In which Masterpiece Theatre saved my bacon
I was almost dead to my sister this week, because I forgot to tell her that Masterpiece Theatre was bringing back the good stuff--most notably, Return to Cranford. Remember that one time when they aired Cranford and it was super good and made me sob until my face chapped? Yeah, it's still really good.
The good people at Masterpiece Theatre have put all of it online so you can watch it there for the next couple of weeks. It is good that they anticipated I might not be on the ball this year, woops. And this way my sister won't kill me for failing her.
I have only seen the first half so far, but the second half is waiting for me on the Tivo. Turns out that GH, in a testament to the depth of his true and extreme love for me, recorded it even though it meant that the 2nd half of the Golden Globes would NOT be recorded. For a movie/TV nut, that really is love.
Because he couldn't watch the Globes, he got online to follow some of the live blog feeds to try and keep up with the awards.
GH: You know Avatar's going to win.
Me: Yeah, and then James Cameron will get up there and say something stupid.
GH: I read somewhere that he worries he'll make a fool of himself if he wins any awards.
Me: Yeah well, it's a valid worry for Mr. "I'm the King of the World." Watch him--he'll get up there and say something in that stupid Nefertiti language from the movie.
GH: Uh . . . it's Na'vi.
(Says the man who actually saw the movie. In 3-D. At an IMAX theatre. To be fair, though, he hasn't felt the need to see it again, unlike all the weirdos who keep going back three and four times.)
Me: Uh huh. Bet you money.
(Five minutes later)
GH: Yep, Avatar won. [pause] Oh my gosh, you were right! James Cameron totally spoke Na'vi.
Me: (smugly) Of course he did.
GH: How did you know he was going to do that?
Me: I just asked myself what's the [Massengill]iest thing he could do up there. And then, he did it.
GH: I love you.
But back to my duty as Masterpiece Theatre Alerter, tomorrow night is when the new BBC Emma miniseries begins, starring Romola Garai as Little Miss Kind of Needs a Smack, Dumbledore as her grumpy dad, and Johnny Lee Miller as Mr Knightley.
Aw to the yeah. I do love me some Johnny Lee Miller (also known as Edmund from 1999's Mansfield Park).
Happy watching, friends!
I'm Steph, a librarian and mom of 3 (not sure how that happened). Let's chat books, food, Sumptuous Literary Adaptations, poop, knitting and maybe some crazy Mormon Feminism.
15 comments:
You know Jeri is going to freak out about how Gambon ruins everything.
I heard a great interview with one of the producers of Cranford and Return to Cranford a couple of weeks ago on NPR. Then I promptly forgot to watch Return to Cranford. Thanks for the heads up that it's online!
um, yeah, this has been on my calendar for a couple of weeks. very excited. did you see "amazing grace" which romola and horatio hornblower were in? i liked that movie a lot. also just finished watching the first three seasons of "doc martin". it's not a period piece, but it is more british t.v. at its finest.
Oooh, thanks for the heads up on Emma. I saw the first episode on TV when I was in Wales but then I wasn't around for the rest of the series and I've been eagerly awaiting its arrival here.
I loved Cranford and Return to Cranford. My Husband thinks I am so weird for watching. I look foreward to Masterpiece Theater and Masterpiece Mystery. Especially when the mysteries are from the BBC or Miss Marple or Perot!! I love period piece shows! Pride and Pedjudice A&E version!!!!! Most favorite of all time!!
I keep trying to watch it online only to get interrupted by children and husbands--argh! Hopefully tonight will be the night I get through the last half. I am enjoying it very much but I think Cranford is much better.
I have been trying to watch this online all week but keep getting interrupted by children and husbands. Hopefully tonight will be the night I get it all watched.
I am enjoying it throughly, but I think Cranford was much better.
Also, have you heard anything about the Sherlock Holmes with Rupert Everett? Did I miss it?
ok, confession. i am not a fan of romola garai. a little nervous about this emma. and nothing beats jeremy n.
I feel a little less totally out of the loop because I was able to tell Jenny about the Emma show. One more reason to subscribe to Everyday Food magazine -that's where I saw the ad.
Yeah! Have set the Tivo to record. I love me English period flicks, especially literary re-makes.
Thank you for the heads up on Cranford on PBS...I missed parts of it and fell asleep in others...I didn't want to have to wait for Netflix to send me one disc at a time either!
I finally got my copy of Cranford back from a lady at church. I have no TV channels, but Return to Cranford and Emma are both on my Amazon.com wish lists. I'm not sure I'm actually saving any money by not having TV channels when I feel the need to buy anything remotely British period dramaish.
I just finished watching part 2 of Emma, and I really am going to have a hard time waiting until Sunday for the stunning conclusion. I wish I had Emma-loving friends that would come to my house, eat microwave popcorn and drink the diet cokes and talk this one through while replaying favorite scenes (the ball).
Also, I never watched Cranford, but my friend was telling me how upset her husband was that they had forgotten to record it, so I pointed them here for the link. Even when you're not at work, you're a fount of useful knowledge for strangers.
LOVED the Emma series. I'm not looking forward to Northanger Abby (it's just weird!) but totally excited for Persuasion! It's my favorite!!!
I LOVE Cranford, and didn't even know there's a Return to Cranford (although I think they could have been a bit more creative with the name)! What lovely news.
Post a Comment