United Kingdom - TV SHOWS & MOVIES

[Jim Zurer]

It stops after I choose the download option and indicated HD or SD. The download software opens but no data is ever downloaded. I can watch using the iplayer without difficulty. I get the impression that the download software isn't governed by Hola which sits on the Chrome browser.

Hard to ask for technical assistance from BBC.....they will probably note where I am coming from.

 

[Pauline]

I think you are right that the download software knows you are using Hola as a VPN. I will ask my friend Brad who lives in Canada and uses Witopia to watch BBC - I'll ask him on Facebook if he has downloaded programs.

 

[Pauline]

We moved this conversation over to Facebook and got input from friend of mine who lives in both the US and the UK. She uses Witopia, a paid VPN (as do I). Jim was using HOLA, a free VPN. Jim tried Witopia and now he can download the BBC iPlayer programs, so it was the VPN he was using that caused this to not work.

 

[Panda]

Broadchurch :The first two episodes have played and, hmm, for me it is a big let down. I shan't go into detail, in case of spoilers for those who will see it later , but such liberties have been taken with legal and police procedure that it just lost any reality for me. Artistic license is one thing but this goes beyond that. To misquote the film Jerry Maguire -' you lost me at the selection of prosecuting counsel' .

There are other areas of unbelievability that rankle as well. However, David Tennant and Olivia Coleman are doing a very fine job, as expected, as does Charlotte Rampling and there are more gorgeous shots of the lovely coast and countryside around Bridport . We stayed in a beautiful cottage in nearby Burton Bradstock a few years ago and it is an area I would highly recommend for a holiday.

 

[Pauline]

Broadchurch: The first two episodes have played and, hmm, for me it is a big let down. ... We stayed in a beautiful cottage in nearby Burton Bradstock a few years ago and it is an area I would highly recommend for a holiday.

I am enjoying the second series so far, but it is not as good as series 1.

Panda, I found your review on ST - Jasmine Cottage Review (www.dream-cottages.co.uk). We have twice stayed in Bridport and I really like that area. I have been looking for a good cottage for a week this summer. The first one we rented was great but expensive, the other one cheaper but the bed was really uncomfortable.

 

[Pauline]

It looks like Jasmine Cottage is not on their books and was sold in 2010. I just noticed your review was from 2004. However the agency has many nice properties.

 

[Pauline]

The Casual Vacancy, the BBC show created from the JK Rowling book and filmed in the Cotswolds last summer, airs on Sunday February 15!! The scenes with the lingerie shop were filmed in my village (Painswick).

BBC One - The Casual Vacancy

 

[ElizaN]

I watched all 3 seasons of The Fall in just a couple of days, and found it riveting and terrifying. Seeing the killer's family life mixed in with his elaborate preparations for his attacks was chilling. And then I watched Whitechapel, which I enjoyed also. The lead detective has OCD, and he takes on an eccentric Ripper expert as a "researcher". I love the details about the other officer's lives and loves, and the way historical crime information is used as keys to contemporary crimes.

 

[Pauline]

For anyone of a mid-20th century literary bent, there is a very funny Radio 4 Show - Gloomsbury written by Sue Limb (who I know - she lives nearby!). It is a literary comedy parodying the Bloomsbury Group (called Gloomsbury) with Vera Sackcloth-Vest (Vita Sackville-West) at Sizzlinghurst (Sissinghurst) and Ginny Fox (Virginia Wolf) and DH Lollipop (DH Lawrence) - well, you get it. Hilarious. It took me 20 minutes to figure out why DH Lollipop wanted guacamole - because he lived in New Mexico for awhile!

There are two series each with 6 episodes.

 

[Kathy]

Season 1 of Father Brown (BBC) is now available in the USA on Amazon Instant Video. I wanted to watch the series because it's set in the Cotswolds and some scenes were filmed at our friends' Old Farm in Dorn, a tiny hamlet near Moreton.

Father Brown is a kindly and smart Catholic priest in a small village who ends up solving a variety of mysteries (mostly murders), often tangling with the local police detective in solving the crime. There are just a few other regular characters that appear in all/most of the episodes. I think the timing is early 1950's. The series is "inspired" by stories written by GK Chesterton, apparently very loosely.

A lot of the filming was done in Blockley... the village scenes and Father Brown's church and rectory. We stayed in Blockley for a week in 2004 and have hiked in that area... I recognized some of the footpaths and fields too. Episode 5 was filmed in various spots around Sudeley Castle, including in the church. I've also recognized Broad Campden. The old train and station are from the railroad station in Winchcombe. Our friends' kitchen hasn't appeared yet... perhaps that will be in season 2.

I definitely don't want to promote this as "outstanding" television... it's very light... but the series is growing on me. I think it's improving over time. I do like the character of Father Brown and of course I enjoy the Cotswold setting. Seasons 2 and 3 to come, but not available online here yet.

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

I just finished watching " The Honourable Woman" a BBC production. It was incredible on many levels. A political thriller. A family saga. Strong female leads. Fantastic cast. Maggie Gylenhaal, an American played the lead. She won best actress at the Golden Globes. While she did an amazing job, I wondered why they didn't get a Brit. All I can think is that it is an American co production. Still I always find it strange when Brits play Americans and Americans Brits.
Highly recommend this mini series but it requires concentration.

 

[Pauline]

Brits love doing American accents and it seems like they all can do one. I wish I could make myself sound like a Brit!

I thought The Honourable Woman was very good too.

 

[Chris]

I really enjoyed The Honourable Woman too! I thought Maggie Gylenhaal was completely fascinating in the role. I would never have thought she'd be right for it, but she was.

 

[Pauline]

Broadchurch season 2 ended last week and I enjoyed it up until the final episode which I hated and made me think less of the entire series. You were right @Panda ! The final episode was not believable, stupid, overly dramatic ...

Season 2 gave us the final ending to season 1 and an okay solution to the murder the main character had dealt with before the Broadchurch murder. Hopefully there will be no season 3 - or if there is, it will be as good as season 1.

The scenery of the Dorset coast around Bridport (the Jurassic Coast) was fabulous.

 

[Pauline]

Starting Sunday on BBC One, a remake of Poldark, a romantic saga set in 18th-century Cornwall and based on the novels of Winston Graham. It was filmed in the south Cotswolds at Chavenage House in Tetbury (the setting for the Poldark family's Cornish home, Trenwith).

BBC One - Poldark

 

[Pauline]

This show started a few weeks ago and is getting good reviews. I haven't watched it yet.

Indian Summers on Channel 4 started in February. Drama set in the summer of 1932 when India wants independence but the British are still in power.

 

[Panda]

I am sort of looking forward to Poldark - love Cornwall but still have too many memories of the original production from the 70s .

 

[Pauline]

The Guardian - Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan to return in BBC's The Fall, March 11 2015
The X Files and Fifty Shades of Grey stars to reprise roles in series three of serial killer drama

The BBC’s Gillian Anderson drama The Fall will return for a third series, finally revealing the fate of the serial killer played by Jamie Dornan. The second series of the BBC2 thriller, one of the channel’s most popular dramas of last year, ended like the first, on a cliffhanger, with Dornan’s Paul Spector lying shot in the arms of detective Stella Gibson (Anderson).

 

[Chris]

What! I thought for sure he was dead, but I guess that was just wishful thinking.

 

[Kathy]

For the last few nights I have been watching Grantchester, a BBC/Masterpiece series. This is really, really good. It features a handsome young Anglican vicar who is struggling with some intense personal issues. He become friends with the local detective and ends up helping to solve murders. The acting is excellent and the stories (beyond just the crime-solving) are quite interesting.

The series is set in the 1950's... set in the area around Cambridge. There are just six episodes. I hope there is a Season 2.

Forget the similarities to Father Brown, which I posted about before. (I really only watched that for the Cotswolds scenery and it was kind of relaxing fluff.) I really recommend Grantchester.