PBS Masterpiece Endeavor Zoom Event

We love Masterpiece on PBS We have been watching it for centuries. In fact, we prefer British shows and movies to most American shows and movies. We also have subscriptions to BritBox and Acorn. Since we are on the email list we get notifications when there are zoom events that feature some of the actors. The last one was for All Creatures Great and Small. This one was for Shaun Evans who played Endeavor over the last ten years. We watched both Morse and Lewis before this series and really love all of the actors in spite of some of the sketchy scripts. My husband is also interested in anything Oxford, and the music/theme song to the show is magical. So I registered for the event that was scheduled for last Sunday at three in the afternoon. It’s funny how the actors are as real people. Sometimes you get quite disappointed and sorry that you ever heard them speak outside of the character they play. But Mr Evans was genuine and easy to listen to. And the moderator was just as good. They were taking questions from all over the US. It’s always sad when a show you have come so accustomed to comes to an end. It’s like losing a good friend. Every time we think we will never see another great one we are always pleasantly surprised when another show becomes our favorite. So thanks for the ten years of entertainment. We really loved it! 

All Creatures Great and Small Zoom Chat

We have been watching PBS Masterpiece for a long time. The first show I watched was about Henry VIII back in the seventies. Now we get email notifications and Facebook reminders about all things Masterpiece. The other day an email arrived to register for a zoom chat with the actors from All Creatures Great and Small. My husband doesn’t care so much for this program, but I like the general mood of it all. And I like animals. So I signed up and got the zoom link for the program that was scheduled for Sunday at three in the afternoon. I got a reminder at two o’clock and set up my iPad in the den. My husband joined me because we usually do things together. We have attended a few “talk backs” after plays when we lived in the Midwest. And we also attended one on the GW campus in DC for a Downton Abby event. There, we watched the full episode of the new season opener and interacted with the actors. So it was enjoyable to experience the same type of event with this cast. It started with viewing the first half hour of the next episode followed by a question and answer exchange with the writer, producer and interviewer with the actors. Then audience questions were accepted. It was night time for the actors in England and the afternoon for us. It’s always interesting to note how different the actors really are from the characters they play. One has a preconceived notion about the person. It’s really amazing what zoom has been able to do to make getting to appointments so much easier - doctor visits, condo board meetings, and these sorts of things. No, it’s not the same as being in person. But sometimes it’s all you need. 

Amazon Prime Dickens, Austen, and all of our Favorites

We love the classics and all things British - so much so that we have a subscription for Acorn television. Our main purpose for having it is to see all the Midsomer Murders as well as other great television programming. But since we have Amazon Prime Video, there is even more opportunity to see our favorite classics from Dickens to Austen. It will be sad when we run through them all. Many of the shows we like are all the Masterpiece series we watched while living in the Midwest thirty years before we moved here twelve years ago. But there is a great assortment to select from -  Bleak House, The Way We Live Now, Daniel Deronda, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, Tess if the D’Urbervilles, Lorna Doone, Vanity Fair, Pride and Prejudice, Great Expectations, Cranford, Emma, Lark Rise to Candleford, Upstairs/Downstairs, Dombey and Son, Under the Greenwood Tree, Little Dorrit, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Our Mutual Friend, Hard Times, David Copperfield, Silas Mariner.... there are just a handful we didn’t like. It feels like meeting old friends - we saw them long ago and recognize many of the actors now from their early roles. We’ve tried a few of the newer series and get very disappointed with the storylines and the acting! Some of the original programming is okay but there is something about spending time with our old friends. So now there is no excuse not to find something entertaining to watch among Comcast/Xfinity, Amazon Orime Video, and Acorn TV. But it sure is getting confusing to figure out how to make the most of all of it. 

PBS American Experience - The Presidents

Whenever I read a book, it is typically historical or biographical. I've always been a fan of history, and declared it as my major in college until I decided I would need to get a job after I graduated. So I switched to nursing, and never looked back. But even to this day I still enjoy hearing about the life stories of interesting people. In spite of the political climate - especially in this town - the presidents fit that bill. PBS is rebroadcasting six of the president's stories in August. So we got them all in the queue and started watching the first one about Kennedy and have gotten as far a Carter. I was too young to really understand a lot of what was happening in the 60's, but vividly recall the black and white news casts and images. After college I became more in tune with world events. But now, when I hear the stories about national and world events and relive - again - the action of the time, one thing is clear. Don't we ever learn from the past? It hardly matters who was in office. I keep hearing the same words and speeches by different parties and leaders. Maybe because we are watching all of them within days, they all sound the same. I think having lived in DC for ten years now makes us even a bit more confused about how and why things happen as they did, and continue to today. Or maybe, I'm just getting older and notice it more. I'm not sure if anybody watches these shows? May be they should. It's amazing how things never really change.  

Downton Abbey Goodbyes

I've been watching Masterpiece since the series about the six wives of Henry the Eighth aired way back in the seventies. It was very hard to say goodbye last night. After six years of Sunday evening entertainment, Downton Abbey ended without much fanfare - the last show flew by so quickly! Everyone landed in a good place, like any typical fairy tale. Along the way, we managed to visit a few of the places with Downton Abbey connections. In 2012, we drove up to Delaware to see Winterthur and the costume exhibit. The place was packed and the lines were long. The real show stoppers were the clothing venues on display. Then in 2013 we traveled to visit our Buckinghamshire friends, and met up with our US friends who were also visiting England. We drove to see Highclere Castle. Again, the lines were long, and it was very busy in the unusually very hot July. No picture allowed inside! Then in December last year, we got tickets for the cast panel discussion at George Washington University. Talk about extremely packed! There, we watched the first episode of season six and met the real life actors who played the characters. So, it's been more than a television miniseries - all the players became a part of our family. It's hard to say goodbye! We will miss you all! When does Poldark start again?

Downton Abbey Season Six Preview and Cast Q and A at GW Lisner Auditorium

First it was a visit to Highclere Castle in England, then it was a trip to Winterthur in Delaware to see the costumes, and last night it was an opportunity to see the Downton Abbey season six premier episode with a follow up Q and A session with the actors. It was a treat indeed! My friend gave us tickets for my birthday. She was going out of town and didn't want them to go to waste - So they didn't! We hopped on the metro and headed to GW University to the Lisner Auditorium. We arrived much earlier than the program started and it was already packed. The string quartet could hardly be heard - and they were playing masterpiece theme songs - including Midsomer Murder. I have to say I honestly prefer watching the show on my couch in the comfort of my home, but it was obvious everyone in this audience was in love with all things Downton. I was hoping to see a couple of the lead female cast, but it was more male oriented, along with the costume designer. My husband actually yawned out loud half way through in spite of the fact that he actually likes this show. On the way out we grabbed a poster, and meandered back through the crowds. It was an interesting evening. Sometimes it is better to never really meet or hear actors talk as it changes the whole impression one has of them. I found one character extremely annoying and full of himself, but most were very professional and fun to see and hear. Thanks M for the tickets! It's made for a great finale our Downton Abbey experience. I wonder what will take its place?

The Forsyte Saga and Damian Lewis

We love masterpiece theater. Call us old fogies or whatever, but I've been watching it since the 70's when the wives of Henry VIII was first broadcast. And now that my husband has reconnected with his medical school classmate who happens to live in England, we like it even more. We've been to England three times in the last three years. With that came Midsomer Murders, Inspector Morse and Lewis, George Gentley, and the latest Masterpiece shows like Downton Abbey, Wolf Hall, and the Paradise. We've visited Oxford and the Downton Abbey castle to connect to the shows - silly! We recently came across the re runs of the Forsyte Saga, and started to DVR them and put them in the queue. Unfortunately, they are not numbered and we can't figure out which episode goes where, but have managed to get the first three in a row by following the guide on IMDb. For whatever reason, the lead character always stuck in my head - Soames. Most people know Damian Lewis now on regular US TV. I never watched him here, but he will always remain the memorable Soames character. There is something sad about the whole affair. Even more interesting are all the characters we have seen over the years that are in that show. Whenever there is a paucity of British television it gets depressing. The stories are just so much more charming and watchable. I'm hoping we can find the remaining chapters of this saga - and it surely is. But it's definitely worth the fuss. 

Midsomer Murders, Inspector Morse, Lewis, & Gentley, Sherlock & More

The Wives of Henry the Eighth was my first introduction to Masterpiece. Over the years I have learned to love the classics. But since we have traveled to London three years in a row to visit my husband's old medical school classmate, England has become even more endearing to us. We find the US contemporary crime dramas a bit too gross and realistic. It's too much - and in many instances - worse than every day news. I don't care for graphic violence and misery. So we have become addicted to everything masterpiece mystery and beyond starting with Midsomer Murders. The characters are fun, the music is weird, and it is humorous. We always feel good watching an episode. Half the time we can't understand it, but the countryside scenes are delightful. The only question I had of the lawyer giving tours at Oxford was "where were the locations that Inspector Morse and Lewis were shot." We saw the Sherlock phone booth in downtown London next to the building he "fell off." Now there is Grantchester and Father Browne - oh, and don't forget George Gentley. My husband loves the sidekick who yells at everyone. There is something sweet about all of these programs and it goes to show you there are entertaining stories beyond Downton Abbey and Pride and Prejudice.  We love them all. It hardly matters where you live or when you watch them, but it still feels the best on Sunday evening. The Masterpiece theme song keeps playing in my head.