Thank Goodness the Summer is Over!

Well I'm not sure it ever really came.  We had a few good days but nothing to shout about.  Well even if you can't tell it's summer by the weather you can by the telly.  It's absolutely dire, hardly anything worth watching.  Weekends are the worst it's sport or repeats of everything.  There are a few old films but what I really miss is the drama.


I wonder why they keep all the best drama for winter. Maybe they think that people don't watch telly in summer. Well they're wrong especially with the economic problems people have nowadays, I imagine more people stay in and watch telly than before.


Never mind the new drama is back!  Started with a short series of George Gently  which I really love.  It's set in the North East of England and I really enjoy looking out for locations I recognise.  The photo on the link, of the two detectives walking along the promenade was taken at Seaham beach.  I also love to see Durham Cathedral and its fantastic setting. 

Martin Shaw has certainly come a long way since he played Doyle in the Professionals hasn't he.  You always knew he would. 


The Professionals on You Tube

Shame they only make three in a series but never mind. It's a little gem.


The second series of DCI Banks has also started. I somehow missed the first one so I'm in catch up mode.


Now to come I see Downton Abbey starts tonight and yes I guessed it, some idiots would schedule it at exactly the same time as the BBC's last series of Spooks. Not everyone has the facility to save programmes so thank goodness for iPlayer!


Then we have Merlin which I enjoy. The acting and the humour is wonderful Really looking forward to series 4.


There are lots more goodies to come thank goodness but I noticed yesterday that ITV 3 is showing Foyle's War again.  The first episode of the first series was great.  Have looked at the schedules and the next two episodes are being shown this week too.  Hope the rest are to come.  I can never get enough of Foyle's War. An absolutely perfect detective drama which the public seem to love.  People power brought it back after it was axed!  Here's how.

The Books of Zen!

No this is not a post about Buddhism! 

Rufus Sewell

I have a new telly favourite, Zen!

Episode 1 aired a couple of weeks ago and I thought it was quite good. After episode 2, I thought, well I really like this. Episode 3, the last one aired last night and now I'm hooked. I loved it!


I tried to figure out why I liked it so much and had to conclude that it was just different to a lot of the crime stuff that we're offered today. A breath of fresh air.

Rufus Sewell is great as Aurelio Zen, the divorced, Venetian, suave, sophisticated and honest, detective who lives with his mother. None of your shouting and swearing from Zen, if anything he underplays the role which works brilliantly.

The length of the episodes is just right at one and a half hours and allows the story to be told without that rushing to complete it in less than an hour like many crime programmes nowadays. This amount of time lets you get to know the characters which I think really does help. No ads too on the BBC so you really get your moneys worth! 


The approach to the casting and script is very quirky. All actors are English and speak with a range of English accents. Zen greets his mother with “Caio Mamma” then in his slightly Cockney accent (well sounds that way to a Northerner) asks “What time is supper”? The only actors without English accents are his girlfriend, played by the beautiful Caterina Murino who looks a little like Sophia Loren, and his mother. They do a lot of that continental double cheek kissing too.

The Italian scenery is gorgeous, it really was filmed in Rome. The parks, churches, cafes, restaurants and apartments really make a delightful change from what we usually see nowadays. Zen himself wanders about in wonderfully cut suits; he would have made an amazing James Bond!

I do like the dry sense of humour too and last night's episode really had me laughing out loud. I won’t say why, that would spoil it.

Just have to hope the series proves popular so we get to see more of Zen. Have to say it’s one of the best programmes I’ve seen in a long while, Well worth the cost, whatever it was.

I must try to get hold of some of Michael Dibdin's books to see how the adaptations compare. From what I've read Zen was a bit older in the books and not quite so cool and laid back. Well there are eleven books so plenty of material for more episodes.

If you missed Zen and can use the BBCs iPlayer I’d recommend you give it a try although you won’t get the benefit of that Roman scenery on a computer. If you can’t access iPlayer you can get a brief flavour on YouTube here, although not a lot of the lovely scenery. A bit of graffiti, a bit of a cafe and a lot of kissing!

Cadfael

Even though it first was broadcast in 1994, this series is still one of my favourites.  I’ve watched the programmes many times and still enjoy them.

I had read a couple of Ellis Peters’ (Edith Pargeter) medieval detective stories before I saw the masterful TV dramatisations and I wasn’t disappointed with the results.

The character of Cadfael was brilliantly portrayed by Derek Jacobi in this series. The Welsh herbalist monk living in an English abbey during the first half of the 12^th century was an unusual one. He came late to monastic life having spent half his life as a Crusader where he became a skillful observer of human nature and learned a range of skills while a prisoner of the Muslims. Cadfael has a worldly knowledge which sets him apart from his fellow monks, it makes him more understanding of people both rich and poor and their problems, this gets him into trouble with his superiors.

The background of the civil war between King Stephen and Empress Maud is there throughout the series and the crimes Cadfael “investigates” are often a result of this terrible time. Shrewsbury Abbey provides a place of refuge and calm to refugees, spies and conspirators alike.

The programmes never showed any violence as the crimes had already been committed when Cadfael became involved. However violence there was, in abundance.

All the stories showed both the frailty and the strength of human nature. The screenplay of Ellis Peters’ stories was wonderful even if the screenplays were not always faithful to the books. 


I particularly loved Cadfael’s musings and comments such as:

"Under the certainty of heaven all that we can be sure of is tomorrow.  When yesterday is already ours, what more can we ask?" 

Of all the programmes, the one I remember most vividly is The Virgin in the Ice. The scenery and weather were bleak and matched the tale of treachery and violence. It told of the murder of a nun who was found by Cadfael in ice.  This story told us more about Cadfael’s previous life in The Holy Land. It also introduced Olivier de Bretagne, a Syrian-born squire, the son of a woman Cadfael had known in the Holy Land. He was Cadfael’s son.  Interestingly this is Derek Jacobi’s favourite too, as he said “Cadfaels’ past merges with his present”.

Here’s a clip from that episode

Wonderful! One of life's true delights.

If you want to find out more about the books and the TV series, here are a few places to check out:


Steve Conrad's website

ITV Drama

Wiki

If you want to see where the books are set you can find the Cadfael Car Trails on Shropshire Tourism 

Interestingly the TV series was filmed in Hungary, not Shropshire!

Harry O

I do love TV detective shows and there have been lots that I have really enjoyed over the years. However, if I had to choose just one, then Harry O wins my vote every time. Yes, it's my all time favourite TV detective series and Harry O's my favourite TV detective character.

I'll be honest and admit it probably wasn't the best series, Inspector Morse probably gets that accolade but Harry O's my choice.

Do you remember him? He was an unusual TV detective, not your Magnum PI or the flash Crockett & Tubbs. No, he was more like the British TV detectives, flawed and vulnerable but with w wry, sardonic sense of humour. Here's what Ed Robertson, TV Historian and author had to say about him:.

"Harry Orwell ... wasn’t like most private eyes. He owned a car, but rode the bus because his car was often “sick.” He couldn’t run well because of a bullet lodged in his back from his days on the San Diego police force. He really didn’t have to work: while his disability pension didn’t make him rich, it afforded him a life of simple pleasures. Though he didn’t work for free, he didn’t always work for money: he once let a client pay off his fee by working on his boat, The Answer. He could also afford to work “on the house” occasionally, if he truly believed in a client, or if he somehow felt he had let the client down. Jim Rockford would never do that."

I feel it's a shame that Warner Brothers has never released this series on DVD despite the fact there has been lots of scam websites selling poor copies or just taking the money and sending nothing. I have to keep watching little bits on YouTube. So I set up a petition to Warner Brothers to ask them to release it.

Take a look and if you could, make my day and please sign it. Maybe then I'd get to see Harry O again properly instead of having to watch bits and bobs on YouTube. You could enjoy it too!

Post No 157

Anyone for a Tattoo?

More from my favourite female comedian Victoria Wood.

Mmmm! Wonder if it was a tattoo parlour like this my Dad visited to get his heart and anchor tattoo when he was in the Royal Navy!

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Victoria Wood - Supermarket Sketch

Victoria Wood is one of my favourites. She's an absolute genius at acting, comedy writing and stand up comedy, she can make me cry with laughter.

Here she is with Celia Imrie in a brilliant supermarket sketch.

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Grow Your Own Drugs!

I always forget I have this Blog for my telly postings and keep posting them on my main Blog but never mind.

Here's the link to a posting about a great programme I watched on making Christmas presents and remedies from plants you grow in your own garden. Not really drugs.

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