Masterpiece Theater

[Drunk Monk]

Grantchester s8e1&2: I spaced out when this series started and by the time I got around to it, the 1st ep already had its upper left hand blue corner on it me wing I could only watch it if I had passport. So I bailed on the whole season.
Then Stacy renewed passport and didn’t tell me. So I’m catching up. 
I sorta forgot how s7 ended because it was a rushed binge -Will’s marriage and pregnant wife took me a minute to recall. The first ep was a motorbike race and I had a guess about the killer but I was off. Thought it was the girl if she was a red herring. 
E2 also had a negative view of bikers with Will killing someone on his bike. Stacy said he’s mopey all season because of it. She’s seen it all having watched it when it started (I wasn’t so quick on the uptake). I’m not entirely buying how Will got out of manslaughter charges but whatev. The dude whose fiancee became Will’s wife is a higher ranking cop and the new villain. 
I think there’s 8 eps this season, each just under an hour.

[Drunk Monk]

E3 was a tad risqué with a nude painting and a women’s rights protest that was Godiva-esque. Almost had the perp if I had just stuck with my first impression (the random early character) but let myself get deluded by red herrings.
E4 figured one of the murderers using the least likely theory and was impressed by the long play. Didn’t get the other one.

[Drunk Monk]

E5 - another one where I should e just called out the least likely suspect because sure enough, that’s who did it. Thought about it but didn’t speak out so it doesn’t count. Tension mounts for a depressing penultimate ep. Will is so mopey, drinking, popping pills, and getting into fights.

E6 Season finale - the first half of the ep is a tangent tale as the over arching season stories come to a head, the. The second half is all the happy resolutions. By the last scene, all the season’s conflicts are resolved and all is good. Hugs for everyone!

Still an enjoyable show. Murder lite Stacy calls it. Comforting. Not too graphic or perverse. Heartwarming. 

Not particularly D00M recommended but you could do a lot worse.

[Drunk Monk]

Annika S2
(see http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...8#pid60058)

This is still my fav show. Nicole kills it as Annika. Her breaking the 4th wall monologues are so good, spot on timing, so they draw me in every time. There's new twists with the squad, and Annika is PTSDing from the conclusion of S1. 

The show capture Glasgow with this cold, wet, beautiful atmosphere. The droll deadpan humor is hysterical. The squad's chemistry is pitch perfect for a police procedural. And the accents are lovely. 

Great show. Highly D00M recommended for those of us who love Euro murder mysteries.

[Drunk Monk]

S2e2: This show is still on point. It’s just charming, ironically so because it’s all about murders, we’d murders specifically because the cops are part of the MHU (Marine homicide unit). A new motorcycle cop is introduced and I hope she’s a recurring character. There’s always an old story that Annika describes in her 4th wall breaking monologues that is a theme of the ep. Good stuff.

[Drunk Monk]

E3: Themed to Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. I guessed the final red herring, which was wrong. The new level of tension from the s1 finale revelation has been shared and it’s made the banter even wittier with an underlying viciousness. The cast dynamics thicken as one of the squad leaves for a new position. He’s the dude who always chases and tackles the fleeing perp so now I wonder who will do that? Yet he was the most expendable so I’m fine with it.

E4 themed on 1984, which I didn’t quite get as I know that book well and set on the isle of Islay which I know from whiskey (and whiskey played a role). This story was twisty and I quickly lost track, complicated by the shifting cast dynamics. I was very pleased to see the motorcycle cop join the squad as I thought she might. The pregnant woman gave birth at the climax of the action as pregnant women always do in shows like this, which lead us to believe that Cho will pop her baby out in the finale fight when the s1 finale mcguffin is revealed to the rest of the cast. And this ep ends with a kicker of a cliffhanger. Well played.

Still loving this show. The squad chemistry is perfect for the witty banter that’s as dry funny as can be, exacerbated by those lovely Scottish accents. Only 2 more eps which we’ll likely watch in Wednesday night.

[Drunk Monk]

E5: themed on King Lear. Annika tries to take a vacay to an eco camp where her daughter Morgan is working and of course, she finds a body. The perp would’ve been easy to finger had I followed the ol’ ‘it’s the random person introduced at the beginning then abandoned completely until the reveal’ rule. I fell for a subtle red herring that went nowhere at all. The big secret is out and we’re set up for the season finale.

E6: srsly?! That’s where you’re going to leave it? A monster cliffhanger? Dammit. I won’t even remember it whenever s3 rolls around in a year or so. Dammit.

Still a good show tho.

[Drunk Monk]

I regret lumping all the Masterpiece shows into this single thread. Masterpiece should really be a subforum here. Then again, I seem to be the only one here watching these so I guess it doesn’t matter.

All Creatures Great and Small S4

Back to the pleasant lands of Darroby. So pleasant. Yay.

E1 featured a whippet-like dog with distemper who reminded me of one of Yuki’s friends. 
E2 had a close up of a ferret tumorectomy that was gratuitous. Not sure why they go there now. I miss Tris, who is off at war.

[Drunk Monk]

Only 7 eps in season 4 and I binged to e6 last night. Helen’s pregnancy progressed alarmingly fast (I suspect the baby drops in the finale). The new intern is annoying. James at war is where the books ended (not that I read them) so we’re in new territory now. The kitty is cool. Audrey should’ve left With Gerald but she’s such a mainstay character. Too much Tricky Woo this season. 

This show is so comforting, like a nice pot of tea with biscuits.

[Drunk Monk]

S4 finale was the Xmas ep. It was predictably sweet and uncommonly funny. Very pleasant.

[Drunk Monk]

Miss Scarlet and the Duke S4

It’s Leonard from Grantchester again playing a man of the cloth, but this time he’s been shot in a robbery of a high end brothel. The season premiere was ok. Eliza struggles to find her footing with what last season left her in terms of story arc and new cast. She’s still pluck and cute as a bodice button. I guessed half of the perpetrators but didn’t get it all because I wasn’t really paying attention. Another pleasant show - despite almost always being about murder, it’s less grisly than All Creatures Great and Small. Which is weird, right?

[Drunk Monk]

E2 was the murder of a coroner - not the reoccurring coroner that’s courting Eliza’s housekeeper. Another one who’s never been introduced - just as well - now he dead. It wasn’t in the least bit morbid, a testament to this show’s family friendliness. But William gets shot in the end to set up e3

E3 ‘origins’ was a flashback to when William and Eliza first met as teens. The actors they got to play the younger versions where amazing, not only physically looking a lot like younger versions, but nailing the gestures and mannerisms. Very impressive. Good backstory ep.

[Drunk Monk]

E4 sees the return of Nash and shockingly, the exit of William. Can they still call it Miss Scarlet and the Duke without the Duke? They explained the Duke thing in the beginning but they never really explored that - they went the other way with that character. Finally he confesses love for Eliza (it’s kinda funny that no one seems to notice that she’s smoking hawt but William. But then he’s written out. Whatevs.

E5 more Nash who is proving to be a decent foil for Eliza. It was an interesting solve bringing the women’s issues from that period to the forefront again. 

Season finale - Nash is on the run. The detective agency collapses and Elisa is back to her old solo office. It’s like a reset. 

Overall, the show felt a little weaker this season except for that flashback ep, which was the centerpiece and well done. Not sure if this is getting renewed yet. I’m ok either way.

I’ve decided that what I like most about masterpiece is the Gorey intro and outro animation. That’s still cool after all these years.

[Drunk Monk]

Nolly

Helena Bonham-Carter plays Noele Gordon, a pioneering female actress and star of the ITV soap opera Crossroads. I never watched that show and have no knowledge of her story. I’m only in it for Bellatrix, who nails the role of a demanding aging actress who gets sacked. She’s still got such solid acting chops, funneling them into her poignant portrayal - I’m already rooting for her. 

There’s some startlingly good oners in the beginning - swirling cinematography that captures the frantic bts of tv making. It’s a clean production, slick in that way expected of Masterpiece, with a keen eye for the period. I was particularly struck by Nolly’s phone, which was a classy landline model, white plastics with chromey gold trim. I miss landlines. Haven’t had one since I had an office at Tiger Claw. 

I think this is a 3 hour long episode mini series.

[Drunk Monk]

Finished Nolly. It was quite good, but in all fairness, I’m a huge fan of Helena and she can really sink her teeth into this role. In the end, it makes some statements against the patriarchy, and Nolly is simply too good of a person. The real life Nolly completely escaped my awareness so the truthfulness of this wasn’t for me to say. Ultimately it was all about Helena’s tour de force. 

Recommended for any D00M Helena fans.