British TV Fall-Winter 2022 (part 2)

Previous thread has been locked.

Linked below.

I started this because I wanted to talk about a show I just discovered on the Pluto app (free) called No Offense. It’s a team of police detectives in Manchester (subtitles most definitely required) with a season-long arc as well as individual cases solved weekly. Three seasons. The title is sarcastic, there’s plenty of offensive sick humor.

I just watched Karen Pirie that was recommended on the other thread. There’s so many of these Acorn/Britbox gritty detective series, set in locales with strong accents and bad weather but this was really good. Only 3 episodes so, not a long arc. I hope they do more.

I've watched most of every British detective/procedural show to date, but somehow I never got around to "The Inspector Lynley Mysteries." I'm working my way through right now (only four eps to go, I think.) Then I'll get back to the newly-released eps of "Midsomer" and "Hope St." And I have one unwatched "Whitstable Pearl."

Love these threads! Going forward, could posters note *where* they're watching or streaming these shows (on BritBox, Acorn, Prime, PBS, etc. etc.)? It makes it easier to find them (yes, I know about JustWatch.com). Ta very much!

I only watch British police procedurals/mysteries but I can’t watch Midsommer Murders. It has no attraction for me, too bland?

I know, it's getting as dry as burnt toast but I do still enjoy Midwife. Looking forward to the Christmas special.

Finally watched Wreck. It was ok. I'll give it 4/10. The gay guy wasn't allowed to have sex, yet the lesbian was. That's a double standard and I'm sick of it. I would have given the show a 6/10 if they had treated the gay and lesbian characters equally.

Looking forward to new and final season of Happy Valley coming on New Year's Day

Haven't the time to peruse the previous thread but I've enjoyed the hell out of Slow Horses on Apple tv. Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, and the delicious Jack Lowden 🤤

I don't want to monopolize the thread w/Midwife content, especially when the full season starts, so here's a full thread for S12 (as we have had full stand alone threads for previous seasons).

I just finished all of Season 2 of "Hope Street" (police procedural set in Northern Ireland.)

I randomly stumbled upon the anthology A CHRISTMAS GHOST STORY on BritBox. I just watched the 1978 one, “The Ice House,” and it is wildly homoerotic for 1978! It stars silver fox John Stride losing his wits at a remote health spa. He gets massaged and cuddled by other men.

I'm 2/3rds of the way through THE TRAITORS and am totally addicted. (Some kind soul posted the episodes on YouTube. Just search for [italic]The Traitors UK[/italic].) It's such a fiendish & clever reality competition and every episode has provided one or more absolutely jaw-dropping moments. Very, very well done.

There will be an American version airing in January on Peacock, but it will be populated with "reality celebrities" from shows like Survivor & Big Brother (including the infamous Rachel Reilly). No way will it be as good as watching these average Brits freaking out and being "murdered" on a regular basis on the UK show.

Now that the season has ended and my viewing is entering the home stretch, I'm just trying to avoid spoilers. So far, I have no idea what is in store.

First episode of Season 2 of "Madame Blanc Mysteries" is now on Acorn. It's a British show, but set in France.

This has US content mixed in but thought this would be an interesting list to many on this thread.

I'd like to see Chloe.

Anyone watching the third season of Happy Valley on the BBC? Sarah Lancashire is stellar once again! I’m scared of where the storyline of this series is headed, though. A few years ago, we had tickets to see her in Labour of Love, but she pulled out (replaced by Tamsin Greig, who was quite funny by the way). I was very curious to see her acting on a stage vs. her TV acting.

I am loving Happy Valley. Such a great show. I think this season is a little weaker than the others but still great TV. That scene with Siobhan Finneran and Sarah Lancashire in the café. Baftas all round.

If anyone is on Britbox, I'd appreciate any recommendations of their current offerings, which seem kind of meager. Last series I watched there was the one with Monica Dolan and Eddie Marsan as the wacky criminal married couple, which I quite liked.

When will the new season of "Happy Valley" show up on streaming? I'm afraid it might end up on one of the few services I don't have, like AMC+.

I started streaming a one-season show called New Blood. It started out promising, a new police detective investigating a suicide that he thinks is actually murder and linked to a couple other seemingly unrelated, accidental deaths. And an investigator working at government agency targeting fraud who’s working undercover at a pharmaceutical company which has a huge contract with the NHS. It turns out both stories are linked and they eventually connect in the third episode. Unfortunately the whole tone of the show then shifts to a bro comedy with jokey arch-competitive patter. You know, when both of you see a suspect that you’ve been looking for, you should immediately run after him. Not: give each other a several-seconds-long meaningful look, like I dare ya, and then launch into a chase.

R21

Thanks for the review; it was on my list. I may have to try it anyway since it has Mark Bonnar and Anna Chancellor. Bonnar is always excellent, and Chancellor is always interesting.

I watched Chloe on Prime. I liked it a lot! Erin Doherty is a great actress.

Happy Valley final ever episode tonight. Cannot wait.

R22, both Bonnar and Chancellor have small roles. They’re good of course but not much airtime. Mark Addy is the partner detective and plays a very realistic fascist asshole cop who hates getting shown up by his clever boots junior partner. So that part is all good but then the tone shifts to bro squabbling. It’s like they started out with the British style of grim police storytelling and then switched to the American one-upmanship banter style. Maybe it evens out, I bailed after one episode of the next story arc.

^ sorry, the banter is between the two leads, not the detective and Mark Addy.

I loved yesterday’s final episode of Happy Valley. Sally Wainwright’s writing and Sarah Lancashire’s acting form such a fabulous combo.

Loved Russell T. Davis' three-parter NOLLY starring Helena Bonham-Carter as Noele Gordon the star of long-running soap opera "Crossroads".

Helena was astonishingly good and surprisingly, as was Augustus Prew who plays Noele's costar and best friend Tony Adams.

Another Happy Valley fan here. Remarkable that every episode was written by the showrunner AND that she waited seven years between the last two seasons so that the actors would be the right age for the conclusion she wanted. (And that they all came back to do it.) The resemblances between the "sisters", and between TLR and the kid, are disturbingly convincing.

I particularly loved the side-plot in Season 3 about the violent husband whose wife is murdered by someone else, but there's no way he can prove he didn't do it. Scenes we'd like to see.

I am SO PISSED that Happy Valley S3 will only be streamed in the US on AMC+. Guess I'll have to wait for the whole thing to air and then get a 7-day free trial to binge it. Can we just go back to cable or something like it?!

There’s a new sitcom called “Big Boys” about two college roommates, one gay, one straight. While the gay character is very stereotypical, there are a few good moments in the show. The straight guy shows ass.

In addition to "Midsomer" having gone woke (drag queens, trans), now "Vera" has chimed in too, with its latest episode featuring a soft-butch lesbian and the most obvious-looking MTF trans character in TV history.

If I’ve never seen or heard of Crossroads, will Nolly make sense?

[quote]If I’ve never seen or heard of Crossroads, will Nolly make sense?

Absolutely. If you know the show it just adds to the nostalgia. Without the knowledge it is just as entertaining. It's a look at the hubris of a star.

I have to say in some ways it's not a surprise....but I really thought they'd run into not having any more stories to tell.

I guess Midwife is the UK's version of Grey's Anatomy!

Was there a second season of This Is Going to Hurt - it was brilliant. I even subscribed to AMC just to watch it.

I might be a bit late to the party, but I really enjoyed S1 of "The Tower". And, apparently, there'll be the second season this year.

Am a Brit and don’t watch any of our current TV. Idk how you lot manage or why you bother. It all bores me to tears. Have perhaps been spoiled with too much good TV over the years, though, that I take it for granted and have become too complacent to appreciate it.

Then again, I do watch ‘Pobol y Cwm’ from time to time, so I can’t talk either! In fairness, I only stick it on for language practise, to improve my Welsh. I do admit it’s deathly boring and fluffy and poorly done even for a soap.

I like Call the Midwife because everybody in it is so fucking kind. Makes a change from real life and every other show on TV.

R40 Same. It isn't cutting edge but I do enjoy it.

That said I sort of wish they'd introduce a few new people....and fling the Buckles into space.

Pssst, R30...Dailymotion is your friend.

R41 it seems Dailymotion will still be limping on its grainy way at the end of the world. Nothing can keep it down or take it out of action, not even the onward march of Time.

I thought "Call the Midwife" would have to end soon because they're already in the late '60s and midwives were beginning to go out of fashion in the UK by then, no? I mean with contraception and the NHS, their work must have started to drop off pretty dramatically.

R43 a girl I went to school with in the 2000s became a midwife.

I'm currently binge watching Scott & Bailey.

Just finished London Kills and Doc Martin.

Adding to the praise for Happy Valley. The showdown scene in the final episode between Sarah Lancashire and James Norton was terrific but all three series have been so good. .

I’ve watched a couple episodes of Madame Blanc. There’s an overarching mystery about her dead husband but it’s episodic otherwise. She’s got a fantastical talent for antiques, can tell a fake just by looking at a photo. Hangs out with a bunch of expats so none of that confusion of British actors pretending to be French characters and English locations pretending to be French ones like in Mystery in Provence. Although MB is filmed in Malta, it looks enough like the south of France.

Can you lucky people that can watch the latest season of 'Happy Valley' say as little about it as possible? Maybe just whether or not you liked it? What seems very minor posted above, has now told us something key about the resolution.

TIA

R48, fear not. All R46 means is that they are in the same room for a period during the episode. The writing isn't cliched, so that isn't enough info to point to any resolution -- or even whether there IS one.

Point taken, however.

Also, LOVING the new Happy Valley, just two episodes in. Sally Wainwright is a treasure! I wanted to wait until it was all available so I could watch at my own pace which for this, is one episode a night. Too good to binge all at once. Sarah Lancashire is truly a goddess! The entire cast is magnificent. Now that I've watched so much UK TV I recognize so many of the actors who display the most enormous range from show to show.

A friend pointed out that Wainwright also wrote the earlier Scott and Bailey, which is five seasons of goodness.

HV's construction is tighter, more like a novel than a series, but you can tell it's the same writer.

I just started the final season of Shetland with Douglas Henshall. I've been putting it off for weeks because I hate to see it end. I've got a few other series lined up but none of them look too appealing.

I didn't like Chloe. Didn't finish it. Maybe I'm too old and not the right demographic. Doctor Foster is the last UK series I really enjoyed. Wish they'd bring it back for a third series. Most things I find to be kind of mediocre. Not bad, but not memorable either. The Helena Bonham Carter thing looks like fun.

Don't think we have many midwives in the US but in the UK and France (and probably elsewhere on the Continent) they are preferred to OB Gyns for births except for pregnancies with serious complications.

R52 - When did (does???) the newest Season 8 (Series 8) of Shetland launch in the USA?

I watch Shetland on BritBox.

R55

[quote]With filming taking place in locations on the Shetland Isles and across Scotland from Spring 2023, an autumn 2023 or even early 2024 release date looks the most likely.

And, this does not bode well:

[quote]Ashley Jensen stars as DI Ruth Calder, a native Shetlander who returns to the isles after 20 years working for the Met in London.

She's a lightweight. I do not understand why, with the embarrassment of riches that is the British acting community, they chose to entrust this (heretofore) brilliant show to Ashley Jensen.

Apparently it makes money in some way for the BBC, because they sure don't give a shit about the quality of a new series.

I didn't mean to suggest that there were no more midwives, but the whole convent-district-nurse-midwife setup in the show surely can't exist in that format anymore.

Shetland is continuing (Cake fridge!) just with a new actresses the lead.

^ sorry, I hadn’t refreshed.

I read an article online, the sisters who worked at Nonantus House eventually sold up, in the 70s maybe, quite a while ago and bought a new place outside of London, very suburban looking. There are a couple of the London nuns still alive and they have lay sisters. Just a handful of people. It was kind of sad.

Not British TV, but I just binged all episodes of Mr. Mercedes. If you're a fan of classic Stephen King, you'll enjoy this.

[quote]Was there a second season of This Is Going to Hurt - it was brilliant. I even subscribed to AMC just to watch it.

Adam Kay said he wrote it as a one and done. I've not read any announcements that BBC wants another season.

Just watched Hugo Blick's (Sensitive Skin, The Shadow Line) THE ENGLISH starring Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer. It originally aired on BBC Two and Amazon Prime Video. Fantastic bit of television.

This thread is pleasantly surprising to read as a Brit. We're used to most of our home made TV never seeing the light of day outside this country!

The only one I knew was popular outside the UK was Midsomer Murders. In fact, I think it's more popular outside the UK than here, given that episodes have aired in other countries before here. The channel that shows it here (ITV) keeps it back for when they have literally nothing else to show. Hence some episodes that non-Brits probably saw more than a year ago still haven't been broadcast here.

r62 You MUST see the current season episode about drag queens ...

R62, Australia has always been steeped in British drama and comedy via the ABC. Ever since we got TV in 1956.

Speaking of Australia, I’ve been watching PLAYING FOR KEEPS, which ran for two seasons in 2018-2019 and is basically Down Under FOOTBALLERS WIVES. It’s a fun enough distraction and there is a lot of male Aussie eye candy.

R56 - I think Ashley Jensen may surprise us all. She is more versatile than she is given credit for. Just because she plays a "full blown nutter" in Agatha Raisin (which is Midsomer Murders meets Ru Paul's Drag Race) does not mean she cannot play a "heavy" in Shetland. The director and/or showrunner cast her Shetland for a reason.

Looks like we will have to wait until Season (Series) 8 drops. I am sure it will be a performance that will 'launch a thousand threads"!

IMAO, the best ever episode on Midsomer Murders is 'A Tale of Two Hamlets". The cast is wonderful and very dry humor funny. Midsomer at its best.

Ashley Jensen?

Most of us in the US only know her from Catastrophe and Ugly Betty.

I binge watched the British legal drama Silk (2011-2014) a few years ago. It was fascinating, just really really good, but the British legal setup is so completely different from the US one that it would be too confusing for most Americans. Even though I lived in London when I was younger so probably was more familiar with it than average, I was quite confused in parts. The whole concept of senior clerk controlling who gets a case or not, that doesn’t exist in the US.

And those stiff wigs the judges and barristers have to wear! Are they dreaded or considered a privilege?

R70 - How can it be a privilege to wear an ugly moth-eaten wig?

A recent addition to streaming, MHz, is showing series (mostly crime) from Wales, Scotland, and Ireland with actors speaking Welsh and Gaelic (with English subtitles). Has anyone subscribed and watched?

Well, it's been around since 2015 r72. If I could only keep one streaming service, it would be MHz choice. They cover the countries you mentioned plus extensive listings from Italy, France, Spain and the Scandinavian countries.

It's worth it just for all seasons of Spiral, A French Village, Montalbano and Beck.

Plus, it has Murders at Barlume, a fun little Italian series. Its lead character is quite a womanizer, but played by an out, partnered gay man. And the actor is legally blind, but you would never know it from the show.

I just read the summary for the original Upstairs, Downstairs...damn if Julian Fellowes didn't shamelessly steal from that show for Downton.

R69: You might enjoy "Rumpole of the Bailey" if you can find it anywhere (it's from the 70s). That's how I learned how the British legal system works. Clever cases, interesting characters, and Leo McKern is perfection as Mr. Rumpole. (And Patricia Hodge, late of All Creatures Great and Small, is in it as well.) You can also read the original stories by John Mortimer in a couple of Rumpole omnibuses.

R63 Oh dear, was it unintentionally insulting?

Somehow never got into Rumpole of the Bailey but I loved several of John Mortimer's novels, particularly PARADISE POSTPONED which was made into a very good mini-series in the 1980s. I recently found it on youtube and enjoyed watching it all over again. Wonderful cast including Zoe Wanamaker, David Threlfall, Annette Crosbie, Michael Hordern and the spectacular Jill Bennett, I've read the book 3 times since it was originally published.

[quote]How can it be a privilege to wear an ugly moth-eaten wig?

Literal violence against cheap drag queens, R71.

Have you guys discovered the world of Cunk? Watchable on YouTube, though I think some of the streamers have taken her up lately. There's the 5-part Cunk on Britain, then some one-offs, and now Cunk on Earth is the latest.

Philomena Cunk (in reality standup comedian Diane Morgan) is like Lucy Worseley or any of those commentators who are the talking head of British history docos, except that she's a Young Person who doesn't know anything, can't listen for more than 20 seconds and talks in word salads. She wanders the White Cliffs and the Yorkshire Dales yakking ponderously, interviews real experts and asks them questions like, "What was the most political thing that ever happened in Britain?" (The guy being lost for words, she rolls her eyes and says tolerantly, "OK, second-most?") So it's a simultaneous sendup of the British Gen Xers' idea of a serious doco, and Millennial ignorance.

My favourite line so far is: "Iron Age Man wasn't like the Ironman we know today. He didn't have superpowers. He couldn't fly, or tolerate Gwyneth Paltrow."

I can watch Cunk in small doses.

Funny Woman is the new “must see” show. The 1960s never get old, unlike Rupert Everett who is unrecognizable but turns in a decent performance. Gemma Arterton is very engaging as the lead. Matthew Beard steals the show as a gay, campy writer. Great performances by David Threlfall, Rosie Cavaliero and Morwenna Banks (who also adapted the book for tv). The only downside is that Arsher Ali doesn’t get nude. Hubba hubba, if you like your men dark and intellectual. Maybe there will be a Season 2 and we can see more of this sexy man.

[quote] I just read the summary for the original Upstairs, Downstairs...damn if Julian Fellowes didn't shamelessly steal from that show for Downton.

I’m a big fan of the original Upstairs, Downstairs and yes, it’s amazing how much he blatantly stole.

[quote] I like Call the Midwife because everybody in it is so fucking kind.

I went back and watched Season 1 of CTM. I had forgotten how bitchy Jenny Lee and Trixie were in that first season.

Don't get the hate for the "woke" Midsomer Murders episode with the drag queen group. Annette Badland is as great and hilarious as usual in it. And Nick Hendrix gets creeped out by a woman lusting after his hot ass.

Ashley Jensen got mentioned a couple of posts back and she's great in a new melodrama mini series called Mayflies which is about a guy, played by Tony Curran, who is settling his affairs before he dies from cancer.

R65 excuse you Footballer’s Wives is PEERLESS. No-one before or since has done high camp like that.

CTM is mostly a group of not hateful/not nihilistic characters which is refreshing......but yes, they used to have a bit more piss/vinegar/bite to them.

And poor Resting Bitch Face/Pinched Sphincter Syndrome sufferer Jenny Lee always looked perturbed.

R69 - Check out "Kavanagh QC" with John Thaw which is currently on BritBox. I binged the whole thing and really enjoyed it. There is lots about the British judicial system in "Kavanagh QC".

I watched Nolly. While interesting, it doesn’t have enough material for 3 episodes. And it relies too heavily on “men rule the world” meme. I was very confused by Con Oneill’s character in the end.

CTM went off the rails when Chummy left. That first season has never been matched.

Seasons 1 and 2 of Call the Midwife were good because they were still telling stories from the books. Once they finished the books, it became mug cradling, frau tv. And some of the episodes were ripped off other 21st Century movies/tv and cultural conversations.

I’m watching the first season of Call the Midwife too. The actress playing Jenny does have RBF but her character is just as kind as the others.

I may be in the minority here but I think Jessica Raine brought more dimension to Jenny than a more typical English Rose ingenue with a sweeter face might have done. I could believe Vanessa Redgrave's voice as the elderly version of the character played by JR.

OTOH I haven't enjoyed much of JR's other performances where she seems to be trying too hard to play against the goodness of Jenny.

I thought there were other good seasons of CTM, especially when they did the birth defects story over a whole season.

But it's been very repetitive since around Season 7 or 8. The nuns, Phyllis, Patrick and Shelagh just say/do the same thing. The Buckles are unbearable but seem to get more airtime every year. Lucille and Cyril are two dimensional and even that might be an exaggeration.

Sister Sinead and Sister Hilda were interesting but barely used and, surprise, now they're gone. Val had spark but she's also gone, and Nancy sorta brought in some fresh air, but not much.

I know, I know....I still watch it.

Agree totally, R93, but I still watch it just for Linda Bassett's Nurse Crane and Georgie Glen's Miss Higgins. Plus maybe one day Ollie Rix will go swimming or something that involves gratuitous shirt removal.

R94 YES! I thought that Phyllis and Miss Higgins were going to lez out for a moment but in any case, they're fun together and I LIVE for a Miss Higgins moment. If she isn't every DL'er rolled into one I don't know who/what is.

And yes, Matthew is fan service and a basic bastard......but he sure is pretty. Since Dr. Turner now more closely resembles a Bassett Hound and Our Tim still looks 12, Matthew is a welcome sight for sore eyes and a somewhat acceptable substitute for the Dishy Vicar.

R79 have tried and tried and tried so many times but just don't find the Cunk stuff remotely funny

[quote]I’m watching the first season of Call the Midwife too. The actress playing Jenny does have RBF but her character is just as kind as the others.

In every episode of Season 1, the nuns were telling her to shut the fuck up because she was always complaining. Remember the story about the old soldier with the bad legs? She was horrified by his living conditions. Yet, she was a midwife and saw all the gory details of giving birth (blood, piss, shit, placenta). Somebody needed to slap her across the face and say, "Get a grip, girl. You're a nurse in post-war poverty-stricken East End London."

[quote]The Buckles are unbearable but seem to get more airtime every year.

Fred has been with the show since the beginning, so his agent probably has negotiated a certain amount of screentime or the producers have to use him a lot for the amount they are paying him. The actress who plays Mrs. Buckle was already well established before joining the show and probably had a good agent as well. Although, I don't know why they treated Fenella Woolgar (Sister Hilda) so poorly because she was already a well established actress and very good in her acting ability (see her in the movie Bright Young Things, she's wonderful). She may have been brought in as a temporary replacement because Linda Bassett went off to do another show (I think C.B. Strike).

I watched Nolly. I thought that it didn't have enough material to fit three episodes. It also suffered too much from "men rule the world" meme. Was the real Nolly fired because men rule the world, or was she fired because she was a pain in the ass or was she fired because the character was tired and they didn't know what else to do with her?

I didn't understand Con O'Neill's character in the end. Why did it take him years to say what he said to her then? The show clearly states that some scenes were made up and I believe that was one of them.

Many people don't know that Sarah Lancashire and Siobhan Finneran worked together years ago in a tv series called Clocking Off. It was an interesting series because it centered around co-workers in a factory and each episode focused on the life of a different employee.

Just finished watching S3 of Happy Valley. It was well-worth the 7year wait.

Has Sally Wainwright ever done a feature film or a project outside the UK? Or his style more suited to series form?

I'm in the middle of the third installment of the The Thursday Murder Club whodunnits called THE BULLET THAT MISSED and absolutely loving it. Each book is better than the last, or maybe it's just the familiarity of the recurring characters becomes more engaging and fun,

Has the series been bought for TV? I can see it all so clearly. Isn't the author Richard Osman actually from the TV world?

I just watched Field of Blood on Tubi, 2 seasons, 4 episodes in all, based on the Denice? Mina books set in Glasgow in the 1980s. A rookie reporter at a newspaper. The hazing she went through will curl your hair, her Irish family is uber-Catholic, the accents are a struggle—you def need subtitles. It’s a blend of the grim reality then, veteran reporters cynicism, corrupt cops, and “I want to make a difference” type talk. The second season brings on a conniving managing director character that doesn’t work but it’s a good watch, good acting.

[quote] Although, I don't know why they treated Fenella Woolgar (Sister Hilda) so poorly because she was already a well established actress

I was excited when she first came on, but they really wasted her on the show. She had her one "Hilda" focused episode per year and was otherwise set decoration.

I loved her on "Home Fires" - she had a crackling sort of suspicious energy to her character which balanced out some of the other long suffering types, without being a biatch.

R101, Richard Osman has for years been one of the two hosts of the quiz game Pointless: the one who supplies the answers the contestants don't get. He also guests on shows like Would I Lie to You? If you're enjoying envisaging the world of his books, you might enjoy this. I'm another one who thinks they should be filmed for a streaming service, pronto.

I've become quite a fan of Suranne Jones. I was pretty lukewarm about her after watching Doctor Foster but I came to really like her in Scott and Bailey. I just watched the 3-part series "Unforgiven" which was pretty good. She's excellent at playing a fuck-up.

Yes, she was superb in Scott and Bailey. It was also a great character, with so many tones and levels, especially as she developed.

The latest really good one she was in, at least before Unforgiven, was Vigil, a murder mystery on a submarine in which she's the lead.

I saw Vigil. Good paranoid series, every character was so menacing. I really liked the first season of Dr Foster and it tied up everything nicely at the end but the first episode of the second season, she just went back to crazy land with her ex and I stopped watching.

Was the second season of Gentleman Jack a big bust? It didn't seem to get much chatter in the US, anyway.

You’re right, R38, though I thought it was excellent, and the production values were top notch. Having read about the real characters, I didn’t think there was anywhere they could go but I was wrong, it was a good season. But outside of depicting Jack’s untimely death (unexpectedly of some disease like typhoid before a planned trip to Russia) there isn’t anyplace they could really go for a third season, so I don’t expect one.

I really like “Strike” (called “C.B. Strike” in the States on HBO+). enjoying the latest, which is dropping week by week. “Call the Midwife” star Linda Bassett plays his stepmother, meanwhile, Tom Burke’s real life mom Anna Calder-Marshall just made a guest appearance. The plot is grisly. Funny that J.K.Rowling, that trans-hating feminist, concots these stories in which women are treated horribly. Or is that merely her cynicism and pessimism showing?

Does anyone watch “Bloodlands”? It has that Jed Mercurio vibe and the tension that follows a ‘bent copper.’ I like it, though I don’t see it going on beyond season 2.

Watched the first two episodes of “Stonehouse,” which follows the real life scandal of an MP in the ‘70s who extorted money and faked his own death. I find the tone too jokey, though perhaps that is all you can do with a central character that was clearly incredibly stupid and shallow. Real life couple Matthew Macfadyen and Keeley Hawes are good, though they have no evident chemistry as a couple. I can’t bring myself to watch the third and last ep mostly because I don’t much care what happens. I’ll watch the fourth ep of “Vera” tonight instead.

Sorry, I meant to address R108 in my first comment.

Agree about STONEHOUSE. I haven't cared to go beyond the 1st episode, It really felt like Matthew and Keeley weren't taking it seriously at all.

R109 - In real life, Anne Liter died while IN Russia so she did make the trip.

Lister died on 22 September 1840, aged 49, of a fever at Koutais (now Kutaisi in Georgia) while travelling with Ann Walker. Walker had Lister's body brought back to the UK, where she was buried in Halifax Minster, on 29 April 1841. Her tombstone was rediscovered in 2000, having been covered by a floor in 1879

[quote] Lister died on 22 September 1840, aged 49, of a fever at Koutais (now Kutaisi in Georgia) while travelling with Ann Walker. Walker had Lister's body brought back to the UK.

the HEIGHT of lesbian romance is your lover dying on holiday and you moving heaven & earth to get her body back home

Indeed! That is dyke drama extraordinare!

R109: In which episode of this season's "C.B. Strike" does Tom Burke's r/l mother appear and which character does she portray? I love that show and wish it were streaming.

TIA

The latest season of STRIKE (called C.B. STRIKE in the U.S.) is called “Troubled Blood.”

It dropped in the U.K. in December. It’s been unspooling week by week in the States on HBO+ and Anna Calder-Marshall appeared on ep 3. The fourth and last episode should drop this week.

R116: Thanks, but you do remind me of the old joke: "Ask him the time of day, and he'll tell you how to make a clock."

[quote]Funny Woman is the new “must see” show. The 1960s never get old, unlike Rupert Everett who is unrecognizable but turns in a decent performance. Gemma Arterton is very engaging as the lead. Matthew Beard steals the show as a gay, campy writer. Great performances by David Threlfall, Rosie Cavaliero and Morwenna Banks (who also adapted the book for tv). The only downside is that Arsher Ali doesn’t get nude. Hubba hubba, if you like your men dark and intellectual. Maybe there will be a Season 2 and we can see more of this sexy man.

Funny Woman really is exceptional good television. Morwenna Banks also adapted Slow Horses, another TV highlight. A shame it's hidden away on Sky as it would be perfect for Sunday night tv. Gemma Arteton is exceptional in this.

Is FUNNY WOMAN streaming anywhere for US viewers?

If you have a VPN you might be able to sign up for a month of Now TV to watch it.

R119, it SHOULD be on BritBox because it’s jointly owned by the BBC and ITV. But it isn’t.

[quote]Morwenna Banks also adapted Slow Horses, another TV highlight.

The great thing about Funny Woman is that you would expect the writer, who also plays a character, would write herself some of the best lines. But she has written her role as very understated and in a show that has many meaty women's roles, has written great female characters. I love the roommate and the black journalist.

[quote]Is FUNNY WOMAN streaming anywhere for US viewers?

Is that the third in the Fanny Brice trilogy?

[quote]If you have a VPN you might be able to sign up for a month of Now TV to watch it.

If you have a VPN, just download it as a torrent.

Britbox stinks.

I Floved Gentleman Jack and am very sorry there won't be at least a third season. The acting was excellent, and the production values sky-high. I liked Suranne in Vigil, but the plot, which started out great, got awfully silly by the end (besides, I guessed early on who the mole was). Worth a watch, though, if you're not claustrophobic (it's set on a nuclear submarine).

I watched a couple episodes of C B Strike but it didn’t really grab me, I can’t remember why now.

Stick with it, R127.

The last couple of Rowling detective stories have been 1,000 pages long and very complex. Each Strike series is quite short, so Troubled Blood was reduced to the most basic plot, plus some progress in the relationship between the detectives. For example, the series mentions that they have the notes of a former detective who went nuts during the investigation, but in the book you get quite a lot of his "findings" and are trying to work out, with Robin and Strike, whether they are real, albeit coded, clues or not. There are also levels of red herrings in the novel covering the identity of the murderer, whereas in the series it's just a case of not seeing much of any of the suspects that makes it hard to work it out.

I was hoping that for the long novels the series would extend, so that there were enough episodes to do justice to them. In contrast with Harry Potter, the long Strike novels have been much better and more layered than the earlier ones. That gal can really tell a story.

R129 I like the Strike novels and the TV shows. I hate the Will-they-won’t-they romance with Strike and Robin.

Tom Burke is especially good.

I've not read the Strike books but find the mystery timeline just baffling.

I couldn't work out who the black mother and son with learning disabilities were and what they had to do with the plot in general.

But Holliday Grainger is spectacular in this. If Strike was an American series she would be up for major awards. It is of course quite satisfying that H Grainger plays JK Rowling's female lead to perfection.

R131 yes, Holliday Grainger is a splendid actress. She rather flies under the radar, hopefully she shall receive her plaudits one day.

Several years ago, I remember seeing her in a brilliant if modest production of 'Three Sisters' at the Southwark. I originally went for her co-star Olivia Hanninan (a cult favourite of Brit lesbians), but I found myself just as much if not more impressed by Grainger. Both really ought to be working more and in better projects.

^sorry, of course that should read 'Olivia HaLLinan'

I’m glad someone finally paired Olivia Hallinan and Holliday Grainger as sisters.

Because of a recommendation in the previous thread, I checked out Funny Woman and It was such a delight. I was only planning to check it out and watch one episode, but binged the whole thing at once. Tom Bateman doing what he can do best, playing a cad. Loved the whole thing.

Any word about where to watch FUNNY WOMAN in the US? That looks right up my alley. I love Gemma.

r136. Apparently it should be on Showtime.

It appears that SkyShowtime and the U.S. Showtime are not the same thing.

SkyShowtime is a joint venture between Comcast/Sky and Paramount and is currently being launched throughout Europe, replacing some existing streaming services like Paramount+. Showtime U.S. is owned by Paramount but without the Comcast/Sky component.

There is bound to be some cross-pollination of series between SkyShowtime and regular Showtime. [bold]Yellowjackets[/bold], for example, looks like it will be carried by both. But, as of now, [bold]Funny Woman[/bold] is not one of them, probably because it is a product of Sky and not Paramount.

I subscribed to both Acorn and BritBox only to discover there is no search function to find anything, most of the BritBox shows appear to be 50 years old and when you click on some titles, you discover you have to pay more to get them. What the fuck.

As I stated upthread, Britbox stinks.

A Brit series I wanted to see This Is Going to Hurt was only shown on AMC+ which I had to subscribe to to watch it. Now I'm seeing more recent shows are on AMC+ too so what use is BritBox or Acorn?

I wanted to watch a show called Happy Valley but you also have to pay AMC+ to watch it.

We already pay Spectrum, HBO, Showtime, Apple, Hulu, Amazon, Peacock - fucking hell, this is ridiculous.

In Australia, Happy Valley Seasons 1-2 are on Britbox, but you have to have Binge (the HBO outlet) for the recent season.

On the other hand, the only place you can get all seasons of Line of Duty here is Britbox.

Here in the states Line Of Duty is on BritBox….EXCEPT season five, which is on Acorn for some damn reason. So I had to get Acorn for a week to watch it, then turn right around and cancel it and go back to BritBox for season six.

I'm so sick of being nickle and dimed to death by these content providers!

True r144. I have just come to accept that there are many things I am just going to miss.

I prefer the new model where the customer is in charge and controls which TV stations and programming he supports with his subscription. In the past, all the customer got was bundle and package deals (which, I am sure, are still being offered to those who don't want the hassle).

R139 - I also subscribed to both Acorn TV and BritBox. I subscribe to Acorn through Xfinity and can use the Xfinity search function for Acorn TV. I subscribe to BritBox through Amazon Prime and can use the Amazon Prime search function for BritBox. If you click on something and a fee is requested for viewing that means that Acorn TV and BritBox owns the rights to those shows in some countries but not in other countries. I specifically subscribe to BritBox to be able to watch "old" British TV completely as in all the seasons of The Thicke of It, Morse, Lewis, Bergerac, Parade's End, Rosemary & Thyme, Agatha Christie (Marple, Tommy & Tuppence and Poirot) Foyle's War, Doctor Who, Torchwood and etc...etc...

Lots of the "old" stuff is very good.

"I'm so sick of being nickle and dimed to death by these content providers!"

R144 - It is called Capitalisms and government deregulation!

I really do not want to co back to only free ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS.

Discovered that my public library, as part of CloudLibrary, does online tv show/movie streaming and there are four seasons of Line of Duty.

I’m watching season 2 of Clarkson’s Farm on Amazon Prime.

I don’t enjoy it as much as season 1 because it has sophomore syndrome - in this case, Kaleb knows how cute and fun the audience finds him and is amateurishly playing up. And it’s increasingly obvious that the one-year-and-done sheep experiment was initiated solely to have the ex-lambing structure ready to convert into a restaurant. I feel Clarkson’s frustration (anyone who has dealt with local councils will) but it is also extremely funny to see his plans go splat.

He was never going to receive permission for a restaurant with access via a single lane carriageway on land with poor drainage. He would be smart to apply the restaurant near where his house is, closer to the village, or lease a spot with better road access but I’m guessing he doesn’t want the riff raff near his actual driveway.

I just finished watching the last season of Vienna Blood.

I have a hard time believing the pretty one (Max played by Matthew Beard) is supposed to be straight.

R151

Love the show - though haven't yet watched the second season (no spoilers, please) - and think that Matthew Beard and Juergen Maurer have great chemistry in the show. Would be hard to believe that the writers or show runners are not aware of that.

They should just fuck, already. And let me watch. Please.

Oh, and Christoph Luser who played Otto Braun in S1.E1 of Vienna Blood (The Last Seance) is very hot and has a luscious chest.

He should be on all the Pecs threads.

(Left to right: Juergen Maurer, Matthew Beard, Christoph Luser)

Matthew Beard played delightfully gay in THE MAGPIE MURDERS.

R150 - agree with you that Clarkson's Farm Season 1 was much better than Season 2. My two favorite characters are Cheerless Charlie, than land agent and Gerald Cooper, 'The Stonewaller" and part time combine harvester driver.

Once all of Happy Valley S3 drops on AMC+ I'm going to get the free seven-day trial and binge the shit out of HV and This Is Going To Hurt.

R156 - Where is each season of Happy Valley streaming now in the USA?

This is Going to Hurt is brilliant. Love Ben Whishaw.

R157: The first two seasons of Happy Valley are streaming in the US on Fubo and AMC+; you can also buy/rent them on Apple TV and Prime Video. JustWatch.com is your friend! (Various PBS stations have also showed them in the past, editing out the swear words.)

The Nicola Walker Programme returns tonight without Nicola Walker.

I just watched Unforgiven. Also Sally Wainwright (Happy Valley author) and starring Suranne Jones, with a featured appearance by Siobhan Finneran, the sister in HV.

It's from 2009. If you've just seen all episodes of HV it's worth a visit, because not only is it only 3 episodes in total and well worth a look, but you can see Wainwright already thinking through incidents and themes that will be fully worked through and brought together in more complex ways in the much longer Happy Valley. It's on Stan in Australia but also Britbox.

R160 - Are you referring to "Unforgotten"?

No, it's 'Unforgiven'

Sally Wainwright did not write for 'Unforgotten.'

R160 - whats is the "Nicola Walker Programme returns tonight without Nicola Walker"?

[quote][R160] - whats is the "Nicola Walker Programme returns tonight without Nicola Walker"?

Unforgotten, not Unforgiven

r159 JustWatch, like all of its similar apps, JustSucks. Their updates are late or non-existent for a lot of British shows. Even after you contact them and let them know about missing or inaccurate information, they don't fix it. It's completely unreliable. I have better luck just tuning into Amazon Prime or whatever service I'm using (my Britbox and Acorn are both under Prime) and it tells me when there's a new episode.

Speaking of which ("talking of which" for our British viewers), I just noticed that new eps of "Madame Blanc Mysteries" are on Acorn. Unfortunately, they are not very good. Too many references to characters and storylines that aired a long time ago. Too many unbelievable plot devices. I think I'm bailing on this one.

R166 - Thanks for the new episodes update on "Madame Blanc Mysteries" on Acorn TV. I will watch tonight.

I think the new season/series of Murdoch Mysteries debuts on Acorn TV on 27 March 2023. It is on Ovation now but I hate the commercials so I will wait for Murdoch Mysteries to hit Acorn TV.

Isn't every Britcop drama series a Nicola Walker Programme, whether or not she's even in it?

R168 - If so, I hope Nicola Walker is getting full residuals! My favorite Nicola Walker role was "Gillian Buttershaw Greenwood" in Last Tango in Halifax.

I hope there will be another season (series) of Last Tango in Halifax.

It's still such a mystery to me why Nicola Walker (or her producers) felt they'd had enough of her character on UNFORGOTTEN. One of the smartest aspects of that series was how the two lead detectives were entirely present and yet their personal lives, while compelling, never overshadowed the cold case at hand. There were still so many places for Nicola's character to go.....

Oh, well.

[quote] It's still such a mystery to me why Nicola Walker (or her producers) felt they'd had enough of her character on UNFORGOTTEN.

In her new series, she doesn’t have to share credit with anyone, the show is titled after the name of her character, and she gets to drive a boat around. Who wouldn’t jump at that offer?

Someone afraid of water?

Someone who was looking for better scripts?

I've caught up with Poker Face and the latest CB Strike series, detective story show suggestions please.

I've just got one episode left of the 6-episode British Paramount+ series THE CHEMISTRY OF DEATH. It's based on thrillers by Simon Beckett and stars Harry Treadaway as Dr. David Hunter, a forensic anthropologist. The TV series adapts the first 2 books, "The Chemistry of Death" (set in Norfolk) and "Written in Bone" (set in the Hebrides). My only real complaint is that there are a bit too many flashbacks to the trauma in Dr. Hunter's past that has left him suffering from PTSD. Other than that, the stories are interesting, albeit grim and a bit grisly.

There's a new "Death in Paradise" spinoff called "Beyond Paradise" on Britbox. Only Ep 1 is available. Humphrey (Kris Marshall), the second DI on "DIP" is now back in the UK and has decided to relocate to somewhere in Devon with his fiancée. Also in the cast: the male "Derry Girl" as a bumbling constable. Ep 1 featured the incredibly hot Desi guy who plays the female lead's husband on "The Chelsea Detective."

Thanks, r176. Love Death in Paradise (season / series 12 just finished airing in the UK).

[quote]In her new series, she doesn’t have to share credit with anyone, the show is titled after the name of her character, and she gets to drive a boat around. Who wouldn’t jump at that offer?

I would probably think twice.

Vigil and Traces are both good, R174.

[quote] I just finished watching the last season of Vienna Blood.

I couldn't get into the show. For some reason it bothered me that the world from a hundred years ago was filmed in very modern ways (light, camera, modern way of story telling, direction etc.). Somehow it felt like a clash I couldn't get past. Which is weird because it wasn't a problem for me when watching Bridgerton. Not sure what I expected.

Didn't like Vienna Blood either. Seemed too derivative.

OLD British TV, but I recently discovered that the Roku Channel has around 20 seasons of Antiques Roadshow, starting with the 2001 season, I think. (There are commercials but not too many.) Comfort TV at its finest (at least to me) and educational, too. Plus, I don't know what's more interesting -- the antiques, the way they were acquired ("Oh, I got it at the choir jumble sale for 25p."), the multitude of UK accents (never mind the hairstyles and fashions), or the bystanders watching in the background. One woman in Wales brought in a race-car-shaped biscuit tin to be appraised, and the expert asked if she'd had it valued. She said yes and that it was worth about 1,000 pounds. The show appraiser said very politely that she could probably get 200 for it, and she made this little, sour face, like, Well, we'll see about THAT. I think my upstairs neighbors heard me laugh. I've watched one episode every night since finding it.

Is the original Changing Rooms (is that what it was called?) with Handy Andy available anywhere?

Yes, R182 , the old Brit Antiques Roadshow episodes are fantastic, and very comforting. My favorite similar comfort viewing was the mid-00’s show Cash In The Attic, where they go into people’s homes with an antiques expert and comb through all their junk looking for potentially valuable items, which they then try to sell at auction. I loved it. Used to be on BBC America in the daytime, but I can’t find the reruns anywhere now.

I know the production values are not good but I really enjoyed Bergerac, an old John Nettles show, on BritBox.

All seasons/series are available except season/series 4.

Anyone been watching Beyond Paradise? It's a Death In Paradise spin off, set in the UK. Presumably because Kris Marshall was sick of travelling abroad to film DIP.

The trailer for Sky's new comedy Dreamland is getting lots of airtime.

It's based on a short film by Sharon Horgan and stars Dame Frances Barber as a lesbian mother of 4 daughters, played by Freema Agyeman, Aimee Ffion Edwards, Gabby Best and nepo baby and general cunt Lily Allen.

The grandmother is played by Sheila Reid who seems to be playing a similar character to Madge in Benidorm.

It'll probably start when Funny Woman has finished.

Is Sheila Reid related to Anne Reid?

[quote] Is Sheila Reid related to Anne Reid?

Yes, they’re sisters. They have another sister called Susanna who is the mother of twins Charlie and Craig Reid who formed the band The Proclaimers.

Put “The Flatshare” on your list to see. It’s about a man and woman who share a flat but never meet. Stars Lady Sybil from Downtown Abbey and the very sexy Anthony Welsh.

[quote]Stars Lady Sybil from Downtown Abbey

Is that the hot one, the hotter one or the other one?

[quote] Is that the hot one, the hotter one or the other one?

Not the bitchy oldest sister or the ugly duckling, pathetic middle sister. It’s the youngest sister who married the Irish chauffeur and then died.

Bergerac! When you say it's a bit old,. that's a blast from the 80s R185!

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

R193 - An older Brit friend turned me on to Bergerac as I am such big fan of Midsomer Murders (Nettles and Dudgeon).

The production values are definitely 1980s but the stories and scripts are very good in that they are not dumbed-down in anyway. Many Brit TV stars made some of their earliest TV appearances in an episode or two of Bergerac.

[quote]Anyone been watching Beyond Paradise? It's a Death In Paradise spin off, set in the UK. Presumably because Kris Marshall was sick of travelling abroad to film DIP.

No, we've never heard of it.

I’m watching the new series of Call the Midwife. It’s funny how far into fantasy this has gone. The writing is terrible.

Possible spoilers ahead.

In the first episode, there is an older lesbian couple and nobody seems to have a problem with that. Conflict is what makes tv/movies/theater interesting but there is zero conflict around the lesbian story. Instead we’re treated to a lecture about how gays and lesbians were treated in the past.

The other plot line is racial and is so poorly written, it’s laughable. Why doesn’t this show extend a minor character over two episodes and build the storyline a little?

I really want to see FUNNY WOMAN. Hopefully one of the US streamers will pick it up.

So I finished series 5 of Unforgotten, the Nicola Walker Programme that no longer features Nicola Walker.

Despite a promising start with some great acting it laid on the social commentary so thick it detracted from the mystery.

Thanks R285. I'm watching S1:E1 of "Bergerac;" is that "MM's" current pathologist Fleur as the brunette desk clerk? I love spotting actors in other roles.

John Nettles was, and is, so handsome!

I watched S1 E2 of Bergerac, was interested because it’s set in Jersey, and ha! a distinctive voice I hadn’t heard in many decades but recalled him immediately. It was the actor who played Dr Enys in the original Poldark.

Answering my own question at R200 yes, Charlotte is played by Annette Badland.

I am enjoying Bergerac; it pulled me right in. I needed some distraction today after watching Liverpool slaughter MU earlier.

Watched Manhunt with Martin Clunes. Love Martin Clunes. Refuse to watch Happy Valley because I paid to subscribe to effing Apple, effing Britbox, effing Acorn and to watch Happy Valley you also have to subscribe to fucking AMC. Fuck 'em.

Seeing as vintage tv is being discussed was anyone a fan of Howard's Way, set in the glamourous world of boatyards featuring the lovely Jan Howard and her fashion boutique and the affair with the horrible Ken Masters who was often in tight white shorts and nothing else.

There was the poor daughter Lynne who was having an affair with a much older man Charles Frere that she married in real life, but then fell into the sea when she found out Charles was having an affair and got amnesia. But then Lynne remembered how to pilot a catamaran and she met a con man who pretended to be French and he got run over by a speedboat and suffered deadly head injuries and Charles Frere turned out to be the father of the Abby who briefly dated Lynne's brother Leo and Abby's dad Gerald turned out to be a homosexual who didn't want to impregnate his own wife Polly.

Beyond Paradise, Ep 2 is up ... and this week's featured hottie is Jamie Bamber.

Wikipedia says that Bergerac is getting a reboot slated for 2024.

R206 - Hope it happens. Is it a USA or European production company doing the reboot?

Looks like if Bergerac gets rebooted it will be done by a UK production company. Looking at the actual source I am thinking that the reboot is not that certain though. That article is from June last year. I would think we would have heard more specifics by now if it was happening for sure. On the other hand it was published by the BBC. So maybe it will happen.

I love The Madame Blanc Mysteries (the mug cradling feel good serenity, the nice location, etc.) . However, the one small issue I have with it is that the mystery of the episode is usually a B plot while the A plot is reserved for some leading cast drama like Dom's ex wife showing up, Judith freaking out thinking Jeremy is cheating on her when a woman is found dead on their boat, etc. The guests stars don't get much to do, and the murderer or criminal is usually the most recognizable. That's why I was pretty surprised when in the second season Elizabeth Bourgine (Death in Paradise) shows up and her character isn't the killer.

What I don't get is why they call the show Madame Blanc while EVERYONE in the series, French or Brit, calls her Mrs. White.

Please, in your zeal to share, no spoilers. Some of us are only now discovering these shows, unlike you who enjoyed them in the past.

[quote] So I finished series 5 of Unforgotten, the Nicola Walker Programme that no longer features Nicola Walker. Despite a promising start with some great acting it laid on the social commentary so thick it detracted from the mystery.

I agree. That last episode was stupid. I did a massive eye roll when the “sugar trade” was mentioned.

I also think there’s too much about the character’s personal lives that doesn’t go anywhere. I think the need to fill six episodes had the writer putting in a lot of extra storyline just to fill time.

Based on this thread I started watching the Madame Blanc Mysteries. It's cute, definitely a guilty pleasure. In a way I look down on it because it is so openly unambitious. And yet I cannot stop watching because the plots have just enough to capture my attention. And everything looks so beautiful. So far I watched four episodes already.

Just finished watching the newest season of UNFORGOTTEN last night. It's always been one of my favorite UK series. Some thoughts but NO SPOILERS below, no worries.

Ultimately, I really got into the 6 part show, as it had some truly wrenching performances from some of the suspects, notably Martina Laird (Emmy/Bafta worthy!) and Rhys Yates. Hottie Max Rinehart was a lovely new discovery for me. And I enjoyed seeing a couple of the assistant detective types Carolina Mann and Pippa Nixon, given a little more screen time, aiding in the investigation (I did miss cutie Lewis Reeves, though). Always great to see Hayley Mills in anything but OMG how's she aged! She looks like she could be a rode-hard 85 though I think she was 75 when this was shot.

The casting on this series has always been spectacular, at least to my American eyes, as so many of the actors appear to be ordinary people, totally believable in whatever roles they play. It's hard to imagine them as actors playing Shakespeare and classical roles though I imagine they've all been trained and do that brilliantly as well. American TV is still too often cast with pretty people.

However, one BIG exception, the replacement for Nicola Walker, Sinead Keenan could not have been a more unpleasant character and needed a far more engaging actress to pull off all that unpleasantry. It was like they were trying hard to make us dislike her, knowing no one could replace Nicola. There was way too much about her personal life too soon, before we got to know her and care. I think they also spent too much time on Sonny's personal life, great as Sanjeev Bhaskar always is, and the series would have benefited by cutting it down to 5 episodes. It took too long for the mystery to get going and for us to get an understanding of how the various suspects were involved with the victim. I wasn't really fully engaged until the revelations of E4 and E5.

I really hope they ditch Keenan next season and have Bhaskar's Sonny lead with one of those women assistants. Has it been renewed? I'll have to look up some reviews of S5. Curious how it's been received.

[quote] I really hope they ditch Keenan next season and have Bhaskar's Sonny lead with one of those women assistants.

I think it would have been better for Sonny to take the lead and have a woman assistant with a messy life.

Unfortunately, they cast too close to Nicola Walker. Sinead Keenan is not beautiful and in some places does that Nicola stutter. They should have cast a completely new type.

Agreed, r215.

Well, I just checked several of the UK reviews which are pretty stellar for S5, including for Sinead Keenan. So I guess she'll be around for a while.

I've been watching the ITV series THE SUSPECT with Aidan Turner (not to be confused with SUSPECT with James Nesbitt).

I'm a big fan of Aidan Turner and I typically really enjoy British crime dramas but, my gawd, this one is awful. Everyone in it is as dumb as a box of rocks, including our protagonist, psychologist Joe O'Loughlin (Turner). He manages to become the main suspect in a murder investigation because he continually acts like an idiot: sticking his nose in where he shouldn't, hiding things from the police, and lying outright (even when there is no reason to). His stupidity is only matched by the investigating team of DI Ruiz and DS Devi. They're more than willing to avoid asking pertinent questions, to overlook inconvenient facts, and to abstain from using basic logic in their quest to railroad Joe.

I've only got 2 episodes to go -- out of 5 -- but have been pretty sure who the actual murderer is since the first episode. Joe & the police would be, too, if they all weren't so bloody stupid.

I can't believe there is going to be a second season of this.

And will you be watching that second season r217?

The latest Great Expectations is getting a lot of publicity and starts in the Sunday 9pm slot in 2 weeks time.

In my lifetime I've watched Miss Havisham been played by Jean Simmons, Anne Bancroft, Charlotte Rampling, Gillian Anderson, Helena Bonham Carter and now Olivia Colman. Not sure what Colman is going to do with the role that the others haven't.

"Death in Paradise" always had a conclusion with the DI and his staff gathering all the suspects together and going over the crime, step-by-step, before identifying the perpetrator.

"Beyond Paradise" has a different gimmick ... at the conclusion, the DI and his staff actually appear (although invisible to the other characters) in the action scenes related to the crime. (Some are re-creations of scenes we've already seen; others are new.)

R220 - I like both "Death in Paradise" and "Beyond Paradise". Jamie Bamber is great in "Beyond Paradise". I love Don Warrington in "Death in Paradise", as IMAO, he really ties the show together.

R217, you mean the producer's well-meaning effort to cast Asian and Black actors as the police investigators is undermined by the characters' stupidity?

Does Dr. O'Laughlin appear starkers at any point in THE SUSPECT?

I made it halfway through one episode of The Suspect. Agree, it was the main character doing stupid things, whether deliberately or unconsciously. Whichever, I didn’t care enough to find out. I’m not really a fan of Aidan Turner though so that was part of it.

Aidan Turner was good in Leonardo as was the complete cast. I enjoyed the series.

[quote]you mean the producer's well-meaning effort to cast Asian and Black actors as the police investigators is undermined by the characters' stupidity?

Having not read the book, I had no idea that the producers changed the ethnicity of the police investigators. I also don't know if they come off as this stupid in the book or whether that is a by-product of poor adaptation and/or poor performance. The attached review pretty much nails it: "To be fair, it’s hard to tell if the acting suffers because the writing is just that bad, or if by episode three everyone came to the tragic conclusion that nothing was going to save this thing. "

An example of how inept this show is: In one episode, Dr. Joe heads to Liverpool to do his own investigation. Our intrepid investigators immediately contact the Liverpool police to tail Dr. Joe and call Ruiz with info every time Joe goes anywhere or talks to anyone. But that's not good enough for DI Ruiz, who hightails it to Liverpool with DS Devi, in order to catch up with the tailer and say "Keep on him". AND THAT'S IT! Ruiz & Devi do absolutely nothing else and absolutely nothing else comes from this nonsense. The next time we see them, they are all back in London. WTAF?

[quote]Does Dr. O'Laughlin appear starkers at any point in THE SUSPECT?

Unfortunately, no. He does, however, sport an incredibly bushy beard.

[quote]And will you be watching that second season [R217]?

Extremely unlikely. It was clear to me that this show was a mess after the second episode and I am only hate-watching it now to get to the end. (Thank goodness, it's a short series.) Unless reviews are absolutely stellar for the second season, I'll be taking a hard pass.

So, I guess after a very promising start as Poldark, Aiden Turner is not going to become a feature film star. James Norton also seems to be lacking that extra something, too.

[quote] Aiden Turner is not going to become a feature film star. James Norton also seems to be lacking that extra something, too.

Perhaps I could recommend my plastic surgeon?

Speaking of James Norton (another of my TV Boyfriends), I'm halfway through The Trial of Christine Keeler on HBO Max. Like many streaming shows it could have benefited by knocking a couple of episodes off or at least tightening up the early scene-setting. Norton is good as procuring Dr. Stephen West (every time he calls Keeler "Little Baby," which is a lot, he just gets creepier). Ben Miles is doing his best as Profumo but is saddled with a horrible hairpiece, which is all I can see every time he appears. I have to laugh at all the variants the poshos come up with for the tarty Keeler, my favorite so far being "a bit of stuff."

Norton was very good in The Trial Of Christine Keeler, as was Sophie Cookson, but he was hopelessly miscast as Stephen Ward.

The age gap between Stephen Ward and Christine Keeler was 30 years.

The age gap between Sophie Cookson and James Norton is just 5 years. The casting just didn't capture how inappropriate and unequal the relationship was. Cookson was too old to play Keeler and Norton was too young to play Ward, who was in his late 40s for most of the storyline.

The earlier scenes with Ellie Bamber (one of Richard Madden's ex girlfriends) as Mandy Rice Davies and her much older "boyfriend" was far more effective with the creepiness.

And if you're not familiar with it, when you've finished the series watch the video for Dusty Springfield's Nothing Has Been Proved which tells the story (with spoilers!) in less than 5 minutes.

I don’t think the Outlander beauty Sam Heughan will be a movie star, either. He’s a lightweight.

But hey, Idris Elba has never really become a movie star.

I am enjoying the latest from Hugo Blick, The English.

Magpie Murders started on BBC1 last night.

And Hugh Laurie's Agatha Christie adaptation is on ITV next weekend.

There seems to be a 1 year delay on Britbox series going to free to air.

Magpie Murders wasn't on Britbox -- it was on PBS.

And it wasn't very good, in spite of some fun performances and very stylish styling.

[quote]Magpie Murders wasn't on Britbox -- it was on PBS.

It was originally on Britbox in the UK as was Why Didn't They Ask Evans.

Has anyone seen the (always excellent) Stephen Graham true crime mini-series, The Walk-In? He plays an undercover guy who infiltrates a neo-nazi group that is trying to assassinate an MP. I think it’s aired on Britbox in the UK, but no sign of it in the states yet.

I watched the first to series of The Bay and I liked it. Even though I thought Morven Christie was miscast in Grantchester, she's very good as the lead in this. I haven't watched series 3 and 4 but I see there's a new lead.

Watched the first three episodes of "Staged" on BritBox with David Tennant and Michael Sheen. Episode 3 of Season 1, guesting Samuel L. Jackson, was a hoot. I highly recommend this comedy.

[quote] Watched the first three episodes of "Staged"

Staged is brilliant. I love the Judi Dench episode.

Spoiler:

She’s so deliciously bitchy when she’s talking about the roles she has to take. “Play a queen, play a cat, play a spy.”

Started the new TV adaptation of Great Expectations. I need to find my copy of the book because I don’t remember Mrs. Joe and Mr. Pumblechook being like THAT. Liberties have been taken. (Miss Havisham is now an opium addict, which, sure, OK, why not.)

And I wish British TV shows could get snow right. In GE (and All Creatures Great and Small) it just looks like watered-down glue sprayed from a weak hose. I don’t need CGI vapor coming from the actors’ mouths necessarily, but it would be nice if the actors were costumed with heavier coats and at least pretended to be out in the cold air.

I don't mind the updating of Great Expectations (Pip doesn't want to sell shackles to the man who runs slave ships despite it being abolished in the UK, Pip recognises that the girl in his school is oppressed because of her sex!!) but it's just boring and plodding.

Stephen Knight has written some great stuff as well as some shit, but his adapting skills are very poor when compared with Sarah Phelps or Andrew Davies.

Dickens just does not film. The novels have the heightened reality of theatre, which is the only other place they do well.

The BBC Andrew Davies LITTLE DORRIT of 2008 is magnificent with a stellar cast including Claire Foy, Matthew Macfadyen, Tom Courtenay, Judy Parfitt, Russell Tovey, Harriet Walter, Eddie Marsan, Rosie Cavaliero and many other UK faves.

Highly recommended!

R243 I second that recommendation.

SHARON HORGAN UPDATE

So 2 episodes in to Dreamland and it's enjoyable. Dame Frances Barber and Dame Sheila Reid are on usual great form as the matriarchs with plenty of scenery to chew on. Freema Agyeman is great - hard to believe she's 44 now - as are the other 2 sisters. Aimee-Ffion Edwards seems to be playing Keeley from Ted Lasso but the stand out is Gabby Best, who is also one of the writers.

I've asked myself if I dislike Lily Allen's performance because she's Lily Allen or because the character Mel is a bit of a twat but she's been pushed as the star of the show and is the weakest link. It doesn't sound like she's made any effort to hide how posh she is but at least she's dropped the mockney shit. But she's a 37 year old woman in her first acting role and she's just not very good at the acting stuff. You can hear how posh she is in the interview below.

I wonder how the other actors took to a non-actor being cast in the lead role when they've had decades of experience.

Btw Dreamland is based on a short film Sharon Horgan wrote in 2017 which won the BAFTA for best short film. Frances Barber, Aimee Ffion Edwards and Gabby Best are playing the same characters but Lily Allen has replaced Morgana Robinson and Freema Agyeman has replaced Sheridan Smith.

Season 12 of "Death in Paradise" and Season 1 of "Beyond Paradise" are both complete and available on Britbox now.

Is there anywhere to watch Big Boys or Funny Woman in the US? I really want to watch both of those.

R247 I watched all six episodes of "Big Boys" at the link below: sflix.co

I didn't even have to sign up or login.

I notice there's a note under the screen about different servers being available. The one pre-selected was "Upcloud," which again, worked fine for me.

BTW - I did a search at the site, and "Funny Woman" appears to be available there as well. I have not watched that.

Thanks r248!

OMG I just plowed through all 6 episodes of BIG BOYS at that link at r248. Lovely show…Jon Pointing, who played the straight friend with mental issues was fantastic, and sooooo cute. Loved it!

Why does Daisy Mae Cooper keep getting cast in everything? Is the lethargic character she plays in every show really that entertaining?

Daisy May Cooper's Rain Dogs has had some great reviews, It was shown on HBO in March and BBC this week. 8 episodes and she plays a single mother who meets a posh homosexual played by the villain from Poldark and Spencer.

We've been watching Frayed on HBO Max. It's an English/Australian coproduction and fairly amusing. Diane Morgan plays a small role in it.

Why isn't whoever used to always post on YouTube the latest Have I Got News for You not posting anymore???? WTF? Anybody know if I can watch it in the States anywhere else?

Have I Got News For you tends to run from April to June and then October to December.

So you're not missing anything.

It should be back next week or the week after where they can analyse the delicious goings on with Nicola Sturgeon, her husband, the mobile home that was on his mother's driveway for 2 years and the police raid on their home.

Thanks to all that mentioned 'Big Boys' and provided a way to watch it. Just binged all six episodes and loved it. Glad to read that there will be a second season.

Had not seen Jon Pointing before, and he was very good. Love Dylan Llewellyn, and glad to see that he's getting good work. Dylan does a lovely turn in a small part in 'Call the Nidwife' Episode #9.7, and of course, great work in 'Derry Girls.'

Dylan is also a regular on "Beyond Paradise."

Thank you R257. Didn't know.

[quote] Dylan is also a regular on "Beyond Paradise."

Not just a regular, he's part of the main cast and shows up in the opening credits. He plays a total himbo and has some nice action scenes chasing criminals.

r259 I'm pretty sure that's the definition of a "regular."

r260, you are right.

The Jack and Danny friendship in Big Boys is just wonderful.

Do people here think enough DLers have seen 'Big Boys' to start a thread about it, or should we wait until it's more widely known?

I'm asking rather than just starting one because there's no point in a thread with only 5 people interested and posting.

R263 - I would hold off for a week on starting a "Big Boys" thread. Where is "Big Boys" streaming?

R264

I got to it through the link in R248.

I'm pleasantly surprised at how much I'm enjoying "The Bay". My partner and I binged through the first 3 seasons and the first 3 episodes of the current one and I've been checking Britbox app regularly to see when the next episode is being released.

Just finished up the latest season (series) of Beyond paradise. I really enjoy the show however, I see no chemistry between the leads. Sally Bretton as Martha Lloyd, Humphrey’s fiancée and Jamie Bamber as Archie Hughes have almost no chemistry. Kris Marshall as DI Humphrey Goodman and Sally Bretton as Martha Lloyd, Humphrey’s fiancée have even less.

Even with this problem, as I stated above, I really enjoy this show.

Is it just 6 episodes? I loved that it had his return to Sainte Marie and that saved it for me. I didn’t like emo Humphrey and the fiancée is a total bitch.

Dreamland is c-r-a-p.

I’m a bit disappointed in the writing of Beyond Paradise. We barely get acquainted with the lead characters and they are already heading into soap opera territory. And the episode about the missing family was just stupid. But I love Felicity Montagu’s character.

Lily Allen doesn’t have the acting chops to stabilise the production.

And when did she become so gaunt?!

New Irish show "Holding," is based on a novel by Graham Norton. It's on Acorn.

^ the trailer looks good.

Holding was shown last year on the ITV.

It's a fairly weak Maeve Binchey imitation but it's well acted. There's one scene with Brenda Fricker which is beautifully done. Kathy Burke directed it.

Still laughing at Graham Norton's last book launch being completely overshadowed by his attack on JK Rowling. Must be very emasculating to continually be asked about a more successful woman when you're trying to promote your own work.

I just canceled my Britbox subscription. There's never anything good and new added there.

I just watched all of FUNNY WOMAN on that link posted above. Loved it! I know she is famous, but Gemma Arteton should be FAMOUS. She’s so beautiful and talented.

The new Irish police drama “Blue Lights” is good. Actor Nathan Braniff is the new Paul Mescal.

I tried watching Dreamland, but gave up halfway through second episode.

What didn't you like R277?

I didn’t care for any of the characters, actors, or the plot.

Fair enough!

[quote] I tried watching Dreamland, but gave up halfway through second episode.

I watched the entire season but didn’t like it. There’s nothing there that hasn’t already been done somewhere else and better.

Plus, they don’t define the characters. How does the black sister fit in? Did Frances Barber’s character have an affair or was she married to a black man? Then how does the younger sister fit in? Affair? Third husband? None of it is explained. Frances Barber had three husbands and then became a lesbian?

And Sheila Reid’s character is supposed to be deeply religious but we don’t understand that until around episode 5.

And poor Samantha Bond shows up for what purpose? Two scenes where we find out Frances Barber hates her? Why? We need more.

The writer is trying to tell too many stories and just ends up rambling.

I wonder how much input Graham Norton had in getting the hot cop (Clinton Liberty) shirtless and in minimal attire so frequently. If so -- thanks!

Apparently he's Irish (no "Black Irish" jokes) but he almost sounds American. Very minimal Irish accent.

[quote]Plus, they don’t define the characters. How does the black sister fit in? Did Frances Barber’s character have an affair or was she married to a black man? Then how does the younger sister fit in? Affair? Third husband? None of it is explained. Frances Barber had three husbands and then became a lesbian?

I don't think Frances Barber was married to any of the girls' fathers. SHE JUST A SLAPPER WHO HAD SEX WITH LOTS OF DIFFERENT MEN, which is why they're all so different. I'm sure there was a reference to none of the girls knowing their fathers?

Although with Samantha Bond coming back as the evil sister I wondered if maybe Frances wasn't the mother of ALL of the girls which is why she didn't want Samantha Bond to meet them. Maybe something similar to Freema/Lily and Samantha got pregnant by Frances' fella and left the country with Frances bringing the baby (Lily) up. That's my projection.

I can understand people's frustrations but I enjoyed it enough to want a second series, hopefully without Lily Allen.

Another vote for "Blue Lights". Also "The Gold" with Hugh Bonneville, always a pleasure to watch. And if you've really run out, the Beeb's "Better". Bent female cop decides to clean up her act after 20 years, but the crims have other ideas. There's a don't blink or you'll miss it gay character/moment.

Anyone know if THE GOLD is available for streaming in the US yet?

Just to verify - because I can't find them streaming - all these new shows that people are mentioning such as 'Blue Lights' and 'Dreamland', et. al. are current shows in England, or at least on BBC or ITV , and that's where/how you're watching them?

R285 The Gold is available for free streaming on several online sites.

Blue Lights and The Gold are BBC shows and available on iPlayer.

Dreamland and Funny Woman were produced by Sky and so will be available via a different route.

R286 There are a wealth of online free streaming sites (non Beeb, ITV, Channel 4, etc.) where Brit series, such as Blue Lights, The Gold and Better can be viewed free and with closed caption should you require it.

[quote] all these new shows that people are mentioning such as 'Blue Lights' and 'Dreamland', et. al. are current shows in England, or at least on BBC or ITV , and that's where/how you're watching them?

You can use a VPN (software that masks where you are) to access shows posted on BBC or ITV websites.

Or you can depend on the kindness of strangers and use a VPN to download a torrent, which is a video file someone has posted of the show (like in the old days when someone used their VCR to record a show and then gave you the video cassette for you to watch it).

I watched the first episode of The Gold but just couldn't get past Jack Lowden playing Kenneth Noye as a chippy crim.

Noye murdered a 21 year old man after a minor car accident and then went on the run. There were 2 witnesses to the murder, the man's 19 year old girlfriend Danielle Cable and another motorist. Danielle Cable had to go into hiding following the murder and was then involved in police investigation to confirm Noye's identity in Cyprus. The story was dramatised with Joanne Froggatt as Cable.

After Noye was found guilty the other motorist who testified was murdered by a hit man.

Noye served just 20 years for murder and was released from prison aged 72.

Just finished watching episode five of Sister Boniface's second series on Britbox. It's such a delightful, feel-good murder mystery show. This particular episode features Maggie Steed, Geoff McGivern and Paul Brown as guest stars. It also features a small gay twist.

I’m watching Dreamland in Australia on cable

I’m trying to find something new to watch…I’m not really up for detectives/mysteries at the moment. I do want to see the new HAPPY VALLEY, but I may wait until it comes to AMC+ here in the US.

R294

If you're in the mood for light or funny, try

Episodes (Prime for Purchase)

Catastrophe (Prime for Free)

R292 - I love Sister Boniface. Like Call the Midwife, it is feel good TV.

Thanks 295–I have seen those and enjoyed them , Catastrophe, in particular.

I have Chivalry with Steve Coogan and whatsername from Bridget Jones’ Baby lined up on the DVR but can’t be bothered to watch it.

This one's Australian, but that seems to be not unwelcome on this thread. It's called Completely and Totally Fine and has just appeared on Stan here. It is about a 20-something girl who has been and still is quite a wild child, and who is left by her grandfather a [rundown but lovely art deco] clifftop house. Only after she moves in does she find out it is a favourite suicide spot and he has spent the last several years talking people down from the ledge. He has left it to her because he thinks the task might rescue her. I'm told it is based on the true story of an old gentleman who lived near The Gap in Sydney, and used to offer potential suicides cups of tea and talk them into living.

The girl also has a gay brother who lives with a super-hot Latino firefighter.

The new adaptation of Tom Jones is available on ITVX.

Hannah Waddingham does heaving cleavage and the lead looks like a peroxide Taron Egerton and there's some colour blind casting with plot tweaks to explain it.

It's had very poor reviews, It's adapted by Gwyneth Hughes who adapted the unremarkable Vanity Fair a few years ago.

Two episodes in here in the US, the new Tom Jones is not good. First of all, it's not very funny, and the book made me laugh out loud more than once. A few of the actors -- Alun Armstrong as Squire Western and Shirley Henderson as his sister, as well as a few in smaller roles -- manage to get a laugh or two. Second, it's not very racy, and the book is (for its time). They totally biffed Tom's famous lascivious dining scene with Mrs. Waters. As Tom, Solly McLeod's blond highlights are doing all the heavy lifting for him. (And I have to laugh at his apparently Requisite Shirtless Scenes For No Reason At All.) Still, the cinematography is nice, and Squire Allworthy has some lovely wallpaper. I'll watch the rest (see: Shirtless Scenes, above) and then go watch the 1963 film with Albert Finney and all those harpsichords and a narrator on the soundtrack.

[quote]I love Sister Boniface. Like Call the Midwife, it is feel good TV.

The dishy vicar who married poor, doomed Barbara on CTM (and who's Nurse Trixie's real-life squeeze) is on the penultimate episode of "Sister Boniface." (S2E9.)

I was disappointed in The Windsors Coronation Special. I’m glad to see the original Harry back but the writing has fallen off a cliff. It was really flagging in the last season. The Beatrice/Eugenie storyline is stupid. The Pippa storyline makes no sense and doesn’t follow the character traits they set up for the character in previous episodes. And even the brilliant Haydn Gwynne is hamstrung by the poor story plotting and diversion from established character traits.

I had to laugh during the Windsor Cornation Special when Hugh Skinner pronounced random words weird like "out and about" which became a running gag during the special. I expected the commoners, who were all in favor of a big and expensive coronation, to be paid actors by Camilla and Charles, but apparently they were genuinely in favor of a big event. The special was silly and goofy fun. Hadyn Gwynne as Camilla is probably the biggest compliment the real Camilla will ever get. She looked amazing, especially in the heist scene when she breaks into the Tower of London.

Hardly current British TV, but I'm enjoying He Knew He Was Right (2004). David Tennant is very funny as a fickle reverend in the B plot, Bill Nighy is... Bill Nighy, and the rest of the cast is a murderer's row of British actors -- Anna Massey, Fenella Woolgar, Stephen Campbell Moore, Geraldine James, Geoffrey Palmer, a young Matthew Goode, etc. It took me AGES to place the actor playing the lead (who knew he was right). He's Oliver Dimsdale who plays Leonard's boyfriend on Grantchester.

That's a brilliant series based on Anthony Trollope's even more brilliant book, r305.

The series based on Trollope's The Way We Live Now is even better.

Agreed, R306! I watched The Way We Live Now before He Knew. David Suchet was fantastic, and Matthew MacFadyen was, too (although I wanted to strangle his character). How did I miss these when they were first aired? And why can't Masterpiece Theatre do more of this and less of Tom Jones (Solly McLeod's blonde highlights and Hannah Waddingham's bosom not withstanding)?

I just watched Hidden (2011), four episodes, a tense, paranoid conspiracy thriller with a shambolic Philip Glenister. It was very fast paced, people getting killed left and right, which kept you from realizing that it made absolutely no sense whatsoever. It was on Tubi and the commercial breaks were very brief.

I recently rewatched Cranford. I didn’t realize that the leading man was a homo. He married a fashion icon. IMDB says he dated Rosamund Pike, so she must have turned him gay.

Cranford is well cast. The cast is a “Who’s Who” of British acting. Julia McKenzie’s sweet but daft character excellently balances out Imelda Staunton’s scenery chewing. And Julia gets a song!

I loved CRANFORD! Well, the first season, anyway. Got me through the early days of the pandemic.

I'm caught up with all of my current regular British shows (mostly detective/procedurals) and was scanning Acorn and Britbox for something else to watch and decided on "Mount Pleasant." It's sort of a dramedy (more comedy than drama). I'm almost done with the first season. It's reasonably entertaining, although I have to look up a lot of the references. Stars are Daniel Ryan (most recently on "The Bay") and Sally Lindsay (the title role in "Madame Blanc."). There are 53 episodes, so I guess it will keep me occupied for a while.

[quote] "Mount Pleasant." It's sort of a dramedy (more comedy than drama).

All four parents are great as well. Pauline Collins! Paula Wilcox! All brilliant.

Fun fact: Paula Wilcox was the “Janet” character (even though she’s called Chrissy) on Man About The House, the show which Three’s Company was based on. She’s had a much better career than our Joyce!

Paula Wilcox was amazing in The Smoking Room, a mid 00s comedy with Robert Webb about a company where the staff are always skiving. The series had to end in 2007 when Labour introduced the ban on smoking in indoor spaces.

Anyway it was the BAFTAs on Sunday.

Derry Girls won best comedy and best female performance for Siobhan McSweeney (Sister Michael)

Bad Sisters won best drama and best supporting actress for Anne Marie Duff.

Adeel Akhtar won best supporting actor for Sherwood and Ben Whishaw won best actor for This Is Going To Hurt. Akhtar now has 2 BAFTAs and Whishaw now has 3.

And Kate Winslet added a TV Bafta to her 3 Film BAFTAs with I Am Ruth which also won Best Single Drama. She made a heartfelt plea for British TV to produce the same plucky dramas it has been been producing for years.

Not sure if anyone's a fan of quizzes but really recommend Lee Mack's new quiz 3x3 that started this week,

R313, was Happy Valley nominated last year, or did all those shows just beat it?

Happy Valley started on January 1st so will feature at next year’s BAFTAs

A new ITV drama started this week called Maryland, not to be confused with Mary! Land, the new sitcom with James Dreyfus and Julian Clary.

Suranne Jones finds out her mother has died and has been living a double life and her older sister is played by not Jemma Redgrave but her lookalikey Eve Best who is doing an "occasionally northern" accent to match Suranne.

The opening episode features the rather handsome Ed White.

And for fans of Rosie Cavaliero she's in a new production of A Room With A View playing Charlotte, the Maggie Smith role.

Unfortunately it's for the radio but she's very good as expected.

[quote]A new ITV drama started this week called Maryland, not to be confused with Mary! Land, the new sitcom with James Dreyfus and Julian Clary. Suranne Jones finds out her mother has died and has been living a double life and her older sister is played by not Jemma Redgrave but her lookalikey Eve Best who is doing an "occasionally northern" accent to match Suranne.

OMG an American actress who has won 2 Emmys and a Tony and been nominated for an Oscar has just turned up.

R314 *polite applause*

Did you enjoy it R320?

R321 Both the show and the post.

the second series of World On Fire is due out soon.

Dame Lesley Manville and Jonah Haur King are both back but Sean Bean, Helen Hunt and the gay from Sense8 are not returning.

Greg Sulkin is in it. The very delicious Gregg Sulkin.

Another season of Waterloo Road is out with Preston and Kai.

I caught some of Casualty tonight.

The non binary paramedic has got a date for her top surgery and everyone is all yeah great and her colleague gets a tits cake to celebrate but the doctor who has secret breast cancer has a funny turn.

And there's this posh teenage ice hockey player who has some kind of stomach complaint and keeps being sick with blood and his dad is really controlling and the nurse thinks there's something wrong but has sexual tension with the doctor who was Dennis in Eastenders who shagged his sister Sharon. Anyway it turns out that the posh teenager hockey player is a gay and has been drinking poison to stop him thinking about boys and he confessed to his controlling dad and the dad who looked very familiar said "you don't need that poison" and the boy said "you're ok with me being gay" and the dad said "no, you're strong enough to get over it without that poison" and the boy cried and the dad left and the doctor was nice to the boy and the nurse who has the sexual tension with the doctor gave him a lingering look.

And the other paramedic is having a breakdown and his girlfriend is also having a breakdown after she was drugged and raped by the hot vicar from Call The Midwife and is now a Nurse Jackie type addict.

Not sure if the fat ginger nurse ever became a surrogate mother for the gay nurse who used to be the fat kid who sang at Michael Jackson's funeral.

There's a new drama with Michael Sheen and Sharon Horgan tonight with both doing SERIOUS ACTING. It's written by Jack Thorne who can be very hit and miss. He's a good adapter but his original work can be dire. National Treasure was good, Kiri was so-so and I gave up on The Accident.

It's about a cis het couple who have a seriously ill child and who doctors say might be better off if treatment is withdrawn.

"Father Brown," season 10 is now on Britbox. Mrs. McCarthy, Inspector Mallory, and Bunty are gone, but we have a new flaky replacement played by Claudie Blakley. And Tom Chambers as Chief Inspector Sullivan is back.

[quote]It's about a cis het couple

Whew! How did they get away with that?

Also, R326, what is the show called?

Best Interests. R326.

And I watched the final (I hope) series of Staged this week. Not sure if they moved away from Sheen/Tennant try to focus more on their partners and children because of scheduling issues, nepotism or desperation but it just didn't work.

Did anyone catch RIDLEY with Adrian Dunbar on Masterpiece Mysteries last night? Promising beginning and great cast but about as formulaic AF.

And then there was the first episode of the final season of ENDEAVOUR. As always, the episode begins so promisingly and then inevitably disappoints.

Agree that Ridley was deadly boring.

I thought Ridley was a season long arc , thank goodness it’s not. New set up tonight.

I'm guessing this might should be in a proper 'Spring-Summer 2023' thread but i don't know the rules about 600 responses.

[bold]Vera[/bold] News

[quote]Vera fans, assemble: the long-running detective show will be returning to ITV for its 13th season, it has officially been confirmed. And in exciting news, David Leon is set to rejoin the Vera cast almost a decade since he last appeared on the show. The actor played the role of DS Joe Ashworth in the first four seasons of the crime drama between 2011 and 2014, and will once again star alongside Brenda Blethyn, who is reprising her role as the titular character.Blethyn said she was "absolutely over the moon to welcome David back to the show" adding that she "can’t wait to get started".

Jac (Ibinabo Jack) is leaving, but Jon Morrison, who plays DC Kenny Lockhart, and Riley Jones, who plays DC Mark Edward are returning.

Riley Jones is also hot and hunky, but you can only add one link, so we have the gorgeous, hot, and hunky David Leon, since he appeared first...

Will there be another Karen Pirie series?

A new drama from Sarah Phelps starts Monday.

The Sixth Commandment is based on the murderer Ben Field who charmed his way into the lives of 2 older wealthy people.

Timothy Spall, Ann Reid, Sheila Hancock and fresh from The Split Annabel Scholey and Ben Bailey Smith/Doc Brown.

Next season we get a new vicar (the third) on Grantchester ... and he's South Asian.

Grantchester jumped the shark with Tom Brittney. Imagine two Vicars (two!) with crime solving abilities, plus instant best friends with Geordie Keating!

This third version is a joke, and a BBC diversity hire.

I wish they'd can the Vicar thing and concentrate on Mrs. C, Leonard, and Daniel. And I love Robson Green, but he's just phoning it in. Nothing is going to beat the Sidney Chambers years, even if his ending was very awkward.

They should retire it, but it must be making money.

Grantchester isn't a BBC show R337.

Please take your dislike of Asian actors somewhere else.

R338

You're right; it's ITV.

And it has absolutely NOTHING to do with my opinion of Asian actors. Geesh. That's ridiculous. I can have an opinion on British TVs studied and obvious placement of minorities and/or disabled - or differently abled - characters.

I don't know if ITV has followed suit, but the BBC made a big deal about inclusion.

I can think it's a good thing and STILL think it's obvious. And sometimes antithetical to actual history.

[quote] concentrate on Mrs. C, Leonard, and Daniel

and Mrs C’s husband. Leonard is so much more interesting than the vicar.

The Power Of Parker starts soon.

Conleth Hill, Sian Gibson, Rosie Cavaliero and Sheila Reid.

And just saw a trailer for a Welsh thing called Wolf which looks like Michael Haneke's Funny Games with Owen Teale, Iwan Rheon, Juliet Stevenson, Sacha Dhawan and a woman who looks like Kelly Reilly but isn't Kelly Reilly.

Series/Season 26 of "Silent Witness" is finally available on Britbox.

Thanks for the tip, R335: I watched the first two episodes of The Sixth Commandment. The acting and writing were superb! The first episode with Timothy Spall was particularly heartbreaking.

Tom Brittney must have quit GRANTCHESTER when he was in the running for the lead in the SUPERMAN reboot. I assume the series was always meant to be a sexier alternative to the sexless FATHER BROWN, what with a scotch-drinking, jazz-loving priest with a longing for feminine company. But the series has become mechanical and sedate, and swapping out one actor for another every few seasons just seems cynical.

Grantchester would have worked much better if Robson Green was the older crime-solving vicar, teaming up with a succession of hot young policemen - far easier to accept.

It cracks me up that the widow Will married last season is the actress from Call The Midwife, playing vicar’s wives in both shows.

Yeah, I love Robson Green, but they may have felt he wasn’t a big enough personality to carry his own series. He was awfully sexy in his prime, though. Looks like he’s withering on the vine now.

Despite the fair skin and blue eyes, Tom Brittney always looked mixed race to me. Big, handsome guy, capable of sensitive acting, not sure why he somehow doesn’t connect, he isn’t a star presence at all. I miss a cleancut James Norton very mich.

[quote]It cracks me up that the widow Will married last season is the actress from Call The Midwife, playing vicar’s wives in both shows.

Yes, but I'm a BLONDE now. You're not supposed to notice these things.

[quote]Thanks for the tip, [R335]: I watched the first two episodes of The Sixth Commandment. The acting and writing were superb! The first episode with Timothy Spall was particularly heartbreaking.

It was very good wasn't it? Great pacing and it Éanna Hardwicke was fantastic as Ben Field.

When did Miss Scott (Geordie's secretary, I guess) become an amputee?

A Boat Story starts tonight and is available to binge in iPlayer.

From the creative minds of Jack and Harry Williams who dreamt up The Missing/Baptiste, Liar, Angela Black aka Joanne Froggatt as the abused wife again, The Tourist and The Widow.

Patterson Joseph, Daisy Haggard, Joanna Scanlon, Phil Daniels, Jonas Armstrong, Adem Gillen, Craig Fairbrass and Tchéky Karyo

Well that looks good, but not in the US yet.

Is there a rule that everyone on Annika has to be horrendously ugly and/or unkempt looking? Except for the daughter, although she looks like she needs a good shampoo.

New show on Acorn/AMC -- "Monsieur Spade." Premieres next month. Stars Clive Owen as an older Sam Spade who is now retired in France in 1963. Also with Alfre Woodard and Dean Winters.

I've finally started my way through ITV police drama The Long Shadow (not to be confused with ITV gay police drama The Long Call) which covers the police investigation into the Yorkshire Ripper serial killer Peter Sutcliffe in the mid/late 70s early 80s.

So so many "oh it's them from that thing" actors. Checking the cast list I had no idea Steven Waddington was in it. He really has transitioned from a skinny twink in Derek Jarman's Edward II to a cauliflower faced character actor.

Does anyone know if we'll see a new season of UNFORGOTTEN? It was my favorite show until that last season with the awful replacement for Nicola Walker. I hope the series gets a renewal but without that actress - Sinead Keenan I think is her name. Please bring Nicola Walker back from the dead.

Why Walker left UNFORGOTTEN to do the mediocre ANNIKA is beyond me.

R357

Chris Lang, the creator and writer of "Unforgotten", has said that his plan had always been to have Cassie die at the end of the fourth series.

It wasn't Walker's choice, so to speak.

Well, r358, that was just a stupid decision. What I loved about the Nicola years of UNFORGOTTEN was how the 2 detectives' home lives were woven into the stories but never intruded too much or eclipsed them. And thus, I never felt there was too much of Cassie that I ever tired of her in the lead role.

For anyone who hasn't watched the second series of Vigil - DON'T BOTHER!

After a promising start it descends into a piss weak Homeland retreat where Suranne Jones does her best Claire Danes impression (taken hostage! locked in a warehouse! shot at!) but is just awful. Romola Garai is very good but the political messaging was as subtle as a wet fart and anything that ends with the guilty person saying YES I DID IT AND YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY? should just be sent to the knackers yard.

Avoid at all costs.

I just rewatched an old 5 episode series, Collision, about a traffic accident on a highway. Doug Henshall, Paul McGann, Claire Rushbrook, and the always reliable Phil Davis. It streaming free on Roku.

[quote]Please bring Nicola Walker back from the dead.

That's the only way I would watch Unforgotten because last season was a major disappointment.

Oh and as for Annika, I couldn't make it past the first episode.

The last series of Unforgotten was hit and miss.

The good bits - Sanjeev Bhaskar was amazing and his depiction of grief was fantastic. Martina Laird was amazing as the schizophrenic abused abuser always on the verge of coping and not coping.

The bad bits - as a mystery it wasn't as compelling as previous ones and the political narrative was signposted so loudly it was distracting. And WTF was the storyline about the Jewish social worker who was Jew bashed and then started taking upskirting photos of women and then went to Paris where he stole stuff from an Amazon warehouse?

Yes, r363, and Hayley Mills looked 90 not 75! Has she been smoking 3 packs a day since she played Pollyanna??

COLLISION is a brilliant series! Conceived by Anthony Horowitz before the wonderful FOYLE's WAR when he still had talent. Those whodunnits (books) he's been devoting himself to lately are weak tea.

Not for nothing, but I think 'Foyle's War" was one of the best series I have ever seen. Writing, directing, acting, and a huge wealth of information about a period of time I should have known more about.

Michael Kitchen was brilliant.

(On a more base observation, I still want Anthony Howell. Badly. Apparently Howell is now only doing stage work and video voice overs. And 'Foyle's War' is when I first became aware of Julian Ovenden. A. feast of riches.)

Another Anthony Howell fan here! Can't imagine why he hasn't had more TV success since Foyle's War.

Lucas is finally discovering he has feelings for his BFF Dillon on Hollyoaks. They almost kissed in the new episode.

If international crime and murder mysteries float your boat, then look no further than Walter Presents.

I am currently watching Silence of the Water, an Italian murder mystery.

Are all of the Walter Presents series European and done with subtitles?

A few are in English that I've run across in the past.

I don't mind the subtitles. After a time viewing, you catch the rhythm.

Some of the foreign series I've watched have been excellent -- Masterpiece Theatre quality.

Which ones are your favorites, r371?

r372. In the past year and half I've watched:

King of the Skies

Carmen Curlers

Seaside Hotel

Sisi

Love, Inevitably

Acquitted

Hotel Sacher

Transfers

La Otra Miranda

I've started a few others but couldn't get into the story so moved on. Plenty to watch on Walter Presents!

Are they only on Passport? I have so many streaming apps on my tv, I know one of them has quite a few European series but I can never remember which one.

If you do remember which streaming app has European series, please let us know.

(I tried to find out what the plural of 'series' is, but it's too early to go down a rabbit hole.)

TIA

The absolute best service for European series.

I don't know how much MHZ costs to stream a month, but a PBS passport is only $60 per year. And for that you get the ENTIRE PBS library.

It is SUCH A GREAT DEAL!

MHZ is $90 per year and worth every penny.

Well worth it for all seasons of Spiral and A French Village.

Thanks for alerting me to MHZ r376.

Except be aware that many titles advertised on PBS Passport are NOT currently available. But yes, it's a great $$ deal anyway.

All the streaming services seem now to be bait and switch. Remember when Netflix and Amazon had [bold]free[/bold] movies and TV shows?

I have never had a title that I've selected tell me it is unavailable, r380.

As a Passport holder I believe I have unlimited access to all shows.

I binged all of "Collision" yesterday. I had it in my watchlist, but thanks to R361 for reminding me about it.

Really, r380?

One that comes immediately to mind for me is ARTHUR & GEORGE (Based on the Julian Barnes novel) which has been advertised forever on the site but has never been available for viewing. As well as many of the American Masters series.

Of course, I totally get why everything they've ever produced wouldn't be actually be available. I just don't like see these unavailable series being advertised as part of Passport.

I watched an old one a few nights ago, Sirens (2002), a police detective tracking down a serial rapist. It came up on one of the streaming channels and had Greg Wise and Robert Glenister. I don’t recommend it, the direction was very odd, the story was unbelievable and the weirdest thing was the background music would suddenly burst forth like it was a Hitchcock movie from the 50s.