BBC Suggestions

Films, TV shows, and books of the 'modern' era
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movieman1957
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House of Cards

Post by movieman1957 »

Just watched the first two hours of "House of Cards." It is deliciously wicked. So far it's a two hour back stabbing. Ian Richardson is brilliant. It is unlike anything I've ever seen.

It involves, so far, a man single handedly bringing down the British Prime Minister and his government from right under his nose.

It is very smart. We are a party to the whole thing (and glad to be part of it.)

More later.
Chris

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
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cinemalover
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Post by cinemalover »

Chris,
House of Cards is fabulous and Richardson is the 'hero" of the piece but he is one of the most evil men you'll ever meet. The sequel (I can't think of the name of it right now) is almost as good. You'll love it all the way through.
Chris

The only bad movie is no movie at all.
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Bogie
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Post by Bogie »

Wow someone actually mentioned Are you Being Served?? YTV (youth television) in Canada used to air a block of britcoms in the late night hours and I used to watch that show religiously. The humor is definitely not PC these days but it was raunchy, hilarious and full of unpredictable situations. I especially liked the exchanges between Mr. Peacock and Mrs. Slocombe. Then there's the obviously gay but never outright acknowledged as such Mr. Humphries. Boy was he a cut up! It's too bad John Inman died a couple years ago as I thought he was the best out of the whole cast.

I like to think of Are You Being Served? as being a precursor to the type of comedy we'd begin to see in the 80s in North America starting with Night Court and movies made by Jim Carrey and the Farelly Brothers.
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movieman1957
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Post by movieman1957 »

Chris

Part III of "House Of Cards" is just as juicy. If one likes the politics of power, the politics of government, the politics of sex, indeed the politics of politics then this is the show for you.

Deliciously evil I think Richardson has one of the great voices. It would be wonderful if we could all speak so intelligently.

Part IV was a tad slower and less about the government work but still engrossing and surprising. The conversations with "us" by Richardson I thought were quite clever and interesting. The shots of the rat throughout the series became funnier as it went on.

Man, he was nasty.
Chris

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movieman1957
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Re: BBC Suggestions

Post by movieman1957 »

I've been going through Blakc Adder. It's the third season and it is pretty good. The real treat is Hugh Laurie as the stupid Prince Regent. Placed against his House character he couldn't be more silly. Somtimes the jokes miss but when they hit they are really funny. It's a credit to Atkinson that one so identified with Mr. Bean, at least in America, that he could be so wickedly funny in this character.

I thought it really clever that each season moves forward in British history. A funny show.
Chris

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Re: BBC Suggestions

Post by charliechaplinfan »

I loved Black Adder when growing up, my brother had all of them on VHS, I can quote from them. My favorite is Queenie played by Miranda Richardson, she's fabulous. The Prince Regent couldn't be more different from Queenie.

Do you remember the episode about the dictionary? All the words that were missed? That improves with age.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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Re: BBC Suggestions

Post by MissGoddess »

I'll never forget discovering "Black Adder" quite accidentally,
one sleepless night while channel surfing. Maybe because they were the first I saw,
the ones set on the front in WWI are my favorites. I like the The Prince
Regent, too, but the grim edge of nearly being blown to smitherines any minute
made the WWI episodes seem particularly vivid.

Did they just do the two versions or were there others?

"Baldrick", Hugh Laurie and Rowan Atkinson were quite a hilarious team.
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Re: BBC Suggestions

Post by charliechaplinfan »

There are four series 1 to 4. The first one is set in the Middle Ages, this is a little different because Blackadder is the fool in this one, the second in the time of the Tudors, the third is set in the time of the Prince Regent and the forth is set in the trenches of WW1. The laughter set against the sheer horror of the trenches does make it all the more poignant. Hopefully you'll be able to rent them all quite easily.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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Re: BBC Suggestions

Post by srowley75 »

movieman1957 wrote:I've been going through Blakc Adder. It's the third season and it is pretty good. The real treat is Hugh Laurie as the stupid Prince Regent. Placed against his House character he couldn't be more silly. Somtimes the jokes miss but when they hit they are really funny. It's a credit to Atkinson that one so identified with Mr. Bean, at least in America, that he could be so wickedly funny in this character.

I thought it really clever that each season moves forward in British history. A funny show.
I know many fans prefer the second series (w/Miranda Richardson and Stephen Fry) or the third (with Hugh Laurie). But I think I've grown to love the first series the best of all, particularly for the performance of Brian Blessed as the bearded, bellowing Richard IV (ironically, one of his best moments comes near the end, when Edmund lays dying). Almost every episode in that series makes me howl, especially the episode with the Spanish Infanta and her interpreter (Miriam Margolyes and Jim Broadbent) and the episode featuring the Witchsmeller Pursuivant (Frank Finlay) ("Milk, bloody milk!" "Bloody milk?!?!?").

While typing this out, it dawned on me what an incredible cast the show boasted.
Last edited by srowley75 on March 6th, 2009, 4:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: BBC Suggestions

Post by MissGoddess »

Thank you CCFan! I'd love to see the Tudors and Middle Ages ones, I might see about renting them.
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Re: BBC Suggestions

Post by charliechaplinfan »

The second one is worth it just to see Queenie, it's the strangest representation of Elizabeth I you'll ever see.
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Re: BBC Suggestions

Post by movieman1957 »

Having recently seen the second series I was surprised while making my way through the third that Miranda shows up as a character in one those episodes. She's quite good. The third series disc also includes (buried) "A Black Adder Christmas Carol" which I have yet to see.

I have enjoyed all of them. I pity the poor Baldrich.
Chris

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Re: BBC Suggestions

Post by stuart.uk »

Chris, here's a list of my fav BBC or other productions as many end up on BBC America anyway. Many of the shows I'll mention end up on Digital

Only Fools And Horses is a a BBC show

The Good Life, or Good Neighbors as it was known in the U.S is also BBC

Fawly Towers, a sit com with John Cleese and Prunella Scales also BBC

The Sweeney is an ITV Production, currently repeated on ITV4 , though not likely to be shown in the states because of its violent nature. You'd find an argument for suggesting John Thaw was every bit as good as tough rough Jack Regan as he was as Morse, in a show he made with Dennis Waterman in the 70s. The series also inspired two feature films.

New Tricks, a more up to date BBC cop show with Waterman and Amanda Redman, as three retired dectectives and their glamorous lady boss investigate closed cases

Upstairs Downstairs, now repeated on ITV3, with Gordon Jackson and Pauline Collins in 70s show about toffs and their servents in early 20th Century Britain. Jackson also starred in the hit spy show The Professionals, on ITV4, with Lewis Collins and Martin Shaw

The BBCs Judge John Deed, a current show about a maverick Judge played by Shaw. The still beautiful Jenny Seagrove is the leading lady with Sir Donald Sinden also featuring

All Creatures Great And Small was made into two feature films, one with Anthony Hopkins, before ending up on the BBC, in a story of 3 vets practising in Yorkshire between the early 1930s and the mid 50s

The New Avengers is now on BBC4
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Re: BBC Suggestions

Post by charliechaplinfan »

The Good Life is worth it for Margot alone. She's one of the best sit com characters ever created.

I have to thank the US for Frasier, I just loved it although it lost some steam at the end. To me it was alway obvious that Frasier needed Roz just as much as Niles needed Daphne. Daphne came from Manchester about 20 miles from here, I don't speak quite like that :lol:
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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Re: BBC Suggestions

Post by stuart.uk »

Top fav Brit shows, though not all have been with the BEEB. From what I gather BBC America shows programs that were made originally on other channels

The Sweeney with John Thaw and Dennis Waterman as gun carrying Flying Squad detectives in the 70s taking on armed robbers. Though not shown in America TS is reckoned by many to be John Thaw's greatest role, however, there's a strong case to be used for his potrayal of Morse. The series inspired two movies Sweeney and Sweeney2

New Tricks with an older Waterman is one of the BBCs best current shows, about three retired coppers solving closed cases under the supervision of their stunning boss Amanda Redman. Alun Armstrong and James Bollam also star.

Only Fools And Horses,
a BBC sit-com rated by a poll as the best program of its kind ever made in the UK, starring Sir David Jason.

A sit com I like was Second Thoughts with single mum Lynda Bellingham and her two adult kids, one of who was Saffy from Ab-Fab, as mum begins a relationship with James Bollam

All Creatures Great And Small, the first with Anthony Hopkins, was made into two movies before hitting the small screen. It's about the life of 3 village vets from the early 1930s through to the mid 50s, starring Robert Hardy in the Hopkins role, Peter Davidson, Christopher Tmothy and Lynda Bellingham

The Good Life, or Good Neighbors, starring Felicity Kendall and Richard Briers.

Upstairs Downstairs with Pauline Collins and Gordon Jackson, in a show about life in a household of toffs and servents between 1903 and 1929. Jackson went on to play a spy chief in The Professionals, alongside Lewis Collins and Martin Shaw.

Martin Shaw currently plays maverick Judge John Deed, alongside Jenny Seagrove and Sir Donald Sinden.

From the 60s The Saint,[i] The Baron[/i], Man In A Suitcase and The Avengers, not forgetting The New Avengers from the 70s
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