the screen a lot. Finale next week.

The Long Song - Finale. Overall, it was very uneven. The progression of the Massah was unconvincing and there were so many gaps. The ending was good but they could've gotten there more believably. However, two footnotes that I've been meaning to meaning mention. 1. the lead slave with the best patois James (Ansu Kabia) also plays Moses with the best patois on Miss Scarlett as well as a characters in World on Fire. Miss Clara, a minor role, is played by someone Greg and I met in the Badlands, Madeleine Mantock, who played Veil. 

Photo by Greg.

All Creatures: Still charming and predictable. Finale next week.

[Greg]

That picture is very familiar....

[Drunk Monk]

That picture is very familiar....

 Photo by Greg.

[Drunk Monk]

Miss Scarlet finale. Ended well. Still cute. I totally predicted the ending, the villain, how he would be discovered, and right down to how the finale rescue would happen and who would do it. We'd watch another season.

All Creatures finale. Also ended well, although with an Xmas episode which felt a tad out of season. It's still a fine comfort show, like milk and cookies (or tea and crumpets) yet not overly Hallmarky. The main cast has great chemistry and what else do you want? Again, I predicted one of the main sick animals and how it would happen.

I'm on fire tonight with show predictions. I could write for Masterpiece. 

As a side note, a fellow reporter that I met in the Badlands several years ago recently revealed that she's one of the writers for CW's Kung Fu reboot. It made me rethink fiction writing.

[King Bob]

Good NY Times article about James Herriot

[Drunk Monk]

Good NY Times article about James Herriot

Interesting read. Thanks!

[Drunk Monk]

Atlantic Crossing
A WWII tale of the royal family of Norway. Kyle McLaughlin plays Prez Roosevelt and he has aged into that role. The first ep was mostly in Norwegian with subs, which I found bold for PBS Masterpiece. Some nice snowy scenery. I never really thought much about Norway in WWII so it's educational. Neutrality never pays in wartime. Stukas are still terrifying warplanes. The Blitzkrieg was brutal.

Stacy binged this whole show already as soon as we got PBS Passport. I was putting it off, but now I'm kinda hooked.

[Drunk Monk]

E2: I might’ve dozed off in the middle. I think it’s all the Swedish and Norwegian. That’s an exhausting language to listen to - somewhere between English, German and the Swedish chef.

It’s very scenic so far, both interiors and exteriors.

At the end of this end, they finally started crossing the Atlantic.

[Greg]

Steinbeck wrote a book about Sweden(?)(one if the Scandinavian countries) during World War 2 called the Moon is Down. The book was banned in the country because of the Nazi occupation. So, they had mimeographed copies circulating around the country. My mother has one of those mimeographed copies like you do.