Something I started and thought I'd do for this year. I'm not going to keep track of everything, but what I do keep track of I'll post here. ;)

( Movies, TV Shows, Books )

I'll probably be adding to it. This is more for my benefit than anyone else's, but you might enjoy the list and helping me add to it!

I'm all finished exams! I don't feel finished, though, because even though my exam was done at 11 this morning, I have to wait here at school 'til tomorrow at 9:30 am to officially check out of my dorm room. It's painful watching everyone move out because I'm so ready to be at home for the summer!

In the mean time, I'm occupying my time with a Life on Mars marathon. It's about time I watch this series, really. And while I probably wouldn't watch it over and over again, there's no denying it is good. I mean, John Simm + Philip Glenister? Definitely good watching. And look who Sam's parents are: ( Meet Ruth and Vic Tyler in 1973. )

I have to admit, I'm anxious to see how everything winds up. ( Read more... )

Can't wait to see Ashes to Ashes once this is finished. I'm very curious to see how that one is set up, and how it's connected to LoM, though I know the basics.

Anyone else watching these? I know there are definitely some of you! (*cough* Charlotte! /lulamena)

ETA: Did I forget to mention that I'm starting to think in a Manchester accent? I kid you not. Especially with long "u" and hard "-ng," etc. It's like listening to the lecturers at Capernwray for five hours a day and thinking in the Scottish accent, haha.

Found out first through artic_fox, as well as AustenBlog.com and bbccostumedrama.

First there was this article at the Telegraph saying Romola Garai and Jonny Lee Miller are playing Emma Woodhouse and Mr Knightley (respectively).

Shortly after (at least, in my own discovery, not necessarily in publication) the BBC released this press statement with more news. Jodhi May is going to play Emma's (old) governess, the newly married Mrs Weston, and Michael Gambon will be playing Mr Woodhouse (Emma's father).

ALSO exciting: Sandy Welch is writing the screenplay! Seriously, why she doesn't get near the amount of recognition that Andrew Davies does, I'll never understand. I love her miniseries/adaptations.

Apparently this series will be four parts, each one hour long. I'm glad for that because three hours seems to short.

I'm very excited for Romola to be playing Emma, though she wouldn't be who I'd see first as Emma. My first reaction was that she's too old, but that's rubbish, I know. ;) Someone had suggested Carey Mulligan for the role, which would have been wonderful! Carey is everywhere, and yet she hasn't had a "breakout" role yet. But mostly I can very much see her as Emma. Of course, I'm excited to see Romola in an Austen piece! She's wonderful.

Not so excited about Jonny Lee Miller. He played Edmund in that movie adaptation of Mansfield Park ten years ago. Though, to be fair, Edmund as a hero is disappointing anyway, so that isn't the best thing to judge him on. It will be interesting, to say the least.

What do you guys think? Are you excited? I am so glad that Emma is getting its own 2000 update! I just loved S&S and the whole style and feel of it — so much different than the adaptations of the 90s, which all had their own 1990 flavour, if you know what I mean. It's nice to have different versions. Plus it will be nice and long! :D

March 28, to be precise. It's about time. (via robinhoodbbc)

( Cut for possible spoilers, though if you really care you already know. )

Still, ROBIN HOOD IS BAAAAAAAAAAACK! :D

Airs tomorrow! Sunday, October 26 at 8:00 pm on BBC One.



Can't wait! Charles Dickens, BBC drama, 14 parts — and Matthew Macfadyen! :D Apparently it's a 14-part series adapted by Andrew Davies. And their are soooooo many big names in the cast: Andy Serkis, Eve Myles, Freema Agyeman, Alun Armstrong, Pam Ferris (Our Mutual Friend, Jane Eyre)... I'm sure I'll recognize more faces than I know names.

Official BBC Little Dorrit Site

IMDb Page

Videos:
BBC News Behind-the-Scenes
WOTV Meet the Cast — interview clips with Matthew Macfadyen, Claire Foy (plays Amy Dorrit), and Andy Serkis

Just a little collection for fun... I always like their trailers.

( Tess of the D'Urbervilles )

( Sense & Sensibility )

( Jane Eyre )


And here are some DVD trailers, the first I'd never seen before:

( Cranford )

( Sense & Sensibility )

Bleak House

Unfortunately, that's all I could find. I've never seen an actual trailer for North and South — not on any DVDs or anything, though I've seen ads for just about everything else. (Wives & Daughters, Daniel Deronda, The Way We Live Now, He Knew He Was Right and Bleak House. Ah, well...

You can check out the official BBC site here. It looks really nice! Though they're putting less and less content up these days, it seems. Still, well put-together.

IMDb.com page.

The official BBC press packet for Tess of the D'Urbervilles is here. (You can keep clicking on "next section" to browse the archives.)

More info at Gemma-Arterton.net, a fansite for the actress who plays the main character, Tess Durbeyfield. The site also has an amazing collection of images from Tess. You can also browse the "Articles" section for full articles about the series (i.e. here.) Of course, this all focuses on the one actress, so the gallery isn't complete, but it's still excellent.

( My thoughts )

Is anyone else excited?

In no particular order:

Remember that Robin Jones Gunn contest I entered? I WON!!!! Along with nineteen other people, I won an autographed copy of Sisterchicks Go Brit!. I'm so excited because, a) it's about England, so that puts it at the top of the Sisterchick list, and b) IT'S SIGNED BY MY FAVOURITE MODERN AUTHOR!!!!!!!! How amazingly exciting. I still can't believe it.

There's another 1991 version of Robin Hood that I just recently discovered, via UKTV's list of the top 10 Robins. Shortly after, it was on TV so I couldn't help but watch it. The most exciting part? David Morrissey plays Little John! That takes my interest level up by few thousand. Not exactly George Kennedy, eh? But a very good Little John nonetheless. And they had a Much the Miller, and Will Scarlett was Robin's right-hand man. And Uma Thurman was Marian, which bizarre. She had the modern girl spirit, but still, I much prefer Lucy Griffiths. I didn't like that Robin and Marian didn't know each other before the story began — I like the idea that they have they're own complicated history. This version also focused on the tension between the Saxons and the Normands (eek, spelling?) which I didn't know was part of the "Robin Hood" story. So all in all, it's been worth watching, but nothing worth keeping. But I did like this quote:

Maid Marian: [watching Sir Miles Folcanet ride away from them] My future husband is sulking.
Will Scarlett: [watching Robin Hood ride up to them] Oh, I don't know, he looks quite happy to me.

I'm sooooo addicted to The Supersizers Go... TV series. It's about two people who go "back in time" for a week and eat only the food of that period. It's fascinating and usually very disgusting. (A Victorian boiled calf's head, anyone? Or a Restoration pie with every kind of meat you can imagine, including whole chickens heads?) They also experience how the people of that time lived — roles of the wife and husband, things they did for pleasure, how they entertained, etc. It's very funny and educational, and Sue Perkins and Giles Coren make a great team. I started a little backwards and watched the Victorian episode first, followed by the Restoration and the Wartime episodes. I'm most looking forward to the "Regency" episode! I just love seeing history and how people used to live...

David Morrissey and Lucy Griffiths to be in a new ITV film about a stalker. At first I thought David Morrissey was going to be the stalker which wouldn't be hard to picture given his Bradley Headstone role in Our Mutual Friend, but no, he plays the guy being stalked. Lucy plays a new love interest... Should be interesting.

Lots of new dramas from the BBC. There's a new Little Dorrit in the making, whose cast includes Freema Agyeman and Matthew Macfadyen! The BBC always does wonderful Dickens adaptations, so my hopes are high. Yet it sounds like they're trying to cash in on the success of Bleak House:

Adapted by acclaimed writer Andrew Davies (Sense And Sensibility, Bleak House) Little Dorrit will play out in soap opera format with 14 half-hour episodes following an initial hour-long episode.

Also, it looks like Tess of the D'Urbervilles is the next fall drama for the BBC. I've never read the book (by Thomas Hardy) but I know enough of the story. I prefer happy stories, but that doesn't mean I won't enjoy this — I guess I'm just not looking forward to it as much. but oooh, Hans Matheson!

I finally got to the library today and picked up A Room With a View by E.M. that I've been wanting to read for ages. I also found Mansfield Park (1983) and Vanity Fair (1998) on DVD, and the books Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman (which looks good and has good reviews) and The Dashwood Sisters' Secret of Love by Rosie Rushton, which has less-than-favourable reviews but looked too fun to pass up. (It seems like the other five Austen novels are much more neglected, so a Sense and Sensibility remake/tribute is at the very least a fun read... hopefully.) It's exciting having some books that I want to read! I've been in a lull for awhile.

And last but not least, I watched The War Bride the other day with Anna Friel and I really enjoyed it. It's about a London girl in WWII who falls in love with and marries a Canadian soldier. Soon she finds herself sent with her little girl to live with his family in the prairies of Alberta. Nothing extremely unique, but it was still well done — good acting — and a very enjoyable story about history and romance and enjoying life through hardship. Definitely worth watching.

Oops, one more thing — I found this video on YouTube which features the 1976 version of Our Mutual Friend. I though some of you fellow OMF fans would like to see it. I wish I could see the actual series... (And how bizarre to see other actors playing Bella, John, Lizzie and Eugene?!)

I am literally crazy because I've been working on this all night — it's 4:46 AM!!! But I just couldn't stop once I started. I actually thought that it would be longer and I would fit more clips in, but still, I love how it turned out. The words even fit perfectly!

( Summary with spoilers... )

three_nails, I blame YOU! These two mess with your head and they're made of SO MUCH WIN. :P

This is for you, Sarah, and your crazy love for everything Millais Culpin! I hope you like it. (And lalumena, my other Casualty 1907 buddy!)

And YAAAY my moodtheme picture is Charity Wakefield. :D

Remember when I mentioned that Canada is getting their own version of "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria"? And I was very disappointed that John Barrowman probably wouldn't have been on it.

He totally is on it!

Canada's decision will be guided by an expert panel of judges: Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical supervisor, Simon Lee, vocal coach Elaine Overholt, and West End and Broadway leading man, John Barrowman.

So as much as I really dislike reality shows, I can't help but love the combination of The Sound of Music + JOHN BARROWMAN on Canadian TV. ;)

It starts Sunday June 15 at 8:00 on CBC.

He even gets his own page!!

[/my geeky squeeing...]

ETA: And now I feel like watching Torchwood, which is great because I really want to cross that off my list, especially before I start something else.

It's a reality series based on the one from the UK but now it will be Canadians competing for the lead in the musical "Sound of Music" and a Candian audience voting. How bizarre — usually it's the American networks remaking British TV, not Canadians! Ah, well.

They showed clips in an interview and in the clips there was John Barrowman! I literally shouted out loud, and I couldn't remember his name for the life of me — all that was coming to mind was Jack Davenport, LOL, even though I know who that is, but anyway... For a split second I thought he would be on the new show, but no, those were clips from the UK show. I so would have tuned in for that!

Part Three is done! Whew, that means I'm finally finished. This has been fun, and I hope you've enjoyed reading/watching as well!

( &c. )

And we're done! I just love that miniseries, and personally I prefer it to the 1995 movie, but that's just my taste. ;) Both versions are so different that it really depends on what style you like best, and what you think about the actors... You have to admit, though, it's nice that these actors are closer to the characters' real ages, and it is all very pretty!

You can see part one here and part two here.

Apparently "Moonlight" is getting the axe. (In the middle under "Cancelled > CBS")

I'm surprised — for some reason it never crossed my mind that this might be cancelled. It's such a great show, and completely original to anything else on TV. I mean, there's so many crime scene/forensic science shows, and medical shows, that you think this would be worth holding onto.

I'm also very mad. It looks like "Moonlight" has a big following, and yet the execs are just getting rid of it. WHY?! It has so much potential, and it's so enjoyable to watch. This has honestly been my favourite show this season, one that I must watch every week. Hot vampires, interesting stories, great characters and lovely acting. I mean, Alex O'Laughlin + Jason Dohring + Sophia Myles + vampires = what's not to love?

With the uproar that this is causing among fans, there might even be chance that this could be picked up. I'm not getting my hopes up, but still...

Why must TV keep disappointing me like this? :'(

And as an ending note: I think they're really going to regret this when the Twilight movie comes out in December and everyone has gone vampire crazy.

(Did anyone else watch the finale? — How sad that it's probably the series finale, the last ep ever. — Mick and Beth are sooooo great. The end was very satisfying indeed. ;) )

I finally did it! Two down, one to go. ;) I'm sorry this took a little while — after the last picspam, I wasn't feeling like making another too soon afterwards. I think I did most of this today, actually. It feels like I went crazy, but I don't think there's any more pictures than last time.

I'm glad that so many of you enjoyed the first part that I did. Hope you enjoy this second part!


( &c. )

(three_nails, I hope it's okay that I'm using your "preview" idea! It's cause you're so smart and creative. ;D)

You can find part one of this picspam here.

Well, not really. :P Just because I want to keep track of these without bookmarking all of them.

The Trailer:

( BBC Breakfast Interviews with 'Cranford' cast members )

And Happy Mother's Day! Especially to all you moms, but even if you're not a mom yet, I hope you had a lovely day with your family and pampering your own mother. Apparently this was the first mother's day in years where we weren't out visiting family, so I think it was a nice restful day for my mom. We went to church, and then we had a nice take out lunch from a yummy restaurant, and after that was presents and cards. I got my mom a nice pansy china mug from Royal Dalton. (She loves pansies and has a collection of various things, especially teacups and the like.) My grandma (my mom's mom) ended up coming over as well, so that was nice. Later in the afternoon we watched home videos, which was rather fun. I love watching old videos — there's something special about seeing videos from yester-years, something you don't get with still photos. Although the last one we watched was at my grandpa's 70th birthday party in 1992, and everyone was making speeches, and I almost started crying at one point. I miss him so much! I can't imagine how my grandma misses him.

I saw a bunch of clips from the season four trailer, and OHMYGOSH-THERE-ARE-GIANT-WASPS!!!!!!!

EEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!

Seriously, that's my biggest fear. I can't stand bees and wasps and things that fly and sting.

This is going to be the scariest ep ever, I tell you, not "Blink."

But it still looks good. Agatha Christie, 1920s, and Felicity Jones. But wasps? Really? *wimper*

According to IMDb.com, Felicity Jones — who was Catherine Morland in the latest Northanger Abbey — will be in the episode after this week's episode, so episode 407. Apparently it's called "The Unicorn and the Wasp" and it's about the Doctor and Donna meeting Agatha Christie. Felicity Jones' character is "Robina Redmond" ...

I know IMDb probably isn't the most reliable source, but there wasn't anything on the Doctor Who site, and this should be pretty grounded info... I hope it's true! :D

LOL! And look at that, my moodtheme is a pic of Catherine! How appropriate. She's excited to be on Doctor Who too.

P.S. Thanks for all of your sweet comments. I'm feeling better now, so that's nice. ;D It's also nice that this is a pretty light week with work, anyway.

P.P.S. three_nails, I'm totally watching more of Casualty 1907!!! Must — finish — now.

( WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? )

As far as this episode goes (405), do you know what the best part was? ( Not really a spoiler but just in case ;) )

I've been watching "Torchwood" as well, and I've just finished the three eps with Martha. Apparently she and Tom Milligan got engaged in between her appearances. :D I hope we get to see him again, but it's rather unlikely. He doesn't even know the Doctor, nevermind the whole end-pf-the-world thing.

There are so many movies, books, and TV shows that I want to catch up on that are on my mental list, that I though I'd write them out. And if you have any suggestions on things I should check out, let me know! ( The List )

I'll probably be adding to it. This is more for my benefit than anyone else's, but you might enjoy the list and helping me add to it!

Why is there never anything good on TV? And the rare times there actually is, it's a bunch of stuff all on at the same time?!

1. The Juno Awards
Feist won all five awards she was nominated for!!!!! She is so awesome and I'm so glad for her. Most of you will at least know her from her song "1 2 3 4" that was featured on the iPod nano commercial. I just love that she's Canadian, and she's doing so well, and she's soooo talented. She was up there with Avril Lavigne, Anne Murray, and Celine Dion — all of who are pretty big Canadian names — for the "Best Album of the Year" category , and she won! She cleaned out the awards. Yay Feist. :P

2. Sense and Sensibility (BBC, 2008)
For some reason, my PBS station is a week behind the "norm" and is only showing the first half tonight. I guess it will be showing the rest next week? I've only been half watching, because I'm getting the DVD through Amazon as soon as it comes out (hopefully Tuesday)! Hopefully I can convince my mom to watch it with me. I wish she was as enthusiastic as I am about these period dramas, but I'm afraid I have no one to squee with about all my favourite British shows. But anyway, this version of S&S is amazing and I can't wait to get my DVDs. Plus, I'm looking forward to seeing Miss Austen Regrets. I wouldn't have bought it seperately but it just comes with the S&S DVD, so it's a nice bonus. It sounds good, too. It's received pretty good reviews from the Janeites, which is always a good sign! But I guess anything is better than Becoming Jane.

3. The Tudors (BBC)
We're getting a free preview of a new CBC digital channel called "Bold" and tonight it's been playing The Tudors! I don't know where it started at though, whether it's the beginning of the series or in the middle or what. I've heard good things, so I'd like to watch more if I can. I'm not crazy about all the politics and the sex, though. But it looks ridiculously pretty. Especially with Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Henry Caville in the same shot! *swoon* I might have to give it a try.

But yeah, two BBC shows are on at the same time! My dad joked that I must be in heaven. ;) At the same time, though, it's kind of frustrating, because usually there's just junk on TV. Why can't they play more of this good stuff? Like Doctor Who and these period pieces, and Moonlight and... *sigh*

Ooh, but there is a channel playing One Tree Hill on the same night as it's playing on the CW in the States! At least there's one good thing on.