Classics from Across The Pond

[Chris]

maggiethecat said:

Some characters, of course, are better left to the reader's imagination. To me the primary example is Lord Peter Wimsey, who has never made it to the screen to anywhere near my satisfaction. Probably because the only person who could have played him to perfection is long dead: Leslie Howard.

Lord Peter Wimsey - you're right Maggie, no one can play him and do him justice - I'm not even sure Leslie Howard could....

inuvik said:

But one I forgot to put there that I love, is Jeeves and Wooster. When I lived in the Arctic, I remember watching them all avidly because the public library had them. Never did read the books, so I probably should.

I could never decide who I liked more, Jeeves or Wooster! Probably Jeeves. Wonder what happened to that actor? Of course Wooster was played by good ol' Hugh Laurie. (speaking of him, has everyone stopped watching House? That thread is sort of inactive lately).

How could I forget Jeeves and Wooster - they were awesome, Wooster plain silly and Jeeves very smart but oh so correct, hilarious ;D

Oh, and Inuvik, do read the books - as I recall them - I read them years ago - they are truly entertaining.

krissie said:

Chris: did you know that Dick Francis's -- Under Orders -- latest book (published last year) is another Sid Halley story?
Krissie (who really needs to leave now)

No, I didn't know that, I will definitely keep an eye out for that one, thanks Krissie

I remember back when I was a kid, I saw I, Claudius with Derek Jacobi as Claudius, being glued to the screen every Saturday night watching this amazing tale of the ancient Rome.

A couple of years ago, one of the Danish networks did a re-run of 'Allo 'Allo The comedy about the French resistance during WW11, Rene, the cafe-owner, the German Officers and, of course, "The Stolen Madonna With the Big Boobies"
That's a show that always cracks me up ;D

- Chris

[krissie]

anna said:

mlm828 said:

House of Cards (with Ian Richardson as a truly ruthless politician).

Oh, I'd almost forgotten old F.U.! "You might very will think that, but I couldn't possibly comment." I remember liking the first of the series better than the later ones, but I enjoyed all of them.

Sad news.

I heard on the news this evening that Ian Richardson has died. If anyone is interested, there is an article on the BBC's website: news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6346897.stm House Of Cards and Francis Urquhart get more than a passing mention.

Is it a bad thing that, when I heard, almost immediately I thought of this discussion thread?

Krissie

[mlm828]

krissie said:

Sad news.

I heard on the news this evening that Ian Richardson has died. If anyone is interested, there is an article on the BBC's website: news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6346897.stm House Of Cards and Francis Urquhart get more than a passing mention.

How sad! He really was marvelous as "F.U." in House of Cards-- also as Bill Haydon in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

krissie said:

Is it a bad thing that, when I heard, almost immediately I thought of this discussion thread?

Krissie

Not at all. I'd say it's a good thing!

[maggiethecat]

Oh, you are so much my people it just about makes my teeth hurt.

So very sad about Ian Richardson, but mlm, you really did it to me emotionally with your mention of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. What sheer perfection that was! So much so that John Le Carre stopped writing George Smiley books because, as he said, the character belonged as much to Alec Guinness as it did to him, which is death to a writer.

Chris, I love that you also know Lord Peter Wimsey! Every year I am compelled to reread The Nine Tailors . . . which might be an excuse to start a thread dedicated to books that we've read over and over and over and over again (if we haven't done that already).

[anna]

chris said:

I remember back when I was a kid, I saw I, Claudius with Derek Jacobi as Claudius, being glued to the screen every Saturday night watching this amazing tale of the ancient Rome.

Oh, yes. I went right out and bought both of the Robert Graves novels and enjoyed them just as much as the series.

I can't believe that we have not yet mentioned Brideshead Revisited. Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews looking delectable, and Olivier's Lord Marchmain saying drily about Irons' character, "He seems to have a penchant for my children."

[Chris]

anna said:

Oh, yes. I went right out and bought both of the Robert Graves novels and enjoyed them just as much as the series.

I read the books too, I was a teenager at the time, go figure, a teenager reading books like that... Bit of a nerd, I think... but back in those days I would read just about anything...

anna said:

]I can't believe that we have not yet mentioned Brideshead Revisited. Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews looking delectable, and Olivier's Lord Marchmain saying drily about Irons' character, "He seems to have a penchant for my children."

Ohh, yeah, I had a huge crush on Anthony Andrews, luuved him as Sebastian, teddybear and all... ;D

- Chris

Modified to add: Maggie, that's a great idea, maybe I should read The Nine Tailors again....

[maggiethecat]

Aaaaaaah, Brideshead! Another book I reread on a regular basis, since I can hear Jeremy Irons's splendidly mellifluous/sexy voice in so many of the lines.

I am off to the tape cabinet tonight for another snoop 'round. (It's called Anna Nicole Smith avoidance: I'm terribly sorry about her sad and ultimately tragic life but after the past 48 hours I have had more than enough.) Last night we watched a wonderful Dalziel & Pascoe, "On Beulah Height," and tonight there is another Dalziel & Pascoe awaiting. (Nowt wrong wit' Fat Andy or the lads of Yorkshire, eh?) After that, I am delighted to say I have found seven -- seven! -- Inspector Morse episodes on tape.

Anyone else out there love Midsomer Murders? Perhaps the best "village cozy" mysteries since Agatha Christie, and oh! where did they film them? The most gorgeous villages and gardens imaginable, and the shows themselves were sharp and well written and very well cast. The Caroline Graham books are very good reads as well.

This thread really is a combination of must-sees and must-reads! ;D

[anna]

I read that a big-screen version of Brideshead is being cast. It will be difficult to avoid comparing, since I cannot imagine liking a new version better than the old.

[maggiethecat]

What? Anyone other than Jeremy and Andrew, not to mention Lord Olivier and Claire Bloom ("Mummy killed at a touch.") as Pa and Ma Marchmain?

I shall be in front of the theatre with a picket sign . . .

. . . but do keep us posted, anna!

[krissie]

maggiethecat said:

What? Anyone other than Jeremy and Andrew, not to mention Lord Olivier and Claire Bloom ("Mummy killed at a touch.") as Pa and Ma Marchmain?

I shall be in front of the theatre with a picket sign . . .

. . . but do keep us posted, anna!

And now you know how I felt when I saw the Keira Knightley and whoever else version of Pride and Prejudice hit the big screen. <Cringe.>

I was... surprised... to see that a reviewer in this week's television listings magazine has given the film five stars, so I know that my opinion isn't everyone else's. But... five stars? Why?

Krissie

[inuvik]

How could we have forgotten Mr. Bean?

They show that here on the French language CBC. The one show I can watch on that network!

[krissie]

inuvik said:

How could we have forgotten Mr. Bean?

They show that here on the French language CBC. The one show I can watch on that network!

But -- and I have to ask this in all seriousness -- does Mr Bean actually make you laugh? All it ever made me do is shudder and switch channels.

Mind you, I have never been fond of that kind of humour. One of my best friends in college discovered that the quickest way to get me out of her dorm room was to switch on Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em. Now, I fully appreciate that Michael Crawford was excellent in the role of Frank Spencer, but I hated the character and I loathed that programme with a passion. My friend, on the other hand, thought it one of the best things on television.

Similarly, I shared a house for a while with someone who was a huge Laurel And Hardy fan. I couldn't even manage to laugh at that.

So, for me, slapstick just doesn't work. Clever dialogue and snappy repartee... That's what I like to see. I like my comedy to focussed more on the situations in which the characters find themselves than on their being stupid or inept.

I guess that answers your question: how could we have forgotten Mr Bean? In my case, blessedly easily.

Krissie <quite possibly suffering from a severe humour impairment>

[inuvik]

krissie said:

But -- and I have to ask this in all seriousness -- does Mr Bean actually make you laugh? All it ever made me do is shudder and switch channels.

Yes, I love it, and it makes me laugh! Most of it, anyway. I don't like the episodes where he is being cruel to someone. But most of them are pretty good.

Similarly, I shared a house for a while with someone who was a huge Laurel And Hardy fan. I couldn't even manage to laugh at that.

I'm with you on Laurel and Hardy. I don't like slapstick either, and I've actually never considered Mr. Bean that. Some humour is physical, but lots isn't.

[krissie]

inuvik said:

I'm with you on Laurel and Hardy. I don't like slapstick either, and I've actually never considered Mr. Bean that. Some humour is physical, but lots isn't.

Ah, well... Maybe I just never managed to bring myself to watch enough to find that out!

Krissie

[maggiethecat]

The trick with Laurel and Hardy is that their silent films are much funnier than their sound films . . . but anything, as far as I'm concerned, beats The Three Stooges, which seems to have been designed for ten year old boys.

But krissie, I am with you on Mr. Bean. He just makes me uncomfortable, and also the pacing seems slow in that it takes him FOREVER to do anything. But that's just me! My favorite work of Rowan Atkinson's would be, of course, Blackadder (with Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie and Miranda Richardson, yum yum yum), especially the last series, Blackadder Goes Forth, set in the trenches of the Western Front. Black humor at its blackest.