Labeling it an ‘overwhelming experience’, Benedict Cumberbatch, star of The Imitation Game, talked recently about his filming the story of wartime code-breaker Alan Turing in the place where he actually lived and worked, Bletchley Park. It was Turing, the troubled genius mathematician, who spent the Second World War building an early computer that could crack encoded […]
Read more
Aside from the fact that new seasons of both Call the Midwife and Mr. Selfridge premiered last night on PBS, most telly drama lovers will readily admit to liking this time of the year as behind-the-scenes bits from the set of Downton Abbey start to trickle in. The great Richard E. Grant (Girls, Gosford Park, […]
Read more
Finally, it’s zero hour in the US. Downton Abbey premieres tonight as part of the new season of Masterpiece on PBS. Both critically acclaimed and a huge audience hit when broadcast this past Fall on ITV, this is definitely television worth watching. According to Simon Heffer of the Telegraph, the authenticity and visual detail makes […]
Read more
It’s been a long time since there has been a good television war of words. Far too long. One has to go all the way back to the 1980’s to remember the Dallas vs. Dynasty smackdown, but that’s all I can think of. Enter 2011 and we have Downton Abbey vs. Upstairs Downstairs. In one corner, […]
Read more
All I need to do is mention Downton Abbey upfront and fans of British television on both sides of the pond will know of what I speak. Written and created by Julian Fellowes, Oscar-winning writer of Gosford Park and star of Monarch of the Glen, and starring the likes of Dame Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville and […]
Read more
Seeing The Third Man on TCM last night starting me thinking about my all-time favorite “Brit” film. Not sure what physically constitutes a British film. Is it one produced at a UK studio, one that has an all-Brit cast, or one set in the UK? Whatever it is, here’s what I came up with for […]
Read more