Recommended Television Programmes

[Bryn]

I see that next Sunday evening on BBC4 after the Prom repeat of Gardiner's St, John Passion, we're offered Mozart's Requiem and C minor Mass. Neither my guide nor the BBC4 schedule will tell me who's performing; does anyone know?

https://www.radiotimes.com/programme/b-xqpmhe/mozart-requiem-and-mass-in-c-minor/

[Pulcinella]

https://www.radiotimes.com/programme...ss-in-c-minor/

I'm quite surprised that Simon Rattle isn't listed as one of the singers.

[smittims]

Many thanks, Bryn.

Dear old Radio Times, eh? I stopped buying it when the price kept increasing and the number of pages of any interest to me kept decreasing: so it's good to see them on the ball.

[Bryn]

Many thanks, Bryn.

Dear old Radio Times, eh? I stopped buying it when the price kept increasing and the number of pages of any interest to me kept decreasing: so it's good to see them on the ball.

Likewise. I just thought it worth checking, on the off-chance that they might just have some more info.

[Petrushka]

I see that next Sunday evening on BBC4 after the Prom repeat of Gardiner's St, John Passion, we're offered Mozart's Requiem and C minor Mass. Neither my guide nor the BBC4 schedule will tell me who's performing; does anyone know?

The Mozart performances were originally broadcast live on BBC2 on December 5 1991 (the 200th anniversary of Mozart's death) and I recorded them to VHS video, long since gone, so it will be good to see them again. Thanks for the alert.

[johncorrigan]

Mrs C and I enjoyed Hugh Laurie's three-part staging of Agatha Christie's 'Why Didn't They Ask Evans?' on ITV last weekend. It looked good and had some fine performances in there.

[Mal]

Many thanks, Bryn.

Dear old Radio Times, eh? I stopped buying it when the price kept increasing and the number of pages of any interest to me kept decreasing: so it's good to see them on the ball.

I do find their "best on streaming service" summaries quite good, pulling out good dramas one might otherwise miss (for example, on BBC, I thought "Us" was excellent...)

https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/best-bbc-shows-all-the-best-dramas-on-bbc-iplayer-right-now/

[smittims]

I think 'Accused', a series of one-off Jimmy McGovern films about alleged false accusation, looks to be interesting. Recorded ep.1 (with Christopher Eccleston) last night; haven't watched it yet.

[Mal]

International Emmy Awards 2011: "Accused" Best Drama Series, Christopher Eccleston Best Actor, etc.

How did I miss this? Must have been in the years I was boycotting the BBC! Or has my memory become worse than I thought? Added to must watch list...

[Rolmill]

Mrs C and I enjoyed Hugh Laurie's three-part staging of Agatha Christie's 'Why Didn't They Ask Evans?' on ITV last weekend. It looked good and had some fine performances in there.

Whereas, after looking forward to this (I'm generally an admirer of Hugh Laurie's endeavours) I'm afraid we found it rather unengaging, with little chemistry between the two leads and some rather hammy acting!

Magpie Murders, on the other hand, is proving to be excellent - only watched 3 of the 6 episodes so far, but have enjoyed the well-crafted plot, especially the nicely (and sometimes amusingly) engineered switches between the two eras involved. And Lesley Manville is always a treat to watch.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I haven’t seen any posts raving about the new BBC adaptation of Great Expectations. I had great expectations of it until I watch the first episode, and noted the following:
1. the young Pip already has a broken voice;
2. Pip tells Joe he wants to be a gentleman, long before encountering Miss Havisham and Estella;
3. Repeated use of the S and F words, never used by Dickens;
4. Pip’s surname is Pirrip, but he is repeatedly referred to as Pip Gargery.

If the first episode tinkered with the story to a moderate extent, the later ones made these aberrations pale into insignificance. Jaggers is more like Emperor Palpatine than the original character. Miss Havisham smokes opium, and introduces Pip to a prostitute.

Drugs, illegal slavery ships… the list goes on.

Of course, it couldn’t possibly be a scriptwriter who’s desperate for attention.

[smittims]

Oh dear. That is in line with what I've found about TV Drama: ruined by a poor script. We'll probably hear that it's won an award.

[Mal]

4. Pip’s surname is Pirrip, but he is repeatedly referred to as Pip Gargery.

Oh dear. How could they give him the same surname as his brother-in-law? I can almost forgive the other faults, but that's just plain wrong!

[Stanfordian]

Loving this on All4/Walter

'Inspector Ricciardi'

An Italian period crime drama series set in Naples 1932. Inspector Ricciardi is haunted by the ghosts of people who were violently killed, and can hear their final thoughts.

[Cockney Sparrow]

I haven’t seen any posts raving about the new BBC adaptation of Great Expectations. I had great expectations of it until I watch the first episode..........

We watched the first episode (only). I haven't read much Dickens - I don't read much fiction and Dickens is too long winded for me at the moment - maybe when I get some real leisure and free time I'll give him another go. But yes, episode one reeked of "re-interpreted" to navigate current parameters - to tick boxes, soup up the text and avoid tricky subjects which might lead to activist protest complaints.

Magpie Murders, ......... is proving to be excellent - only watched 3 of the 6 episodes so far, but have enjoyed the well-crafted plot, especially the nicely (and sometimes amusingly) engineered switches between the two eras involved. And Lesley Manville is always a treat to watch.

Very much agree - enjoyed every episode so far.

There's a new cop show called Blue Lights which is set in Belfast. I read some good advance copy about it. Having seen the first episode I feel there are some soapy elements to it but also quite authentic and tense scenes. I'll be tuning in again...
https://inews.co.uk/culture/blue-lig...article_inline

Next in line - I watched episode one of Blue Lights with enjoyment. I'll also check out Stanfordian's suggestion -

Loving this on All4/Walter
'Inspector Ricciardi'
An Italian period crime drama series set in Naples 1932. Inspector Ricciardi is haunted by the ghosts of people who were violently killed, and can hear their final thoughts.

(Nights when Mrs CS is out, I'm working my way through the DVD of the ITV series re-working of "Longitude" - with Jeremy Irons and Michael Gambon. It also switches between Harrison (Gambon) creating the chronometers and Gould (Irons) restoring them in the 1920's).