United Kingdom - TV SHOWS & MOVIES

[jonathan]

We watched episode 1 of Prey last night: great! Glad it's just a three-parter. We've also got Hinterland waiting on the HD - we'll see if we have similar reactions to yours.

Philippa & I absolutely loved Wolf Hall; I'm waiting until the summer to read the sequel (needs a bit more free time). I'm very excited by the casting of the TV version. Rylance is a wonderful actor (far more often seen on stage than screen). Wikipedia tells me that Claire Foy (superb as Amy Dorrit a few years ago, and in that 1940s/present day Palestine drama The Promise) will be Anne Boleyn, David Bradley (who's been in everything! Recently memorable as Walder Frey in GoT) as Norfolk, and Mark Gatiss (Mycroft, and co-writer in the recent Sherlocks) as Stephen Gardiner.

 

[Lindy]

Pauline, there has been a recent announcement that Broadchurch/Gracepoint will begin airing here (Canada) on Fox, Oct 2/14. Watch for the backdrops of Victoria - a beautiful city.
L

 

[Roz]

The audiobook versions of Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies were superb. Mike and I like to listen to audiobooks together, and these were two of the best ever. I'm really eager for the BBC TV production. I hope it doesn't take too long to get to the US. We usually have to wait several months or more.

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

We're just finishing Downton Abbey season 4. We get the DVD from the library and watch while at our cottage. I wasn't that keen as have gotten a little sick of the show but have to admit enjoyed this season. We have 1 installment left. I like the acting particularly Maggie Smith. However, it can also be quite irritating.
Another series we enjoyed from the library and one we hadn't heard of before was Cranford. It takes place in the 1840s in a small British village on the cusp of big changes. Starring Judi Dench, it features a strong female cast of a certain age. I think it aired in 2007.

 

[artnbarb]

Altho it's long over, and only lasted 2 seasons, did anyone watch "Green Wing"? We got hooked on it when we lived in Italy and would roll on the floor with laughter! I've searched but apparently it's not available on DVD for the US...which is such a ridiculously stupid idea!

 

[Pauline]

I have not heard of Green Wing - I will look it up.

A drama on BBC now, finishing this week, that has turned out to be very good is The Honourable Woman starring American actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. It is very slow moving (very slow!) but has built up to be a very complex story. Current too - about relations between Israel and Palestine.

 

[Chris]

It's playing here too now. I've watched three episodes so we're a little behind. I didn't realize it was BBC. It's playing on Sundance here.

 

[Pauline]

A new Scandi-drama starts on BBC4 on November 26. Here is an old article about it.

The Guardian - The Legacy: Danish treat for BBC viewers to get teeth into post-Borgen, December 2013
Drama about an artist's family has yet to premiere in Denmark, but is expected to be another overseas hit for Danish TV

 

[italian excursion]

I know this is an older thread but I've run out of British murder mysteries and I was checking for new ones here. So, I will make a few comments, etc. Thanks for the new recommendations, everyone.

I loved Rosemary & Thyme; Midsomer Murders; of course, all the old and new Oxford mysteries. My work can be intense, so these are great shows for unwinding. Love Doc Martin, too. There were also a couple of women detective series that were interesting, mostly because they are SO real, not glamorous or pretentious. I got hooked on Coogan & Brydon one year in Italy. Also, has anyone watched COAST? It's fantastic if you can find it. Older series that takes you on a trip around the entire coastline of the British Isles, exploring history, culture, geography with scientists who take you back many thousands of years sometimes. I also liked MI-5 though it was a bit dark, not like Midsomer orR & T….

If you have any more suggestions, please post. Will look for some of the others that were mentioned.

Cheers,
Cheryl
www.italianexcursion.com

 

[Roz]

An older series that we recently became hooked on is Dalziel and Pascoe. I got on to it because I read an interview with Donna Leon, where she said the novels by Reginald Hill were among her favorite mysteries.

I have now read a couple of the books, and watched some of the early DVDs. As always on the BBC, the acting is terrific, and I really enjoy the premise of the relationship between the crusty (very smart and very politically incorrect) Dalziel and his younger, fresh-out-of-university assistant cop Pascoe.

I was able to get the DVDs from our library, and Netflix also has them, although not on streaming. The only slight problem is that sometimes the Yorkshire accents are a bit hard to understand, but I agree with Donna Leon that the series, either in print or on video, is great.

 

[Panda]

Warren Clarke , who played Andy Dalziel, died after a short illness last month - he was always a very watchable actor and will be missed.

I am following the second series of The Fall on BBC2 the moment. A very dark and atmospheric thriller, we know from the start who is the serial killer preying on women in Belfast. The tension comes from the near misses of identifying him and then the complications attached to his arrest. Gillian Anderson plays the lead detective - with an unlikely working wardrobe of gorgeous but impractical silk blouses !

 

[Chris]

I'll be glad when the second season of The Fall arrives over here! It looks like Netflix will have it in mid-January.

 

[Pauline]

We like The Fall too! We are in Season 2 now in the UK and it is a continuation of Season 1 - and still very, very good. Gillian Anderson is amazing - they all are.

We got Netflix here finally and are watching Season 2 of House of Cards Our internet is just barely good enough for streaming movies and shows.

 

[Pauline]

What about The Missing? The penultimate episode just ended. It is BBC, about a child abducted in France. Most of it takes place in France. It is very good and more like a mystery story.

 

[Chris]

Hmm. Looks like it's on Starz here. I don't think I get that. Maybe it will show up on Netflix or Amazon later.

 

[Pauline]

Broadchurch Season 2 on ITV starts here January 5, 2015.

Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death - A new series set in the Cotswolds starts December 26. It looks like fluff, but it is set in the north Cotswolds.

And, there's the Downton Abbey Christmas Special.

I added The Missing to our main list at the top of the thread.

 

[Panda]

I loved Broadchurch but was slightly dismayed to see they were planning a second series - it was so much about an unimaginably awful thing happening in an ordinary place, to very ordinary families that I can't quite see how they spin it on. More of the damaged character played by David Tennant, more of the kindly but now devastated character played by Olivia Coleman with presumably another crime to solve ..... I think it should have been left as a good dramatic memory.

That said, I will be watching.

 

[Pauline]

I agree @Panda ! The plot is all hush-hush and I have no idea what they are going to do. I will be watching too.

 

[jonathan]

I agree too about Broadchurch. But with Charlotte Rampling amongst the new cast I shall definitely be watching. I think, though, I'll be giving Agatha Raisin a miss - it looks dreadful! (But yes, pretty locations)

 

[Chris]

I felt the same way about Broadchurch. I thought it was very good as it was, but a sequel just seems wrong. I also haven't looked at the American version for the same reason.

But Charlotte Rampling, you say? I think I would watch Agatha Raisin to see Charlotte Rampling.