lovejoy, series 4: up to his old tricks

Lovejoy (Ian McShane) has always walked a fine line between legitimate and slightly shady deals - such seems to be the nature of the antiques trade. But in Lovejoy, Series 4, the always charming rogue has crossed over to out-and-out swindling - for a good cause, naturally - the saving of his own skin. Lovejoy is a "divvie," someone who has the gift of being able to sniff out a real antique. This feature has both helped and hindered Lovejoy in his life, loves, and business.

Lovejoy Antiques, Inc.: L-R: Tinker (Dudley Sutton), Lady Jane Felsham (Phyllis Logan), Eric (Chris Jury), and Lovejoy (Ian McShane).

As the series opens, Lovejoy Antiques, Inc. has been seized by the authorities - and Lovejoy is not only out of a home, but his livelihood. He starts scrambling immediately, setting up some deals with his friends and sidekicks, Eric (Chris Jury) and Tinker (Dudley Sutton), while trying to keep some of the more gruesome details hidden from Lady Jane Felsham (Phyllis Logan), who will most definitely not approve. Lovejoy and Lady Jane have always had an on-again, off-again flirtation that has sometimes crossed over to romance, but this season sees the Lady's affections sorely tested. Viewers will recognize Phyllis Logan as Downton Abbey's Mrs. Hughes, who has finally found love on that program with the redoubtable butler Mr. Carson. But will her character Lady Jane fare as well with the rascally Lovejoy?

Read the full review on Cinema Sentries ...

lovejoy is looking for love in series 3 ...

The the second season of Lovejoy, the last time we saw the irascible but ever-charming antiques dealer played by Ian McShane, he was swindling (for a good cause, naturally) crooked antiques dealer Harry Catapodis (Brian Blessed) in order to help out a Japanese businessman (Mako) and a lovely widow Victoria (Joanna Lumley) who had both been cheated by Harry.

Lovejoy Series 3, recently released on DVD by Acorn Media, picks up a year later, after Lovejoy has been taking a holiday in Spain, where he has enjoyed (and spent) all the proceeds from that last big deal. He returns home to take up right where he left off, and his friends and partners, Eric (Chris Jury), Tinker (Dudley Sutton), and Lady Jane Felsham (Phyllis Logan, who many will recognize as Downton Abbey's Mrs. Hughes), are mostly glad to see him, even if they put off a bit by his new warmer climes-inspired wardrobe of linen suits and bright tee shirts. It doesn't take long for Lovejoy to don his familiar jeans and leather jacket, and also to kick-start his flirtation with Victoria into a full-fledged romance. Lady Jane seems a bit put off by the whole thing — will she and Lovejoy ever declare their feelings that always seem to be simmering below the surface?

Lovejoy and Lady Jane (Ian McShane and Phyllis Logan)

You can read my complete review on Cinema Sentries ...

lovejoy's back for more antiques, crime and fun

Acorn Media has recently released Lovejoy, Series 2, and it is just as much fun as the first series. Based on the books by Jonathan Gash, Lovejoy stars Ian McShane as an antiques dealer who has an eye for authenticity — in antiques and women. The British series was originally filmed and aired in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with the A&E Network showing the series stateside in the 1990s. Fans of McShane and the series should be very happy that Lovejoy is finally available on DVD.

Lovejoy is a British mystery series, but the accent is more on character and story than whodunnit. Frequently Lovejoy and his friends find themselves involved in so many plots and switcheroos that most of the fun comes from trying to figure out who's on top at the moment. When viewers first met Lovejoy last season, he was trying to balance his antiques business with his gifts as a "divvie," a person who can suss out whether an object is the genuine article or a fake. He was frequently plagued by a rival antiques dealer, Charles Gimbert, aided and abetted in his schemes by pals Tinker Dill (Dudley Sutton) and Eric Catchpole (Chris Jury), and becoming friends with the lovely lady of the local manor, Lady Jane Felsham (Phyllis Logan).

Gimbert is gone in the second series, Jane and Lovejoy are now business "partners," and Tinker and Eric are still on hand to run interference whenever Lovejoy needs. Lovejoy is still (almost always) broke. In fact, the first episode of season two, "Just Desserts," finds him being released from prison — after being framed — and he is determined to find out who in the antiques trade set him up. His time in jail has echoes throughout the season, with the local constabulary always suspicious of his movements, and Lovejoy frequently seeking revenge for himself, or justice for other innocent parties. There are some familiar faces from British film and television as guests stars this season, and Lovejoy and Jane even let a few sparks fly between them. ...


Read my complete review on Cinema Sentries

ian mcshane is the lovable rascal lovejoy (and might just teach you a thing or two about antiques)

When American audiences hear the name Ian McShane the first image that comes to mind is most likely his gritty, brilliant portrayal of Al Swearengen in HBO's Deadwood. But the actor has been busy on stage and screen since 1962. And before Deadwood, he created another iconic character, Lovejoy, whose series aired in the U.K. from 1986 to 1994. The shows were picked up in the U.S. and broadcast by the A&E Network in the 1990s. They haven't been available to American audiences on DVD until recently, thanks to Acorn Media, who has released the first set, Lovejoy, Series 1, with hopefully the remaining five seasons to soon follow.

Based on the character from the popular mystery novel series by Jonathan Gash, Lovejoy isn't a typical British mystery series. The focus is not on grisly murders or detectives trying to get into the heads of brilliant and idiosyncratic criminals. Set in East Anglia, McShane's Lovejoy is an antique dealer, who is mostly honest, but most importantly, has an absolute love of all things antique and ancient. He is also a "divvie," someone who can feel in his bones whether a painting or an object is the real thing or a clever fake. It's a wonderful quality to possess, but it can get Lovejoy into a lot of trouble. What makes the series escpecially fun is watching Lovejoy's true love for his work, and being able to learn a thing or two about paintings, porcelain, furniture, and even history along the way. ...

You can read the rest of my review on Cinema Sentries ...

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the agatha christie hour

Even the most avid Agatha Christie buff may not be aware of the stories featured in this DVD collection, as they don't feature her most famous detectives, Miss Marple or the inimitable Hercule Poirot. But the absence of those two sleuths should not deter one from checking out this great series from 1982 and distributed by Acorn Media, The Agatha Christie Hour: Complete Collection.

Cherie Lunghi and Nicholas Farrell in "The Manhood of Edward Robinson"

Featuring ten almost hour-long episodes on four discs, with a total running time of 517 minutes, there is much to enjoy here. One of Christie's other, lesser-known sleuths, Mr. Parker Pyne (Maurice Denham), is on hand in a few of the episodes, and fans of Poirot will also recognize the character of Miss Lemon, who is employed in a similar capacity, but perhaps with more direct involvement in his cases, by Parker Pyne. Many of the mysteries center on the supernatural and romance, two aspects that played more in the background of many of Christie's famous detective novels, but take center stage here.

The list of episodes in the collection includes:

Set 1
Disc 1: "The Case of the Middle-Aged Wife," "In a Glass Darkly," "The Girl in the Train"
Disc 2: "The Fourth Man," "The Case Of The Discontented Soldier"

Set 2
Disc 1: "Magnolia Blossom," "The Mystery of the Blue Jar," "The Red Signal"
Disc 2: "Jane in Search of a Job," "The Manhood Of Edward Robinson"

The picture quality has the look of many television films from that era, a bit on the grainy side, but for the most part is clean and crisp and looks great on a large-scale high-definition television screen, with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The costumes, set design and locations are top-notch. The sound and music are clear, with English subtitles are available. Extras include two text biographies, "Agatha Christie" and "Parker Pyne: Before Poirot."

All of the episodes are entertaining, but there are some definite standouts. Fans of Midsomer Murders will be delighted to see a very young John Nettles in "Fourth Man." Nettles, as Raoul Letardau, enters a train compartment and joins the discussion between three men — a lawyer, and a priest, and a doctor (Michael Gough, Geoffrey Chater, Alan MacNaughton) — and their debate over a young woman's recent suicide. But does the fourth man on the train hold the key to the mystery? in another episode, Christie seems to take a page out of Edgar Allan Poe with "In a Glass Darkly," where a young man's vision of a murder may play out in the future. Christopher Cazenove and Rosalie Crutchley are featured in "The Red Signal," another supernatural mystery that centers around the foretold death of a doctor. Are otherworldly forces at work, or is this just a case of murder for gain?

The author, animated

Viewers will have fun spotting familiar actors in early roles: Rupert Everett "The Manhood of Edward Robinson," Amanda Redman "Jane in Search of a Job," and Ralph Bates "Magnolia Blossom," just to name a few. But perhaps what is most fun about The Agatha Christie Hour (apart from its cute animated opening credits sequence) is seeing another side of Christie. At times, romantic, at times silly, at times mysterious, these stories not only feature England during a bygone era, but Christie, beginning to find her voice and stretch herself as a storyteller.

Originally published on Blogcritics: DVD Review: ‘The Agatha Christie Hour’

grab a cup of tea, sit back, relax, and watch hetty wainthropp investigate

Patricia Routledge may be best known to American viewers for the ultimate social climber and all-around annoying neighbor, Hyacinth Bucket (that's pronounced "Bouquet") in the long-running (1990-95) British television comedy Keeping Up Appearances. But Routledge also created another memorable television character, Hetty Wainthropp, a housewife turned private detective, who solves crimes both big and small in northern England. The series used to air on PBS Mystery!, but now fans of the actress and the show can enjoy the entire series, in Acorn Media's release, Hetty Wainthropp Investigates: The Complete Collection.

Hetty,  Geoffrey, and Robert contemplate a local crime

The DVD collection includes all 27 episodes of the cozy mystery series. Viewers are introduced to Hetty and her husband Robert (Derek Benfield), a retired couple who seem at a bit of a loss on how to spend their golden years. In the first episode, "The Bearded Lady," Hetty takes a job at the post office, but soon finds herself on the trail of a mystery. Along the way she meets young Geoffrey (Dominic Monaghan), who proves helpful and teams up with Hetty to solve the case.

The series follows Hetty's at-first tentative attempts to investigate, and how Geoffrey becomes more and more a part of her and Robert's lives. We watch Geoffrey grow up and fall in love with auto mechanic Janet (Suzanne Maddock), all while getting stronger and more confident and more adept at becoming a first-class sleuth. Robert is at first skeptical of his wife's new passion, but soon becomes an essential part of the team, holding down the fort at home while Hetty and Geoffrey pursue different clues and avenues of investigation. Even the local constabulary develops a grudging admiration of Hetty.

Hetty is a no-nonsense sort of woman. She and Robert are struggling financially, to get by on his small pension, and she makes no bones about the fact that her detecting not only feeds her soul but puts food on the table. Life in their part of England is far from fancy, and their domestic struggles still resonate. Although Hetty always solves the crime at hand, she is also very often quite sympathetic to the criminal - not all of the culprits will see jail time in her world. Her strong sense of what is right and wrong always prevails, however, as she is quick to remind Geoffrey and the audience. There may be as many crimes in Hetty's small villages as there are in Midsomer Murders or Jessica Fletcher's Cabot Cove, but they are rarely bloody or brutal. Just people trying to get by or get away with something, and Hetty and Co. there to set things right.

The collection includes 12 discs from each of the four series, for a total running time of a whopping 22 1/2 hours. The image quality is good, but a bit grainy, like similar films from the time. Extras include production notes, photo galleries, and an interview with Patricia Routledge.

The episodes are:

Series 1/Discs 1-3: "The Bearded Lady," "Eye Witness," "Fingers," "Widdershins," "A High Profile," "Safe as Houses"

Series 2/Discs 1-3: "Poison Pen," "Lost Chords," "Runaways," "The Astral Plane," "A Rose by Any Other Name," "Woman of the Year"

Series 3/Discs 1-3: "All Stitched Up," "Daughter of the Regiment," "Serving the Community," "Fisticuffs," "Childsplay," "Pursuit by Proxy," "A Minor Operation," "Helping Hansi," "How Time Flies"

Series 4/Discs 1-3: "Something to Treasure," "Family Values," "Digging for Dirt," "Mind over Muscle," "Blood Relations," "For Love nor Money"

Hetty and Geoffrey (and even on occasion, Robert, sometimes dress up or disguise themselves while on a case, but for the most part they use common sense to solve their crimes. The series is unusual, in its mix of old and young working together, and the northern England setting gives a nice touch of local flavor to all of the episodes. In fact many of the episodes center around a young or old victim or criminal, so that Hetty and Geoffrey can combine their own styles and patterns of deduction. One can marathon Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, or sit back from time to time with a nice cup of tea and relax and watch her right a few wrongs.

Originally published on Blogcritics: DVD Review: ‘Hetty Wainthropp Investigates – The Complete Collection’

agatha christie's poirot: series 11

David Suchet is as wonderful as ever as Hercule Poirot in this latest DVD collection from Acorn Media, Agatha Christie's Poirot: Series 11. The costumes, settings and locations are as gorgeous as ever in these first-class adaptations of Christie's mystery novels. The films stay mostly true to Christie's original novels. Two of the episodes pair Poirot with Christie's thinly-veiled spoof of herself, crime novelist Ariadne Oliver (Zoë Wanamaker).

Hercule Poirot (David Suchet) and Ariadne Oliver (Zoë Wanamaker) consider the pool of suspects

The first film in the set, "Mrs. McGinty's Dead," seems a bit more artistically framed than previous Poirot episodes. It features one of Christie's most clever plots, with Poirot taking on a cold case and having to rough it in the country while he investigates the murder of an elderly charwoman in the small village of Broadhinny:

Poirot, "Well, I too suffer. The cooking of Madame Summerhayes; it is beyond description. Well, it is not cooking at all. The currents of the cold air. The long hairs of the dogs. The chairs. The terrible, terrible beds in which I try to sleep! And the coffee: words cannot describe to you the fluid they serve to you as coffee."

Poor persnickety Poirot. He may not be enjoying the usual creature comforts of his well-appointed London flat, but his deductive skills are as sharp as ever.

Read the entire review on Cinema Sentries.

bubble girl

One of the more interesting "rides" at the renaissance fair this past weekend was something called "Merlin's Magic Bubbles."








The kid had a a blast trying to navigate her way over the water in the giant bubble. I couldn't help but be reminded of a certain surreal bubble from classic British television ...

the bletchley circle

Thanks to a recommendation by my friend Chris, I decided to check out The Bletchley Circle, a British murder mystery series on Netflix. I was not disappointed. Series 1 had three episodes and centered on four friends, Susan (Anna Maxwell Martin, Death Comes to Pemberley, Philomena), Millie (Rachael Stirling, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, The Young Victoria), Lucy (Sophie Rundle, Great Expectations), and Jean (Julie Graham, Doc Martin) who worked together as codebreakers at Bletchley Park in WW2.

As the series begins, it is now 1952, and Susan is certain that a recent series of brutal murders of young women are linked — and that she and her friends, if they can uncover the pattern — can help solve the crimes and find the killer.

L-R: Lucy (Sophie Rundle), Susan (Anna Maxwell Martin), Jean (Julie Graham), and Millie (Rachael Stirling)

The series has a dark, creepy undertone that is so common to British crime shows — and that they do so well. The killer in these murders is super-creepy, but his modus operandi also has ties to the hardships and the toll that the war took on everyone — a shadow that never quite fades. The Bletchley Circle highlights the frustrations of the four women, who now have had to resume more domestic or expected female roles after feeling more useful and being placed in more dangerous, and even exciting circumstances during wartime. Like Prime Suspect, which starred the amazing Helen Mirren, The Bletchley Circle gives viewers a unique view of women in a dark and violent crime drama.

The men are almost uniformly portrayed as dolts in the first series, but it is easy for us to forget how "sheltered" women were. Susan can only go the police with her theories and suspicions under the aegis of her reluctant-to-believe-her husband. Even with his begrudging entree she is pretty much dismissed out of hand. The portrayal of all the women's minds, working together to puzzle things out,  is a refreshing change from most dramas where such activities are portrayed as more masculine.

The pro-woman, anti-man stance may be a bit heavy-handed at times, but the episodes had real thrills and real dangers, and brought a little-known (to me) period, of 1950s post-war London, to life. A second series, which will consist of two two-part episodes, has been filmed and will return to PBS on March 27. Can't wait.

poirot, series 10

Acorn Media has released for the first time on Blu-ray Agatha Christie's Poirot: Series 10. The four feature-length mysteries included on these discs feature some of Christie's most tragic plots, but her victims and murderers are not her typical "bad guys." The four films were originally broadcast in 2005 and 2006 and include some of the series' most stellar guest stars, including Lucy Punch (Doc Martin, Ella Enchanted), Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class, 12 Years a Slave) and Elliott Gould (Ocean’s Eleven, MASH). Zoë Wanamaker (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Prime Suspect) returns as Poirot's friend and foil, eccentric crime novelist Ariadne Oliver (a self-portrait-like spoof of Christie herself.)

Mrs. Oliver (Zoë Wanamaker) and Poirot (David Suchet) attend a very strange dinner party

The production is its usual high quality, with costumes and set designs accurately and attractively reflecting the period setting, which the series has kept in the 1920s/1930s Art Deco era. The images on the discs look sharp, especially on a large-scale high-definition television screen, with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The dialogue and the musical soundtrack are also crisp and clear (DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0), with English SDH subtitles available. The mournful soundtrack is by Stephen McKeon. There are bonus features too: a photo gallery and a behind-the-scenes featurette.

The episodes on the two discs episodes appear in their original U.K. broadcast order. Fans of Christie's books may not be pleased by how the original stories have been modified in these filmed versions, but changes to the novels do keep viewers who may think they know what's coming guessing — especially in the first episode in the set, "The Mystery of the Blue Train." The basic plot, which concerns murder and the theft of a priceless jewel aboard a luxury train, is still there, but Poirot now finds himself on the spot, much like his other famous case, "Murder on the Orient Express."

Liberties with Christie's text continue in the second episode, "Cards on the Table." The original novel, like many of Christie's puzzles, had an ingenious set-up — four sleuths (including Poirot and Mrs. Oliver) pitted against four "successful" murderers — people who had committed crimes but had never been accused or convicted. But this version switches murderers, makes a neat yet intricate premise unnecessarily complicated, and adds more "contemporary" sexual goings-on, a tactic that has been used to spice up the more recent incarnations of Marple, but until now, not Poirot.

The second disc includes the most successful and entertaining episodes in the set, "After the Funeral" and "Taken at the Flood." In "After the Funeral" Poirot is asked by a lawyer friend (Robert Bathurst) to help determine whether a family patriarch and his sister were murdered — and by whom. Every member of the Abernethie family is a suspect, and the cast includes Michael Fassbender, Lucy Punch,  and Geraldine James. The adaptation is classic drawing-room Christie.

Cousins George Abernethie (Michael Fassbender) and Susannah Henderson (Lucy Punch) in "After the Funeral"

The real jewel in the set is "Taken At the Flood," which has been updated from its original post-war setting. Poirot once again finds himself dealing with a complicated wealthy family, the Cloades. Viewers will find themselves as affected by the outcome of this mystery as the detective himself, who believes he has witnessed one of the most evil crimes of his career. The impressive guest cast includes Jenny Agutter, Tim Piggott-Smith, and Celia Imrie.

"How depraved! God, how evil does a man have to be to cause the slaughter of so many innocent people? For the concealment of a single murder? If God should withhold his mercy from anyone on earth ... it surely will be you."

What makes the Poirot series so watchable is David Suchet in the title role as the brilliant yet persnickety Belgian detective. In all four mysteries Suchet as is as wonderful as ever, and imbues his character with real emotion, especially in the final mystery in the set, "Taken At the Flood." Suchet recently has realized his goal of filming all of Agatha Christie's Poirot mysteries. There may not be any new Poirots in the offing, but it is nice to know that thanks to Blu-rays like these, Suchet as Poirot can be enjoyed again and again.

Originally published on Blogcritics: Blu-ray Review: ‘Poirot, Series 10′

agatha christie: the queen of crime collection

"... All three films in Agatha Christie's The Queen of Crime Collection are of high quality in costume, setting (London and Wales), and set design. The acting, of course, is topnotch across the board. Christie was fond of madcap amateur sleuths who have names like Bundle and friends called Badger and Pongo, and these films capture that period of British upper class bonhomie — with just an appropriate dash of brutal crime to keep the locals entertained. And these films should keep Christie and British mystery fans entertained, too."

Cheryl Campbell as Bundle and Christopher Scoular as Bill in The Seven Dials Mystery

You can read the entire review here on the film/review website Cinema Sentries.

the moaning of life

British television personality Karl Pilkington is back with a new travel/adventure series, The Moaning of Life. Karl, who has just turned 40, has decided that he needs to investigate the true meaning of life as he enters middle age, or as he refers to it, "We've had the Iron Age, the Stone Age — this the pissing-about age." Karl recently explored the subject of "Marriage" in the series, which airs on Science Channel on Saturdays at 10 p.m. Now a seasoned world traveler, thanks to his previous series An Idiot Abroad, Karl traveled to India to learn about arranged marriages, and to the U.S., to Los Angeles and Las Vegas, to try out a scientific way to meet some one at a pheromone party, as well as witness some unusual weddings in Las Vegas.

Karl meets the parents

In India, after consulting with a marriage broker, Karl selected and then met a young lady and potential bride whose parents quizzed him, asking him a series of practical, yet, in Karl's view, intrusive questions. After an hour and a half of meeting the girl and her family wedding plans were even discussed (unbeknownst to Karl's longtime girlfriend of 20 years). Karl also learned that the other side of the arranged wedding/interview is the marriage detective, who he joined one afternoon on the trail, investigating if what was said by a potential groom to his potential mate and her family meeting was true.

The series, which began airing in the U.K. last October, has a total of five episodes. Besides "Marriage," Karl looks into "Happiness" in Mexico and Los Angeles; "Kids" in Japan, Bali, and Indonesia; "Vocation and Money" in Japan, South Africa and Los Angeles; and "Death" in Ghana, Taiwan, the Philippines, and finally, back home in England.

Karl is as entertaining in his observances as ever, but not quite as reluctant to sample local cultures as he appeared to be in An Idiot Abroad (and its two spin-offs, The Bucket List and An Idiot Abroad: The Short Way Round) — probably because this time out he is choosing these adventures, as opposed to what comedians and show producers Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant decided they should subject him to, constantly jerking him out of his tiny comfort zone. But that doesn't mean that Karl has lost his critical abilities, as the show is full of his funny and exasperated observances and creative expressions of disbelief.

  The Moaning of Life - "Marriage" Clip from ScienceChannelPR on Vimeo.
For instance, he can't believe the Indian wedding he has been invited to observe and attend has a guest list of five thousand. "There's five thousand people. How many people do they know?" As always his mind races towards the most practical of matters, "... How many toilets? Two." He's a little more open to the pheromone party in Los Angeles, where guests sniff baggies of attendees' tee shirts to select the perfect person, but thinks his nose may have "too high standards" compared to the rest of him.

Karl Pilkington definitely seems more at ease without Gervais and Merchant hovering over his shoulder, but The Moaning of Life is no less funny than his previous efforts. He may believe that a job in television is ultimately "the most unworthy job," but hopefully that won't stop him from continuing to produce such entertaining and funny documents of his travels in future.

Originally published on Blogcritics: TV Review: ‘The Moaning of Life – Marriage’

mirror, mirror: the avengers

After having streaming television for a few months we are still trying to figure out how some things work. Like for instance, why some programs are available with our Hulu Plus — but only on my computer, not directly streaming to the TV. Luckily, we can do a work-around, by mirroring the laptop screen to the television, so last night I was able to share the British cult classic series The Avengers with the kid. We watched a few episodes, and I think she liked the mixture of science fiction, humor, and action-adventure. She jumped up and did some karate along with Emma Peel during "The Winged Avenger."





Emma and Steed discuss the case at his apartment



When she's not fighting crime, Emma enjoys more artistic pursuits

Although I'm still not sure about the online-only availability, mirroring does open up many more possibilities, as there are old films available on YouTube and other websites (Internet Archive, Open Culture) too ... Cable really does seem so last century lately.

downton (yawn) abbey — is the love affair over?

I wasn't one of the fans who was infuriated by the death of Matthew Crawley at the end of last season. Was it a surprise? Yes. An unpleasant one? Undoubtedly. But Downton Abbey has always been, first and foremost, a soap opera, and soap operas are known to pull such punches with their devoted audience. The actor Dan Stevens wanted to move on, and who can blame him? His character didn't really have anywhere that interesting to go, and maybe he wanted out of a show with such an obsessive fan base.

Downton Abbey survived without Matthew, and the fourth season is now in full swing, but ... is it any fun anymore? Maybe it's the fact that another Brit series, Sherlock, has also returned (and with just one episode aired, it's a hoot, off to a great start), but I find myself not all that enthused with what's happening at Downton. So much of the same old, same old is going on. Under Butler Thomas (Rob James-Collier) is scheming something. In the kitchen Daisy is still hopelessly pining after Alfred.

Lord Gillingham makes a bid for Lady Mary (and call me suspicious, but maybe Downton?)

Elzabeth McGovern and Hugh Bonneville as Lord and Lady Grantham are grossly underused. Maggie Smith as Dowager Violet is just trotted on for a quick quip and then trotted off again. And the Bateses are being out through the wringer once again, this time with poor Anna being raped by an the visiting Lord Gillingham’s (Tom Cullen) evil valet, Mr. Green. Not only do we have to watch a beloved character be used and abused, but then she is forced to act stupidly, by keeping it from her husband, and pushing him away. It will probably all be resolved by the end of the season, but I'm not sure whether I want to stick around for it and have to watch them suffer in the interim.

As for new developments, Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) is having a flirtation with her married suitor, Michael Gregson (Charles Edwards), which is destined to become an affair, and knowing Edith, lead to heartbreak. Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) did have one terrific line about her sister, whose frequent trips to London were befuddling her father.

“Edith is about as mysterious as a bucket. She wants to see Michael Gregson.”

Young cousin Rose (Lily James) is a singularly annoying and uninteresting character, and a deliberate ploy by the producers to inject some youth and scandal into the proceedings  she is set up to fall for Jack Ross (Gary Carr), an African American jazz musician. Just wait for Grannie Violet to be the least scandalized. And Lady Mary — seemingly the focus of this year's season, is wading out of her grief, but already the show and her family is trying to set her up with a bunch of suitors. By the third (U.S. aired, 4th in the U.K.) episode she was already receiving a proposal from Lord Gillingham, so soon after being widowed that it seemed not just unseemly, but downright unbelievable.

Phyllis Logan as Mrs. Hughes — always a delight — but don't cross her!

There was one bright note. Mrs. Hughes squashed a plot by maid Edna who was trying to trap Branson (Allen Leech) in a false pregnancy. Not only is Phyllis Logan awesome as Mrs. Hughes, but she helped kill another stupid plot line that could have dragged on and dragged down the season. Downton Abbey airs right before Sherlock, so for at least a few more weeks I will be watching. But I can't say that at the moment, it is with any enthusiasm.

he's back .... sherlock, season three

Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) may call himself a sociopath, but last night's episode of Sherlock, "The Empty Hearse," pretty much disproved that hypothesis. As the detective returned to London, and in some ways, the land of the living, after an absence of two years spent putting an end to arch-criminal Moriarty's (Andrew Scott) global crime network, he discovered exactly how connected to the world, and to certain people living in it, that he really is. One of the most amusing scenes in the episode featured some fraternal bickering between Sherlock and his "smarter brother" Mycroft (Mark Gatiss, who is also the creator and co-writer of the show, with Dr. Who's Stephen Moffatt), where it became abundantly clear that between the two of them, Sherlock is comparatively downright social. Mycroft expressed disdain, possibly even disgust, that his younger brother deigns to have friends. He could hardly bring himself to utter the "f" word.

Sibling rivalry, from Rebloggy

As Sherlock returned to 221B Baker Street and renewed contact with his friends and associates — Inspector Lestrade (Rupert Graves), Mrs Hudson (Una Stubbs), Molly Hooper (Louise Brealey) —they were all delighted to see him — all except his closest friend, John Watson (Martin Freeman). After some retributional scuffling and head-butting from Watson a bewildered Sherlock began to understand just how much his friend had missed him. The ice sculpture began to thaw. He graciously accepted Watson's new fiancée Mary (Amanda Abbington), and the pair lost no time teaming up to rescue a kidnapped Watson from an as-yet undisclosed new enemy.

There are only three episodes in this new series of Sherlock, so fans must savor them. "The Empty Hearse" seemed designed for multiple viewings, with its alternate depictions of how Sherlock survived the fall off the high rise at the end of the second season and its nod to an obsessed fan base that thrives on the internet. The series has always had humor, but this season started off with some laugh-out-loud moments — Sherlock's use of disguise to reintroduce himself to Watson, and a super-hero-like imagining of how he survived the fall, to name a few.

Is that a deerstalker on your head, or are we just happy to see you?

In the hiatus between the last series and this one Benedict Cumberbatch, much like his alter ego Sherlock, has been quite busy, with multiple movie roles (Star Trek Into Darkness, The Hobbit, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, War Horse, 12 Years a Slave), as well as acquiring a dedicated fan base that have dubbed themselves Cumberbitches. He has requested they refer to themselves instead as Cumberbabes, to no avail. Cumberbatch has always been an excellent Sherlock, but he really owned the part in this episode. Both actor and character seemed glad, even giddy, to be back, and the camera loved him for it — showering him with tons of close-ups and clever dialogue. Sherlock is back, the eponymous detective and his faithful sidekick Watson once again a team, and woe to any villain who stands in their way. I can't help wondering if the mysterious Big Bad might end up being Mycroft, the only other character who seemed less than thrilled at Sherlock's return.

the return of downton

Downton Abbey has become an obsession on both sides of the pond and American fans who have been feeling withdrawal pangs finally relaxed when the fourth season returned last night (in Britain the fourth season aired in September 2013). It's now 1922 and the look of Downton is still sumptuous, but it also seems a little harsher and brighter, as if all the soft focus has gone out of the Crawleys' lives.

They're back ...

Lady Mary and baby George

The first episode begins six months after the tragic death of Matthew. Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) is in mourning and having trouble connecting with their baby, George. Everyone knows by now that actor Dan Stevens wanted out of his contract and show creator Julian Fellowes scrambled to write the character out in a fitting manner. After the emotional death mid-season of another important character, daughter Sybil (Jessica Brown Findlay), in childbirth, the show decided that an untimely and unexpected death in a motor accident was the way to go. Only time will tell if both Mary and the viewers will get over Matthew's death and allow her to move on. This season will offer her some competing suitors — friend of the family Lord Gillingham (Tom Cullen) and Charles Blake (Julian Ovenden).

But Mary was hardly the only one affected by Matthew's death. His mother (Penelope Wilton) feels as if she is a non-person, as "a mother who has lost their only child isn't anything anymore," until she is reminded that she is a grandmother (and someone who excels at helping those less fortunate than herself). Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville), to the alarm of pretty much everyone, thinks that he should manage the substantial finances of his grandchild George. Valet Thomas (Rob James-Collier) is up to his old tricks, the new object of his machinations the new nanny for the children — although he doesn't limit his tricks to just one person.

Soapy plot turns aside (and Downton is notorious for these), it was just great to see some of the familiar faces again. Upstairs: Dowager Countess Violet Crawley (Maggie Smith, amazing as always), her son the Earl of Grantham and his wife Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) and their middle daughter "poor Edith" (Laura Carmichael). Downstairs: Butler Carson (Jim Carter), Housekeeper Mrs. Hughes (Phyllis Logan), newlyweds Mr Bates, Lord Grantham's valet (Brendan Coyle) and Lady's Maid Anna (Joanne Froggatt), and Cook Mrs. Patmore (Lesley Nicol), and so many more. Fellowes has guaranteed that there will be no major character deaths.  That is something at least, but there have been rumblings of some big twists coming for beloved characters this season — especially the Bateses. Fellowes does love to take his fans on a period-based roller coaster ride.

the snow queen

BBC Home Entertainment recently released The Snow Queen, a movie originally screened on the BBC in 2005. Just in time for the holiday season, The Snow Queen is based on the classic children's story by Hans Christian Andersen. The project began as a showcase for the music of composer Paul K. Joyce, which debuted at the Barbican Arts Centre in London. The concert featured the London Symphony Orchestra, soprano Sydney Rae White, and actress Juliet Stevenson (The Secret of Moonacre, Mona Lisa Smile, Truly Madly Deeply) as the narrator. It was such a success that a filmed version of the concert was devised, under the direction of Julian Gibbs. The remastered version of the film includes 5.1 surround sound.

Gerda misses her friend Kay

The Snow Queen's palace

The Snow Queen becomes almost a tone poem, as Joyce's music tells the story of Gerda, who must journey to the dangerous and forbidden castle of the Snow Queen (Tiffany Amber Knight), who has kidnapped her best friend Kay (Pax Baldwin). White and Stevenson return for the film version; White plays Gerda, and Stevenson her mother. Patrick Stewart (X-Men, The Canterville Ghost, Star Trek: The Next Generation) joins the cast as a talking raven who helps guide Gerda on her adventure. There is minimal dialogue throughout, with the music and the acting telling the story. The Snow Queen, with its running time of 56 minutes, has the feeling of an animated film, even though it is populated with real actors. The live-action scenes were all filmed in bluescreen, and the CGI fanciful and painterly sets and backgrounds added later. A disc extra about the making of The Snow Queen features the film cast and crew talking about the logistical challenges of blue screen and how they brought the fairytale to life. The other extra, besides the behind-the-scenes featurette included on the disc, is a Blue Peter short film about Hans Christian Andersen’s life.

The Snow Queen should be perfect viewing for a cold winter's night, with Gerda's girl-power quest and lovely soprano voice taking viewers on a fanciful adventure. Parents may even get more out of this highly stylized version of a beloved fairytale than their children, and be the ones who opt for repeat viewings.

Originally published on Blogcritics: DVD Review: ‘The Snow Queen’

gordon ramsay has invaded our kitchen

It started with MasterChef Junior. The kid found it on Hulu and got me addicted too, as we watched a bunch of pint-sized aspiring chefs, from the ages of 9-13 compete for the title. We were not only enthralled and entertained by the kids and their knowledge and passion for food, but by how impressed the three chief/judges were, and how encouraging of their efforts: Graham Elliot, Joe Bastianich, and Gordon Ramsay.

Ramsay with the MasterChef Junior champion, Alexander

I was familiar with Ramsay and his reputation for being a bit of a bad boy chef, with his shows called Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares, but I had never actually sat and watched any of them. After watching the kids whip up everything from Beef Wellington to amazing layer cakes, we binge-watched the latest season of MasterChef, which had recently wrapped up its fourth season.

After MasterChef we decided to try another series, where Ramsay was the focus. We have been watching The F Word ("F" is for food, right?), which is part reality show, part food magazine. Each episode has Ramsay training real home chefs in his restaurant. They must prepare a three-course meal for the restaurant's diners, who will decide based on how long they waited for their food and how it tasted whether they will pay or not. The restaurant patrons frequently include British celebrities, including folks like Joan Collins, Jonathan Ross, and Sharon Osbourne, who join Ramsay in the kitchen or taste-test, sometimes even cook, some of the food. The restaurant drama is intercut with Gordon visiting folks at their homes and encouraging them to cook a home-cooked meal for their family instead of packaged or take-out food. It also includes scenes of Ramsay at home with his wife and four children and their efforts to raise animals for food.

Ramsay and his kids set up a shelter in the back yard for the turkeys

We happened to watch the first series, which featured Ramsay raising six turkeys, which he had amusingly named after six other celebrity chefs. Timely, in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. The idea was that he was teaching his children (and the audience) where their food was coming from. The kids (and my daughter and I) got attached to the turkeys. Ramsay seemed to, too. When it came time to slaughter them it was handled in quite a humane way, but it was still really hard to watch. I told the kid she didn't have to watch, ut she wanted to know. My daughter has since sworn off eating turkey, although at the moment chickens may still be OK as "there are lots of chickens in the world." We had chicken for Thanksgiving, but she seemed doubtful about that, too.

We've started watching the second series and this time out Ramsay and his family are raising and fattening two pigs. We haven't gotten to the end of the series yet, but the kid, after she saw some baby piglets in an episode where they visit a farm has sworn off eating pork now too. Ramsay himself, after meeting with a good farm practices advocate and seeing how pigs are raised in most farms, including crowded, dirty conditions, castration, and tail docking, seemed shocked.

"It's enough to make anyone turn fucking vegetarian, for God's sake. And I've always sort of knocked vegetarians and vegans for missing out on the most amazing flavour you can get from meat. But you can see why so many people change instantly."

I like Ramsay's direct approach to food, of many cuisines, and his sincere efforts in trying to motivate folks to cook for themselves and their friends and families. His overall message is quite positive, even though he frequently uses foul language to get his point across. I am not phased by the kid watching these episodes with me and hearing a few f-words. She knows that she isn't supposed to use that word. More importantly, I'm not sure yet what the impact will be regarding her possibly newfound vegetarianism. I have tried to cut out all meat in the past and I don't do too well without it — I feel depleted. But she is on her own journey, and I will support her with whatever she decides.

It seems that the way we eat, between my daughter's ethics and my desire to eliminate artificial additives and toxins — is undergoing quite an overhaul. Somehow Gordon Ramsay has gotten mixed up in all of this.

the kid discovers mr. bean

Thanks to Netflix I am getting acquainted with many shows and movies that  I haven't seen in years. Ihave always liked the comedy of Rowan Atkinson, from his small parts in Four Weddings and A Funeral and Love, Actually to his epic craziness in his various Blackadder series and Johnny English spy soot films. But my all-time favorite comic performance is still "Mind the Baby, Mr. Bean" from his 1990s Mr. Bean series. I just had to share that episode with the kid, and not only did she love it as much as her momma, but she insisted on seeing the rest of the series. So we have hopped around, and then binge-watched from beginning to end all nineteen episodes. She even likes singing along to the Latin choral theme song.

Ecce homo qui est faba [Behold the man who is a bean]

Mr. Bean wants to go to the fun fair, but has also unwittingly invited a baby to tag along ...

These roller coasters are so dull

Maybe if I give the baby a balloon it will stop crying?

Or a lot of balloons?

It's awful that there are only nineteen episodes, but Netflix also has available the Mr. Bean animated series, which I had never seen before, so now we are discovering and enjoying together. There are a more of them — 26 double episodes, which is nice. After that, who knows, maybe I can start her off on Blackadder, too, as all four seasons are available ...

poirot: series 7 & 8

Acorn Media has released on Blu-ray for the first time some titles only previously available on DVD: Agatha Christie's Poirot: Series 7 & 8. For Agatha Christie and Poirot enthusiasts it is great to see these titles remastered for the precision of Blu-ray. The widescreen (aspect ratio: 1.77:1, 1080 resolution) images look great on a large-scale, high-definition television screen. The colors are vibrant; and details, such as the weave of Poirot's suit jacket or his incredibly waxed mustaches are stellar. Shadows may look a bit murky on some of the more highly-lit exterior scenes. The episodes were remastered from their original 16mm film prints.

David Suchet is as excellent as always as Hercule Poirot, the world's most brilliant and fastidious detective. His faithful friends and assistants also show up along the way - Hugh Fraser as Poirot's best friend and colleague, Captain Hastings, Philip Jackson as Chief Inspector Japp, and Pauline Moran as his personal secretary, the incomparable Miss Lemon. Poirot travels across England and beyond to solve the multiple murders in these mysteries. The Art Deco period settings and costumes look as fabulous as ever.

Hercule Poirot (David Suchet) basks in the glow of his client, the actress Jane Wilkinson (Helen Grace)

The two-disc Blu-ray includes four feature-length mysteries, presented in their original U.K. broadcast order:

"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" (2000) —Poirot has retired to the countryside to raise vegetable marrows (squash). When his friend the wealthy industrialist Roger Ackroyd (Malcolm Terris) is found murdered in his home, Poirot can (happily) ditch his new gardening habit and throw himself back into the detection of crime. Poirot is assisted in his investigations by the local doctor, Dr. Sheppard (Oliver Ford Davies), and his busybody sister Caroline (Selina Cadell). This is one of Christie's more original twists on the locked room mystery.

"Lord Edgware Dies" (2000) — Back home at his London flat, Poirot is charmed by film actress Jane Wilkinson (Helen Grace), who asks his help - first to secure her divorce from her brute of a husband, Lord Edgware (John Castle) - then to find out who murdered the unpleasant nobleman. Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser), who has recently returned to England from Argentina after making some foolish investments, is thrilled by the milieu of the murder, which takes the pair backstage among theater folk, such as cabaret mimic Carlotta Adams (Fiona Allen).

"Murder in Mesopotamia" (2001) —Poirot accompanies Hastings to an archaeological dig in Iraq, which becomes the setting for multiple murders, antiquities theft, and a number of other mysteries that the great Belgian detective must unravel. The archaeological site of the Roman city of Oudhna, in Tunisia, provides a gorgeous and authentic backdrop for one of Christie's more compelling mysteries, but apparently was one of the most difficult ones to complete for Suchet as Poirot:

"It was undoubtedly the most difficult shoot of my entire career because of the extreme heat. The temperature reached 139 degrees, and my costume consists of a three-piece wool suit, leather gloves, a hat, a wing collar, bow tie, and full body padding. I had to drink four litres of water every day because I was sweating so much, but even so I nearly fainted on several occasions."

After meeting and marrying Archaeologist Max Mallowan, Christie set many of her mysteries at digs or other sites that her travels took her with Mallowan. "Murder in Mesopotamia" features an archaeologist, Dr. Erich Leidner (Ron Berglas), his high-strung American wife, Louise (Barbara Barnes), who believes that her life is in danger, and a string of suspects who are all attached in one way or another to the excavations, including Hastings's nephew Bill Coleman (Jeremy Turner-Welch).

Louise Leidner (Barbara Barnes) confesses her fears to Poirot and Hastings (Hugh Fraser) at her husband's dig in Mesopotamia.

"Evil Under the Sun" (2001) — Poirot has been told, to his horror, that he must lose weight after he suffers a fainting spell at a new Argentinian restaurant (another one of Hastings's investments). A forced vacation to a seaside resort in Devon, the Sandy Cove Hotel, is at first a nightmare for Poirot, who is on a strict food and exercise regimen. But as he turns his attention to his fellow hotel guests, he notices that something, more than the terrible food, is wrong at the the Sandy Cove Hotel. A glamorous former actress, Arlena Stuart (Louise Delamere), is blatantly flirting with Patrick Redfern (Michael Higgs), upsetting his decidedly unglamorous wife Christine (Tamzin Malleson), as well as her husband Kenneth Marshall (David Mallinson). The love triangle seems only the tip of the iceberg. Once Arlena is found dead, alone, on an isolated beach, Poirot must sift through the other guests' alibis, as they all seem to have their own jealousies and secrets.

SDH Subtitles in English are available, but there are unfortunately no other extras included in Agatha Christie's Poirot: Series 7 & 8. But Poirot's "little grey cells" are as top-notch as ever, and die-hard Christie fans can now enjoy some of their favorite mysteries on Blu-ray.

Originally published on Blogcritics as: Blu-ray Review: ‘Agatha Christie’s Poirot: Series 7 & 8′