The Cozy Mystery List Blog

Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV

Bramwell Update…

I think that I mentioned before that we have all of the Bramwell DVDs… And, since we do, we are able to take our time watching them. I thought that I had seen the entire series when it first aired on PBS… Now that I have just finished re-watching the entire series, I find that I hadn’t actually seen the last (fourth) season.

I watched the series years ago when Masterpiece Theatre aired it. A few years ago I decided that we would enjoy the series as a family, so we got all of the DVDs. We waited to watch them when both of our college-age children were home, so it took us a while to watch all of the discs.  Our son watched the first season with us and decided that it wasn’t something he wanted to stay with, so we went on without him. And, our daughter comes home so infrequently, that it has taken us a long time to finish the series.

If there are any people out there who are thinking of watching the series: I would highly recommend the first three seasons. Everything I said in the initial post about the Bramwell series still stands.

HOWEVER!!!!!>>>>>

I would stop watching the series after the third season. It appears to be quite evident that they had planned on finishing the series after the third season… They had a definite completion (of sorts), with all of the characters seemingly knowing what they were going to be doing in the future. I would not recommend the fourth season. (It seemed like they simply tacked the fourth season on to the first three excellent seasons.) I won’t state the reasons since there are people out there who may be planning on watching all of the series’ discs, but be forewarned, the fourth season doesn’t stand up to the other three seasons’ level of excellence! My husband, daughter and I were left wondering who these characters were, since they were so “out-of-sorts” with the well-developed characters we “knew” from the first three seasons. Certainly, if we had started watching the series with the fourth season, we never would have watched the first three excellent seasons… That’s how much we disliked the new personalities of the old characters!

John Adams Miniseries : Happy Fourth of July!

John Adams (DVD) I feel particularly patriotic this Fourth of July! We just finished the last episode of the HBO miniseries entitled John Adams…. and ¡¡¡WOW!!!

Let me first mention that we don’t subscribe to HBO… And, that we have tried some other HBO miniseries/episodic shows, and that some of them are just a tad out of my particular comfort zone. Yes… It’s true… I get a little uncomfortable with gratuitous sex and violence. Call me a “square” or “old-fashioned” but those are just the facts, ma’am.

A very good friend of mine told me about the miniseries… and since Cora is a cozy-mystery reader… I knew that she would not be recommending something that was going to be … let’s just say… adult-situation-graphic! (Don’t I sound like a prude!?!)

My husband had already read “John Adams,” David McCullough’s bestselling novel, and had really enjoyed it. And, since this miniseries is based on McCullough’s novel… which is presumably accurate, we knew that the miniseries would not take some of the “liberties” that a lot of other miniseries take… tweaking more “juicy tidbits” into the plots so that they are more readily appreciated by the masses. Of course, my husband did notice some changes that were made in the miniseries for dramatic purposes, although they didn’t detract from the overall spirit of accuracy.

The cast does a wonderful job portraying the characters who we all (in the USA) grew up learning and hearing about… Cast: Paul Giamatti (as John Adams) and Laura Linney (as his wife, Abigail) are superb in their parts. Tom Wilkinson (as Benjamin Franklin), Stephen Dillane (as Thomas Jefferson), David Morse (as George Wahington), Sarah Polley (as the Adams’ daughter), well… the list goes on! We found the acting, the sets, the director’s view ALL exceptionally good. (Of course, if you are looking for a sanitized version… where you don’t see and almost feel what it must have been like… where you don’t see how excruciating it was to be sick back in those times… when blood-letting seemed to be a very common practice… where there is a lack of buzzing flies, then this very realistic (and, again, to use an adjective I use to show the superlative), phenomenal miniseries is not for you…

HBO’s John Adams miniseries did not disappoint! It truly is worth watching… And, it gives a true meaning of why we, in the USA celebrate the Fourth of July… We have these very heroic men, such as John Adams, to thank for the liberty we now know and enjoy!

♦If you would like to see more TV & Movie  suggestions, click here.♦

That Girl TV Show…

That Girl - Season One Here is yet another TV & Movies blog on the Cozy Mystery site that has absolutely nothing to do with mysteries. The reason I chose to write about That Girl is because it is one of the shows from the late 1960s/early 1970s that I hope isn’t lost amongst the huge array of shows available now.

We moved into our house fifteen years ago— and I remember that That Girl was one of the shows my daughter and I watched together when Nickelodeon offered it (I think that they aired it during the Nick at Night time block… even before there was a TV Land channel!)

That Girl starred Marlo Thomas as Ann Marie, an aspiring, “struggling” actress. The use of quotation marks on the word “struggling” refers to the fact that Ann Marie’s apartment was absolutely phenomenal… large enough for a family of four in New York City, and her clothes were even more “absolutely phenomenal” than her apartment. BUT remember that this is a TV show, and just accept the fact that in the world of make-believe>>>Who Cares!?!

That fact is that despite a few little glitches, the show really is a good show to share with your daughters, nieces, granddaughters, or just you alone! (As I am doing now that my daughter doesn’t live with us…)

Ann’s personality is bubbly, fun, positive, in short… refreshing. Her boyfriend (Donald…played perfectly by Ted Bessell) is her anchor”’ but not her protector. Ann doesn’t need a protector,. She”s a strong, independent woman.

That Girl- Season One (1966-1967) included thirty episodes, in which we get introduced to the recurring characters. Ann’s father (Lou) was played by the wonderful Lew Parker… He is every young daughter’s father: over-protective and loving at the same time. Rosemary DeCamp exudes patience in her roll as Ann’s mother Helen Marie… She is Ann’s champion and runs interference between her leaving-the-nest Ann and her you-should-stay-at-home father.

For those of you like me who enjoyed the show when it first aired, you’ll be familiar with some of the great guest stars the show managed to get: Ethel Merman, Merle Milton, Danny Thomas, and some very young guest stars who went on to become big names: Sally Kellerman, Dabney Coleman, George Carlin.

If you’re worried about “adult situations,” let me just tell you that inn the episode “Rain, Snow and Rice,” Donald and Ann are snowed in with their friends in a hotel— the girls end up sharing one room and the boys share the other room… and the other couple is on their honeymoon!

Season Two (1967/1968) also had thirty episodes. (Unbelievable by today’s standard!) My daughter and I enjoyed watching these a year or two ago… and I am guessing that at 22, she would still enjoy Ann Marie’s antics. (I will pass on my DVDs when I am finished with them…)

Season Three (1968/1969) had 26 episodes and one of them had (almost!) the entire Thomas family. “My Sister’s Keeper” had guest appearances by Marlo’s dad (Danny), Sister (Terre), and brother Tony. What’s not to like?!?

I have yet to watch (or should I say “re-watch”?) any of Season Four (1969/1970) or Season Five (1970/1971) but I am looking forward to them. So here is the way.

If you would like to see more TV and Movies suggestions, click here.

Campion… Margery Allingham’s & Peter Davison’s…

I have to “come clean” on this series>>> My husband and I tried watching it a few years ago and did not like it… at all. We watched only the first episode and then gave up. We have since seen the error of our ways! The turning point for us was seeing Peter Davison in The Last Detective. When we saw Davison’s wonderful portrayal of Dangerous Davies, we decided to give Campion another try. And, we were pleasantly surprised at how much we liked it.

Peter Davison stars as Margery Allingham‘s amateur detective Albert Campion. The setting is 1930s England – and Campion is one very elite gentleman (of noble descent, although “not quite”) with all the time in the world to solve crimes. He has the help of his “manservant” (played by Brian Glover) who is almost  a one hundred and eighty degree contrast to Campion.

Our first impression of Campion was correct… Davison actually played Campion in a playful, almost campy manner. Once we were “in on the campiness” we truly began to enjoy the shows.

The Campion series was made by the BBC during the late 1980s / early 1990s. The scenery (as expected from the BBC) is absolutely beautiful. The narrow cobblestone streets,  unpaved country roads, flowers in the window boxes, vintage cars, just about everything is such a treat to see.

Campion, Season 1, included four episodes. The first episode takes place in a beautiful estate. Campion, belonging to the English aristocracy, fits right in. He is also able to glean information from the “lower classes” since his manservant  Lugg plays an important role in the crime-solving. Lugg, who has a background in criminal behavior, is able to contact his cronies with connections on the other side of the law, thus enabling Campion to use some rather shady ways to solve the crimes.The second season of Campion also included four episodes.

My husband and I both came away from the shows thinking that Davison toned down the almost “song and dance” portrayal of Campion after the first episode. So, if you give this delightfully fun mystery series a try, remember to keep that in mind. We really did look forward to watching the shows and  were truly sorry that they only made the eight episodes.

If you would like to see more TV and Movies suggestions, click here.

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